Privacy policy

This policy explains what DroneGearSetup.com collects, why it collects it, and what you can do about it. The short version is that this is a static reference site with no accounts and no user content, so there is very little to collect and the policy is correspondingly short.

What we collect

Aggregate analytics. The site uses Google Analytics to count page views and understand which pages are read. This records things like the page visited, approximate location derived from an IP address, the referring site, and general device and browser type. It is used in aggregate to decide what to write next, and it is not used to identify individuals.

Email addresses you choose to submit. Several pages offer to email you a build list or reference card. If you use one of those forms, we receive the email address you type and a label recording which page you submitted from. Nothing else is collected and the form asks for nothing else.

Affiliate referral information, held by the retailer. When you click a product link, the retailer records that the visit came from this site and sets its own cookies to attribute any subsequent purchase. That process is run by the retailer, not by us.

Standard server logs. Like any website, requests may be logged by the hosting provider for security and operational reasons, including IP address, timestamp and requested path.

What we do not collect

There are no user accounts, so no usernames or passwords. There is no comment system, so no submitted content. We do not ask for or store your name, address, phone number, date of birth or payment information. We do not collect location beyond the approximate country and region that analytics derives from an IP address. We do not build advertising profiles and we do not sell any data to anyone.

Why we collect it

Analytics exists to answer one question: which pages are useful. A site that cannot see which pages are read ends up guessing, and the result is more content nobody wanted. It informs what gets written, updated and corrected.

The email form exists because a build list with twenty priced items is easier to shop from in an inbox than on a phone screen at a retailer. The source label on each submission records which page you subscribed from, so that what we send matches what you asked for.

Affiliate tracking exists because it is how the site is funded. The full account of that relationship is on the affiliate disclosure page.

Third parties involved

Google Analytics processes the aggregate traffic data described above. Google's handling of that data is governed by its own policies, which you can read at policies.google.com/privacy, and Google publishes an opt-out browser add-on at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Google Forms receives and stores email addresses submitted through the forms on this site. The same Google privacy policy applies to that processing.

Amazon operates the affiliate program this site participates in. Amazon's privacy practices are described at Amazon's privacy notice. We receive only aggregate commission reporting from Amazon and no customer information.

The hosting provider serves the site and may keep short-term request logs for security and operational purposes.

Cookies and similar technologies

Analytics sets cookies to distinguish repeat visits from new ones. Retailers set their own cookies when you follow an affiliate link, which is what makes commission attribution work. This site does not set cookies of its own for personalisation, does not require any cookie to display content, and does not currently serve display advertising.

You can block or delete all of these through your browser settings, and many browsers block third-party tracking by default. The site is entirely usable with everything blocked: no page, calculator or table depends on a cookie or on analytics loading.

How long data is kept

Analytics data is retained according to the platform's configured retention period and exists only in aggregate. Email addresses submitted through the form are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove them. Server logs are short-lived and controlled by the hosting provider.

Your choices and rights

Opt out of analytics using browser settings, tracking protection or a content blocker, or Google's own opt-out add-on. Nothing on the site stops working.

Avoid affiliate tracking by not using the product links. Every product is named in full on the page specifically so you can search for it yourself, and nothing is withheld from readers who do.

Unsubscribe using the link in any email you receive from us, or by asking through the contact page.

Request access or deletion by writing to us through the contact page. Depending on where you live you may have rights under regulations such as the GDPR or the CCPA to access, correct, delete or restrict processing of your personal data. We honour those requests regardless of jurisdiction, which is straightforward here because the only personal data we hold is an email address you chose to give us.

Children

This site is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has submitted an email address through a form here, tell us through the contact page and it will be removed.

International visitors

This site is published in the United States and the third-party services it uses process data in the United States and elsewhere. If you access the site from another country you are consenting to that processing. Note separately that drone regulations described on this site are United States rules and do not transfer across borders, which is covered on the country threshold chart.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes materially, the page will be updated and the change will be reflected in the update date shown at the top. Where a change adds a new category of collection, such as display advertising, it will be described here before the change goes live rather than after.

Why the policy is this short

Most privacy policies are long because most sites collect a great deal. This one is short because the site is static reference content with nothing to log in to. There is no personalisation engine deciding what to show you, no recommendation model learning from your behaviour, no retargeting pixel, no social login and no comment system with its own moderation data.

That is partly a design choice and partly a consequence of what the site is for. A reader checking an ND density at a launch point or reading about the 250 g threshold does not need an account, and building one would create obligations without creating value. Collecting nothing is the simplest way to protect it.

The practical upshot for you is that blocking everything costs you nothing at all. Turn off scripts, block third-party cookies, use a tracking blocker: every page, calculator, chart and build total on this site still works. If you want the build lists without giving us an address, they are on the pages themselves in full, and the email form is a convenience rather than a gate.

Questions about anything on this page can go to the contact page. The related documents are the terms of service, the disclaimer and the affiliate disclosure.