Last updated: October 4, 2026
Who we are
HomeWise Review (https://homewisereview.com) is an independent publication run from the United Kingdom. Its owner decides how the information described here is used, which makes the owner the “data controller” under UK and EU data protection law. For any privacy question or request, email admin@homewisereview.com.
What we collect and why
- Analytics (Google Analytics 4, through Google Site Kit): pages viewed, clicks (including clicks on Amazon links), browser and device type, the page that sent you here and approximate location worked out from your IP address. We use it to see which pages and links are useful and to improve the site. Legal basis: legitimate interests, and your consent where the law requires it.
- Advertising (Google AdSense): Google and its partners show ads on this site. They may use cookies or similar identifiers to show ads, measure them and, where allowed, personalize them based on your visits to this and other websites. Legal basis: your consent in the UK, EU, EEA and Switzerland.
- Hosting and security (our web host and Cloudflare): connection details such as IP address, browser and the address requested, used to deliver pages and protect the site. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
- Comments: if you leave a comment, we collect what you enter in the form plus your IP address and browser user agent to help detect spam. An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you use it; see the Automattic privacy policy. After approval, your comment and profile picture are public. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
- Email: if you write to admin@homewisereview.com, we use your message only to answer it.
Cookies and your choices
Google Analytics sets cookies such as _ga and _ga_<ID> (up to 2 years) to tell visits apart. Google AdSense may set cookies such as __gads and __gpi (up to about 13 months) and Google advertising cookies on Google domains. If you leave a comment, WordPress can save your name, email and website in cookies for one year so you don’t have to retype them.
- UK, EU, EEA and Swiss visitors: analytics and advertising storage are off by default. A consent message from Google lets you accept, reject or choose; until you accept, Google Analytics and AdSense only receive signals without cookies, and any ads shown are non-personalized or limited. You can change your choice at any time through the privacy and cookie link the message leaves on the page.
- Everyone else: you can turn off personalized ads at Google’s Ad Settings, opt out of many ad companies at aboutads.info, and block analytics with Google’s opt-out browser add-on.
- You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings.
See how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
Amazon and other links
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon links on this site include our tracking ID. If you click one, Amazon learns that you came from this site and may set its own cookies on Amazon’s website. Amazon reports only totals of clicks and orders to us, never who bought what. See Amazon’s Privacy Notice. Other websites we link to have their own privacy policies.
Sharing and transfers outside the UK
We share information only with the services named above. Google, Cloudflare, Automattic and Amazon may process it in the United States, protected by the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK Extension, or by standard contractual clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum. We don’t sell personal information for money. Where Google AdSense personalizes ads in the United States, some state laws treat that as “sharing” for targeted advertising; you can opt out through Google’s Ad Settings or a Global Privacy Control signal in your browser.
How long we keep it
- Google Analytics event data: no longer than 14 months.
- Comments and their metadata: kept until the comment is removed, so follow-up comments can be approved automatically.
- Emails: kept only as long as we need them to deal with your message.
- Hosting and Cloudflare logs: short periods, under their own policies.
Your rights
UK, EU, EEA and Swiss residents: you can ask to see the personal information we hold about you, have it corrected or deleted, object to its use, restrict it or get a copy, and withdraw consent at any time. Email admin@homewisereview.com; we reply within one month. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk) or your local data protection authority.
US residents: you can ask what we hold about you or ask us to delete it by emailing admin@homewisereview.com, and opt out of personalized advertising as described above. Browsers’ “Do Not Track” signal has no common standard, so the site doesn’t change its behavior when it receives one.
Children
This site isn’t aimed at children, and we don’t knowingly collect information from anyone under 13 (or under 16 in the EU).
Changes to this policy
When our data practices change, we update this page and the date at the top.