Privacy Policy

Karatology.com ("Karatology," "we," "us," or "our") is a content and educational website dedicated to gold purity, karat systems, and precious metal education. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we handle your information.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have. Karatology does not require user accounts, does not store personal data in a database, and does not sell your information to third parties.

Information We Collect

We collect a limited amount of information to improve our website and provide our newsletter service. Here is what we collect and how:

Analytics Data (Automatically Collected)

When you visit Karatology.com, Google Analytics 4 (GA4) automatically collects certain usage data, including:

• Pages you visit and how long you spend on each page
• Your general geographic location (city or region level, not your exact address)
• The device type, browser, and operating system you use
• The website or search engine that referred you to us
• Interactions with our tools (calculator usage, quiz completions)

This data is aggregated and anonymized. We do not use it to identify individual visitors.

Email Address (Voluntarily Provided)

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect the email address you provide. This is the only personal information we ask for. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in every email we send.

Information We Do Not Collect

Karatology does not collect passwords, payment information, Social Security numbers, or any other sensitive personal data. We do not have user accounts, login systems, or databases storing personal information.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for these purposes:

• Improve our content: Analytics data helps us understand which articles and tools are most useful so we can create better educational content.
• Send our newsletter: If you subscribe, we use your email address to send periodic updates about new articles, gold market insights, and educational content.
• Monitor site performance: We track page load times and errors to keep the website fast and reliable.
• Understand our audience: Aggregated analytics help us learn about the topics our readers care about most.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Karatology uses cookies and similar technologies in the following ways:

Essential Cookies

These are necessary for the website to function properly. They handle basic tasks like remembering your preferences and ensuring pages load correctly. These cookies do not track you for advertising purposes.

Analytics Cookies (Google Analytics 4)

Google Analytics 4 sets cookies to distinguish unique visitors and track browsing sessions. These cookies help us understand how visitors use our site. GA4 data is processed by Google under their Privacy Policy. We have configured GA4 to anonymize IP addresses and we do not enable advertising features or user-ID tracking.

How to Manage Cookies

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies. Please note that disabling cookies may affect some website functionality. You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Third-Party Services

We rely on a small number of trusted third-party services to operate Karatology. Each service has its own privacy policy governing how it handles data:

• Google Analytics 4: Website analytics and usage tracking. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• ConvertKit / Mailchimp: Newsletter email delivery and subscriber management. We use one of these services to manage our mailing list. Your email address is stored securely by the provider and used only to deliver our newsletter.
• Vercel: Website hosting and content delivery. See Vercel's Privacy Policy.
• Cloudflare: Content delivery network and security. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.
• Affiliate Partners: When you click an affiliate link on our site, the destination retailer or service may set their own cookies and collect information according to their own privacy policy. See our Affiliate Disclosure for more details.

Affiliate Links and Advertising

Karatology participates in affiliate programs with retailers and service providers related to gold and precious metals. This means that some links on our site are affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Affiliate links are always clearly disclosed on pages where they appear. Our editorial content and recommendations are not influenced by affiliate partnerships. We only recommend products and services we believe are genuinely useful to our readers.

For a full explanation of how our affiliate relationships work, please see our Affiliate Disclosure.

Data Retention

Analytics data: Google Analytics retains data according to our configured settings. We have set the data retention period to 14 months. After that period, aggregated data is automatically deleted by Google.

Email addresses: We retain your email address for as long as you remain subscribed to our newsletter. When you unsubscribe, your email is removed from our active mailing list. Our email service provider may retain a record of the unsubscription for compliance purposes.

Server logs: Our hosting providers (Vercel and Cloudflare) may retain standard server access logs for a limited period for security and performance monitoring.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the limited information we collect. Our website is served over HTTPS, which encrypts data in transit between your browser and our servers. Our third-party service providers maintain their own security measures and compliance standards.

Because we do not operate a database or store personal data on our own servers, the risk of a data breach on our end is minimal. However, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children's Privacy

Karatology is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information (such as an email address for our newsletter), please contact us at contact@karatology.com and we will promptly delete that information.

Your Rights and Choices

You have several options for controlling how your information is used:

• Opt out of Google Analytics: Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or adjust your browser's cookie settings to block analytics cookies.
• Unsubscribe from emails: Every newsletter email includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom. Click it to immediately stop receiving emails from us.
• Manage cookies: Use your browser settings to view, block, or delete cookies at any time.
• Request information: Contact us at contact@karatology.com if you have questions about what information we hold or if you would like us to delete any data associated with you.

For California Residents

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion of personal information, and opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information. If you wish to exercise your rights under the CCPA, please contact us at contact@karatology.com.

For Users in the European Economic Area (EEA)

If you are visiting from the EEA, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), including the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data. Because we collect minimal personal data (only an email address if you subscribe), exercising these rights is straightforward. Contact us at contact@karatology.com to make a request.

Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal to websites. There is currently no universal standard for how websites should respond to DNT signals. At this time, we do not alter our data collection practices in response to DNT signals, but you can opt out of analytics tracking using the methods described in the "Your Rights and Choices" section above.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal and regulatory reasons. When we make changes, we will update the "Effective date" at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this page periodically. If we make significant changes that affect how we handle your personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you (for example, through a notice on our website or via our newsletter).

Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us: