This Privacy Policy explains how ILLUCEO ("we," "our," or "us"), operating at illuceo.space, collects, uses, and protects information about you when you visit our website. By using ILLUCEO, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide: If you contact us via our contact form or subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and any information you voluntarily provide.

Automatically collected information: When you visit ILLUCEO, we automatically collect certain information including your IP address (anonymized), browser type and version, operating system, pages visited, time spent on pages, referring URL, and device type.

Cookies and local storage: We use cookies and browser local storage to remember your cookie consent preferences and language selection. See Section 3 for full details.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

• Operate and improve the ILLUCEO website
• Analyze site traffic and user behavior (via anonymized analytics)
• Send newsletters to subscribers who have opted in
• Respond to contact form enquiries
• Display relevant advertising through Google AdSense
• Monitor affiliate link performance
• Comply with legal obligations

We do not sell your personal information to any third party.

3. Cookies & Tracking

We use the following categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the site to function. Includes your cookie consent preference stored in localStorage. Cannot be disabled.
• Analytics cookies: Google Analytics 4 (with IP anonymization enabled) to understand site traffic. Only set if you accept cookies.
• Advertising cookies: Google AdSense may set cookies to show relevant ads. Only set if you accept cookies.
• Affiliate cookies: When you click affiliate links (e.g. NordVPN), the destination site may set their own cookies. We have no control over these.

You can decline non-essential cookies using the cookie banner displayed when you first visit. You can also manage cookies through your browser settings. Note that declining cookies may affect site functionality.

4. Third-Party Services

ILLUCEO uses the following third-party services that may collect data:

• Google Analytics 4 — website analytics. Privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy
• Google AdSense — display advertising. Privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy
• Google Fonts — web fonts. May log requests. Privacy policy: fonts.google.com/about
• Anthropic Claude API — used to generate article content. No personal user data is sent to Anthropic. Only article topics/headlines are processed.
• GitHub Pages — website hosting. Privacy policy: GitHub Privacy Statement

5. Affiliate Disclosure

ILLUCEO participates in affiliate marketing programs. This means we may earn a commission when you click certain links and make purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Our current affiliate partners include:

• NordVPN — we earn a commission on qualifying purchases. NordVPN links are labeled "sponsored" throughout the site.
• Various AI tool affiliate programs (Jasper, Surfer SEO, Copy.ai, etc.) — labeled as affiliate links where applicable.

Affiliate relationships do not influence our editorial content. Reviews and recommendations reflect our genuine assessment.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: Request a copy of data we hold about you.
• Right of rectification: Correct inaccurate data.
• Right of erasure: Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten").
• Right to object: Object to processing of your data for marketing purposes.
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a portable format.
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent for cookie-based tracking at any time via browser settings.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at: illuceo.space/contact

For EEA/UK residents: You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal data only as long as necessary. Email addresses for newsletters are retained until you unsubscribe. Contact form data is deleted after 90 days. Anonymized analytics data is retained for 14 months per Google Analytics settings.

8. Children's Privacy

ILLUCEO is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of ILLUCEO after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

For privacy-related questions or to exercise your rights:

illuceo.space/contact

We aim to respond to all requests within 30 days.