Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 21, 2026. The changes on this date: we began using Google Analytics, described under Cookies below, and the exchange wizard can keep a suggestion you choose to type, described under What we collect below.

Bitcoin Basics (bitcoinbasics.com) is a small content site. We collect as little about you as we can while keeping the site running. This policy explains, in plain English, what we do collect, why, and what you can do about it.

What we collect

• Server logs. Like almost every website, our web server records each request: your IP address, the page requested, the time, your browser type, and the page that referred you. We keep these logs briefly, for troubleshooting and to detect abuse, and then they are deleted.
• Clicks on our /go/ links. When you click an affiliate link (any link through bitcoinbasics.com/go/), our link-management plugin, Pretty Links, records that a click happened, along with the time, your IP address, your browser type, the referring page, and a general location (country and region) derived from the IP address. We use this to count clicks. It is not tied to a name or an account, because we have neither.
• Email you send us. If you write to us, we keep the email for as long as we need it to reply and follow up.
• The mailing list, if you join it. The subscribe form asks for your first name and email address. We also record when you signed up, when you confirmed, and the IP address the request came from, which is our proof that you asked to be on the list. All of it is stored in this site’s own database on our own server, not with an outside mailing service. We do not track whether you open the emails or which links in them you click.
• Your name, on the Metal Pay referral form. Metal Pay credits referrals by name, so the form on our Metal Pay page asks for the name you signed up with, and optionally an email address. We use it only to report that referral.

That is the whole list. Comments are disabled, there are no user accounts, and those two forms are the only places the site asks for personal information. Both are optional.

The exchange wizard. Your answers on Find an Exchange are worked out in your browser and are not sent to us. Google Analytics, when it is running for you, is told that the wizard was started and that it finished, and with the finish it is told two things only: the country you chose, and which priority you picked from the four on offer. Your state or province, the ways you said you want to pay, any other citizenship, and anything you type are never sent to Google. The one exception to answers staying with you is the optional “Something else” box: if you type in it, we keep the text, your country and the date, so we can see what people want us to add. That stored record holds no IP address and nothing else that points to you; our web server logs the request that carried it in the ordinary way described at the top of this page. We refuse text that looks like it holds an email address or phone number, and we never send it to Google. Please do not put personal details in that box.

Cookies

The only cookies this site sets are functional ones from WordPress, the software the site runs on, and from Wordfence, the security plugin that protects it against attacks. These exist to make the site work and to keep it safe; they do not track you across other websites.

We use Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which pages are read, so we know what to improve. It sets first-party cookies (their names begin with _ga) and sends Google the pages you view, your approximate location derived from your IP address (Google Analytics 4 does not store the address itself), and details of your browser and device. We have switched off its advertising features: no Google signals, no ad personalization, and we do not link it to any advertising account. Besides page views it records five actions, with no personal details attached: a click on one of our referral links (which link, and from which page), the two steps of joining the newsletter (form sent, and subscription confirmed), and the two ends of our exchange wizard (that it was started, and that it finished). The wizard’s finish is sent with two things only: the country you chose, and which priority you picked from the four on offer. Your state or province, the ways you said you want to pay, any other citizenship, and anything you type are never sent to Google. Nor are the personal token in a newsletter confirmation link and the region in a chart address: both are removed before anything is sent. It is not loaded at all if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, and you can also block it with Google’s opt-out add-on. We do not set advertising cookies.

Third parties

• Cloudflare. Traffic to this site passes through Cloudflare, which provides security and speeds up delivery. Cloudflare sees the same connection data our server does and may set a cookie of its own for security purposes. Its handling of that data is described in Cloudflare’s privacy policy.
• Exchanges and services you click through to. When you follow a link to an exchange or any other site, you leave Bitcoin Basics, and that site’s privacy policy applies. Exchanges in particular will ask for identity documents; we never see any of that.

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with anyone else, and we do not use it for advertising.

How we use data

We use the information above for three things: to keep the site running and fix problems, to count clicks on our affiliate links so we know what readers find useful, and to detect and stop abuse such as attacks on the site. Mailing-list details are used for one more: sending you the newsletter you asked for. We do not sell, rent, or share the list.

How long we keep it

Server logs are kept for a short period, typically no more than a few weeks, and then deleted automatically. Click records are kept for as long as they are useful for counting, and we periodically clear old entries. Email is kept as long as the conversation is active. Mailing-list details are kept until you unsubscribe, which you can do from the link at the bottom of every email; you can also ask us to delete them outright.

Your rights

You can ask us what information we hold that relates to you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. We honor these requests for everyone, whether or not a law such as the European Union’s GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) applies to you. Because we collect so little, the honest answer to “what do you hold about me” is usually “an IP address in a log that will be gone in a few weeks,” but you are welcome to ask.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at the address below. We may need to confirm the request came from you before acting on it.

Children

This site is not directed at anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we collect or use data, we will update this page and change the effective date at the top. Substantial changes, such as adding an analytics service, will be noted here before they take effect.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or requests about your data: email d [at] duane.com.