CVC WORDS / PRIVACY POLICY
Privacy policy
How cvcwords.co handles personal information: what we collect, why, how long we keep it, and what you can ask us to do.
Last updated
This policy explains what personal information cvcwords.co collects, why, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. We have written it to match how the site actually works today.
Summary
| What | When | Kept for |
|---|---|---|
| Server log entries: IP address, date and time, page requested, browser details, referring page | Every visit | Archived logs are deleted after 10 days |
| Contact form: name, email address, subject, message | Only if you send a message | Deleted automatically after 12 months |
| Scrambled (hashed) IP address, for spam protection | Only if you send a message | 1 hour |
| Your cookie choice (the cvc_consent cookie) | When you choose in the cookie banner | 180 days, in your browser |
We don’t use analytics, advertising, social media plugins, embedded videos or third-party scripts. We don’t offer accounts or newsletters, and we don’t sell or rent personal information.
Who is responsible for your information
The owner of cvcwords.co is responsible for the personal information described here. The fastest way to reach us about privacy is the contact form. Choose the subject “Privacy request.”
Information collected automatically
Like almost every website, our web server writes a line to a log file for each request. That line includes your IP address, the date and time, the page or file requested, whether the request succeeded, the amount of data sent, the page that linked to us (the referrer) and your browser’s user-agent string. We use these logs to keep the site running, investigate errors and protect it against attacks and abuse. We do not use them to build profiles of visitors.
Log files are rotated as they grow. Archived log files are deleted automatically after 10 days.
Information you give us
When you use the contact form, we receive your name, email address, chosen subject and message, plus the fact that you ticked the consent box. We use them only to read and reply to your message, and to keep a record of corrections and requests. We don’t add you to any mailing list.
To block spam, the form also uses a hidden field, a time check and a limit of five messages per hour. For the limit, the server stores a one-way hash of your IP address, combined with a secret key, for one hour. It cannot be used to recover your IP address.
Messages are deleted automatically 12 months after they arrive. If the site owner has switched on email forwarding, a copy of your message is also delivered to the owner’s email inbox, where it is handled under this same policy.
Cookies and similar technologies
We set one cookie, cvc_consent, which remembers your answer to the cookie banner. We don’t use analytics or advertising cookies, and we don’t use local storage or tracking pixels. Details are in our cookie policy. You can change your choice at any time with the Cookie settings button at the bottom of every page.
Why we are allowed to use this information
If you are in the UK or the European Economic Area, the law requires a reason, called a legal basis, for using personal information. We rely on these:
- Server logs and spam protection: our legitimate interest in keeping the site secure and working.
- Contact form messages: your consent, which you give by ticking the box, and our legitimate interest in answering questions about the site.
- The consent cookie: it is strictly necessary to remember the choice you made.
Who we share information with
We don’t sell, rent or trade personal information. The site is hosted on a server provided by Hostinger, whose network is registered in Germany. As our hosting provider, Hostinger stores the server and the files on it, including the logs and stored messages. We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect the site and its visitors from fraud or abuse.
How we protect it
The whole site is served over HTTPS. Contact messages and the spam-protection data are kept in a private folder outside the public website, readable only by the site’s own account on the server. No system is perfectly secure, but we keep what we collect to a minimum so that there is little to protect.
Children
The site is written for adults who support young readers. Children can use the word lists, printables and game without giving us any personal information. The contact form is meant for adults. If you are under 13, please ask a parent or teacher to contact us for you. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
- ask us to correct it or delete it
- object to, or ask us to limit, how we use it
- withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting anything done before
- receive your information in a portable format
- complain to your data protection authority
To make a request, use the contact form with the subject “Privacy request,” and tell us the email address you used. We may need to confirm the request came from you. Because we keep so little, we often have nothing linked to you beyond a contact message.
Changes to this policy
If we add a new service that uses personal information, such as analytics, we will update this policy before it goes live and change the date at the top. Any new non-essential cookies will stay off until you agree to them.