Legal

Privacy Policy

This policy explains what information The Crochet Side collects when you visit thecrochetside.com, how it is used, and the choices you have.

Effective date: October 9, 2026

1. Who we are

The Crochet Side (“we”, “us”, “our”) is an independent crochet blog available at https://thecrochetside.com. We are responsible for the personal information processed through this website. You can reach us at [email protected].

2. Information we collect

Information you give us

Comments: your name, email address, optional website and comment text. Your email address is never published.
Newsletter: your email address and, optionally, your first name, if you choose to subscribe.
Messages: anything you include when you email us or use a contact form.

Information collected automatically

Device and browser information, such as browser type, operating system, screen size and language.
Usage information, such as pages viewed, time on page, referring website and approximate location (city or country) derived from your IP address.
Information stored in cookies and similar technologies, described below.

When you leave a comment, WordPress may collect your IP address and browser user-agent string to help detect spam. An anonymised string created from your email address (a “hash”) may be sent to the Gravatar service to show your profile picture if you use one.

3. How we use information

To run, maintain and improve the website and its content.
To publish and moderate comments and to answer your messages.
To send the newsletter you asked for. Every email includes an unsubscribe link.
To understand which patterns and tutorials are most useful, using aggregated statistics.
To show advertising that helps keep our content free (see section 5).
To protect the site against spam, fraud and abuse, and to meet legal obligations.

Where the GDPR applies, our legal bases are your consent (for example, non-essential cookies, personalised ads and the newsletter), our legitimate interests (running and securing the site, measuring audience in aggregate), and legal obligations.

4. Cookies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device. We use the following types:

Type	Purpose	Examples
Strictly necessary	Core site functions, security and remembering your cookie choices.	WordPress, consent cookie
Preferences	Remembering your name and email for future comments, if you opt in.	comment_author_*
Analytics	Measuring visits and popular content in aggregate.	Google Analytics (_ga)
Advertising	Serving and measuring ads, limiting repetition and, with consent, personalising ads.	Google AdSense / DoubleClick

You can change your cookie choices at any time through the cookie banner or settings link on our site, and you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how the site works.

5. Advertising and Google AdSense

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google is a third-party vendor that uses cookies to serve ads on our site.

Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalised advertising at www.aboutads.info or, in Europe, www.youronlinechoices.eu.
Other third-party vendors and ad networks may also serve ads on our site. Where they do, they are listed in our consent management tool, and you can manage your choices there.

Learn more about how Google uses information from sites that use its services at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services, and read How Google uses cookies in advertising.

For visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, we use a Google-certified consent management platform. Personalised ads and non-essential cookies are only used after you give consent, and you can withdraw consent at any time.

6. Analytics

We may use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site. Google Analytics collects information such as the pages you visit and how long you stay, using cookies. We do not use this data to identify you personally. You can prevent Google Analytics from collecting your data by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

7. Third-party services and embeds

Posts may include embedded content (for example YouTube videos or Pinterest pins). Embedded content behaves as if you visited the other website, which may collect data, use cookies and track your interaction with that content. These services have their own privacy policies, including Google/YouTube and Pinterest.

Our newsletter, if offered, is delivered by an email service provider that processes your email address on our behalf solely to send our emails.

8. Affiliate links

Some posts contain affiliate links. If you buy through one of them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate partners may use cookies to know that you came from our site. We only recommend products we have used or would use ourselves.

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only:

with service providers that help us operate the site (hosting, security, email, analytics, advertising), under appropriate agreements;
when required by law, or to protect our rights, our readers or the public;
in connection with a transfer of the website to a new owner, who would be bound by this policy.

Some of these providers may process data outside your country, including in the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

10. Data retention

Comments and their metadata are kept indefinitely so follow-up comments can be approved automatically, until you ask us to remove them.
Newsletter data is kept until you unsubscribe.
Emails are kept for as long as needed to answer you and for our records, normally no longer than 24 months.
Cookies expire according to the periods set by each provider.

11. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or receive a copy of your personal data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. To make a request, email [email protected] with the subject “Privacy request”. We will respond within the time required by law, normally within 30 days. You can also ask us to export or erase the data held about your comments.

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you have the rights described above under the General Data Protection Regulation and the UK GDPR. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

13. California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion or correction, and to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. We do not sell personal information for money. To opt out of personalised advertising, use the links in section 5 or contact us. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

14. Children’s privacy

This website is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

15. Security

The site is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection, and we use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your data and to respond promptly to any incident.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add a new service. The “Effective date” at the top shows when it was last changed. If we make significant changes, we will highlight them on this page.

17. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, contact us at [email protected] or through our contact page.