Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how TestedHost (“we”, “us”, “our”) collects, uses and shares information when you visit testedhost.com (the “Site”). By using the Site you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us. If you contact us by email or through our contact page, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to write. We use it only to reply to you.

Information collected automatically. Like most websites, we and our service providers automatically record technical data when you visit, including: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring URL, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit. Our CDN and Google process the full IP address in order to deliver the page and estimate location; the reports we read are aggregated and do not show it. This data is used to understand traffic patterns, keep the Site working and, in Google’s case, to serve advertising as described in section 3.

2. Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device. We and our third-party partners use cookies, pixels, web beacons and local storage for the purposes below. The first three are in use today; the fourth, advertising, is described in section 3 and is also live, because Google’s ad code is present on every page.

• Essential operation — remembering preferences and keeping the Site functional.
• Analytics — understanding which pages are useful and how visitors arrive.
• Affiliate attribution — set by a merchant when you follow an affiliate link, so that a referral can be credited to us. The cookie and its duration are set by that merchant, not by us.
• Advertising — set by Google when you load a page carrying the AdSense code: measuring ad performance and, where you have consented or where the law permits, serving ads based on your interests.

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect how parts of the Site work — blocking affiliate cookies, for example, means a referral is simply not credited, which costs you nothing. Blocking advertising cookies does not block the articles. To opt out of personalised advertising from many providers, visit optout.aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.com.

3. Advertising

Display advertising on this Site is served by Google AdSense. Google is the ad vendor. We do not sell ad space directly, run our own ad server, or pass your data to advertisers ourselves.

The ad code is on every page, including pages where no ad appears. Google states that a page only has to contain the AdSense code for cookies to be sent — an ad does not have to be shown. So when a page loads, Google may receive your IP address, a user agent string and the URL you requested, and may set or read cookies on your device. Blocking those cookies in your browser stops this, and the articles still work.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this Site and/or other sites on the internet. Those cookies are set by Google and read by Google; we cannot see the data in them, cannot turn them off for you, and do not receive anything that identifies you.

How to opt out. You can turn off personalised advertising from Google at Google Ads Settings, and opt out of interest-based advertising from many other companies at aboutads.info or optout.networkadvertising.org. Opting out does not reduce the number of ads on a page; it makes them less relevant to you.

Consent, where the law requires it. Google does not serve personalised advertising to visitors in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland without a valid consent signal, and where consent has been given it can be withdrawn at any time. Where required under the CCPA/CPRA, you may opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information as described in section 6. Declining consent never blocks access to an article.

How Google uses data from sites that carry its advertising products is set out in Google’s own documents: How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and the Google Privacy Policy. Those documents are Google’s and they govern Google’s processing, not ours.

We do not accept sponsored posts, paid placements presented as editorial, or paid link insertions. Advertisers do not review or approve articles, and no ad buy has ever changed a conclusion on this Site.

4. Analytics and hosting

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how the Site is used — page views, session duration, approximate country, and traffic sources. It sets its own cookies and receives your IP address. Reports we see are aggregated; we do not look up individual visitors, and we do not join analytics data to anything else. Google’s handling of that data is described in the Google Privacy Policy. You can refuse analytics cookies in your browser without losing access to any article.

The Site is served through Cloudflare, which processes requests at the edge as any CDN does and keeps short-lived logs for security and abuse prevention. Cloudflare does not receive the content of your emails to us.

5. Affiliate links

Some outgoing links on this Site are affiliate links. If you click one and then make a purchase or sign up for a service, we may earn a commission. This does not change the price you pay. The merchant or affiliate network may set a cookie so the referral can be attributed to us; that cookie’s duration is set by the merchant, and blocking it costs you nothing.

We are currently a member of the SiteGround affiliate programme, which sets a 60-day last-click cookie when you follow one of its links.

Being a member of a programme is not the same as having used the product. This Site does not pay for or run a SiteGround plan. What we write about SiteGround comes from its published documentation, its support scope and its own pricing pages — not from an account of ours. The same rule applies to every provider that pays a commission: the money is disclosed, the experience is not invented. The current list of programmes is on our Affiliate Disclosure page.

6. Your rights

European Economic Area, UK and Switzerland (GDPR). You have the right to access, correct, delete or restrict processing of your personal data, to object to processing, to data portability, and to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.

California (CCPA/CPRA). California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected, to request deletion, to correct inaccurate information, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information for money. However, the use of cookies for cross-context behavioural advertising may be considered “sharing” under the CPRA; you may opt out using the links in section 2 or by contacting us.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.

7. Children’s privacy

This Site is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Data retention

Analytics and log data are retained only as long as needed for the purposes described above. Email correspondence is kept for as long as necessary to handle your enquiry and for a reasonable period afterwards for record-keeping.

9. International transfers

Our service providers may process data in countries other than your own, including the United States. Where personal data is transferred out of the EEA or UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

10. Security

The Site is served over HTTPS and hosted on infrastructure that applies industry-standard protections. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be reflected on this page.

12. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Email [email protected] or use our contact page.