Privacy policy
What we collect, what we don't, and how to opt out.
The short version
OutdoorPlantCare.com is operated by Thomas Joseph, an independent publisher. We collect the minimum data needed to run the site and serve readers. We do not sell your information. We do not run intrusive ads. The site is monetized through Amazon affiliate links on gear pages, which do not change what we recommend.
What we collect
Traffic analytics: We use Google Analytics 4 to measure how many people visit each page, where they came from, and how long they stayed. This data is aggregated and not used to identify individuals. You can decline analytics with the cookie banner that appears on first visit.
Email opt-ins: When you subscribe to the monthly Outdoor Plant Care email (e.g. via the diagnostic cheat sheet PDF), we store your email address and the source you subscribed from. The list is hosted on a transactional email service (Mailgun or equivalent). Every email includes an unsubscribe link.
Lead magnet downloads: When you request the diagnostic cheat sheet PDF, we log that the email address subscribed via that source so we can serve a related sequence of educational emails about outdoor plant care. Unsubscribe at any time.
What we don't do
- We do not sell your data to advertisers, brokers, or anyone else.
- We do not place tracking pixels from social networks (Facebook, Pinterest, etc.) on this site.
- We do not run pop-up ads or interstitials beyond the lead-magnet section on the homepage.
- We do not retarget you with display ads after you visit.
Cookies and tracking
The site uses two cookies on accept:
- A Google Analytics cookie (`_ga`) that helps measure aggregate traffic.
- A local preference cookie storing whether you accepted or declined analytics, so we don't ask again.
If you decline analytics, neither cookie is loaded. Your browsing remains anonymous to the site.
Affiliate links
Gear-recommendation pages contain Amazon affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, Amazon shares a small commission with us at no additional cost to you. The presence of an affiliate link does not change which products we recommend. See the <a href="/affiliate-disclosure/">full affiliate disclosure</a>.
Third-party services
- Google Analytics 4 — traffic measurement
- Mailgun (or equivalent transactional email service) — sending newsletter and lead magnet
- Vercel — site hosting
- Cloudflare — DNS and CDN
Each of these has its own privacy policy. We have selected services that align with our minimal-data approach.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- Unsubscribe from email lists at any time (link in every email).
- Decline analytics at any time (cookie banner, or clear cookies and revisit).
- Request deletion of your subscriber data — email thomas@outdoorplantcare.com.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we collect or use data, we will update this page and note the change date below.
Last updated: June 10, 2026.
Contact
Privacy questions: thomas@outdoorplantcare.com.