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Privacy Policy

Site: hometownsrealty.com Effective Date: January 1, 2024 Last Updated:
Plain-English Summary
We do not sell your personal information to anyone, ever.
We collect limited data — mainly what you voluntarily submit through our contact form.
We use Google Analytics and Google AdSense, which set cookies and collect anonymized usage data.
This site contains affiliate links to eBay (eBay Partner Network). Clicking them may set eBay tracking cookies.
You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking using Google’s browser opt-out tool.
We use WPForms to collect email addresses for our newsletter — we do not share this list.
You can request deletion of your data at any time by contacting us.

1 Who We Are

Hometowns Realty (hometownsrealty.com) is an independent real estate education website. We publish free guides, calculators, and market analysis for buyers, sellers, and investors. We are not a licensed real estate brokerage and do not represent buyers or sellers in transactions.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information. By using this website, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

Questions? Contact us at hometownsrealty.com/contact — we respond to all privacy-related inquiries.

2 Information We Collect

We collect information in two ways: information you provide voluntarily, and information collected automatically when you visit the site.

Information you provide voluntarily:

Email address and name — collected when you subscribe to our newsletter or submit our contact form via WPForms. We use this to send you the emails you requested. We do not share this data with third parties.
Contact form submissions — any information you choose to include in a message sent through our contact form. We use this only to respond to your inquiry.

Information collected automatically:

Google Analytics — we use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site. This collects anonymized data including pages visited, time on site, browser type, device type, and approximate geographic location. Google Analytics uses cookies. See Google’s Privacy Policy for full details.
Google AdSense — we display advertisements through Google AdSense. Google uses cookies and device identifiers to serve personalized ads based on your browsing history. See Google’s Advertising Policy for details on how to opt out of personalized ads.
WordPress and hosting logs — our web host automatically logs IP addresses, browser types, referring URLs, and pages visited. These logs are used for security and performance monitoring and are not shared.
Cookies — this site uses cookies set by Google Analytics, Google AdSense, WPForms, and eBay Partner Network (when you click affiliate links). See Section 5 for details.

3 How We Use Your Information

To send newsletters and updates you have subscribed to
To respond to contact form submissions and inquiries
To analyze site traffic and improve content (via Google Analytics)
To display relevant advertisements (via Google AdSense)
To track affiliate link performance (via eBay Partner Network)
To maintain site security and diagnose technical issues

We do not use your information for automated decision-making, profiling, or any purpose not listed above. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.

4 Affiliate Links & Advertising

This site participates in the eBay Partner Network (EPN), an affiliate advertising program. Pages on this site contain links to eBay listings. When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase on eBay, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.

eBay affiliate links contain a tracking parameter (campid=5338961219) that allows eBay to attribute sales to this site. When you click an eBay affiliate link, eBay may set cookies on your device. See eBay’s Cookie Policy for details.

This site also displays advertisements through Google AdSense. Google may use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google’s Ad Settings.

Editorial independence: Affiliate relationships do not influence our editorial content. Guides, tools, and analysis on this site reflect independent research and are not paid for or directed by any advertiser or affiliate partner.

5 Cookies

This site uses the following types of cookies:

Analytics cookies (Google Analytics) — track anonymized usage data to help us understand how visitors use the site. These do not identify you personally.
Advertising cookies (Google AdSense) — used by Google to serve personalized advertisements based on your browsing history across websites.
Affiliate tracking cookies (eBay Partner Network) — set when you click an eBay affiliate link. Used by eBay to track referrals and attribute commissions.
Form cookies (WPForms) — may set a session cookie to prevent duplicate form submissions. No personal data is stored in this cookie.
WordPress cookies — standard WordPress cookies for site functionality. Only set for logged-in users (site administrators).

How to control cookies: You can disable cookies in your browser settings. Note that disabling cookies may affect site functionality. To opt out of Google Analytics specifically, use the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On. To opt out of Google personalized ads, visit Google’s Ad Settings.

6 Third-Party Services

This site uses the following third-party services, each of which has its own privacy policy:

Google Analytics — website analytics. Google Privacy Policy ↗
Google AdSense — display advertising. Google Advertising Policy ↗
eBay Partner Network — affiliate marketing. eBay Privacy Policy ↗
WPForms — contact and newsletter forms. WPForms Privacy Policy ↗
WordPress / Hosting Provider — site platform and hosting. Data stored on servers in the United States.
Google Fonts — web fonts loaded from Google’s servers. Google may collect basic request data. Google Privacy Policy ↗
Unsplash — stock photography served from Unsplash’s CDN. No user data is shared with Unsplash. Unsplash Privacy Policy ↗

We do not share your personal information with any of these services beyond what is necessary for them to provide their functionality. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services — please review their policies directly.

7 Email Newsletter

If you subscribe to our newsletter via a form on this site, we collect your email address and name (if provided). We use this information to send you real estate guides, market updates, and educational content you have requested.

We do not sell, rent, or share your email address with any third party.
You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email we send.
Email data is stored securely and accessed only by site administrators.
We do not send unsolicited email. You only receive emails for which you explicitly subscribed.

8 Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right to access — you can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to deletion — you can request that we delete your personal data. We will comply unless we are required to retain it by law.
Right to correction — you can request that we correct inaccurate personal data.
Right to opt out — you can unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time, and you can opt out of Google and eBay tracking cookies using the tools described in Sections 4 and 5.
California residents (CCPA) — you have the right to know what personal data we collect, the right to delete it, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information.
EEA/UK residents (GDPR) — you have rights under GDPR including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, and portability. Our lawful basis for processing is legitimate interest (analytics, security) and consent (newsletter subscriptions).

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hometownsrealty.com/contact. We will respond within 30 days.

9 Data Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, loss, or disclosure. This site uses HTTPS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our server.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify affected users as required by applicable law.

10 Children’s Privacy

This website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

12 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we do, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. Material changes will be noted prominently. Continued use of this site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

We recommend reviewing this page periodically. Previous versions are available on request.

Questions About This Policy?

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your data rights, or need to report a privacy concern, contact us at:

Hometowns Realty
Website: hometownsrealty.com/contact
Site: hometownsrealty.com

We respond to all privacy inquiries within 30 days.