The short version
- TechEngage® is published by TechAbout LLC. We collect a limited amount of personal information: what you choose to send us (comments, form messages, emails) and basic usage data from Google Analytics, our hosting provider and our security service.
- We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not currently run third-party ad networks on the site.
- We earn commissions through affiliate links, including Amazon Associates. Amazon may set its own cookies after you click a link to its store.
- You can ask to access, correct or delete your data at any time by emailing team@techengage.com.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information TechEngage collects when you visit techengage.com, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to the website and to messages you send us. It does not apply to third-party websites you reach through links on our pages.
1. Who we are
TechEngage® is a technology publication operated by TechAbout LLC (“TechEngage,” “we,” “us” or “our”). TechAbout LLC is the controller responsible for the personal information described in this policy. Our postal address is TechAbout LLC, 30 N Gould St Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801, United States. You can reach us about any privacy matter at team@techengage.com.
2. Information we collect
Information you give us
- Comments: the name, email address and optional website you enter, the text of your comment, and the IP address and browser user agent recorded when you submit it. Your email address is never published.
- Forms: when you use our contact, tip, advertising, startup submission or similar forms, we receive the details you enter, which usually include your name, email address and message, plus any files or links you attach.
- Email: if you write to us directly, we receive your email address, your message and anything you include with it.
- Contributor and staff accounts: public registration is closed. If we create an account for you as a writer or editor, we store your username, email address, profile details and account activity.
Please do not send sensitive information (such as health, financial or government ID details) through comments or forms. If you share a news tip, you can ask us to keep your identity confidential.
Information collected automatically
- Analytics data: with your permission, we use Google Analytics 4 to measure readership. It collects information such as pages viewed, referring pages, approximate location (city or country level), device type, browser, and interactions like scrolls and outbound clicks, using cookies and a randomly generated identifier.
- Server and security logs: our hosting provider (WP Engine) and our content delivery and security service (Cloudflare) process your IP address, request details, browser user agent and timestamps to deliver pages, block attacks and keep the site available.
- Anti-spam signals: when you submit a comment, Akismet checks it for spam using the comment content, your name, email, IP address, user agent and referring page, along with basic form interaction timing.
- Store localization: on pages with Amazon product boxes, our affiliate plugin may look up your country from a shortened, pseudonymous version of your IP address (not anonymous; aggregated where possible) so that product links point to your local Amazon store. The result is saved in a cookie called
aawp-country. See our Cookies Policy for details.
Information from third parties
Affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates send us reports about clicks and qualifying purchases. These reports show products and order totals, not the names or contact details of the people who bought them.
3. How we use your information
We use personal information only for the purposes below. If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, the table also shows the legal basis we rely on under the GDPR and UK GDPR.
| Purpose | Information used | Legal basis (EEA/UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Publishing and moderating comments | Comment details, IP address, user agent | Legitimate interests in hosting reader discussion and preventing abuse |
| Answering messages, tips, corrections and business inquiries | Name, email, message content | Legitimate interests; steps you ask us to take before a contract, where relevant |
| Measuring readership and improving content | Analytics data | Consent for optional Google Analytics |
| Keeping the site secure and available, and blocking spam | Server logs, IP address, anti-spam signals | Legitimate interests in protecting the site and its readers |
| Managing contributor and staff accounts | Account details and activity | Performance of a contract or legitimate interests |
| Meeting legal obligations and defending legal claims | Any relevant information | Legal obligation; legitimate interests |
We do not use personal information to make decisions based solely on automated processing that produce legal or similarly significant effects for you.
4. Cookies and similar technologies
We use a small number of cookies: a Cloudflare security cookie, Google Analytics cookies, and WordPress login cookies for registered members. We do not set advertising cookies. Our Cookies Policy lists each cookie, what it does and how long it lasts, and explains how to control them.
5. Service providers we use
We share personal information with the companies below only so they can provide services to us. Each processes data under its own terms and privacy policy.
| Provider | What it does for us | Information involved |
|---|---|---|
| WP Engine | Website hosting | All information stored on or passing through the site |
| Cloudflare | Content delivery, caching and security | IP address, request details, security cookie |
| Google (Google Analytics 4) | Readership measurement | Analytics data and cookies |
| Automattic (Akismet) | Comment spam filtering | Comment content and submission details |
| Automattic (Gravatar) | Profile images next to comments | A hashed (encoded) version of commenter email addresses; your browser also sends your IP address to Gravatar when avatar images load |
| Email delivery and productivity tools | Sending site emails and handling form submissions | Name, email address and message content |
Links to our profiles on social networks (such as Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube) and our share buttons are plain links. We do not load social media tracking scripts on our pages. If you click through, the network’s own privacy policy applies.
