Privacy Policy

Who we are

HikeBeyond publishes research based guides for people who hike with their dogs. Our site address is https://www.hikebeyond.com. You can reach us at support@hikebeyond.com.

What we collect and why

When you use the contact form

The contact form asks for your name, email address, a subject and a message. That message is sent to us by email. The form does not save your message in the website database.

When you join the email list

If you subscribe we ask for your email address and nothing else. We send you a confirmation email first, and you are only added to the list once you click the link in it. If you never click it, you never hear from us again.

Alongside your address we store the date you agreed and a scrambled version of your IP address. The scrambling is one way and uses a secret key held on this site, so it cannot be turned back into your address. It exists only so we can show a signup was genuine. Once you confirm, your address is also stored with Brevo, the service that sends the emails. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link, and you can also write to support@hikebeyond.com.

When you use the free tools

The packing checklist and the dog emergency ID card run entirely inside your browser. What you type into them, including your dog’s details, your phone number, your vet’s details and a microchip number, is never sent to us, never saved on our server, and never placed in a web address. We cannot see any of it.

The ID card has an optional box for remembering your entries on this device. If you tick it, they are kept by your own browser, on your own device, and nowhere else. Unticking the box deletes them, and so does clearing your browser data.

When you leave a comment

If you leave a comment we collect what you type into the comment form, along with your IP address and browser user agent string. This helps us detect spam. If you use Gravatar, your profile picture may appear beside your comment, and Gravatar receives a hashed version of your email address in order to show it.

When you simply read the site

We use Google Analytics, delivered through Google Tag Manager, to see which guides people read and how they found them. This runs only if you accept cookies. When you do, it places cookies in your browser and sends information about your visit to Google. We do not use it to identify you personally, and we do not sell it.

Server logs

Our hosting provider keeps standard server logs, which include IP addresses, for security and troubleshooting.

Cookies

Cookies are small files your browser stores. When you first arrive you are asked whether to accept them. Nothing optional loads until you choose, and if you decline, the analytics described above does not run at all.

The cookies used here are a Complianz cookie that remembers your choice, Google Analytics cookies if you accepted them, and WordPress cookies if you leave a comment, so your name and email are remembered next time.

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the Cookie Settings link at the bottom of any page. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Declining or deleting them will not stop you reading the guides or using the free tools.

Advertising

We are applying to show advertising on this site through Google AdSense. Everything in this section applies once adverts appear. Until then, we set no advertising cookies.

Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve adverts based on your earlier visits to this site or to other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies allows it and its partners to show you adverts based on those visits.

We do not choose the individual adverts you see, and we never pass your name, your email address, or anything you send us through the contact form to an advertiser.

Turning personalised adverts off

You can switch off personalised advertising in Google My Ad Center. To opt out of a wider group of vendors, use aboutads.info or the Network Advertising Initiative. Blocking these cookies will not stop you reading the guides.

Who else handles your data

We use a small number of services to run the site. Each one only receives what it needs to do its job.

• Google: analytics, tag delivery, advertising, and the web fonts the site is set in. Loading a font tells Google your browser asked for it.
• Automattic: through Akismet, which checks comments for spam. Comment data, including your IP address, is sent to that service.
• Brevo: sending email, including the newsletter. Confirmed subscriber addresses are stored there.
• Elementor: the accessibility toolbar, which loads from their servers so that it can offer larger text, higher contrast and similar adjustments.
• Hostinger: website hosting and server logs

Affiliate links and embedded content

Some links to products earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate networks may set their own cookies when you click one. Our Affiliate Disclosure explains how this works and why it never changes what we recommend.

Guides may also include embedded content such as videos or maps. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited that other website, and those sites may collect data about you.

How long we keep information

Messages you send through the contact form stay in our email inbox. Comments and their metadata are kept so that follow up replies remain readable. Analytics data is kept for the retention period set in Google Analytics. If you join the email list we keep your address until you unsubscribe, and your choice about cookies is kept until you change it or clear your browser.

Your rights

You can ask what personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Write to support@hikebeyond.com. If you have left a comment, you can ask for that comment and its data to be removed. We cannot delete information we are legally required to keep.

Children, and changes to this policy

This site is written for adults and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If we change how we handle information, we will update this page and change the date below.