Effective date: October 12, 2026
This policy explains what personal information kevinkatovic.com collects when you visit the site, read a post or leave a comment, why it is collected, who it is shared with, and the choices you have. The site is a personal blog based in British Columbia, Canada. It does not sell products, run a shop or ask you to create an account.
Quick summary
- You can read every page without giving us your name or email.
- The site uses a Google advertising tag (Google Ads) to measure ads that bring visitors here. In Europe, the UK, Switzerland and Quebec it does not use advertising cookies unless consent is given, and browsers that send a Global Privacy Control signal are opted out everywhere.
- Some posts contain embedded YouTube videos, which are delivered by YouTube (Google).
- If you leave a comment, we keep what you submit, plus your IP address, so we can publish and moderate it.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use analytics tools on this site.
Who is responsible
kevinkatovic.com (“we”, “us”) is responsible for personal information collected through this website. Questions, requests and complaints can be sent to support@kevinkatovic.com.
Information we collect
When you visit
Like almost every website, our web server automatically records technical information about each request: your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the referring page, and your browser and device type (the user agent). We use these server logs to keep the site running, investigate errors and block abuse such as spam, hacking attempts and click fraud.
When you comment
If you post a comment, we collect the name, email address and (optional) website you enter, the comment itself, your IP address and your browser’s user agent. Your name, website and comment are shown publicly; your email address and IP address are not. An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you use it and to show your profile picture next to your comment. Gravatar’s privacy policy is at automattic.com/privacy.
When you email us
If you write to us, we receive your email address and whatever you choose to include, and we use it only to reply and to keep a record of the conversation.
Cookies and similar technologies
- Google advertising tag. The Google tag (gtag.js) for Google Ads loads on public pages. When advertising storage is allowed, Google can set cookies and read identifiers to tell us whether a visitor arrived from one of our ads and to help measure and improve those ads. Google processes this data under its own policies: Google Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites that use its services.
- Consent by region. For visitors in the European Union and European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Quebec, the tag starts with advertising storage turned off, so no advertising cookies are set. Elsewhere it is on by default, and you can turn it off as described below. Analytics storage is off for everyone.
- Global Privacy Control. If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, advertising storage is switched off for your visit, wherever you are.
- Comment cookies. If you choose to have the comment form remember your name, email and website, WordPress stores them in cookies on your device for about a year.
- Login cookies. Only the site administrator logs in. Their visits do not load the advertising tag.
Embedded content from other websites
Some posts include embedded videos from YouTube. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited YouTube directly: YouTube (Google) may collect data about you, use cookies, and track your interaction with the video, especially if you are signed in to a Google account. YouTube’s practices are covered by the Google Privacy Policy. Images and charts in our posts are hosted on this site.
How we use personal information
- To run, secure and fix the website.
- To publish and moderate comments and to reply to messages.
- To measure whether our Google Ads bring visitors to the site.
- To meet legal obligations, enforce our rights or respond to lawful requests.
Where European or UK data protection law applies, our legal bases are our legitimate interests in running and protecting the site and replying to you, your consent for advertising cookies, and compliance with legal obligations.
Who we share it with
- Our web hosting provider, which stores the site, server logs and comments on our behalf.
- Google, through the Google Ads tag and YouTube embeds as described above.
- Automattic (Gravatar), for comment profile pictures.
- Authorities or other parties when the law requires it, or when needed to protect the site, its visitors or our rights.
We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising beyond the Google advertising tag described above, which you can switch off.
Where your information is processed
Our hosting provider and the service providers above may store and process information in Canada, the United States and other countries. Those countries may have different privacy laws than where you live, and information stored there may be accessible to their courts and authorities.
How long we keep it
- Comments and their metadata are kept for as long as the comment is published, so follow-up comments from the same person can be recognized.
- Server logs are kept only as long as needed for security and troubleshooting, then deleted.
- Emails are kept as long as needed to deal with your message and keep a record of it.
- Advertising data held by Google is kept under Google’s retention policies.
Your choices
- Turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser, or block or delete cookies in your browser settings.
- Manage how Google personalizes ads for you at My Ad Center.
- Read posts without commenting, or comment without adding a website.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask for access to the personal information we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to withdraw consent, to object to or restrict certain uses, to receive a copy in a portable format, and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information or targeted advertising. This includes rights under British Columbia’s Personal Information Protection Act, Canada’s PIPEDA, Quebec’s privacy law, the EU and UK GDPR, and US state privacy laws such as California’s.
To make a request, email support@kevinkatovic.com. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on it, and we will reply within the time required by law. We will not treat you differently for using your privacy rights. If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to your local privacy regulator; in British Columbia that is the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for BC.
Children
This site is written for adults and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
The site is served over HTTPS, and we use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect personal information. No website or internet transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Changes to this policy
We will update this page when our practices change and revise the effective date at the top. Significant changes will be noted on this page.
Contact
Email: support@kevinkatovic.com