Privacy Policy

Turn Vacations (turnvacations.com) is run by Eamin Hosen, based in the USA. This policy covers what we collect when you visit the site, sign up for the newsletter or leave a comment, and what we do with it. If you have a question, email us at [email protected].

What we collect

Information you give us

  • Newsletter and membership: your email address, plus your name if you choose to add it, when you subscribe or create a free member account.
  • Comments: your name, the comment itself and the time you posted it. Commenting needs a member account.
  • Messages: anything you include when you email us, such as a question about a destination or a correction to an article.

Information collected automatically

  • Usage data: pages viewed, time on page, the page that sent you here, your rough location (country or city level), and your device, browser and operating system. This comes from analytics tools and server logs.
  • Cookies and similar technologies: small files used to keep you signed in, measure traffic and show ads. Our Cookie Policy has the details.

We never ask for passport numbers, travel documents, health information or payment card details. If paid memberships are ever offered, payments go through Stripe and we never see your full card number.

How we use it

  • To send the newsletters you signed up for and to run your member account
  • To publish and moderate comments
  • To reply to your messages and fix errors you report
  • To see which guides people find useful, so we know what to update and what to write next
  • To show ads that help keep the site free to read
  • To keep the site secure and stop spam and abuse

Legal bases (EEA, UK and Switzerland visitors): we rely on your consent for the newsletter, analytics and advertising cookies; on our contract with you for running your member account; and on our legitimate interest in running a secure, working website for logs and spam protection. You can withdraw consent at any time.

Advertising

We may show display ads served by Google AdSense and other ad partners. These third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your earlier visits to this site and other sites. Google's advertising cookies let Google and its partners show you ads based on those visits.

You can turn off personalised ads from Google at My Ad Center. You can opt out of personalised ads from many other vendors at aboutads.info or, in Europe, youronlinechoices.eu. For more on how Google uses data, see How Google uses information from sites that use its services.

Where the law requires it, for example in the EEA and the UK, personalised ads and analytics run only after you agree through our cookie banner.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics, and may also use Ghost's built-in traffic statistics, to see how the site is used in aggregate, such as which packing lists get read most or which destinations people search for. We don't use analytics to identify you personally. You can block Google Analytics with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Some links on Turn Vacations are affiliate links to booking sites, hotel platforms, tour operators and travel-gear retailers such as Amazon. When you click one, that company may set its own cookie so it can credit us if you make a booking or purchase. We get a confirmation that a sale happened and the commission. We do not get your name, payment details or travel plans. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Read more in our Disclaimer.

Who we share data with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the services that run the site, and only as much as each one needs:

  • Ghost, our publishing platform, and our hosting provider, which store member, newsletter and comment data
  • Our email delivery provider (Ghost uses Mailgun), which sends the newsletter
  • Google (Analytics and AdSense) and other ad partners, as described above
  • Affiliate partners, which see only the click and any resulting sale
  • Authorities, if the law requires it or if it's needed to protect the site, our readers or our rights

Some of these providers are based outside your country, including in the United States. Where the law requires it, transfers are covered by safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

How long we keep data

  • Newsletter and member data: until you unsubscribe or delete your account. After that it is removed within 30 days, apart from a record of your opt-out, which we keep so we don't email you again.
  • Comments: while they are published. We delete them on request or when you delete your account.
  • Emails to us: as long as needed to deal with your message, and no more than 24 months.
  • Analytics data: up to 14 months in Google Analytics, after which it is deleted automatically.
  • Server logs: usually up to 30 days, depending on our host's settings.

Your rights

Wherever you live, you can:

  • Unsubscribe from any newsletter with the link at the bottom of each email
  • Update or delete your member account from your account page, or by emailing us
  • Ask what personal information we hold about you and request a copy

EEA, UK and Switzerland (GDPR): you also have the right to correct your data, have it erased, restrict or object to how we use it, receive it in a portable format, and withdraw consent at any time. You can complain to your local data protection authority, but please contact us first so we can try to fix the problem.

California and other US states with privacy laws (CCPA/CPRA and similar): you have the right to know what personal information we collect and why, to correct or delete it, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for targeted advertising. We don't sell your data for money, but advertising cookies can count as "sharing" under California law. You can opt out through the cookie banner, by turning on Global Privacy Control in your browser (we honour it), or by emailing us. We won't treat you differently for using any of these rights.

To make a request, email [Contact Email]. We reply within 30 days, or within 45 days for California requests, and we may ask you to confirm your identity first.

Children

Turn Vacations is written for adults planning trips, including family trips. It is not aimed at children under 13, or under 16 in the EEA and UK, and we don't knowingly collect their data. If you think a child has signed up or commented, email us and we'll delete the information.

Security

We use HTTPS across the site and trusted providers to store data. No website is completely secure, but we keep what we collect small and limit who can access it.

Changes to this policy

If we add a new service or change how we handle data, we'll update this page and the effective date at the top. If the change is significant, we'll tell newsletter subscribers by email.

Contact

Questions or requests: [email protected]