This page explains what data this website collects, why, and what you can do about it. It covers michaelwanderson.com, which is run by Michael Anderson.
Last updated: October 2026. If anything here changes, the page gets updated and the date above moves.
What I collect
- Contact form messages. If you send a message through the contact form, I receive your name, email address and the contents of your message, so I can reply. Message data is not published anywhere.
- Comments. If you leave a comment on a post, the site stores your name, email address (never shown publicly), the comment itself, and your IP address for spam protection.
- Analytics. The site uses Google Analytics 4 to understand what content people find useful. It records anonymous usage data such as pages visited, approximate location, device type and referral source, using cookies (the
_gaand_ga_*cookies). This data is aggregated and never used to identify you personally. - Server logs. My hosting provider automatically records standard technical data: IP address, browser type, pages requested and timestamps. This is used for security, performance and troubleshooting, and is kept only as long as the provider’s retention policy requires.
- Affiliate link clicks. Some outbound links on this site are affiliate links (see the Affiliate Disclosure). When you click one, the affiliate program may set its own cookies, and its privacy policy applies to that data. I do not receive your identity from these programs.
How I use this data
To reply to your messages, keep comments free of spam, improve the content based on what people actually find useful, and keep the site secure. That’s the whole list. I do not sell or rent personal data to anyone.
Who I share data with
Only the services required to run the site: Google (analytics), my hosting provider, and the affiliate programs linked from posts. Each processes data under its own policy. This site does not currently serve display advertising; if that changes, this page will be updated before it does.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal data, or object to its processing. This includes rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and the Australian Privacy Act. To exercise any of these, use the contact form and I’ll sort it out.
Children
This site is not aimed at children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect data from them.
Questions
Anything unclear, or any request about your data, goes through the contact form.