Today A magazine for the modern solver · Est. 2026
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Privacy Policy

A plain-English description of what data we collect, what we do with it, and what your rights are. The short version: we don’t sell your data, and we collect as little of it as we can.

Last updated: May 9, 2026.

What this is

This privacy policy describes how CrosswordGuru (“we,” “us”) handles personal information when you visit crosswordguru.com or interact with our newsletter. We try to keep this short. Where we have to use legal language for compliance reasons, we explain it in plain English next to it.

Who we are

CrosswordGuru is an independent online magazine covering crossword and word puzzles. We are operated by a small team of editors. Our editorial standards are described in our editorial policy. The legal entity behind the site is contactable at [email protected].

What information we collect

Information you give us directly

  • Newsletter subscribers: if you sign up for our weekly newsletter, we collect your email address and the date you subscribed.
  • Email correspondence: if you email us at any of our editor addresses or at [email protected], we keep your email and our reply for as long as it remains relevant to ongoing editorial work.

Information collected automatically

  • Server logs: like most websites, our hosting provider records standard server logs — IP address, user agent, the page you requested, the time. We use these for security monitoring and aggregate traffic analysis. We do not use them to track you across sessions.
  • Privacy-respecting analytics: we use a cookie-free, privacy-respecting analytics tool to count page views, referral sources, and aggregate visitor data. It does not set tracking cookies, does not use device fingerprinting, and does not retain individual-level data.
  • Cookies: we set a small number of functional cookies (e.g., to remember if you’ve dismissed a banner). We do not set advertising or third-party tracking cookies.

What we do with this information

  • Send you the weekly newsletter, if you signed up for it.
  • Reply to your emails.
  • Aggregate traffic statistics so we know which articles are working.
  • Detect and respond to abuse (e.g., spam attempts, denial-of-service patterns).

What we don’t do

  • We do not sell your personal information.
  • We do not share newsletter subscriber lists with third parties.
  • We do not run ad-tech tracking pixels.
  • We do not use your information to build a profile for advertising purposes.
  • We do not, to the best of our knowledge, do anything with your data that would surprise you.

Third-party services we use

To run the site we rely on a small set of vendors. Each of them has its own privacy policy.

  • Hosting provider: serves the site and stores server logs.
  • Newsletter provider: manages newsletter subscriptions and delivery. Subscriber email addresses are stored on this provider’s servers in line with their own privacy practices.
  • Image CDN: we serve photographs via Unsplash’s image CDN. When you load an article, your browser requests the image directly from Unsplash, which means Unsplash receives standard request metadata (IP address, user agent).
  • Privacy-respecting analytics: aggregate traffic counting only, no individual tracking.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have specific legal rights over your personal information. These typically include:

  • The right to know what data we hold about you.
  • The right to ask us to correct or delete that data.
  • The right to unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time (every newsletter has an unsubscribe link).
  • The right to lodge a complaint with a data-protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected]. We aim to respond within 30 days.

Children’s privacy

This site is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you’re a parent who believes your child has signed up for our newsletter, email [email protected] and we’ll remove the address.

Updates to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll change the “Last updated” date at the top. If we make a material change — something that meaningfully alters how we handle your data — we’ll also note it in our weekly newsletter and on the homepage for at least 30 days.

Questions

Anything unclear here, email [email protected]. We’d rather over-explain than have you wondering.