Privacy Policy

The short version

We do not ask you to create an account, we do not run advertising networks, and we do not sell data to anyone. The only personal information we ever hold is what you type into the contact form, and we keep it only as long as it takes to answer you.

Who we are

Forge & Forever is operated by Iron Mako Media. For any privacy question, contact contact@forgeandforever.com.

Information you give us

The contact form. When you send a message we receive your name, your email address, any subject line you add and the message itself. That information is emailed to us and is used only to reply. It is not added to a mailing list, because we do not have one.

The form also records the moment the page loaded and your IP address, purely to block automated spam. Neither is stored beyond the request.

Information collected automatically

Google Analytics 4. We use GA4 to see which pages are read and roughly where readers come from. It sets cookies and collects an anonymized IP address, device type, browser, referring page and the pages visited. We use it only in aggregate - we have no interest in, and no way of identifying, individual readers.

You can opt out entirely with Google’s browser add-on, or by blocking the script in your browser or an extension. The site works identically either way.

Hosting logs. Our host, Vercel, keeps standard server logs including IP addresses, for security and to keep the site running. We do not use those logs for analytics.

Affiliate links

Product links on this site go through a redirect on our own domain and then to Amazon. The redirect sets no cookie of ours and stores nothing about you.

Amazon sets its own cookie when you arrive, which is how it attributes a purchase to us. That cookie is governed by Amazon’s privacy notice, not ours. We receive aggregate reporting from Amazon - items ordered, commission earned - and never the identity of a buyer.

We do also record an anonymous event in Google Analytics when an affiliate link is clicked, so we can see which recommendations readers find useful. It contains the page, the merchant and the product identifier, and nothing about you.

Cookies in plain terms

• Analytics cookies set by Google Analytics, to measure readership.
• Amazon cookies set by Amazon when you follow a product link.

There are no advertising cookies, no retargeting pixels and no social media trackers on this site. Blocking all cookies will not break anything here.

How long we keep things

Contact form emails are kept while the conversation is live and deleted once it is closed. Analytics data is retained on Google’s default schedule. We hold no database of readers.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask what personal data we hold, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, or to object to its processing. Because the only personal data we hold is contact-form correspondence, those requests are usually straightforward. Email contact@forgeandforever.com and we will act on it.

California residents: we do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA and CPRA.

Children

This site is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes

If this policy changes materially, the date at the top of this page changes with it. The current version is always the one here.

See also our terms of service and affiliate disclosure.