Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

InfraDigest Publishing Ltd ("InfraDigest," "we," "us," or "our") is a digital media company incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, Canada, with its principal offices located at 200 Bay Street, Suite 1500, Toronto, ON M5J 2J2, Canada. We operate the website infradigest.example and related digital properties (collectively, the "Site"), which provide editorial content, news coverage, technical analysis, and product reviews pertaining to cloud infrastructure, DevOps tooling, site reliability engineering, and related technology topics.

This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you visit our Site, subscribe to our newsletter, submit inquiries through our contact forms, or otherwise interact with our services. It applies to all visitors, subscribers, and users of the Site regardless of geographic location.

We are committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal information in compliance with Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act ("PIPEDA"), as well as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR") where applicable to individuals located in the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. Where there is a conflict between PIPEDA and the GDPR with respect to an individual's rights, we apply whichever framework provides the greater level of protection to the data subject.

By accessing or using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the practices described herein, please discontinue use of the Site immediately.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Personal Information You Provide

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you interact with the Site. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Newsletter subscriptions: When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and, optionally, your first name and areas of interest (such as preferred topic categories). This information is used solely to deliver our newsletter content and manage your subscription preferences.
• Contact form submissions: When you contact us through our editorial, advertising, or general inquiry forms, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. If you are inquiring about advertising opportunities, we may also collect your company name, job title, and phone number.
• Comments and feedback: If you submit comments on articles or provide feedback, we collect the content of your submission along with any identifying information you provide, such as your name or username.

2.2 Usage Data Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, our servers and analytics tools automatically collect certain technical and usage information. This data is gathered through server logs, cookies, and similar technologies, and may include:

• IP address: Your Internet Protocol address, which may indicate your approximate geographic location.
• Browser information: The type, version, and language of your web browser, as well as your operating system and device type (desktop, mobile, or tablet).
• Pages visited: The specific pages you view on the Site, the order in which you view them, the time spent on each page, and the date and time of your visit.
• Referral source: The URL of the website or search engine that directed you to the Site, including any search terms used.
• Interaction data: Information about how you interact with the Site, such as clicks, scrolling behavior, and navigation patterns.

2.3 Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our Site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies (such as web beacons and pixel tags) to collect and store information about your browsing activity. Cookies are small text files placed on your device by your web browser. We use both session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which remain on your device for a specified period or until you delete them. For more information about the specific cookies we use, please see Section 5 of this Policy.

3. How We Use Your Information

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

• Content delivery: To provide you with access to our articles, reviews, analysis, and other editorial content, and to personalize the content recommendations displayed on the Site based on your reading history and stated preferences.
• Newsletter communications: To send you our periodic newsletter containing curated articles, editorial highlights, and industry updates that you have opted in to receive. Each newsletter includes an unsubscribe link that allows you to opt out at any time.
• Analytics and improvement: To analyze usage patterns and trends across the Site, understand which content resonates with our audience, identify technical issues or errors, and improve the overall performance, functionality, and user experience of the Site.
• Responding to inquiries: To respond to your questions, feedback, and requests submitted through our contact forms or via email, and to provide you with information about our editorial or advertising services.
• Security and fraud prevention: To detect, prevent, and respond to security incidents, unauthorized access, and other potentially harmful or fraudulent activities on the Site.
• Legal compliance: To comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, and governmental requests, and to enforce our Terms of Service and protect our legal rights.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For individuals located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, we process personal data only when we have a valid legal basis for doing so under the GDPR. The legal bases upon which we rely include:

• Consent: Where you have given us clear, affirmative consent to process your personal data for a specific purpose. This applies to newsletter subscriptions, where you explicitly opt in to receive our communications, and to the placement of non-essential cookies on your device. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time, and doing so will not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out prior to withdrawal.
• Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for our legitimate interests and those interests are not overridden by your fundamental rights and freedoms. Our legitimate interests include operating and improving the Site, conducting audience analytics to understand readership patterns, ensuring the security and integrity of the Site, and preventing fraud. We have conducted balancing tests to ensure that our legitimate interests do not unduly impact the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
• Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party. For example, if you enter into an advertising agreement with us, we process your contact and billing information as necessary to fulfill the terms of that agreement.
• Legal obligation: Where processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, such as responding to a lawful subpoena, court order, or regulatory inquiry.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Our Site uses the following categories of cookies:

5.1 Essential Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary for the operation of the Site. They enable core functionality such as session management, security features, and accessibility preferences. Because these cookies are essential to the basic functioning of the Site, they cannot be disabled. Essential cookies do not collect personal information that is used for marketing or advertising purposes. They are typically set in response to actions you take on the Site, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in, or filling in forms.

