Privacy

Fishes One Hook is a spearfishing journal, not a data business. We collect as little as possible, we never sell what we have, and we explain the rest in plain language. This policy covers www.fishesonehook.com ("the site", "we", "us") and tells you what we collect, why, and the choices you have.

Last updated: July 2026.

Who we are

Fishes One Hook is an independent spearfishing and freediving journal. The site is published on Google's Blogger platform under our own domain. For any privacy question, contact privacy@fishesonehook.com.

What we collect

Information you give us

• Newsletter ("the dispatch"). If you subscribe, we store the email address you enter, so we can send you the dispatch.
• Comments. Comments are handled by Blogger and usually require a Google sign-in. The name, profile image, and any details you choose to show are governed by your Google account and become publicly visible next to your comment.
• Messages. If you email us or use a contact form, we keep your name, email, and message so we can reply.

Information collected automatically

• Analytics. We use Google Analytics (GA4) to understand which guides are useful — pages viewed, approximate region (from a truncated IP), device and browser type, and how you arrived. We have IP-anonymisation on and do not use Analytics data to identify you personally.
• Server and platform logs. As with any website, our host (Google/Blogger) records standard technical data such as IP address, request time, and user agent to deliver pages and guard against abuse.

What we do not collect

• Payment or card details — the site sells nothing directly.
• Precise location or your dive coordinates.
• Special-category data, and nothing from readers we know to be under 16.

How we use your information

• To send the weekly dispatch (only if you asked for it) and to reply to your messages.
• To display comments you post.
• To measure traffic in aggregate so we can decide what to write next.
• To keep the site secure, working, and free of spam and abuse.
• To show display ads (via Google AdSense) that fund the site — see "Affiliate links and advertising" below.

That is the entire list. We do not use your data for automated decisions that affect you, and we do not build advertising profiles ourselves — ad personalisation, where it happens at all, is done by Google and its partners as described below, and in the EEA/UK only with your consent.

Legal bases (for EU/UK readers)

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on: consent (newsletter sign-up, advertising cookies, and any other non-essential cookies — withdrawable at any time, including via the ad-consent banner); legitimate interests (running, securing, and improving the site, and replying to you); and legal obligation where the law requires us to keep certain records.

Cookies and similar technologies

We keep cookies to a minimum:

• Functional. Small cookies and local storage that remember your preferences (for example a dismissed notice) and let core features work.
• Analytics. Google Analytics sets cookies to count visits and sessions. These are not used for advertising.
• Advertising. Google AdSense sets cookies to serve and measure the display ads on the site — for frequency capping, fraud prevention and, where you've consented (EEA/UK) or not opted out (elsewhere), ad personalisation. See the next section for the detail and your opt-outs.
• Platform. Blogger/Google may set cookies needed to serve the site, sign you in for comments, and protect against abuse.

We set no cross-site advertising cookies of our own — the advertising cookies above belong to Google and its certified partners. You can block or clear cookies in your browser at any time without breaking the site, and you can opt out of Google Analytics with Google's opt-out browser add-on.

Affiliate links and advertising

The site shows display ads served by Google AdSense; they're how we keep the guides free. Here's what that means for your data, in plain language:

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's advertising cookies enable it and its partners to select the ads you see here from your browsing on this and other sites.
• Personalised ads are optional. You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings, and opt out of many other third-party vendors' cookies at www.aboutads.info/choices. With personalisation off you still see ads — just generic ones.
• EEA/UK readers are asked first. If you're in the European Economic Area or the UK, a consent banner (Google's certified consent tool) asks before any advertising cookies are set; decline and you'll get non-personalised ads or none. You can change your choice any time via the banner's settings link.
• We never hand your personal data to advertisers. Ad selection happens inside Google's systems; we see only aggregate revenue and performance numbers.

Separately, some gear guides may contain affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it never changes our verdict, and we only recommend what we'd dive ourselves. Ads and affiliate links are always kept distinct from our editorial judgement.

Third-party services

We rely on a few reputable providers, each with its own privacy policy:

• Google / Blogger — hosting, comments, and Google Analytics.
• Google AdSense — serves the display ads, as described above.
• Our email provider — delivers the dispatch and stores subscriber emails.
• Embedded media — videos (e.g. YouTube) and other embeds load from their own platforms, which may set their own cookies once you interact with them.
• Social links — links to our Instagram and Facebook pages take you to those services, governed by their policies.

Beyond these service providers, we share your data with no one, and we never sell it.

How long we keep it

Subscriber emails are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete them. Messages are kept as long as needed to handle your enquiry and a reasonable period after. Comments remain until you or we remove them. Analytics data is retained for a limited period in aggregated form.

International transfers

Our providers (including Google) may process data on servers outside your country, including the United States. Where required, these transfers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the providers' standard contractual clauses.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (including under the GDPR/UK GDPR and California's CCPA/CPRA), you can:

• Unsubscribe from any email in one click.
• Ask what data we hold about you and get a copy.
• Ask us to correct or delete it.
• Object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent at any time.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

We don't sell personal information. If you're in California, the personalised-ad cookies described above may count as "sharing" for cross-context advertising — you can opt out via Google's Ads Settings and aboutads.info/choices. We'll action any valid request within 30 days, free of charge.

Children's privacy

The site is intended for adults. We don't knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has given us information, email us and we'll delete it.

Security

The site runs over HTTPS, and we lean on Google's platform security for hosting and accounts. No method of transmission is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the little data we hold.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle data, we'll update this page and move the "Last updated" date. Significant changes that affect you will be noted clearly.