Last updated: September 16, 2026
This policy explains what this site collects, what it does not, and what happens when you click an affiliate link. It describes actual practice on this site rather than a general template.
The short version
We do not run analytics. We do not have accounts, a newsletter, comments, or a contact form that stores anything. We do not sell data, and we have nothing to sell. The one place data is recorded is when you click an affiliate link, and that is described in full below.
What we do not collect
At the time of writing, this site runs no analytics or advertising trackers. Specifically, there is no Google Analytics, no Google Tag Manager, no Meta/Facebook pixel, no Hotjar, no Microsoft Clarity, and no advertising network code. There are no comments and no forms on this site.
If that changes, this page will be updated before the change goes live, and the "last updated" date above will change.
Cookies
This site is built on WordPress, which may set functional cookies — for example, if the site operator is logged in to administer it. Ordinary readers are not asked to log in and are not tracked across sessions by this site.
Third parties set their own cookies in the situations described below. We do not control those cookies.
Affiliate links: what is recorded
Some articles contain affiliate links. When you click one, two separate things happen.
1. This site records the click
Affiliate links pass through a redirect on our own server before sending you on. That redirect records:
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| A one-way hash of your IP address | The IP address itself is not stored. It is combined with a secret value and hashed, so the stored value cannot be turned back into your IP. |
| Your browser's user-agent string | The browser and operating system your browser reports. |
| The referring page | Which of our articles you clicked from. |
| A timestamp | When the click happened. |
| A random click identifier | A generated string with no connection to you personally. |
This exists so we can tell which articles are useful, not to identify you. We do not combine it with anything else, we do not attempt to identify individuals from it, and we do not share it.
2. The affiliate network records the click
You are then sent to the merchant or to an affiliate network — for example Impact, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, or PartnerStack. They set their own cookies and collect their own data under their own privacy policies, not this one. That is how they know a purchase came from this site.
We receive reports back from those networks. Those reports tell us that a purchase happened and what the commission was. They do not tell us who you are.
If you would rather not be tracked by an affiliate network, you can navigate to the merchant directly instead of using our link. Nothing on this site depends on your clicking one.
Images
Photographs on this site are licensed stock images, downloaded and served from this site's own server. Loading them does not send a request to a third-party image host.
Server logs
Our hosting provider keeps standard web server logs, as essentially all hosting does. Our host retains these logs for approximately one month, after which they are discarded.
Your rights
Depending on where you live — including the UK and EU under the GDPR, and California under the CCPA — you may have the right to ask what personal data an operator holds about you, to have it corrected, or to have it deleted.
Practically speaking, we hold very little that could identify you: click records use a hashed IP rather than the address itself, and are not linked to a name, an email address, or an account. If you want to make a request anyway, contact us and say what you are asking for.
Children
This site is aimed at people making decisions about their own work tools. It is not directed at children, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. Material changes will be noted on the page rather than made silently.
Contact
Questions about this policy: contact page.
Operator: Settled On. This site is operated by a small independent publisher and does not maintain a public postal address. Requests under GDPR, CCPA, or similar laws should be sent by email to informationsettledoncom; we respond to every such request.