Privacy Policy

At HorrorExchange.com, we are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we handle information when you visit our website. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your personal information.

Automatically Collected Information: When you visit HorrorExchange.com, we automatically collect certain information about your device and usage patterns through:

• Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our site, including pages visited, time spent on site, and general demographic information.
• Google AdSense: We use Google AdSense to display advertising. Where you consent, AdSense and its advertising partners may use cookies and similar technologies to personalize the ads you see and measure their performance.
• CloudFilt: We use CloudFilt to detect and block automated bot and scraper traffic. This processes technical request data (such as your IP address and browser user agent) and runs for every visitor, because it is strictly necessary to keep the site available and secure.
• Server Logs: Our web servers automatically collect technical information such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, and the pages you visit.
• Embedded Content: Some pages embed YouTube trailers. When you load or play an embedded video, Google/YouTube may set cookies or collect information about your device and viewing activity, as described in Google's Privacy Policy.
• Affiliate Links: Some pages contain affiliate links to retailers and platforms. If you follow one, the retailer may set cookies or use similar technologies to attribute a purchase to our site.

Information You Provide: HorrorExchange.com is a public read-only website. There is no public user registration, and the login page that exists is for site administrators only. If you contact us using the Contact page form, we collect the information you submit (such as your name, email address, and message) so we can respond to your inquiry. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect the email address and any details you submit in the signup form so we can send you the newsletter.

We use collected information for:

• Understanding website traffic patterns and user behavior
• Improving our website's content and user experience
• Analyzing which horror reviews and content are most popular
• Technical maintenance and security of our website
• Measuring the effectiveness of our content and potential advertising
• Responding to inquiries submitted through our Contact page form
• Sending the newsletter to people who have subscribed (you can unsubscribe at any time)

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. Information may be shared with:

• Service Providers: Google (Analytics and AdSense) and CloudFilt, who help us analyze website usage, serve advertising, and block malicious traffic under their respective privacy policies
• Newsletter Provider: SendPulse, which processes email subscriptions and sends our newsletter. Only the email address and details you submit in the signup form are shared with SendPulse
• Contact Form Processor: DeftForm, which powers our Contact page form and processes submitted contact details and messages
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety
• Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction

Our website uses the following third-party services:

• Google Analytics: Governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
• Google AdSense: Governed by Google's Privacy Policy. You can manage Google's ad personalization at adssettings.google.com.
• YouTube: Trailer videos on some pages are embedded from YouTube. YouTube and Google may set cookies when the embedded player loads or plays. See Google's Privacy Policy and YouTube's Terms of Service.
• SendPulse: Our newsletter is delivered through SendPulse. Subscriptions are processed according to SendPulse's Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email.
• Affiliate Retailers: Some pages contain affiliate links. Retailers you visit through these links may set their own cookies and are governed by their own privacy policies.
• CloudFilt: Bot and scraper protection, governed by CloudFilt's Privacy Policy.
• DeftForm: Our contact form is powered by DeftForm. Form submissions are processed according to DeftForm's Privacy Policy.

These services may collect and use information according to their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, serve advertising, and collect analytics data. These include:

• Essential Cookies: Required for basic website functionality and for security measures such as bot protection. These do not require consent.
• Analytics Cookies: Used by Google Analytics to help us understand how you use our site.
• Advertising Cookies: Used by Google AdSense and its advertising partners to personalize and measure the ads you see.
• Embedded Content and Affiliate Cookies: Set by YouTube/Google when you load an embedded trailer, and by retailers when you follow an affiliate link, so that a purchase can be attributed to our site.

Advertising Cookies and Third-Party Vendors

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to users based on their visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet. Google may use the DoubleClick advertising cookie for this purpose.

Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at aboutads.info/choices (US) or youronlinechoices.eu (EU). To learn more about how Google handles data, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

Managing your choices: We use Google's certified Consent Management Platform to collect and record your cookie choices. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you will be asked for consent before any analytics or advertising cookie is set, and you can decline. Until you consent, these technologies operate in a restricted mode that does not store cookies on your device.

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the Cookie Settings link in our footer. You can also control cookies through your browser settings, though disabling certain cookies may affect website functionality.

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect the information we collect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request information about what data we have about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt-out: Opt out of certain data collection practices

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information provided below.

Visitors in the EEA and United Kingdom (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Consent: for advertising and analytics cookies, which are only set after you agree through the cookie banner. You can withdraw consent at any time using the Cookie Settings link in our footer.
• Legitimate interests: for site security, bot protection, and basic operation of the website, where these interests are not overridden by your rights.
• Consent or your request: for newsletter emails and for responding to messages you send us.

You have the right to access, rectify, or erase your personal data; to restrict or object to its processing; to data portability; to withdraw consent at any time; and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the Contact page or the address below.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information for money. However, our use of advertising cookies to personalize the ads you see may be considered "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising under California's CCPA/CPRA and similar laws in other US states.

If you are a resident of a US state with such a law, you can opt out using the Cookie Settings link in our footer, which opens our privacy options and records your choice. We also honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where your browser sends one.

HorrorExchange.com is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete such information.

HorrorExchange.com is operated from the United States. If you are visiting from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal reasons. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date last updated above and applies to all information collected by HorrorExchange.com.