Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

Welcome to thump.pro (the "Website"), a solo travel blog dedicated to sharing stories, tips, and inspiration for independent explorers. Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your personal data when you visit or interact with our blog.

By using thump.pro, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the Website.

1. Information We Collect

We collect only the information that you voluntarily provide or that is automatically generated when you browse the blog. We do not collect payment card details, billing addresses, or any data related to financial transactions because thump.pro does not sell products or services.

1.1 Information You Provide Voluntarily

• Contact form submissions: When you send us a message via the contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. We use this solely to respond to your inquiry.
• Comments: When you leave a comment on a blog post, we collect your name (or display name), email address, and the comment text. Your email address is kept private and is not publicly displayed.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Cookies and similar technologies: We use small text files (cookies) to improve your experience, remember your preferences, and understand how you interact with our content. You can control cookies through your browser settings.
• Basic analytics data: We collect anonymized data such as pages visited, time spent on the site, browser type, device type, and approximate geographic location (country/city level). This helps us improve our content for solo travelers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect only for the following purposes:

• To respond to your messages submitted through the contact form.
• To display and manage comments on blog posts.
• To analyze traffic patterns and improve the blog’s content, layout, and user experience.
• To remember your preferences (e.g., dark mode or commenter details) via cookies.
• To detect and prevent spam or abusive behavior (e.g., spam comments).

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

3. Cookies

Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your web browser. thump.pro uses cookies for the following purposes:

• Essential cookies: Required for basic site functionality (e.g., remembering your cookie consent choice).
• Preference cookies: Remember your settings, such as your name and email if you choose to “save” them when commenting.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use the site (e.g., which articles are most popular). We use a privacy-friendly analytics service that anonymizes IP addresses.

You can manage or disable cookies at any time through your browser settings. Please note that disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the blog.

4. Comments

When you leave a comment on thump.pro, we collect the data shown in the comment form (name, email, and comment). Your email address is never published or shared. We may also collect your IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. After approval of your comment, your profile picture (if any) is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

We reserve the right to moderate, edit, or delete comments that are spam, offensive, or off-topic.

5. Contact Forms

If you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the message you send. We keep this data for a reasonable period to respond to your inquiry and for record-keeping purposes. We do not use this information for marketing unless you explicitly opt in.

6. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on thump.pro may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, maps, social media posts). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if you visited that other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

7. Analytics

We use a basic analytics tool (such as Plausible, Fathom, or a similarly privacy-respecting service) to collect anonymized data about site usage. This includes:

• Pages viewed and time spent on each page.
• Referral sources (e.g., search engine, social media).
• Device type, browser, and operating system.
• General geographic location (city/country level, not precise GPS).

All analytics data is aggregated and does not identify individual users. We do not use Google Analytics or any service that tracks you across other websites.

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy:

• Contact form submissions: Retained for up to 12 months after the last communication.
• Comments: Retained indefinitely unless you request deletion. You can ask us to remove your comment and associated data at any time.
• Analytics data: Retained in anonymized form for up to 26 months.

9. Your Rights

Depending on your location (including under the GDPR, CCPA, and similar laws), you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: Correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Deletion: Request that we delete your personal data, subject to legal obligations.
• Objection: Object to the processing of your data for analytics or other purposes.
• Data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days.

10. Third-Party Services

We do not use any third-party services that collect personal data for advertising or marketing purposes. The only third-party services we use are:

• Web hosting provider: Stores the website files and database securely.
• Analytics provider: As described in Section 7.
• Gravatar (optional): For commenter profile pictures, as described in Section 4.

These providers have their own privacy policies and are contractually bound to protect your data.

11. Children's Privacy

thump.pro is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with their data, please contact us immediately, and we will delete it.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us:

• Email: [email protected]
• Mail: 5830 Main St, Springfield, IL 62701

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Thank you for trusting thump.pro. We hope our solo travel stories inspire your next adventure — with your privacy always respected.