Privacy Policy

1. Data controller

The What to do if... website is operated by its editorial team. We are an independent information site and are not a government body, emergency service or medical institution. You can reach us through the Contact page.

2. Data we collect

We keep the collection of personal data to the minimum needed to run the site:

• Contact form: name, email address and message — kept to handle your request and then removed.
• Reading statistics: number of guide views (aggregated, non-personal), counted server-side.
• Reading history: a list of the guides you viewed, stored on your own device and used only to show personalised recommendations. You can clear it at any time from your browser.
• Assistant questions: if you use the AI assistant, your question and answer are stored to help us improve it.
• Admin account: name, email and a hashed password, reserved for authorized staff.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

• Essential cookies (session, CSRF, dark-mode preference, your consent choice): needed for the site to work and do not require consent.
• Advertising cookies: placed by Google AdSense and its partners only if you accept advertising cookies.
• Analytics cookies: only loaded after you accept, using Google Consent Mode v2.

We use Google Consent Mode so that any analytics or advertising technology waits for your choice before it runs.

4. Advertising and AdSense

This site uses Google AdSense. Google and its partners may use cookies to serve ads based on your visits. You can manage ad personalization at adssettings.google.com. Ads and analytics only load after you accept advertising cookies; if you decline, we serve without those technologies and show non-personalized ads where applicable.

5. Your choices and rights

Depending on your region (GDPR, CCPA / CPRA), you may have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, data portability and the right not to have your personal information sold or shared. To exercise them, contact us via the Contact page.

You can change your cookie choices at any time using the Cookie preferences link in the footer, or by clearing your browser cookies.

6. Security and retention

Data is stored by our hosting provider and protected by technical and organizational measures (restricted access, hashed passwords, encrypted transport). We keep data only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, and we remove contact-form and personal data once the request is resolved.

7. Third-party services

We use third-party services such as Google (AdSense/analytics) and a font CDN. These providers process data under their own privacy policies. We do not upload personal data to them beyond what their features require.