Privacy Policy
What we collect when you read Buddymagazine.org, why we collect it, and the control you have over it. Written to be read, not skimmed past.
Who we are and what this policy covers
Buddymagazine.org is an independent online nutrition magazine published by Buddy Magazine, which is the data controller for everything described below. Privacy questions, access requests and complaints reach us at hello@buddymagazineorg.com or through the contact page. This policy takes effect on September 18, 2026.
We have not appointed a data protection officer, so requests go to the address above and are handled by the editorial team. This policy covers this site, the newsletter and the forms on it. It does not cover the outside sites our guides link to, which run their own policies.
There are no reader accounts and no reader profiles here, and we never ask for health information. Please do not send us medical details through any form on the site. Our medical disclaimer explains why we cannot advise on individual cases.
Information collected automatically
Like almost every website, our host and measurement tools record a little technical data each time a page loads:
- Log data: IP address, pages requested, date and time, the referring page, and any errors returned.
- Device and browser data: browser type and version, operating system, screen size, language setting.
- Approximate location: a country, region or city estimate from your IP address. We do not collect GPS location.
- Usage data: which guides are opened, roughly how long a page is read, which links are followed.
We use this to keep the site online, fix broken pages, defend against spam, and see which guides readers find useful. We do not run session recording, heat mapping or device fingerprinting, and we never use this data to work out who you are.
Information you give us
You only hand over personal data if you choose to:
- Newsletter sign-up: your email address, plus the date and the page you signed up from.
- Contact form or email: your name, your email address, and whatever the message contains.
- Corrections and feedback: anything you send us about a guide, as our editorial policy invites.
Keep messages general. If a question depends on your medical history, medications or lab results, speak with a physician or registered dietitian instead.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small text files a site asks your browser to store. We and our providers may also use similar technologies, such as local storage and email pixels. Here is what they do on the site.
| Category | What it does | Can you refuse it |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Loads pages securely, remembers your cookie choice, protects forms from spam. | No. The site cannot work without these. |
| Analytics | Counts visits and page views, so we see which guides are read and which are ignored. | Yes. |
| Preferences | Remembers small settings, such as a banner you have already dismissed. | Yes. |
How to control cookies in your browser
Every major browser lets you block or delete cookies in a couple of clicks:
- Chrome: Settings, then Privacy and security, then Third-party cookies.
- Safari: Settings, then Privacy, where you can block cookies and remove stored website data.
- Firefox: Settings, then Privacy & Security, under Enhanced Tracking Protection and Cookies and Site Data.
- Edge: Settings, then Cookies and site permissions.
Blocking cookies here logs you out of nothing, because there is nothing to log into. Every guide stays fully readable with cookies refused.
Analytics and third-party services
We use privacy-respecting analytics to count page views and see which guides get read. It is configured for aggregate reporting rather than profiling, and we do not try to identify individual readers from it. When we add a named analytics provider, we will list it here and say what it stores.
A few other providers touch limited technical data on our behalf, each only for the job it does for us: the web host that serves these pages, the content delivery network that caches them, the platform that sends the newsletter, and the spam filtering on our forms. None of them have our permission to use reader data for their own marketing.
The email newsletter
Subscribing is opt-in and asks for one thing, an email address. When you submit the form we record that address, the date and the page you subscribed from, which is what lets us show later that the sign-up was genuinely yours. We use it for the newsletter and occasional site notices, and for nothing else.
The list is held by the email platform that sends the newsletter, which processes it on our behalf. When we name that platform publicly, it will be listed here.
Email platforms typically record whether a message was opened and which links were clicked, and we read those figures in aggregate to judge whether an issue was worth sending. Every email carries an unsubscribe link at the foot, which takes effect immediately, and you can also ask to be removed by writing to hello@buddymagazineorg.com. We do not rent, sell or trade subscriber addresses.
Advertising and affiliate links
We do not sell supplements, meal plans or coaching, and the site carries no advertising and no affiliate links today, so no ad network drops a cookie or a pixel on these pages. If that changes, this section and our editorial policy will say so before the first paid placement runs, and every paid or affiliate placement will be labeled where it appears.