5.2 Analytics Cookies

We use analytics cookies to collect aggregated, anonymized information about how visitors use the Site. This includes data about which pages are viewed most frequently, how long visitors spend on specific pages, and how visitors navigate between pages. The information collected by analytics cookies helps us understand how the Site is being used so that we can identify areas for improvement and optimize our content strategy. Analytics cookies do not directly identify individual visitors; however, they may collect IP addresses and device identifiers that could, in combination with other data, be used to identify individuals.

5.3 Managing Cookie Preferences

You can manage your cookie preferences through your web browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies, set preferences for specific websites, and configure notifications when a cookie is being set. Please note that blocking or deleting certain cookies may affect the functionality of the Site and may prevent you from accessing certain features. The following resources provide instructions for managing cookies in common browsers:

• Google Chrome: Settings > Privacy and Security > Cookies and other site data
• Mozilla Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data
• Apple Safari: Preferences > Privacy > Manage Website Data
• Microsoft Edge: Settings > Cookies and site permissions > Manage and delete cookies and site data

You may also opt out of analytics tracking by using browser extensions such as privacy-focused add-ons that block tracking scripts. If you delete all cookies from your browser, your preference settings (including any cookie consent choices you have previously made) will be reset.

6. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise commercially transfer your personal information to third parties. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Analytics providers: We share anonymized or aggregated usage data with third-party analytics services that help us understand Site traffic and usage patterns. These providers process data on our behalf and are contractually prohibited from using the data for any purpose other than providing analytics services to us.
• Hosting and infrastructure providers: Our Site is hosted on third-party infrastructure services. These providers may have access to personal information stored on their servers as part of delivering hosting services. They are bound by contractual obligations to protect the confidentiality and security of personal information and to process it only as instructed by us.
• Email service providers: We use third-party email delivery platforms to distribute our newsletter. These providers have access to subscriber email addresses and names solely for the purpose of delivering emails on our behalf, and they are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality of subscriber information.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose personal information if required to do so by law, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect our rights or the rights of others, prevent fraud, or respond to a government request, including a request from a law enforcement agency or regulatory authority.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, or bankruptcy, your personal information may be transferred to the acquiring entity or successor organization. In such cases, we will provide notice before your personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

We reiterate that InfraDigest Publishing Ltd does not sell personal information under any circumstances. We do not participate in data brokerage or data exchange programs, and we do not share personal information with third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as is reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, as described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. The specific retention periods we apply depend on the nature of the information and the purpose for which it was collected:

• Newsletter subscriber data: We retain your email address and subscription preferences for as long as you remain subscribed to our newsletter. Upon unsubscribing, we will delete your subscriber information within 30 days, except that we may retain your email address on a suppression list to ensure we honor your unsubscribe request.
• Contact form submissions: We retain inquiry data for up to 24 months from the date of your last interaction with us, after which it is securely deleted.
• Usage and analytics data: Anonymized and aggregated analytics data is retained for up to 36 months. Server log data that contains IP addresses is retained for up to 90 days and then either anonymized or deleted.
• Cookie data: Persistent cookies are set with expiration periods ranging from 30 days to 13 months, depending on their purpose. Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser.

In determining appropriate retention periods, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure, the purposes for which we process the information, whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and applicable legal requirements.

8. Your Rights Under PIPEDA

If you are a Canadian resident, you have the following rights under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) with respect to your personal information held by InfraDigest Publishing Ltd:

• Right of access: You have the right to request access to the personal information that we hold about you. Upon receiving a written request and verifying your identity, we will provide you with a copy of your personal information within 30 days. We may charge a minimal fee to cover the cost of responding to your request, and if so, we will inform you of the fee before processing your request.
• Right of correction: You have the right to request the correction of any personal information that we hold about you that is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date. If we have disclosed the inaccurate information to third parties, we will notify those third parties of the correction where practicable.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred prior to the withdrawal. To withdraw consent for newsletter communications, you may use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email or contact us directly. We will inform you of the likely consequences of withdrawing consent.
• Right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada: If you believe that we have violated your privacy rights under PIPEDA, you have the right to file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. You can reach the Office at 30 Victoria Street, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 1H3, by phone at 1-800-282-1376, or online at www.priv.gc.ca.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact our Privacy Officer using the contact information provided in Section 13 of this Policy. We will respond to your request within 30 days and will not charge an unreasonable fee. If we are unable to comply with your request, we will provide a written explanation of the reasons and inform you of your right to complain to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR (EEA Visitors)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you are entitled to the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation with respect to your personal data processed by InfraDigest Publishing Ltd:

