Privacy

The short version

• We don’t use cookies.
• We count visits with our own simple analytics. It’s on by default and you can switch it off below.
• We never store your IP address.
• If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, analytics is switched off automatically.
• There are no accounts, no ads and no third-party trackers on this site.

Analytics preferences

Analytics is on unless you switch it off, or your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control.

Switch analytics off Switch analytics on

If you switch analytics off, we remember that choice in your browser’s local storage under the name giftpuffin.analytics.v1. That’s the only thing we store on your device. Clearing your browser data removes it and turns analytics back on, so switch it off again or turn on Global Privacy Control.

What our analytics records

Our analytics runs on our own server, not Google’s or anyone else’s. For each page view it records:

• the page you viewed (its path, without any query string);
• the page that sent you here, trimmed to the site and path (for example https://www.google.com/), and nothing if you came from another GiftPuffin page;
• the width of your browser window, so we can design for the screens people use;
• your country, as a two-letter code supplied by Cloudflare;
• a visitor code that changes every day.

It also records clicks on buy buttons (which idea, which shop and where it sat on the page) and when one of our tools is used (that it was used, never what you typed into it).

The daily visitor code lets us count unique visitors in a day without knowing who they are. It’s made by scrambling your IP address and browser details with a random value that changes at midnight (UTC). We throw the old random value away, so codes can’t be turned back into an IP address or linked from one day to the next. Your IP address is never stored. Automated visits from known bots are ignored. We delete analytics records automatically after 13 months.

Why, and the legal side in plain English

We use analytics to learn which pages and ideas are useful, so we can improve them. Under UK GDPR we rely on our legitimate interest in understanding how the site is used, which we think is fair because the data is minimal, can’t identify you and you can switch it off. Our analytics doesn’t use cookies or read anything from your device. The only thing we store on your device is your opt-out choice, if you make one. Under PECR we rely on the exception for collecting statistics to improve a website, which lets this kind of analytics run by default provided it’s explained clearly and is easy to switch off. This is our own plain-English explanation, not legal advice.

Cloudflare

Our site is delivered through Cloudflare, which acts as our content delivery network and protects the site from attacks. Cloudflare processes your IP address and request details to deliver pages, under its own privacy policy. It tells our analytics your country, not your IP address.

When you click through to a shop

Our buy buttons take you to shops such as Amazon UK. Once you’re there, the shop’s own privacy policy and cookies apply. The link tells the shop you came from GiftPuffin so it can pay us a commission. We don’t receive your name, address or what else you buy; shops report sales to us only as totals.

Our tools

Our gift tools run in your browser. What you type into them isn’t sent to us. If a tool lets you create a link to share, whatever you put into that link travels with it, so only share it with the people it’s meant for.

If you email us

If you email [email protected], we use your email address and message only to reply, and delete the conversation when it’s no longer needed.

Your rights

You can ask what personal data we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it. Because our analytics can’t identify you, we usually won’t be able to find analytics records about you specifically. Email [email protected]. If you’re unhappy with our answer you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

Who we are

This site is run by GiftPuffin. Contact: [email protected].