What This Policy Covers

This policy explains what information Trail Crate collects when you visit trailcrate.site, how that information is used, and what choices you have about it.

Trail Crate is an editorial site in the sports and outdoors niche. We review gear, publish field test results, and — where relevant — link to products on Amazon through the Amazon Associates affiliate program.

This policy applies to the Trail Crate website only. It does not apply to Amazon, Google, or any other third-party service you may reach from a link on this site. Those services have their own privacy policies, which we link to where relevant.

Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

When you sign up for the Trail Crate newsletter, we collect your email address. When you submit a contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. We don’t collect payment information — there are no paid memberships or transactions on this site.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the site, basic technical data is logged automatically: your IP address, browser type, operating system, the page you came from, and which pages you view. This is standard web server logging.

We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate traffic patterns — how many visitors, which pages are popular, where visitors come from geographically. This data is aggregate and anonymized.

Cookies

See the Cookies and Analytics section below for a full breakdown.

How We Use It

Email addresses collected through newsletter sign-up are used to send the Trail Crate newsletter. That’s the only thing we use them for. We don’t sell email addresses. We don’t share them with third parties for marketing purposes.

Contact form submissions are read and responded to by Trail Crate’s editorial team. We keep a record of correspondence for follow-up purposes.

Analytics data is used to understand which content is useful, which topics have the most interest, and how the site performs technically. We don’t use this data for targeted advertising.

Cookies and Analytics

Google Analytics (GA4)

We use Google Analytics 4 to track how visitors use the site. GA4 sets cookies in your browser that persist for up to 2 years. These cookies collect information like: which pages you visit, how long you spend on each page, what country you’re visiting from, and what device or browser you’re using. This data is sent to Google’s servers and processed in aggregate form. We can see trends and totals — we can’t see who you are individually.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout). You can also block cookies through your browser settings.

Newsletter service cookies

If you click a link from a Trail Crate newsletter, our newsletter provider may set a cookie to track whether you opened the email or clicked a link. This is used only to understand how the newsletter is performing — not for advertising. The specific cookies depend on the service we use; see the Third-Party Services section for details.

What we don’t use

Trail Crate does not use advertising cookies, retargeting pixels, or cookies that track you across other websites. There are no ad networks running on this site.

Amazon Associates Disclosure

Trail Crate is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

This means: when a Trail Crate review includes a link to a product on Amazon and you click that link and make a purchase, Trail Crate may receive a small commission. The price you pay is the same whether you use our link or not. The commission comes from Amazon, not from you.

This commission structure affects how Trail Crate makes revenue. It does not affect how Trail Crate reviews gear. Every piece of gear reviewed on this site was purchased at full retail price before the review began. No manufacturer has paid Trail Crate for a positive review. No affiliate commission potential has influenced a verdict.

If you want to verify this: the reviews that resulted in “not recommended” verdicts include products that are sold on Amazon with affiliate links available. We don’t link to products we recommend against. We also don’t give positive verdicts to products because they’re sold on Amazon.

Amazon Associates links on this site are identified by the Amazon domain (amazon.com) in the URL. Any link to amazon.com may be an affiliate link.

Third-Party Services

Trail Crate uses the following external services. Each has its own privacy policy — links are provided below.

Each of these services has its own privacy policy. We’ve linked to them above where possible.

How We Protect Your Data

Trail Crate is a small editorial site. We take reasonable technical measures to protect the data we hold: HTTPS encryption across the entire site, limited access to collected data, and no storage of payment information (we don’t process payments).

We use reputable third-party services for email and form processing — services that maintain their own security certifications and infrastructure.

We’re honest about the limits of what “data protection” means for a site of this size: we’re not a bank. We have limited technical resources. What we can commit to: we won’t sell your data, we won’t share it with parties outside the services named in this policy, and we’ll tell you promptly if there’s ever a breach that affects you.

GDPR Rights

If you’re located in the European Union or European Economic Area, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In plain terms:

  • You can ask what data we hold about you.
  • You can ask us to correct data that’s wrong.
  • You can ask us to delete data we hold about you.
  • You can ask us to stop using your data.
  • You can ask for a copy of your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at: privacy@trailcrate.site. We’ll respond within 30 days.

If you believe we’ve handled your data incorrectly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.

Your Controls and Choices

Newsletter

If you’ve subscribed to the Trail Crate newsletter, every email includes an unsubscribe link. Click it and you’re removed from the list immediately. You can also email us directly at privacy@trailcrate.site to be removed.

Analytics opt-out

Use the Google Analytics Opt-out Add-on or a browser extension like uBlock Origin to prevent analytics tracking.

Browser cookies

Your browser’s settings menu allows you to block or delete cookies. Blocking cookies won’t prevent you from reading Trail Crate content — there are no paywalls or content gates on this site that require cookies.

Children’s Privacy (COPPA)

Trail Crate is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information through this site, contact us at privacy@trailcrate.site and we’ll delete it.

Policy Changes

If this policy changes materially — meaning something that actually affects your rights or how your data is used — we’ll post a notice on the site and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

Routine changes (fixing typos, clarifying existing practices without changing them) won’t necessarily get an announcement, but the Last Updated date will always reflect the most recent edit.

Previous versions of this policy are available on request.