How we use data, and our legal bases
- To run and secure the site. Basis: our legitimate interest in keeping Buddymagazine.org available and free of abuse.
- To measure what readers use. Basis: your consent where analytics cookies require it, otherwise legitimate interest.
- To answer your message. Basis: our legitimate interest in replying, or steps taken at your request.
- To send the newsletter. Basis: your consent, withdrawable at any time without affecting what came before.
- To meet legal duties. Basis: compliance with a legal obligation.
Nothing here involves automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects, and we do not ask for or want special-category data such as health records.
When we share information
We share personal data only with the service providers described above, and only so they can do their job for us. We may also disclose it where the law requires, or to protect our rights, our readers or the site itself.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. If the site ever changes ownership, reader data would move with it and this policy would keep applying until you were told otherwise.
How long we keep data
- Server logs: a short operational window at our host, then deleted or anonymized.
- Analytics: the retention period set in the provider's configuration. Aggregate reports, which identify nobody, may be kept longer.
- Newsletter records: until you unsubscribe, plus a brief suppression window so the opt-out is actually honored.
- Contact messages: normally no longer than 24 months, and sooner if you ask us to delete the thread.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS, access to publishing and provider accounts is limited to the people who need it and protected by multi-factor authentication where the provider supports it, and our providers maintain their own security practices. No website can promise perfect security, so our main defense is collecting as little as possible and holding it briefly. We claim no security certification.
International data transfers
Our hosting, analytics and email providers may process data outside your country, including in the United States. Where data leaves the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on our providers' transfer safeguards, such as standard contractual clauses. You can ask us which provider handles a particular piece of data and we will tell you.
Your rights in the EEA and the UK
Under the GDPR and UK GDPR you can ask for a copy of the data we hold about you, correct anything inaccurate, delete it, restrict how we use it, or have it transferred to another service. You can object to processing based on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent at any time.
To use any of these, email hello@buddymagazineorg.com or the contact page, say which right you are exercising, and write from the address the request concerns so we can match it to our records. We answer within one month, free of charge; if a request is unusually complex we may take up to two further months and will tell you why inside the first month. If our answer does not satisfy you, complain to your national supervisory authority, listed by the European Data Protection Board, or in the UK to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Your rights in US states, including California
Residents of California and other states with comprehensive privacy laws can ask which categories of personal information we hold, request a copy, and ask us to correct or delete it. In our case the categories are short: identifiers such as an IP address, and an email address if you subscribe or write to us; internet activity such as pages viewed and the referring page; coarse location inferred from an IP address; and device characteristics such as browser and operating system. You can also opt out of any sale or sharing, though we do neither, which also means a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser has nothing to switch off here.
Send the request to hello@buddymagazineorg.com, name the state you live in, and we will verify it against the email address on file. We reply within 45 days and may take one 45-day extension if the request is complicated, in which case we will tell you before the first deadline passes. An authorized agent may act for you with written permission. Exercising any of this changes nothing about how we treat you, and there is no fee. The California Attorney General publishes a plain summary of the CCPA and CPRA if you want the underlying rules.
Children's privacy
This site is written for adults and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 13, or under 16 in the European Economic Area. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, write to hello@buddymagazineorg.com and we will delete it and confirm when it is gone.
Links to other websites
Our guides cite outside sources such as government health agencies and research databases. Follow a link away from Buddymagazine.org and you are on someone else's site, under their privacy policy and their cookies. We check that the sources we cite are current and authoritative, but we do not control how they handle your data.
Changes to this policy
When our tools or practices change, we revise this page and the date at the top of it. Material changes, such as a new analytics provider, a new category of data or a new recipient, get a short note rather than a silent edit, and they also go out in the newsletter. Ask us by email and we will send you the previous version of this policy.
This policy is governed by the law applicable at Buddy Magazine's principal place of business, without limiting the data protection rights your own country's law gives you.
How to contact us
Everything on this page routes to one place: hello@buddymagazineorg.com or the contact page. Put "privacy" in the subject line, tell us what you want us to do, and write from the address the request concerns so we can find the right records.