Last updated: February 2026
maddythinks.ca (“we”, “our”, “the site”) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information responsibly. This Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, how it is protected, and the rights you have regarding your information.
1. Who We Are
Our website address is: https://maddythinks.ca.
We operate as a personal blog focused on travel, lifestyle, and related content.
2. Information We Collect
We collect information in the following ways:
Information You Provide Directly
- Comments left on the site
- Contact form submissions
- Email newsletter sign‑ups (if applicable)
- User account information (if registration is enabled)
Information Collected Automatically
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device identifiers
- Pages visited and time spent
- Referring URLs
- Cookies and similar tracking technologies
- Log files generated by our hosting provider
Media Uploads
If you upload images, avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors may download and extract location data from images on the site.
3. Comments and User‑Generated Content
When visitors leave comments, we collect the data shown in the comments form, the visitor’s IP address, and browser user agent string to help detect spam.
An anonymized hash of your email address may be sent to the Gravatar service to determine if you use it. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at: https://automattic.com/privacy/
Once your comment is approved, your profile image (if associated with Gravatar) becomes publicly visible.
4. Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content behaves exactly as if you visited the originating website. These sites may collect data, use cookies, embed third‑party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content.
5. Advertising, Cookies, and Third‑Party Technologies
Third‑party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this or other websites. Google’s advertising cookies allow Google and its partners to deliver personalized ads based on your browsing behavior.
Users may opt out of personalized advertising via Google Ads Settings or opt out of third‑party vendors’ cookie use at www.aboutads.info.
We may also use additional technologies such as:
- Pixels
- Local storage
- Analytics tools
- Ad measurement tools
These may collect information such as IP address, device type, and browsing behavior.
Google AdSense and Third-Party Advertising
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to your website or other websites.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and/or other sites on the Internet.
- Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- We may also use other third-party ad networks. You can opt out of some third-party vendors’ uses of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.
6. Consent for Visitors from the UK, EU, and EEA (GDPR)
Because this site receives international traffic, we use a Google‑certified Consent Management Platform (CMP) that complies with the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) v2.2.
Visitors can review or update their consent choices at any time through our cookie banner or consent manager.
Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
We process personal data under the following legal bases:
- Consent (e.g., analytics, personalized ads)
- Legitimate interest (e.g., site security, spam prevention)
- Contract (e.g., responding to inquiries)
- Legal obligation (e.g., fraud prevention)
7. California and U.S. State Privacy Rights
Residents of California, Virginia, Colorado, and other U.S. states with privacy laws have specific rights regarding their personal information.
We do not “sell” personal information in the traditional sense. However, we share data with advertising partners such as Google for personalized ads.
U.S. residents may opt out by clicking the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link in our footer or adjusting preferences in our consent manager.
Depending on your state, you may also have rights to:
- Access your data
- Correct your data
- Delete your data
Requests may be submitted through our contact page.
8. How Google Uses Data
For details on how Google collects and uses data from sites that use its services, visit:
How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
9. How We Use Your Information
We use collected data to:
- Operate and maintain the website
- Display personalized and non‑personalized ads
- Improve site performance and user experience
- Analyze traffic and usage patterns
- Prevent spam, fraud, and abuse
- Respond to comments or inquiries
- Send newsletters or updates (if applicable)
10. Who We Share Your Data With
We may share data with:
- Google (ads, analytics)
- Gravatar (for comment profile images)
- Hosting providers
- Email marketing services (if used)
- Spam detection services
- Consent management platforms
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security.
11. Data Retention
- Comments and metadata are retained indefinitely to recognize and approve future comments.
- User profile information (if accounts exist) is stored until the user edits or deletes it.
- Analytics data may be retained according to the policies of the third‑party service (e.g., Google Analytics).
12. Your Rights Over Your Data
You may request:
- An exported file of the personal data we hold about you
- Correction of inaccurate information
- Deletion of your personal data (except data required for legal or security purposes)
Requests can be made through our contact page.
13. International Data Transfers
Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries outside your own, including Canada and the United States. We rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses where required.
14. Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect your information, including:
- Secure hosting
- HTTPS encryption
- Limited access to administrative systems
- Spam and security monitoring tools
However, no method of transmission over the Internet is completely secure.
15. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last Updated” date.
16. Contact Information
For privacy‑related questions or requests, you may contact us through the contact form on our website.