Privacy Policy: What We Collect and Your Choices

Plain-English summary

SmokyHQ (“we”, “us”) runs smokyhq.com, a site that reviews barbecue grills and smokers. This policy explains what happens to information when you visit.

What information do we collect?

Server logs

Like every website, our hosting provider (Vercel) receives standard technical data when your browser requests a page: IP address, browser and device type, the page requested, the referring page and the time. These logs are used to deliver pages, prevent abuse and fix errors.

Vercel Web Analytics

We use Vercel Web Analytics to see which reviews and guides are read. It doesn’t set cookies or use local storage. Visits are counted using a hash of request data that changes daily, so it can’t follow you across days or across other websites. We see totals such as page views, referring sites, country, browser and device type — never who you are.

Emails you send us

If you write to us through our contact page, we receive your email address, your name if you include it, and whatever you put in the message.

What don’t we collect?

• No accounts, passwords, comments or user profiles.
• No payment details — we don’t sell anything, so you never pay us.
• No advertising cookies, retargeting pixels or social-media trackers.
• No precise location, and no sensitive personal information.
• We don’t buy data about you from anyone, and we don’t add you to a mailing list.

How do we use and share it?

• To keep the site fast, secure and working.
• To understand which content is useful and improve it.
• To reply to your questions and corrections.
• To meet legal obligations.

We don’t sell personal information, and we don’t share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We only share it with service providers that run the site for us (hosting and email), or when the law requires it.

Does SmokyHQ use cookies, and what about retailer links?

SmokyHQ itself doesn’t set tracking cookies. When you click a link to Amazon or another retailer, you leave our site. That retailer may set cookies on its own website to record that you came from SmokyHQ, so it can pay us a commission if you buy something (see how we’re funded). Those cookies are controlled by the retailer under its own privacy policy, and we don’t receive your name or what you bought.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Our site works fully without them.

What are my US state privacy rights?

If you live in California (CCPA as amended by the CPRA) or another state with a consumer privacy law — such as Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon and others — you may have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect and how we use it (this page explains it).
• Get a copy of personal information we hold about you.
• Correct or delete it.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information, or its use for targeted advertising. We don’t do any of these.
• Not be treated differently for using your rights.

To make a request, use our contact page. You may use an authorized agent. We may need to confirm your identity, usually by replying from the same email address you used to contact us. We’ll respond within the time the law allows (generally 45 days).

What are my rights as an EU or UK visitor?

If you visit from the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, GDPR or UK GDPR may apply. We process server logs and aggregated analytics on the basis of our legitimate interest in running a secure, useful website, and emails on the basis of replying to you. You have the right to access, correct, delete or restrict use of your personal information, to object to processing, to data portability, and to complain to your local data protection authority. Our providers may process data in the United States under recognized safeguards. Email our contact page to use any of these rights.

Is SmokyHQ for children?

SmokyHQ is written for adults who cook on grills and is not directed at children under 13. In line with COPPA, we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has emailed us, contact us and we’ll delete it.

How long do we keep information?

• Analytics are kept only as aggregated totals that don’t identify you.
• Server logs are kept for a short period by our hosting provider, then deleted automatically.
• Emails are kept for up to two years so we can follow up on corrections, then deleted — sooner if you ask.

How do we protect information?

The whole site is served over HTTPS, so data between your browser and us is encrypted in transit. Access to our inbox is limited to the SmokyHQ team. No system is perfectly secure, but because we collect so little, there is very little to expose.

Do you honor Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control?

We don’t track you across websites, so there is nothing for a Do Not Track signal to switch off. We also honor Global Privacy Control (GPC): if your browser sends it, we treat it as a request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information — which we don’t do anyway.

How will we tell you about changes, and how do you contact us?

If we change this policy, we’ll update it here and change the “last updated” date at the top. Questions or requests: use our contact page. See also our terms of use.

FAQ

Common questions

Transparency

More about how SmokyHQ works

• About SmokyHQWho we are, what we cover and why the site exists.
• Our testersThe people who write and fact-check every review and guide.
• How we testThe routine and scorecard behind every grill score.
• Why trust usThe safeguards that keep our verdicts independent.
• Editorial standardsAccuracy, sourcing, updates and our corrections policy.
• How we’re fundedHow affiliate links work and why they never change a score.
• Contact & correctionsEmail the testers, report an error or suggest a grill.
• Terms of useThe rules for using SmokyHQ content.