Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Open Travel Guide ("we," "us," or "our") operates opentravelguide.com and shop.opentravelguide.com (collectively, the "Sites"). This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, and share your personal information when you visit our Sites or make a purchase.

By using our Sites, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the practices described here, please do not use our Sites.

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you create an account on our Shop, we collect your name, email address, and password. Your password is hashed using bcrypt and is never stored in plain text.
• Payment Information: When you make a purchase, your payment card details and billing address are collected and processed directly by Stripe, our payment processor. We do not receive or store your full card number on our servers.
• Communications: If you contact us by email, we retain the content of your message and your email address.

Information Collected Automatically

• Analytics Data: We use Google Analytics 4 to collect anonymized data about how visitors use our Sites, including pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URLs, browser type, device information, and IP address (which Google anonymizes). This data is collected only if you consent via our cookie banner on the Shop site.
• Authentication Tokens: When you log in to the Shop, we store an authentication token in a secure HttpOnly cookie and in your browser's localStorage to keep you signed in.

Abandoned Cart Information

If you begin a checkout on our Shop but do not complete your purchase, we retain your name, email address, and the products in your cart. We use this information to send you follow-up reminder emails. You may opt out of these emails by contacting us at the address below.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Process and fulfill your orders for digital travel guides
• Create and manage your user account
• Send order confirmation emails and download links
• Send abandoned cart reminder emails (up to three reminders over 30 days)
• Analyze site usage and improve our services via Google Analytics 4
• Detect and prevent fraud
• Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support

4. How We Share Your Information

We share your information only with the following third-party service providers, solely to the extent necessary to operate our Sites and fulfill orders:

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Sites use cookies and similar browser storage technologies:

• Authentication Cookie: An HttpOnly cookie (access_token) with a 7-day expiration, required for account functionality on the Shop.
• Local Storage: Used on the Shop to persist your shopping cart, authentication state, and cookie consent preference.
• Google Analytics 4: Uses cookies and scripts to collect aggregated usage data. On the Shop, these are loaded only if you consent via our cookie banner.

For full details, see our Cookie Policy.

6. Advertising and Google AdSense

Open Travel Guide uses Google AdSense, a third-party advertising service provided by Google LLC, to display advertisements on this site. Advertising allows us to keep our guides free for readers.

How advertising cookies work

Google and its third-party vendors use cookies and similar technologies (including web beacons and device identifiers) to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site and other websites, measure ad performance and prevent fraud, and personalise the ads you see unless you have opted out of personalised advertising. Third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.

Your choices

• Opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings.
• Opt out of third-party vendor cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info or the Network Advertising Initiative.
• If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, a consent banner will appear on your first visit so you can grant or refuse consent for personalised advertising under GDPR. You can withdraw consent at any time using your browser cookie controls.

Full Google advertising privacy disclosures: How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

7. Data Retention

• Account Data: Retained for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide our services.
• Order Data: Retained for accounting, tax, and legal compliance purposes.
• Abandoned Cart Data: Retained for up to 30 days after the last follow-up email is sent.
• Analytics Data: Governed by Google Analytics data retention settings.

8. Your Rights

• You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information by contacting us at the email below.
• You may opt out of abandoned cart reminder emails by contacting us.
• You may disable analytics cookies via the cookie consent banner or your browser settings.

California Residents

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have the right to know what personal information we collect and to request its deletion. We do not sell personal information. To exercise your rights, contact us using the information below.

International Visitors

If you are located outside the United States, please be aware that your information is transferred to and processed in the United States, where our servers and service providers are located. By using our Sites, you consent to this transfer. If you wish to exercise data protection rights available under your local law, please contact us at the email below, and we will make reasonable efforts to accommodate your request.

9. Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information:

• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt and never stored in plain text.
• Payment information is handled entirely by Stripe and never touches our servers.
• Download links for purchased products expire after 1 hour.
• All data transmission is encrypted using HTTPS.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

10. Children's Privacy

Our Sites and services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information promptly.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Your continued use of our Sites after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, please contact us:

Open Travel Guide
Email: contact@opentravelguide.com

For privacy-related requests, please include "Privacy Request" in the subject line.