Privacy Policy

Who we are

Our website address is: https://hterry.com.

At H.Terry, we value your curiosity and your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines what information we collect from you, how we use and protect it, and your rights regarding your data. We’ve tried to keep it as clear and readable as our articles – with a dash of our friendly tone – so you can understand it without a law degree. By using our website, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Who We Are

H.Terry (the “Site”) is a question-and-answer blog operated from within the European Union (“EU”) and also serving readers in the United States and around the world. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, you can reach out to us through our [Contact page](link to Contact page). We’re happy to help – after all, answering questions is what we do!

Information We Collect

We only collect personal information that is necessary to run our site and provide you with a great experience. Here’s what we may collect and why:

  • Contact Information: If you subscribe to our newsletter or contact us, we might collect your name and email address. We use these to send you updates you’ve requested or to reply to your messages.
  • Question Submissions: If you send us a curious question or comment (for example, through a contact form or comment section), we collect the information you provide (like the content of your question and any name or nickname you give). We use this to consider featuring your question on the site or to respond to you.
  • Usage Data: Like most websites, we automatically collect some data when you visit H.Terry. This includes your IP address, browser type, device information, and browsing behavior on our site (such as which pages or articles you read). We collect this to understand how visitors use our site so we can improve our content and user experience. This data is usually collected through analytics tools and is aggregated (meaning it doesn’t directly identify you personally).
  • Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar technologies to remember your preferences, personalize your experience (for example, keeping track of which posts you’ve read), and analyze traffic. For details, see the Cookies section below.

We do not collect any sensitive personal data like your financial information, social security numbers, or anything of that sort. H.Terry is all about knowledge – not about digging into your personal life.

How We Use Your Information

We promise to use your data only for the purposes that we’ve described. The information we collect serves to:

  • Provide and Improve Our Service: We use data to display content properly, fix bugs, and improve site features. For instance, knowing which articles are popular (thanks to analytics) helps us create more of the content you love.
  • Communicate with You: If you subscribed to our mailing list, we’ll use your email to send you our latest fascinating answers or updates. (Don’t worry – we hate spam too. You can unsubscribe any time.) If you contacted us or submitted a question, we’ll use your info to respond or possibly notify you if your question gets featured.
  • Personalize Your Experience: Cookies help remember your preferences (like dark mode or language choices, if applicable) and let us show you content that might interest you.
  • Ensure Security and Compliance: We might use certain data (like IP addresses or activity logs) to keep our site secure, prevent fraud or misuse, and to comply with legal obligations. For example, we could use IP information to detect and block malicious attacks (our curious cat has to keep the trolls out!).
  • Legal Reasons: In rare cases, we may need to use and retain information to comply with legal requests or obligations, enforce our Terms of Use, or resolve disputes.

We will never sell your personal information to third parties. We use it only to run H.Terry and serve our community of curious readers.

Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Yes, we use cookies – but not the yummy chocolate chip kind. The cookies on H.Terry are small digital tokens that help our site function and improve your experience. When you first visit, you may see a cookies notification (especially if you’re in the EU) asking for your consent. By continuing to use the site, you’re agreeing to our use of cookies as described here.

How we use cookies:

  • Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the website to work properly (for example, for navigating pages or using basic features). The site won’t function as intended without them, so while you can block these via your browser settings, parts of H.Terry might not work.
  • Analytics Cookies: We use these to understand how visitors find and use our site. They tell us things like which articles are most popular or how users navigate through our pages. This info is aggregated and helps us make the site better. (It’s like getting feedback – what makes our readers purr with satisfaction.) We currently use Google Analytics or a similar service, which means Google may set its own cookies to collect usage data (Google really wants to know if you read that article about dirt origins).
  • Preference Cookies: If applicable, these remember your choices (like if our site has a day/night mode or if you dismissed a pop-up) so that we can give you a more personalized experience.

Managing cookies: Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. You’re free to delete or block cookies, but be aware that doing so might affect site functionality – kind of like hiding the cat’s food bowl, it might not be a great experience for the cat (or you). For more information on managing cookies, check your browser’s help documentation.

Data Sharing and Disclosure

We treat your personal information with care and do not share it with third parties for their own marketing purposes. In plain English: we’re not in the business of selling or trading your data. However, there are a few instances where we might share your information, strictly to serve the purposes outlined above:

  • Service Providers: We use reputable third-party services to help run H.Terry. For example, we may use an email service to send out our newsletter, or web analytics services like Google Analytics to understand site traffic. These providers might process your data on our behalf (for example, your email address for sending newsletters, or your IP and browsing data for analytics). We only work with providers that commit to protecting your data and not using it for anything other than providing us their service.
  • Legal Requirements: If we are required by law to disclose data (for instance, a court order or a lawful request by public authorities), we might have to comply. If that happens, we’ll only share the information that is necessary, and we’ll try to notify you if we’re allowed to.
  • Business Transfers: This is unlikely, but if H.Terry ever evolves – for example, if we merge with another organization or (hypothetically) if Peter’s cat sells the site to pursue a career in Hollywood – the personal data we have might be transferred to the new entity as part of the business deal. If that happens, we’ll ensure your data remains protected and give you notice of any changes.

Aside from the above, your information stays with H.Terry. We do not sell, rent, or swap your personal data with anyone. Your trust is important to us (our curious cat’s reputation depends on it!).

