Privacy policy

The short version

• You can browse the whole site without an account and without accepting any optional cookies.
• Analytics and advertising cookies are off until you opt in, and you can withdraw that choice at any time.
• If you create an account we store your email address, an optional display name and a hashed password.
• Some links to shops are affiliate links: we may earn a commission if you buy something.
• We do not sell your personal information.

Accounts

An account is optional. When you sign up we store your email address, an optional display name, your role and the times your account was created and last updated. Your password is never stored as typed: we keep only a one-way bcrypt hash of it. If you contribute data to the catalog, the contribution is linked to your account. We use this information to run your account and to keep the site secure; the legal basis is performing our agreement with you and our legitimate interest in preventing abuse.

You can change your details or permanently delete your account from Account settings at any time.

Email

We send transactional email only, such as password-reset messages you request. These are delivered through Resend, which processes your email address and the message on our behalf. We do not send marketing email.

Cookies and the consent banner

Strictly necessary cookies are always on because the site does not work without them. Everything else needs your consent, which you give or refuse in the cookie banner shown on your first visit.

_watchfari_session Necessary

Keeps you signed in and protects forms against cross-site request forgery. Set only when you use sign-in or account pages. Lifetime: Until you close your browser

remember_user_token Necessary

Keeps you signed in between visits, only if you tick "Remember me". Cleared when you sign out. Lifetime: 2 weeks

cc_cookie Necessary

Remembers your cookie choices so the banner doesn't ask again. Lifetime: 180 days

_ga, _ga_* Analytics (opt-in)

Google Analytics: counts visits and pages viewed. Not set unless you accept analytics. Lifetime: Up to 2 years

Google advertising cookies Advertising (opt-in)

Google AdSense: measures ads and, only with your consent, personalizes them. Lifetime: Set by Google, see below

Changing or withdrawing consent. Use the Cookie settings link in the site footer to reopen your choices and switch any optional category off; withdrawing is as easy as giving consent and takes effect immediately. Cookie settings You can also delete cookies in your browser's settings at any time, which resets your choice.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand which pages are useful and to fix what isn't. It runs in Google Consent Mode v2 with every storage type denied by default: until you accept analytics, no analytics cookies are set and Google receives only cookieless signals that cannot be tied to a returning visitor. If you accept, Google processes information such as pages viewed, referring site, device and browser type and approximate location (derived from your IP address, which Google does not store) under its own privacy policy. User- and event-level analytics data is kept for no longer than 14 months. You can also install Google's Analytics opt-out add-on. The legal basis is your consent.

Advertising

Some pages show ads served by Google AdSense. Advertising storage, ad user data and ad personalization are denied by default through Consent Mode; without your consent Google serves non-personalized ads using limited, cookieless signals. If you allow advertising, Google and its partners may use cookies and similar identifiers to serve, measure and personalize ads based on your visits to this and other sites. Learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services, manage personalization in My Ad Center, or visit aboutads.info for more choices. Ads never influence the specifications we publish. The legal basis is your consent.

Affiliate links

Some links to shops are affiliate links, through programs such as Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. If you follow one and buy something, Watchfari may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Affiliate links are marked where they appear.

Following an affiliate link takes you to the retailer's site, which may set its own cookies to attribute the sale to us. Watchfari does not receive your name, payment details or what you bought; the retailer handles the purchase under its own privacy policy (Amazon, eBay). Commissions never change the specifications shown on this site.

Server logs

Like any website, our servers record basic technical details of each request: IP address, browser user agent, the page requested, the referring page, the response and the time. We use these logs to run, debug and protect the site (for example, against abuse and attacks), which is our legitimate interest. Logs are kept for a short period, normally no more than 30 days, unless needed to investigate a specific security incident.

Who else receives data

We share information only with the service providers needed to run the site: our hosting provider, Resend for email, Google for analytics and advertising (only with your consent), and the retailers you choose to visit through affiliate links. Some of these providers are in the United States; where data about people in the UK or EU is transferred, they rely on recognized safeguards such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework or standard contractual clauses. We may also disclose information if the law requires it. We do not sell your personal information.

How long we keep data

• Account data: until you delete your account. Deleting it removes your email, display name and password hash; catalog contributions stay, without your account attached.
• Server logs: normally no more than 30 days.
• User- and event-level data in Google Analytics: no more than 14 months.
• Cookies: for the lifetimes listed above, or until you delete them.
• Email delivery records: as long as Resend keeps them under its own retention policy.

Your rights

UK and EU (UK GDPR / GDPR). You can ask to access, correct or delete your personal data, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to receive a copy in a portable format. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting earlier use. You can also complain to your local data protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).

California (CCPA / CPRA). You have the right to know what personal information we collect and how it is used, to ask us to delete or correct it, and not to be treated differently for using these rights. We do not sell personal information. If you allow advertising cookies, Google's ad personalization may count as "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising under California law; you can opt out at any time by switching advertising off in Cookie settings.

To use any of these rights, email [email protected]. We may need to confirm you control the account involved, and we aim to reply within 30 days.

Children

Watchfari is not aimed at children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13 (or under 16 in the UK and EU). If you think a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes and contact

We will update this page when our practices change and revise the date at the top. For significant changes affecting account holders, we will also tell you by email or on the site. Questions or requests: [email protected].