Privacy Policy

Housing Unpacked is a publication, not a data business. We collect the minimum information needed to run the site, deliver the newsletter to people who ask for it, and answer reader questions. This page explains what that information is and what we do with it, in plain language.

The short version

• Reading the site requires no account and sends us no personal information beyond ordinary server logs.
• If you subscribe to the newsletter, we store your email address, the time you consented, and the page you subscribed from.
• If you send a question, we store the question and any name or email you choose to include.
• Our analytics are privacy-conscious: no cookies, no cross-site tracking, no advertising identifiers.
• We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it except with the providers that run our newsletter, analytics and hosting.

What we collect

Newsletter subscriptions

When you subscribe, we collect your email address, a timestamp of your consent, and the page or form you subscribed from. We may also store the delivery status of emails we send (delivered, bounced, unsubscribed) so that we can stop sending to addresses that do not want or cannot receive mail. We do not require a name.

Reader questions

When you use the Ask Housing Unpacked form, we collect the question you write and, only if you choose to provide them, your name and email address. Questions may inform future articles. If we quote a question publicly we remove identifying details unless you have told us we may use your name.

Server logs

Like almost every website, our servers record technical information about requests: the IP address, the page requested, the time, the browser type, and the referring page. We use this information to keep the site running, to detect abuse and spam, and to diagnose errors. Form submissions are also rate-limited by IP address to prevent automated abuse, and we may use an anti-bot challenge on forms.

Analytics

We use a privacy-conscious analytics service to understand which articles are read, where visitors come from, and how far readers get. This analytics does not use cookies, does not track you across other websites, and does not build a profile of you. It reports aggregate counts, not individual identities. We also record aggregate engagement events such as how far down an article readers scroll and whether a calculator was used.

Why we use it

• To deliver the newsletter you asked for and to honor unsubscribe requests.
• To answer reader questions and decide what to write about.
• To operate, secure and improve the website.
• To understand, in aggregate, what readers find useful.
• To comply with legal obligations, including record-keeping of consent.

How long we keep it

• Newsletter data is kept for as long as you are subscribed. When you unsubscribe we retain only what is needed to make sure we do not email you again.
• Reader questions are kept while they are useful for editorial purposes and then deleted.
• Server logs are kept for a short period for security and diagnostics and then deleted.
• Analytics data is aggregate and does not identify you; it is retained as reporting history.

Who we share it with

We share personal information only with service providers that process it on our behalf, under terms that restrict how they may use it:

• A newsletter provider, which stores subscriber addresses and sends our emails.
• An analytics provider, which receives page-view data without cookies or personal identifiers.
• A hosting provider, on whose infrastructure the site, its database and its server logs run.

We do not sell personal information and we do not share it with advertisers. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety or property of Housing Unpacked or others.

Cookies

We use only functional cookies or similar storage that the site needs in order to work, for example to remember a preference or to protect a form from abuse. Our analytics are cookieless. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. Because we use no non-essential cookies, we do not show a cookie banner.

Your rights and choices

• You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the link in any email or by writing to us.
• You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it.
• You can object to our use of your information or ask us to restrict it, and where we rely on consent you can withdraw it.
• You will not be treated differently for exercising any of these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, write to privacy@housingunpacked.com. We may ask you to confirm that the request comes from the address in question.

Children

Housing Unpacked is written for a general adult audience. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and if we learn that we have done so we will delete it.

Security

The site is served over HTTPS, access to subscriber and question data is restricted to the people who operate the publication, and we keep backups so that data is not lost. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we collect or use personal information, we will update this page and change the effective date at the top. Material changes affecting newsletter subscribers will also be announced in the newsletter.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent to privacy@housingunpacked.com.