Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

PhotoContestWorld.com ("we," "us," or "our") is an information directory for international photography contests. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website at photocontestworld.com.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide:

• Email address — when you subscribe to contest deadline reminders or newsletter alerts.
• Bookmarks/watchlist — contests you save are stored locally in your browser (localStorage). We do not collect or store this data on our servers.

Information collected automatically:

• Analytics data — we use Google Analytics (G-BPJ5CEQPDX) to collect anonymous usage statistics including pages visited, time on site, browser type, device type, and approximate geographic location. This data is aggregated and cannot identify you personally.
• Server logs — our hosting provider (Hostinger) may collect standard server logs including IP addresses, access times, and pages requested.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To send deadline reminder emails 7 days before contest closing dates (only if you subscribed).
• To improve our website content, layout, and user experience based on analytics.
• To maintain and operate the website.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

4. Email Communications

If you subscribe to our reminder service, we send deadline alerts via Brevo (formerly Sendinblue). Every email contains an unsubscribe link. You can opt out at any time by clicking that link. We limit emails to 300 per day and never send promotional or third-party marketing emails.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

We use:

• Google Analytics cookies — for anonymous traffic analysis.
• localStorage — to save your bookmarked contests and preferences locally in your browser. This data never leaves your device.

We do not use advertising cookies or tracking pixels.

6. Third-Party Services

• Google Analytics — for website analytics (Google Privacy Policy).
• Brevo — for sending reminder emails (Brevo Privacy Policy).
• Hostinger — for web hosting.
• flagcdn.com — for country flag images.

7. Data Security

We use HTTPS encryption for all connections to our website. Our database is stored securely on our hosting server. While we take reasonable precautions to protect your data, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.

8. Data Retention

Email subscriptions are retained until you unsubscribe. Reminder logs are kept to prevent duplicate emails. Analytics data is retained per Google's default retention settings.

9. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Unsubscribe from emails at any time via the link in every email.
• Request deletion of your email from our subscriber list.
• Clear your local bookmarks by clearing your browser's localStorage.

10. Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated date.

12. Contact

For privacy-related questions, contact us at photocontestworld.com@gmail.com.