Privacy policy

This policy explains what information GlassTorches.com collects when you visit the site or write to us, why, who handles it, and what you can ask us to do with it. We collect as little as we can: the site has no accounts, runs no advertising, and sets no cookies of its own.

Who is responsible

The operator of GlassTorches.com, edited by Joe Blanchard in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, is responsible for the information described here (the "controller", in the words of the EU and UK GDPR). Reach us through the contact form.

What we collect

When you browse

• Host logs. Our host, Netlify, records standard technical data for every request (IP address, browser type, the page requested, and the time) to deliver and secure the site.
• GoatCounter analytics. A page-view counter that, according to GoatCounter, stores no IP addresses and no tracking identifier and sets no cookies. It records the page, the referring site, and general browser, screen size, language and country information, and we see only totals.
• Ahrefs Web Analytics. Aggregate traffic reporting that, according to Ahrefs, sets no cookies, does not fingerprint visitors, and does not identify individuals. On the pages where it runs, its script also records, automatically, the address of a link you click and the address a form is sent to when you submit one (never what you typed into the form), along with the page, the referring site, and your screen size and language.
• Button and link counts. GoatCounter also counts a few clicks by name, such as a finder filter being changed or a maker link being followed. These counts carry the name of the control only, never what you typed or chose.

Your comparison selections

We save the torch model IDs you choose to compare in your browser so your selection stays with you between pages and return visits. The selection uses local storage, with session storage as a fallback. It is not an account or a tracking identifier. Use Clear in the comparison tray to empty the saved selection, or delete this site's data in your browser settings. Shared comparison links include the selected model IDs in the URL.

When you write to us

• Contact form. Your name, email address, the topic you pick, and your message.
• Torch review form. Your name, email address, rating, title and review, the torch the review is for, and any optional answers you give (how long you have used the torch, the glass you work, your oxygen supply, and whether you would buy it again).

We do not ask for your age, and we never ask for payment details, passwords, or government identifiers.

How we use it, and on what basis

• To run and secure the site (host logs, spam filtering): our legitimate interest in keeping the site working and free of abuse.
• To understand which pages are useful (aggregate analytics): our legitimate interest in improving the guide, using tools chosen because they do not identify you.
• To answer you (contact form): to respond to the request you sent us.
• To publish a review you asked us to publish (review form): your request, and our legitimate interest in checking that a review is genuine before it appears. Only your first name and last initial, the date, and what you chose to share about the torch are published. Your email is never published.

We do not sell your personal information, we do not share it for advertising, and we do not use it to build profiles of you.

Who else handles it

• Netlify hosts the site, keeps its operational logs, and stores contact and review submissions. Netlify runs every form submission through Akismet, a spam-detection service, before it reaches us.
• Our email provider, Google (Gmail), receives a copy of each form submission so the editor can read and answer it.
• GoatCounter and Ahrefs provide the analytics described above, under their own privacy policies.
• YouTube. Where a page carries a video, the preview image is loaded from YouTube's image server (i.ytimg.com) when the page opens, which shows Google your IP address and the page's address like any image request. The video player itself loads only after you press play, in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode, and YouTube's own policy applies to what it collects, which can include cookies.
• Vimeo. The Moretti/Effetre article embeds the official YALI film using Vimeo. Its player can connect to Vimeo as you scroll it into view, before you press play; Vimeo receives the connection information needed to serve the player and video. The embed requests Vimeo's do-not-track mode.
• Amazon Associates. We are not currently enrolled in an affiliate program, so gear suggestions are plain text with no Amazon links, and no affiliate cookies are set on our behalf.
• Purchases. Our store is not live yet, so no payment or checkout service receives anything from your visit. Before it opens, this policy will name the provider that handles purchases and checkout.
• Google Search Console tells us how the site appears in Google search. It does not run on our pages and collects nothing from your visit here.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the site, our rights, or someone's safety.

Cookies, tracking and Do Not Track

Our pages set no cookies and use no browser storage to recognize you. Neither analytics service we use sets cookies or follows you across other websites, and we do not allow advertising networks on the site. We skip analytics when your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control. Your browser can also save an analytics exclusion below. This stores only a preference, not a visitor identifier. Clearing site data removes it. Third-party video players and sites you follow links to may set their own cookies under their own policies; you can block or delete those in your browser settings.

How long we keep it

We keep messages and review submissions only as long as we need them to answer you, check a review, or keep a record of a correction, and we delete them when you ask. A published review stays on the site until you ask us to remove it. Host logs and analytics data are kept by Netlify, GoatCounter and Ahrefs under their own retention schedules.

Where it is processed

The site is run from the United States, and the services above process data in the United States and possibly other countries. If you write to us from outside the US, your message will be handled there.

Security

The site is served over encrypted HTTPS, form submissions are kept in password-protected accounts, and we collect no payment details. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so please do not send us anything sensitive through the forms.

Your choices and rights

Wherever you live, you can ask us to tell you what we hold about you, to correct it, to delete it, or to stop using it, and you can withdraw a review at any time. Send the request through the contact form; we may reply to the email address on the original submission to confirm the request is yours, and we answer within 30 days. We will not treat you differently for making a request.

• In the EU, UK or EEA, you also have the rights to data portability and to object to processing based on legitimate interests, and you can complain to the data protection authority where you live or work.
• In California and other US states with privacy laws, those laws apply to businesses above size thresholds this site does not currently meet, but we honor the same requests anyway. We do not sell personal information, or share it for cross-context advertising, as those laws define those terms, so there is nothing to opt out of.

Children

The site is written for adults and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has sent us information, tell us through the contact form and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy before we start collecting anything new, and the date at the top shows when it last changed. If a change is significant, we will say so on this page.

Contact

Questions or requests about your information: use the contact form.