Privacy Policy - Album Classics

Album Classics is a small, independent publication. This policy explains, in plain language, what information we collect from visitors, why, and what choices you have.

1. Information We Collect

Information You Provide

If you use our contact form, your message is sent directly from your own email client to our inbox — the name, email address, subject, and message you enter are not stored on our servers or in any database; they exist only as the email you send. If you email us directly at the address below, the same is true: we receive and retain that email like any other correspondence, for as long as is reasonably necessary to respond to and resolve your inquiry.

If you sign up for our newsletter, the email address you provide is stored by our newsletter provider, Beehiiv, so that we can send you the emails you signed up for. We do not receive or store your email address on our own servers beyond passing it to Beehiiv at signup. Beehiiv processes this data under its own privacy policy, available at beehiiv.com/privacy. Every newsletter email includes an unsubscribe link, and you can also ask us to remove you using the contact details in Section 10.

Information Collected Automatically

Like most websites, we automatically receive certain information when you visit — your approximate location (derived from IP address), browser type and version, device type, pages viewed, time spent on pages, referring site, and similar usage data. This is collected through Google Analytics, described below, and through standard web server logs maintained by our hosting provider, Vercel.

2. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

A cookie is a small text file placed on your device by a website. We use cookies and similar technologies in the following ways:

Google Analytics — we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use this site (which pages are popular, how people find us, and general traffic trends). Google Analytics sets cookies and collects data such as your IP address (in truncated/anonymized form where supported), device and browser information, and the pages you visit. Google processes this data under its own privacy policy, available at policies.google.com/privacy. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Embedded YouTube videos — reviews on this site embed videos directly from YouTube. When a YouTube player loads on a page, YouTube (owned by Google) may set its own cookies and collect viewing data according to its own privacy policy, independent of anything we do. We do not control this data.
Amazon affiliate links — see Section 4 below.

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies through their settings. Blocking cookies may affect how some parts of the site function (for example, embedded video players), but the core reading experience will still work.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information described above to:

Respond to messages sent through our contact form or by email
Send the newsletter emails you signed up for, if you subscribe
Understand how visitors use the site so we can improve content and navigation
Monitor and maintain the security and performance of the site
Comply with legal obligations, if any arise

We do not sell personal information, and we do not use any information we collect for targeted advertising of our own.

4. Amazon Associates and Affiliate Links

Album Classics 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 linking to Amazon.com. When you click an Amazon link on this site, Amazon may set its own cookies to track that the referral came from us, and Amazon's own privacy policy governs any information collected once you land on their site. We do not receive or store your Amazon account information, purchase details, or payment information — we only receive aggregate referral and commission data from Amazon.

5. Third-Party Links

Our reviews and articles link to third-party sources — news outlets, magazines, artist sites, and streaming platforms — for context and citation. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of any site we link to. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party site before providing it with information.

6. Your Privacy Choices and Rights

California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to request that we disclose what personal information we hold about you, request deletion of that information, and request correction of inaccurate information. We do not sell personal information, and to the extent that analytics cookies are considered "sharing" under California law, you can opt out using the Google Analytics opt-out tool linked in Section 2. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 10 — we will not discriminate against you for making a request.

Visitors Outside the United States

This site is operated from, and hosted in, the United States. If you access the site from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or elsewhere outside the US, your information will be processed in the US and other jurisdictions where our service providers (such as Google and Vercel) operate. If you would like to request access to, correction of, or deletion of any information we hold about you, contact us and we will respond as fully as we reasonably can.

Do Not Track

Some browsers offer a "Do Not Track" signal. There is no industry-standard way to respond to these signals yet, so our site does not currently change its behavior when it receives one.

7. Children's Privacy

Album Classics is a general-audience music publication and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Data Retention and Security

We retain the limited information described above only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy. We take reasonable measures to protect information from unauthorized access, but no method of transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for legal or operational reasons. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. We encourage you to review this page periodically.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or want to make a request about information we hold about you, contact us at contact@albumclassics.com or through our contact page.

Questions About This Policy?

We're happy to explain anything on this page in more detail — reach out any time using the contact information above.