Privacy Policy

Last updated: 10 January 2026

At Plainly Explained, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you visit our website.

Information We Collect

Plainly Explained is designed to minimize data collection. We collect only the minimal information necessary to operate the website.

Information You Provide

We may collect information that you voluntarily provide to us, such as when you:

We do not currently operate contact forms, newsletters, or user accounts, so we do not collect personal information through these means.

Automatically Collected Information

When you visit our website, certain information is automatically collected:

Server logs: Our hosting provider collects technical information including IP address, browser type, operating system, pages visited, referring websites, and timestamps. This is standard practice for all websites and is used for security and technical purposes.
Advertising data: Third-party advertising networks collect information about your browsing behaviour, including pages you visit, time spent on pages, and interactions with advertisements. This data is used to display relevant ads and measure ad performance.

We do not directly use this information to identify individual users, but third-party advertising networks may use it to build profiles about your interests and browsing behaviour.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

Provide and maintain our website
Respond to your inquiries if you contact us
Ensure website security and prevent abuse
Comply with legal obligations

Third-Party Use: Third-party advertising networks use information collected through cookies and tracking technologies to:

Display personalized advertisements
Measure advertisement effectiveness
Build profiles about your interests for advertising purposes

We do not directly use your information for marketing or analytics purposes. However, third-party advertising networks may use your information for these purposes as described in their privacy policies.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies on our website for the following purposes:

Essential cookies: Theme preferences (to remember your dark/light mode setting)
Advertising cookies: Third-party advertising networks use cookies and similar tracking technologies to display relevant advertisements and measure ad performance

Third-Party Advertising: When you visit our website, third-party advertising networks (such as Google AdSense or other ad providers) may place cookies on your device to:

Display personalized advertisements based on your browsing history and interests
Measure the effectiveness of advertisements
Prevent fraud and abuse

These advertising cookies are controlled by the advertising networks, not by us. You can control or opt out of personalized advertising through your browser settings or by visiting the advertising network's privacy settings.

Disabling cookies may affect your theme preference and the relevance of advertisements, but the website will continue to function normally.

Third-Party Services

Our website uses third-party advertising services to display advertisements. These services collect information about your visits to our website and other websites to provide you with relevant advertisements.

Advertising Networks

We use third-party advertising networks (such as Google AdSense or similar services) to display advertisements on our website. These advertising networks:

Use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing behaviour
May collect your IP address, browser type, device information, and pages you visit
Use this information to show you personalized advertisements based on your interests
May share this information with other advertising partners

These advertising networks have their own privacy policies governing how they collect, use, and share your information. We do not control how these third parties use your data.

You can learn more about how these advertising networks use your data and opt out of personalized advertising by visiting their privacy policies and ad settings pages.

Other Third-Party Services

We also use:

Our hosting provider, which processes server logs as part of standard web hosting operations
Font services (if any), which typically do not collect personal information

Data Sharing

We do not directly share, sell, or rent your personal information to third parties. However, when you visit our website:

Advertising networks automatically collect information about your browsing behaviour through cookies and tracking technologies. This data is shared with and used by these advertising networks and their partners according to their privacy policies.
Our hosting provider processes server logs as part of standard hosting operations.

We may also disclose information in the following circumstances:

When required by law or to respond to legal process
To protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. Specifically:

Server logs and IP addresses are retained by our hosting provider for a limited period (typically 30-90 days) for security and troubleshooting purposes
Any information you provide directly via email is retained only as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry
Advertising networks may retain data collected through cookies and tracking technologies according to their own retention policies (typically 12-24 months)
We may retain certain information for longer periods if required by law

Your Rights

Even though we collect minimal data, you still have rights regarding any personal information that may be collected. If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR, including:

The right to access your personal data
The right to request deletion of your data
The right to object to processing of your data
The right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided below. We will respond to your request within one month, though this may be extended in certain circumstances.

Note: Much of the data collection happens through third-party advertising networks. To exercise your rights regarding data collected by these networks, you may need to contact them directly or use their privacy tools. We will assist with any requests regarding data we directly control (such as email correspondence).

Children's Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the privacy practices of these third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any websites you visit.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new privacy policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. You are advised to review this privacy policy periodically for any changes.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our data practices, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights regarding your personal information, please contact us at info@plainlyexplained.co.uk. We will do our best to respond to your inquiry in a timely manner.

Data Controller: For the purposes of GDPR and UK GDPR (where applicable), Plainly Explained is the data controller responsible for any personal information collected through this website.