Privacy Policy

This policy explains what WebCresto collects, why, and what you can do about it. It is written to describe what this site actually does rather than to cover every theoretical possibility, so it is shorter and more specific than most privacy policies.

Who is responsible for your data#

WebCresto operates this website and decides how the data described below is handled. For any privacy request, use the contact form and say clearly what you are asking for.

What we collect when you just read#

Reading an article involves no account and no personal details. Three things still happen, and you should know about them.

A session cookie. When you first load the site, a cookie named wcsess is set. It holds a random identifier and nothing else — no name, no email, no browsing history. It exists so that security checks on forms work, and so that refreshing an article does not inflate its view counter. It expires when you close your browser.

Article view counts. We count how many times each article is opened. The count is a single number attached to the article, not to you. There is no profile, no reading history, and no way to work backwards from the number to any individual.

Server logs. Our hosting provider records standard web server logs — IP address, time, page requested, browser type. This is automatic on essentially every website and is used for security and diagnosing faults. These logs are held by the host and rotate on their schedule.

What we collect when you send something#

Comments#

If you leave a comment we store: the name you type, the email address if you provide one (it is optional), the comment text, your IP address, and the time. Your name and comment are published. Your email address and IP address are never published — the email lets us reply if a comment needs a response, and the IP address is kept for spam and abuse handling.

Comments are reviewed before appearing. You can ask for a comment to be deleted at any time.

Contact form#

The contact form stores your name, email address, subject, message and IP address so we can read and reply. Messages are kept while they are useful and deleted when they are not.

Search terms#

When you search this site, the search phrase is recorded along with how many results it returned. This is stored as an aggregate — the phrase and a counter — with no link to you, your IP or your session. We use it to find gaps: if fifty people search for something and get nothing, that is an article we should write.

Cookies and advertising#

WebCresto shows advertising through Google AdSense. This is what pays for the site.

Google and its advertising partners use cookies to serve ads and measure their performance. Depending on your settings and location, these may be personalised — based on your previous visits to this and other websites — or non-personalised.

We do not control these cookies and we do not receive the data they collect. What we receive from Google is aggregate reporting: impressions, clicks and earnings. Not who you are.

You have direct control over this:

• Manage or turn off personalised advertising at Google My Ad Center.
• Opt out of third-party vendor cookies at aboutads.info/choices or youronlinechoices.eu.
• Block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The site still works with cookies blocked, though comment posting may not.

Our cookie policy lists every cookie individually.

Analytics#

If website analytics are in use, they appear as a script in the page source and are covered by that provider's own privacy policy. We use analytics only to understand which articles are read and where readers arrive from — never to identify individuals.

What we never do#

• We do not sell or rent your personal data. Not to anyone, at any price.
• We do not add you to a mailing list because you commented or sent a message.
• We do not ask for payment details. Nothing on this site is for sale.
• We do not collect sensitive categories of data — health, religion, politics, biometrics.

Legal basis, if you are in the UK or EU#

• Consent — for advertising and analytics cookies, and for publishing a comment you chose to submit.
• Legitimate interest — for keeping the site secure, preventing spam, and understanding which articles are useful.
• Legal obligation — where we are required to keep or produce records.

Your rights#

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

• tell you what personal data of yours we hold;
• correct anything inaccurate;
• delete it — a comment, a contact message, or both;
• stop using it for a particular purpose.

Send the request through the contact form. We respond within 30 days, usually much sooner. There is no charge. If you are in the UK or EU and are unhappy with our response, you can complain to your national data protection authority.

If you are a California resident, the CCPA gives you comparable rights, plus the right to opt out of the "sale" of personal information. We do not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of — but the request route above works for everything else.

How long we keep things#

• Comments — for as long as the article is published, or until you ask us to remove them.
• Contact messages — while they are useful, then deleted.
• Search terms — indefinitely, but they are aggregate counts with nothing personal in them.
• Server logs — on the hosting provider's rotation schedule.

Security#

Data is stored on our hosting provider's servers. Passwords for site accounts are stored as bcrypt hashes, which cannot be reversed into the original password — not by an attacker and not by us. The site is served over HTTPS.

No system is perfectly secure, and we will not pretend otherwise. What we can say is that we collect very little in the first place, which is the most reliable protection available.

Children#

This site is written for adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

International transfers#

Our hosting and service providers may process data in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where required, these transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

Links to other sites#

Articles link to tools and external resources. Once you follow one, you are on someone else's website under their privacy policy. We have no control over what they collect and cannot be responsible for it.

Changes#

When this policy changes, the date at the top of this page changes with it. If a change materially affects how your data is handled, we will make that clear rather than quietly editing the text.