Privacy Policy

Effective date: November 10, 2025

Thank you for visiting NorwayExplained (https://norwayexplained.com). Your privacy matters. This policy explains what personal data we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices you have. Please read it and contact us if you have questions.

1. Data controller

NorwayExplained is the data controller for the personal data processed through this website.

Website: https://norwayexplained.com

Contact email (data protection): privacy@norwayexplained.com

2. What information we collect

We collect the following types of information:

  • Information you provide directly: contact form submissions, comments you post, email messages you send us, or other information you enter on the site.
  • Automatically collected technical data: IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, pages you visit, referral URL, and other standard web server logs.
  • Cookies and similar tracking technologies: details below in the Cookies section.
  • Analytics data: aggregate and pseudonymised usage statistics collected by analytics providers.
  • Affiliate/transaction data: if you click affiliate links or interact with partner services, limited transaction metadata (no payment card data) may be processed by third-party partners.

We do not collect payment card details directly on this site.

3. How we collect information

  • Directly from you when you send us messages or submit forms.
  • Automatically when you browse the site (cookies, web beacons, server logs).
  • From third-party service providers (analytics platforms, ad networks, affiliate partners) when you interact with those services.

4. How we use your information

We use personal data for purposes including:

  • Operating, maintaining, and improving the website.
  • Responding to messages and enquiries you send through the contact form.
  • Displaying relevant advertising.
  • Generating anonymised statistics about site usage.
  • Complying with legal obligations.

Where required by law, we rely on your consent to process certain kinds of data (e.g., non-essential cookies). For other processing activities (such as contact form messages), we rely on our legitimate interests (responding to enquiries, site security, analytics) or contractual/legal bases as applicable. See Section 8 for legal bases and rights.

5. Third‑party advertising (Google AdSense and others)

We display third‑party advertising on this site, including ads served by Google AdSense. Third‑party vendors, including Google, may use cookies and similar technologies to deliver, measure and improve ads and to personalize advertising based on your past visits to this website and other websites.

Google’s use of certain advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on visits to this site and/or other sites on the Internet. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google’s Ads Settings: https://adssettings.google.com. For details about how Google uses data for ads, see Google’s policies: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads

6. Analytics and other third‑party services

We may use the following third‑party services (examples — replace with the actual services you use):

  • Google Analytics (GA4): collects usage and engagement data to help us improve content and performance. Google processes analytics data according to its privacy policy. See https://policies.google.com/privacy for details.
  • Affiliate networks (e.g., Amazon Associates, Awin): if you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, the partner may process tracking data to credit referrals.
  • Other third‑party tools: performance or optimization tools that may set cookies or collect pseudonymised data.

We encourage you to review third‑party privacy policies for details about their data practices.

7. Cookies and consent

This site uses cookies and similar technologies. Cookies fall into these general categories:

  • Essential cookies — required for basic site functionality (e.g., session cookies, login state). These are strictly necessary and active by default.
  • Preference cookies — remember user settings and display preferences.
  • Analytics cookies — collect information about site usage to help us improve the site.
  • Advertising/targeting cookies — used by third‑party advertising partners (including Google) to serve relevant ads and measure ad performance.

For visitors from the EEA/UK, we display a cookie consent banner that explains non‑essential cookie use and allows you to accept or decline non‑essential cookies. Non‑essential scripts (such as analytics and advertising scripts) will not run until you give consent.

If you want to opt out of personalized advertising by Google, visit: https://adssettings.google.com.

8. Legal bases for processing (EEA/UK residents)

If you are located in the EEA or UK, our legal bases for processing personal data include:

  • Consent: for non‑essential cookies and marketing where we ask for your permission.
  • Contract/Performance: where processing is necessary to provide services you requested.
  • Legitimate interests: for site security, fraud prevention, improving site content, and responding to enquiries. We balance our legitimate interests against your privacy rights and protect your data accordingly.

9. How long we keep your data

We keep data only as long as necessary for the purposes described:

  • Contact form messages and emails: retained until the matter is resolved and for up to 2 years for record keeping unless you request deletion sooner.
  • Comments: retained until you request deletion or the comment is removed; inactive accounts/comments may be purged after 2 years.
  • Analytics data: aggregated/pseudonymised analytics may be retained for up to 26 months (or other window you choose) unless you anonymise/shorten retention in the analytics configuration.
  • Server logs: retained as needed for security and troubleshooting (commonly 30–90 days; adjust to your hosting settings).

If you want data deleted earlier, see Section 11.

10. Where we store and transfer data

Some processing is performed by third‑party providers (hosting, analytics, ads) that may be located outside your country. Where data is transferred outside the EEA/UK, we ensure an adequate level of protection (standard contractual clauses, EU adequacy decisions where applicable, or other safeguards). Contact us if you need details of the safeguards in place.

11. Your rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

  • Access: ask what personal data we hold about you.
  • Rectification: request corrections to inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Deletion: request erasure of your personal data (the “right to be forgotten”) where legal grounds allow.
  • Restriction: ask us to restrict processing in certain circumstances.
  • Portability: request a copy of your personal data in a structured, machine‑readable format.
  • Object: object to certain processing, including direct marketing and profiling.
  • Withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time (this will not affect processing that occurred before withdrawal).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@norwayexplained.com. We will respond within legally required timeframes (typically one month) or tell you if an extension is needed.

If you are in the EEA/UK and believe we have violated data protection law, you can lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

12. Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal data against accidental loss, disclosure or misuse. No website can guarantee 100% security — if you suspect misuse of your data, contact us immediately.

13. Children

This website is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the applicable age threshold. If you believe we have collected personal data from a child, contact us and we will take steps to remove it.

14. Links to other websites

This site contains links to third‑party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of linked sites. Please review each site’s privacy policy before providing personal data.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When changes are significant, we will post a prominent notice on the website. The effective date above reflects the latest revision.

16. Contact us

If you have questions or requests about this policy or your personal data, contact: privacy@norwayexplained.com