Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 10, 2026

Who We Are

This website, javierdiscovers.com ("Javier Discovers," "we," "us"), publishes travel and cultural content about traditional rituals around the world. This policy explains what information we collect when you visit the site, how we use it, and the choices you have.

If you have any questions, contact us at javier@javierdiscovers.com.

Information We Collect

Information you give us

• Newsletter signup: if you join our email list, we collect your email address.
• Comments: if you leave a comment, we collect the name, email address, and any website you enter, along with the comment itself.
• Emails to us: if you contact us, we receive whatever information you include in your message.

Information collected automatically

• Usage data: like most websites, we and our service providers collect information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, pages visited, referring pages, and the time and date of your visit.
• Cookies and similar technologies: small files stored in your browser that help the site work, remember your preferences, measure traffic, and track affiliate referrals. See "Cookies" below.

How We Use Information

• To run, maintain, secure, and improve the website.
• To send our newsletter to people who signed up for it.
• To display and moderate comments and to filter spam.
• To understand which content readers find useful, using aggregated analytics.
• To earn commissions through affiliate programs, which help keep this site free.
• To respond to your messages and to comply with legal obligations.

Third-Party Services We Use

We rely on trusted service providers. Each handles data under its own privacy policy:

• Hosting: our site is hosted by Hostinger, which processes server data such as IP addresses to deliver and secure the site.
• Analytics: we use Google Analytics and Google Search Console (through Google Site Kit) to understand how visitors use the site. Google may use cookies and collect usage data. You can learn more at How Google uses information from sites that use its services, and opt out with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
• Email newsletter: our newsletter is managed by Mailchimp (Intuit). When you sign up, your email address is stored by Mailchimp, which may record whether emails are opened or links are clicked. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email.
• Comments: comments may be checked by an automated spam-detection service. An anonymized string created from your email address may be sent to Gravatar to show a profile picture if you have one.
• Caching and performance: we use caching tools to make pages load faster. These don't collect personal information about you.

Affiliate Links and Advertising

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and make a booking or purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. When you click an affiliate link, the partner's site may place cookies on your browser to track the referral. We don't receive your payment details or booking information, only a record that a referral happened.

• Amazon Associates: Javier Discovers is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon and third parties may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your interactions with Amazon links, to provide and measure advertising, and to track referrals.
• Stay22: our hotel and tour links are provided through Stay22, which connects to partners including Booking.com and GetYourGuide. Stay22 and these partners may use cookies to track referrals and bookings.
• Booking.com and GetYourGuide: if you book through these sites, your booking is handled under their own terms and privacy policies.

Cookies

Cookies used on this site fall into a few groups:

• Essential: needed for the site to work, such as security and login cookies for site administrators.
• Preferences: if you leave a comment, you can choose to save your name, email, and website in a cookie so you don't have to type them again. These last up to one year.
• Analytics: set by Google Analytics to measure how the site is used.
• Affiliate: set by partners like Amazon, Stay22, Booking.com, and GetYourGuide when you click their links.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect how the site works, and blocking affiliate cookies means we may not be credited for referrals.

Embedded Content

Posts may include embedded content from other websites, such as videos or maps. Embedded content behaves the same way as if you had visited the other website, and those sites may collect data about you, use cookies, and track your interaction with the content.

How We Share Information

We don't sell your personal information. We share information only with the service providers described above, as needed to run the site and newsletter, when required by law, or to protect our rights, our visitors, or the security of the site.

How Long We Keep Information

• Newsletter: we keep your email address until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.
• Comments: comments and their related data are kept indefinitely, so follow-up comments can be approved automatically, unless you ask us to remove them.
• Analytics: analytics data is kept according to Google Analytics retention settings.

Your Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, California, and other US states with privacy laws, you may have the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you and receive a copy.
• Ask us to correct or delete your personal information.
• Object to or limit certain uses of your information, or withdraw consent you've given.
• Opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We don't sell personal information, and we don't knowingly share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, other than through the affiliate cookies described above.
• Not be discriminated against for exercising your rights.

To make a request, email javier@javierdiscovers.com. We may need to confirm your identity before acting on a request. If you're in the EU or UK, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

Where EU or UK law applies, we rely on your consent (for the newsletter and non-essential cookies), our legitimate interests (to run, secure, and improve the site), and legal obligations as the bases for using your information.

International Visitors

This site is operated from the United States, and our service providers may process data in the United States and other countries. By using the site, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in countries whose data protection laws may differ from those where you live.

Children's Privacy

This site is not directed to children under 13, or under 16 in some regions, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.

Security

We use reasonable measures, including secure HTTPS connections, to protect information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we'll change the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.