6. Affiliate links
Some pages contain affiliate links, including links to Amazon. We are not told who you are when you click one. The retailer may set cookies on its own website to credit us for a qualifying purchase, under the retailer’s privacy policy. Read our Affiliate Disclosure to learn how these relationships work and why they never change our editorial verdicts.
7. When we share information
We do not sell personal information, and we do not rent or trade it. We share it only:
- with the service providers listed above;
- when you ask us to, or give us permission to;
- when the law requires it, for example in response to a valid subpoena or court order, or to protect the rights, safety or property of our readers, our staff or the public; and
- as part of a merger, acquisition or sale of TechEngage, in which case this policy would continue to apply to your information.
Published comments, including the display name you choose, are public and can be seen by anyone.
8. U.S. state privacy rights, including California
Residents of California and other U.S. states with comprehensive privacy laws have the rights described here. In the past 12 months we have collected the following categories of personal information, from the sources and for the purposes described above: identifiers (such as name, email address and IP address), internet or network activity (such as pages viewed), approximate geolocation, and the content of messages and comments you send us. We do not collect sensitive personal information for the purpose of inferring characteristics about you.
- Do not sell or share: we do not sell personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of today. If that changes, we will update this policy first and honor opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control.
- Right to know and access: you can ask what personal information we hold about you and request a copy.
- Right to delete and correct: you can ask us to delete or correct personal information, subject to legal exceptions.
- Authorized agents: you may use an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. We may ask for proof of the agent’s authority.
- No discrimination: we will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.
To make a request, email team@techengage.com. We will confirm receipt, verify your request (usually by confirming control of the email address involved) and respond within the time the law allows, typically 45 days.
9. Rights in the EEA, UK and Switzerland
If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, port and object to the processing of your personal information, and to complain to a data protection authority. Our GDPR Compliance page explains these rights and how to use them.
10. International transfers
TechEngage is based in the United States, and our service providers may process information in the United States and other countries. When we or our providers transfer personal information from the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, we rely on recognized safeguards, such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (including its UK and Swiss extensions) where the provider is certified, or the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK Addendum.
11. How long we keep information
| Information | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Published comments | For as long as the comment remains on the site. You can ask us to remove your comment at any time. |
| Comments marked as spam | Deleted automatically by Akismet after 15 days. |
| Form submissions and emails | As long as needed to handle your message and any follow-up, then deleted in periodic reviews, unless we need them for legal reasons. |
| Google Analytics data | Event-level data tied to cookies or identifiers is kept for no longer than 14 months. Aggregated reports that do not identify you may be kept longer. |
| Server and security logs | Kept for short periods set by WP Engine and Cloudflare for operational and security purposes. |
| Contributor and staff accounts | For as long as the account is active, and afterward as needed to credit published work. |
12. Security
All pages are served over encrypted HTTPS connections. Access to site administration is limited to authorized staff, and our hosting and security providers protect the infrastructure. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your information and will notify you and the authorities of a breach where the law requires.
13. Children’s privacy
TechEngage is a general-audience publication and is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or under 16 in the EEA and UK. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, email team@techengage.com and we will delete it.
14. Your choices
- Analytics: block or delete cookies in your browser, or install Google’s Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
- Comments: you can comment without adding a website, and you can ask us to edit or remove a comment you posted.
- Affiliate cookies: retailer cookies are set on the retailer’s own site, so you can avoid them by not clicking affiliate links or by managing cookies in your browser.
15. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when our practices or the law change. The date at the top of the page shows when it was last revised. If we make a material change, such as starting to use advertising cookies, we will note it prominently on this page before the change takes effect.
16. Contact us
Questions, requests or complaints about privacy can be sent to team@techengage.com, or by mail to TechAbout LLC, 30 N Gould St Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801, United States. Please include “Privacy” in your subject line so your message reaches the right person quickly. You can also review our Terms and Conditions.
Your Google Analytics choice
Google Analytics is optional. Use the Privacy choices button to allow it or continue without it. Your choice is stored in this browser for up to 180 days. You can change it at any time; withdrawing permission stops future Google Analytics loading and removes matching analytics cookies accessible to this site. Browser blocking or Global Privacy Control can prevent analytics. Essential login, security and form functions remain available. Separate first-party activity counters used by the Launchpad workspace are not Google Analytics.