• Right of access (Article 15): You have the right to obtain confirmation as to whether your personal data is being processed and, where that is the case, to request access to the personal data along with supplementary information including the purposes of processing, the categories of data concerned, the recipients to whom data has been disclosed, and the envisaged retention period.
• Right to rectification (Article 16): You have the right to request the rectification of inaccurate personal data and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have incomplete personal data completed.
• Right to erasure (Article 17): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal data where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, where you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing, where you object to processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds, where the data has been unlawfully processed, or where erasure is required for compliance with a legal obligation.
• Right to restriction of processing (Article 18): You have the right to request restriction of processing where you contest the accuracy of the data, where the processing is unlawful and you oppose erasure, where we no longer need the data but you require it for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims, or where you have objected to processing pending verification of whether our legitimate grounds override yours.
• Right to data portability (Article 20): You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that data to another controller without hindrance, where the processing is based on consent or contractual necessity and is carried out by automated means.
• Right to object (Article 21): You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes. Where you object to processing for direct marketing, we will cease processing your data for that purpose without exception. Where you object to processing based on legitimate interests, we will cease processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights, and freedoms.
• Right to lodge a complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in the EU Member State of your habitual residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of your personal data infringes the GDPR.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in Section 13. We will respond to your request within one month of receipt. In complex cases or where we receive a high volume of requests, we may extend this period by an additional two months, in which case we will notify you of the extension and the reasons for the delay within the initial one-month period. We will not charge a fee for processing your request unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

10. International Data Transfers

InfraDigest Publishing Ltd is based in Canada. Your personal information may be processed and stored in Canada, and in certain cases, in the United States, where our hosting infrastructure providers and email delivery services maintain data centers. By using the Site, you acknowledge that your information may be transferred to and processed in these jurisdictions.

Canada has been recognized by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of data protection under Article 45 of the GDPR. This adequacy decision means that personal data can be transferred from the EEA to Canada without the need for additional safeguards, as Canadian data protection law is deemed to provide a level of protection essentially equivalent to that guaranteed within the EU.

Where we transfer personal data to service providers located in the United States or other jurisdictions that have not received an adequacy decision, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place. These safeguards include the use of Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) adopted by the European Commission pursuant to Article 46(2)(c) of the GDPR, supplemented by additional technical and organizational measures where necessary to ensure that the level of protection of personal data is not undermined. We conduct transfer impact assessments to evaluate whether the legal framework of the recipient country provides adequate protection for personal data and implement supplementary measures as needed.

You may obtain a copy of the Standard Contractual Clauses or other safeguards we use for international data transfers by contacting us using the information provided in Section 13.

11. Children's Privacy

The Site and the services provided by InfraDigest Publishing Ltd are intended for a general audience of technology professionals, engineers, and industry stakeholders. The Site is not directed at children under the age of 16, and we do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personal information from children under 16 years of age.

If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under the age of 16 without verifiable parental or guardian consent, we will take prompt steps to delete that information from our records. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under the age of 16 has provided personal information to us, please contact us immediately at the address or email listed in Section 13 so that we can take appropriate action.

12. Changes to This Policy

InfraDigest Publishing Ltd reserves the right to update, modify, or replace this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our data practices, applicable laws, or business operations. When we make material changes to this Policy, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and take reasonable steps to notify you of the changes.

For material changes that significantly affect the way we collect, use, or share your personal information, we will provide prominent notice on the Site, such as a banner notification on the homepage, and, where practicable, send an email notification to newsletter subscribers at least 14 days before the changes take effect. For non-material changes, such as clarifications or corrections of typographical errors, updating the "Last updated" date will constitute sufficient notice.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information. Your continued use of the Site after the effective date of any changes to this Policy constitutes your acceptance of the revised Policy. If you do not agree with any changes, you should discontinue use of the Site and, if applicable, unsubscribe from our newsletter.

13. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, or if you wish to exercise any of the rights described above, please contact our Privacy Officer:

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days of receipt. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or, for individuals in the EEA, with the relevant supervisory authority in your jurisdiction.