International Data Transfers

H.Terry is based in the EU, but we have readers all over, including in the US. When you use our site or sign up for our emails, your information might be transferred or stored on servers outside of your home country (our web servers may be located in the EU or possibly in the US). No matter where your data goes, we safeguard it under this Privacy Policy. If we transfer data out of the EU (for example, to a US-based service provider like Google), we rely on appropriate safeguards to ensure your data is protected according to EU standards. This could include things like standard contractual clauses or certifications under privacy frameworks. In short, we don’t take data protection lightly, whether it’s at home or abroad.

Your Privacy Rights

You have rights over your personal data, and we want to make sure you know them. Depending on where you live (EU, California, etc.), these rights may vary slightly, but we aim to honor them regardless, because it’s the right thing to do. Here’s a rundown of your key rights:

  • Access and Correction: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. If something is inaccurate or outdated, you can ask us to correct or update it – we’ll be happy to set the record straight.
  • Deletion (“Right to be Forgotten”): You can request that we delete your personal data. For example, if you subscribed to our newsletter but want to be removed completely from our mailing list and systems, just let us know. Keep in mind, we might retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes (like records of communication if needed for legal reasons), but we’ll explain that if it applies.
  • Withdrawal of Consent: If we’re processing your data based on your consent (for instance, you gave consent for optional cookies or you signed up for emails), you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. For example, you can unsubscribe from our newsletter via the link in the emails, or adjust your cookie settings through your browser. Withdrawal of consent won’t affect any use of your data that happened already, but it means we’ll stop the specific activity going forward.
  • Objection and Restriction: In certain circumstances, you can object to or ask us to restrict processing of your data. For instance, if you disagree with us using your data for analytics, let us know – we will review and comply if appropriate under the law.
  • Data Portability: This mostly applies to data you provided directly. You have the right to request a copy of the personal data you’ve given us in a common, machine-readable format, and you can ask that we transfer it to another service if technically feasible. (To be honest, we don’t hold much beyond maybe your email and name, but the option is there!)
  • California Residents (CCPA/CPRA): If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to access it, and to request deletion of it (which we’ve already covered above). You also have the right to opt out of the “sale” of personal information. For CCPA purposes, note that we do not sell your data (and have no plans to start – we prefer cat treats to cash anyway). If that ever changes, we will update this policy and honor your right to opt out. California users also won’t receive discriminatory treatment for exercising their privacy rights.

To exercise any of your rights, please contact us (see Contact Us below). We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests (to prevent someone else from impersonating you and asking for your data). We’ll do our best to respond promptly and make it easy for you.

Data Retention

We keep your personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. That means:

  • If you subscribed to emails, we’ll keep your email on our list until you unsubscribe (or until we decide to discontinue our mailing list).
  • If you contacted us or submitted a question, we may retain that correspondence for a reasonable period in case we need to refer back to it, or in case your question becomes relevant for a new article.
  • Analytics data (which is mostly aggregated) may be kept for our internal analysis – typically, we might review trends over a few months or a year to see how the site is doing.
  • Cookies can persist for different durations. Some cookies (like preferences) might last until you clear them, others (like analytics cookies) may expire automatically after a set time (e.g., 30 days, 90 days, etc.). You can always clear them manually anytime.

When we no longer have a legitimate need to keep your data, we will delete it or anonymize it. For example, if you unsubscribe from our newsletter, we’ll remove your email from our active mailing list. (It might still exist in a backup for a short time, but we have processes to eventually purge those too.)

How We Protect Your Data

We take security seriously (almost as seriously as our cat mascot takes a laser pointer). We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. This includes using secure protocols (you’ll notice our site URL starts with https:// – that “s” is for secure), keeping our software up-to-date, and limiting access to personal data to only those who need it to operate the site or respond to you.

However, no website or internet transmission is 100% secure or error-free. We wish we could say your data is absolutely untouchable (we’d sleep easier at night, too), but we have to be honest: there’s always some risk in any online service. Rest assured, we do our best to use industry-standard practices to guard your info. In the unlikely event of a data breach that affects your personal data, we will notify you and/or the appropriate regulatory authorities as required by law.

Children’s Privacy

H.Terry is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Our content is generally geared toward adults and young adults (typically ages 16+). If you are under 13, please do not provide any personal information to us – have a parent or guardian get in touch if needed. If we discover we’ve inadvertently collected personal data from a child under 13, we will delete it. Parents or guardians: if you believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we’ll take care of it. (And then maybe show them some kid-friendly science sites – our content might be a bit heavy on the words for the little ones!)

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, to clarify our wording, or to ensure we remain compliant with any new laws and regulations (privacy rules can evolve, just like everything else). When we make changes, we will update the “last updated” date at the top of the policy. For significant changes, we might also provide a more prominent notice (such as a banner on the site or an email notification, if appropriate). We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we’re protecting the personal information we collect. Your continued use of H.Terry after any changes to this policy will signify your acceptance of the updates (in plain terms: if you keep hanging out with our curious cat, you’re okay with the new rules).

Contact Us

Your questions, feedback, and concerns about privacy are important to us. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data – or if you want to exercise any of your rights described above – please don’t hesitate to reach out. The best way to contact us is through our Contact page on the websitehterry.com, where you can send us a direct message. We typically respond as soon as we finish our latest cup of coffee (or bowl of milk, in H.Terry’s case).

You can also email us at privacy@hterry.com (for illustration; use actual email if available). When you contact us, please let us know what your question or request is specifically about, and include any relevant details so we can assist you quickly.

Thank you for reading our Privacy Policy. We know it’s a lot of information, but we appreciate you taking the time – it’s part of being a responsible, informed member of our curious community. Now, with the serious stuff out of the way, go ahead and enjoy exploring the site! And remember: stay curious, stay safe, and happy reading!

Last updated: July 23, 2025