Prickly Petals is a static, content-only website. It does not require account creation and does not host comments. Display advertising is delivered via the Ezoic platform (see below) and aggregate analytics are collected via Google Analytics. The data footprint beyond that is small. This page explains exactly what is and isn't collected.
Information collected automatically
Like every site on the open web, the server logs the following for each request:
- IP address (truncated for storage; used for rate-limiting and abuse mitigation)
- Browser user-agent string
- Requested URL and referring URL
- Response status code and timestamp
These logs are retained for 30 days and are used only to investigate operational problems and to identify scraping or abuse. They are not joined to any other dataset.
Information you provide
The only way to send Prickly Petals personal information is by emailing the address on the contact page. Email correspondence is retained until the conversation is concluded, after which it is archived for up to one year and then deleted.
Cookies
Prickly Petals does not set first-party tracking cookies. A small number of strictly-functional cookies may be set by the underlying web framework (session identifiers, CSRF tokens). These are session-scoped and expire when you close the browser tab.
The site does load Google Analytics (see below), which sets its own first-party cookies (_ga, _ga_*) under the pricklypetals.com domain to measure aggregate, anonymised traffic patterns. These cookies are not joined to any personal information collected by this site.
Third-party services
Prickly Petals is served via Cloudflare, which acts as a reverse proxy and CDN. Cloudflare receives the same request-level data described above and applies its own security and analytics processing in line with its privacy notice.
This site uses Google Analytics 4 (measurement ID G-NWCSZPNZEN) to understand which articles are read and how visitors arrive. Google receives a truncated IP address, the requested URL, the referring URL, and a randomly-generated client identifier. IP anonymisation is enabled and no advertising features (remarketing, demographics, signals) are turned on. Google's handling of this data is described in its privacy policy. To opt out of Google Analytics across all sites, install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.
Ezoic (display advertising)
Display advertising on Prickly Petals is delivered by the Ezoic platform. Ezoic and its certified ad partners load on every page and may set cookies and similar identifiers in order to:
- deliver advertising and limit how often a given ad is shown to the same browser,
- measure ad performance and detect invalid traffic,
- diagnose page-speed and layout issues on this site.
Where required by law (UK GDPR, EU GDPR, and various US state privacy regimes), Ezoic presents a consent dialog that lets you accept or refuse non-essential cookies before any tracked advertising is loaded. The current list of vendors Ezoic relies on, and the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework purposes invoked, is shown inside that dialog. See also Ezoic's privacy policy.
Embedded content
This site does not embed iframes from external services and does not autoload videos. If a page links to an external resource (such as an authoritative botanical reference like Plants of the World Online), that link is followed only if you click it.
Children
Prickly Petals is suitable for general audiences but is not directed at children under 13. No information is knowingly collected from anyone under that age.
Your rights
If you have corresponded with Prickly Petals by email and would like the message thread deleted, send a follow-up to the contact address asking for deletion. Such requests are honoured within 14 days.
Changes to this policy
Material changes are dated above and noted at the top of this page. Minor editorial changes are not separately noted.
Contact
Questions about this policy can be sent to the contact address.