Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

1. Data Controller

The data controller for this website is InfoUnitedStates.org, an independent travel publisher and part of the InfoPlaces network of independent country guides. We are a private publisher not affiliated with any government body. For all data-protection enquiries please contact: contact@infounitedstates.org.

2. What We Collect

Information you give us:

• Email address and (optionally) first name when you subscribe to our newsletter or download a free guide
• Name, email and message body when you use a contact form
• Any information you voluntarily include in correspondence with us

Collected automatically (only with your consent — see Section 4):

• Anonymized usage analytics via Google Analytics 4 (with IP-anonymization on)
• Standard server access logs (IP address, user agent, timestamp), retained 30 days for security
• Affiliate-link click metadata for revenue attribution

3. How We Use Information

• To deliver the content you specifically requested (newsletter, guides, contact replies)
• To send occasional travel updates if and only if you opt in
• To improve the website using aggregated, anonymized analytics
• To detect and prevent abuse (server logs)
• To track affiliate-revenue attribution (with your consent)

We never sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for their marketing purposes.

4. Cookies & Tracking

We use three categories of cookies. Default behavior is consent-required (Google Consent Mode v2 default-denied) — non-essential cookies do not load until you explicitly accept them.

• Necessary (always on, no consent required) — site functionality, language preference, your consent state itself. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics (opt-in) — Google Analytics 4 with IP-anonymization. Used to understand which articles are useful so we can improve them.
• Marketing (opt-in) — affiliate-network attribution cookies (SafetyWing, Airalo, Wise, NordVPN, Booking.com, GetYourGuide). Used to credit us when you book via our links so we can keep the site free.

You can change your cookie preferences at any time using the Cookie Settings link in the footer or here.

5. Affiliate Links & Third Parties

This site contains affiliate links to: SafetyWing (travel insurance), Airalo (eSIM), Wise (travel money), NordVPN, Booking.com (hotels) and GetYourGuide (tours). When you click an affiliate link those companies may set their own cookies subject to their own privacy policies. We earn a small commission on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. See our Affiliate Disclosure for full details.

6. Your Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Under EU GDPR and California CCPA, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of all personal data we hold about you
• Correct — ask us to fix inaccurate data
• Delete — ask us to erase your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
• Withdraw email consent — one-click unsubscribe in every newsletter
• Withdraw cookie consent — via the Cookie Settings link, any time
• Data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format
• Object to processing — including for direct marketing

To exercise any right, email contact@infounitedstates.org. We respond within 30 days at no charge.

7. Right to Lodge a Complaint (GDPR Article 77)

If you believe we have not handled your personal data properly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data-protection authority. EU residents can find their authority via the European Data Protection Board: edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en.

8. Data Retention

• Newsletter subscribers — retained until you unsubscribe (one-click in every email)
• Contact form submissions — retained up to 12 months for follow-up correspondence
• Server logs — 30 days for security and abuse-detection purposes
• Cookie consent state — 180 days in your browser's local storage; resets if you clear it
• Affiliate attribution data — varies by partner (typically 30-90 days)

9. Children (GDPR Article 8)

This service is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 16 years of age. If you become aware that a child has provided us personal data without verifiable parental consent, please contact us immediately and we will delete the data.

10. Contact

📧 contact@infounitedstates.org — for any privacy-related question, request, or concern.

Who we are

Suggested text: Our website address is: https://infounitedstates.org.

Comments

Suggested text: When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

Suggested text: If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

Suggested text: If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select "Remember Me", your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Embedded content from other websites

Suggested text: Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Who we share your data with

Suggested text: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

How long we retain your data

Suggested text: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What rights you have over your data

Suggested text: If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where your data is sent

Suggested text: Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.