Last updated: 30 October 2026
Who I am
Giving it a Joe is a personal blog run by me, Joe, from England. This page explains what personal information the website collects, why, and what your rights are. For anything about your data, please use the contact form.
What I collect and why
- Comments. If you leave a comment I collect the name, email address and website you enter, the comment itself, and your IP address and browser details. This is so your comment can be shown, and so spam can be spotted. Your email address is never published. Your picture may be fetched from Gravatar using a scrambled version of your email address.
- Contact form. If you message me I collect your name, email address and message so I can reply.
- Email newsletter. If you sign up, your email address (and name, if asked) is stored with MailerLite, the service that sends the emails. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email.
- Visit statistics. I use Burst Statistics, an analytics plugin that runs on this website, to see which posts are read and how people find them. It records things like the pages visited, where you came from, and basic device and browser details.
- Facebook (Meta) Pixel. The site includes the Meta Pixel, a small piece of code from Meta that records visits to the site. It can set cookies and send information such as your IP address and the page you viewed to Meta.
- Embedded videos. Some posts embed YouTube videos. YouTube (Google) may collect information and set cookies when an embedded video loads or plays.
- Fonts. The site loads its fonts from Google Fonts, so your browser contacts Google’s servers and your IP address is shared with them.
- Security. Security tools on the site may record IP addresses of failed log-in attempts and blocked requests, to keep the site safe.
- Affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link (for example to Amazon), the retailer may set cookies so a purchase can be credited to me. I only see overall commission reports, not who bought what. See the affiliate disclosure.
Why I’m allowed to use your information
I rely on consent for the newsletter and for marketing cookies such as the Meta Pixel, and on legitimate interests for running and securing the site, understanding which posts are useful, and replying to messages and comments. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Who I share it with
I do not sell your information. It is handled by the services described above: my web host, MailerLite, Meta, Google (YouTube and Google Fonts), Gravatar, and the retailers behind affiliate links you choose to click. Some of these are based outside the UK and use recognised safeguards for transfers.
How long I keep it
Comments stay on the site until you ask me to remove them. Contact messages are kept only as long as needed to deal with them. Newsletter details are kept until you unsubscribe. Other data is kept by the services above under their own policies.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask to see the information I hold about you, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, or receive a copy. Use the contact form and I will respond. If you are unhappy with how your data is handled you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Cookies
See the cookie policy for the cookies and similar technologies used on the site and how to control them.
Changes to this policy
If I change how the site works I will update this page and the date at the top.