Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how BougainWell ("we", "us"), the digital magazine at www.bougainwell.com, collects, uses and protects information when you visit our website. The operator of BougainWell is the data controller for this processing and can be reached via the contact page.

Information we collect

• Newsletter email address — only if you voluntarily subscribe. We use it solely to send you our newsletter, on the legal basis of your consent, which you may withdraw at any time by unsubscribing (every email contains an unsubscribe link).
• Usage data — we use privacy-respecting, aggregate analytics (Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights) to understand traffic and performance: pages visited, approximate region, device type. We process this on the legal basis of our legitimate interest in operating and improving the site; it is not used to identify you.
• Article view counts — a simple per-article counter, not linked to your identity.
• Server logs — our hosting provider processes IP addresses as a technical necessity of serving web pages (security, abuse prevention, delivery).
• Anything you email us — if you contact us, we keep the correspondence for as long as needed to respond and to keep a record of the exchange.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information, and we have not done so in the past. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling.

Third-party services we use

Running the site involves a small number of service providers, each of which may process technical data (such as your IP address) to deliver its function:

• Vercel — hosting, content delivery, and aggregate analytics.
• MongoDB Atlas — our database, where newsletter subscriptions are stored.
• Cloudinary — delivery of article images.
• X (Twitter) embedded posts — some articles embed posts from X. The post first appears as a quotation rendered by us; your browser then loads X's embed script to display the full post, and X may set cookies and collect data about your visit under X's privacy policy. If X's scripts are blocked (e.g. by a content blocker), the quotation remains and no data flows to X.

These providers operate globally, so information they process may be transferred to and stored in countries other than your own, including the United States. We choose providers that offer recognised safeguards for such transfers.

Cookies

Cookies are small files stored by your browser. We use minimal cookies for the site to function (for example, session state in the admin area, which ordinary readers never receive). The third-party services above — in particular X embeds and, if enabled, advertising — may set their own cookies as described in their policies.

Advertising (Google AdSense)

We may display advertisements served by Google AdSense. When advertising is active:

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
• Where the law requires it (for example, in the EEA, UK and Switzerland), a consent tool will ask for your permission before advertising cookies are set, and non-personalised ads will be shown to visitors who decline.
• You may opt out of personalised advertising at any time via Google Ad Settings or www.aboutads.info.

Data retention

Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe, after which the address is deleted from our mailing list. Aggregate analytics contain no personal identifiers. Correspondence is kept only as long as reasonably necessary.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you have some or all of the following rights:

• If you are in the EEA, UK or a similar jurisdiction (GDPR): the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a portable copy of your personal data; to object to or restrict processing based on legitimate interest; to withdraw consent at any time (without affecting prior processing); and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.
• If you are a California resident (CCPA/CPRA): the right to know what personal information we collect, to request its deletion, to opt out of its sale or sharing (we do not sell or share personal information), and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights.

To exercise any right, contact us via the contact page — we act on verified requests within 30 days.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the limited data we hold (encrypted connections, access controls, reputable infrastructure providers). No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children's privacy

Our website is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes take effect when posted on this page, with the "last updated" date revised accordingly. Material changes will be highlighted on this page.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or a privacy request? Reach us via the contact page.