The Gymnastics Files runs this website at [thegymnasticsfiles.com]. This policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, and what we do with it.
If you have questions, email us at [[email protected]].
Who we are
The Gymnastics Files is a podcast and publication covering gymnastics. The site is operated by [Legal entity name / individual name], based in [country]. For data protection purposes, we are the data controller for information collected through this site.
What we collect
Newsletter signups. When you subscribe to “Stay in the Loop”, we store your email address, the page you signed up from, and your IP address. The IP address is kept only to help us identify spam and abuse.
Comments. When you comment on an episode or article, we store the name, email address and website address you enter, along with your comment, your IP address and browser user agent string. WordPress uses this information for spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you have a profile picture.
Contact form. If you contact us through the site, we receive whatever you put in the form — typically your name, email address and message.
Technical data. Our web host records standard server logs: IP address, browser type, pages requested, referring page and timestamps. These are used for security and troubleshooting.
We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13 (or under 16 in the UK and EEA). If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Cookies
If you leave a comment, you can choose to save your name, email address and website in cookies so you don’t have to retype them next time. These last for one year. If you have an account and log in, we set additional cookies to manage your session and display preferences.
We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking cookies. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings; the site will still work, though comment fields won’t remember you.
Embedded content and third parties
Episode pages may embed audio players from podcast platforms such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and pages may contain embedded media from other sites. These embeds behave exactly as if you had visited the other website directly: the provider can collect data about you, set its own cookies, and track your interaction with that embedded content. Their own privacy policies apply.
Services that may process data on our behalf include:
- [Hosting provider] — website hosting and server logs
- Automattic / Akismet — comment spam filtering, if enabled
- Gravatar (Automattic) — profile images for commenters
- [Email service, e.g. Mailchimp / ConvertKit] — newsletter delivery, if applicable
- Spotify, Apple, and other podcast platforms — for embedded players and episode links
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.
Why we’re allowed to use your data
Where UK/EU data protection law applies, we rely on:
- Consent — for newsletter subscriptions. You can withdraw this at any time.
- Legitimate interests — for publishing comments, keeping the site secure, and preventing spam and abuse.
- Legal obligation — where we’re required to retain or disclose information by law.
How long we keep things
Comments and their metadata are kept indefinitely so that follow-up replies make sense in context. Newsletter subscriber records are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them. Server logs are kept for [30/90] days. Contact form messages are kept for as long as needed to deal with your enquiry, and generally no longer than [12 months].
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- provide a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- correct anything that’s inaccurate
- delete your data (this does not cover data we’re legally required to keep)
- stop using your data for a particular purpose, or object to our use of it
- send your data to you or another provider in a portable format
Every newsletter email includes a one-click unsubscribe link. For anything else, email [[email protected]] and we’ll respond within one month.
If you’re in the UK you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk). If you’re in the EEA, you can complain to your national data protection authority.
Security
We use HTTPS across the site and restrict access to subscriber and comment data to the people who need it. No website can promise perfect security, but we take reasonable steps to protect what we hold.
Changes to this policy
We’ll update this page when our practices change, and we’ll revise the “last updated” date at the top. Material changes affecting newsletter subscribers will be announced by email.