Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

SkincareTopic respects your privacy. This page explains what data we collect, why we collect it, and how it’s protected. Plain language, no dark patterns.

Effective date: 2026. Last updated: 2026.

1. Who we are

SkincareTopic (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website at skincaretopic.com. We are an independent skincare editorial site. For privacy-related questions you can contact us at any time.

2. What information we collect

2.1 Information you provide

You provide information to us only when you actively give it — for example:

  • Email address, if you subscribe to our newsletter
  • Name and message content, if you use our contact form
  • Any comments you leave on articles (currently disabled, but may be enabled in future)

2.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit any website (including this one), certain information is collected automatically by your browser and our server software. This includes:

  • IP address (partial — we anonymize the final octet)
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system
  • Pages you visit on our site and the time spent on each
  • The website you came from (referrer)
  • General geographic location (country or region level — not your specific address)

2.3 Analytics tools we use

We use the following tools to understand how readers use our site:

  • Matomo Analytics — a privacy-respecting analytics platform we host ourselves. Matomo does not share data with third parties, and we have it configured to anonymize IP addresses and respect Do Not Track signals.
  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — Google’s standard analytics. GA4 anonymizes IP addresses by default and stores data per Google’s privacy practices. Google’s privacy policy.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

Like nearly all websites, we use cookies (small text files stored in your browser) for the following purposes:

  • Functional cookies — keep you logged in, remember preferences, manage newsletter signup state.
  • Analytics cookies — used by Matomo and Google Analytics to understand how the site is used. These cookies do not identify you personally.
  • Affiliate tracking cookies — set by partner retailers (Amazon, Sephora, Ulta, etc.) when you click an affiliate link. These cookies allow the retailer to attribute purchases back to us. We do not control these cookies — they are governed by the privacy policies of the respective retailers.

You can disable cookies through your browser settings. Doing so may break some site functionality (especially the comment system, if enabled) but most of the site will continue to work.

4. Affiliate links and third-party retailers

When you click an affiliate link on SkincareTopic, you are taken to a third-party retailer’s website (such as Amazon, Sephora, Dermstore, iHerb, Ulta, or LookFantastic). Once you are on that site, the retailer’s privacy policy and data practices apply — not ours. We do not have access to your shopping cart, your purchase data, or your account information at those retailers. We only see anonymized commission reports showing that a sale was attributed to us.

See our full affiliate disclosure for more information about how affiliate links work.

5. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Operate the site and improve its functionality
  • Send newsletters (only if you’ve subscribed)
  • Respond to messages you send us
  • Understand which articles are useful to readers and which need improvement
  • Identify and prevent abuse, spam, or technical problems

We do not sell your personal information to anyone, ever. We do not share your email address with third parties, except as needed to operate the newsletter service itself (e.g., the email service provider that delivers newsletters on our behalf).

6. Newsletter

If you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address and use it only to send you the newsletter you’ve subscribed to. Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom — one click and you’re removed permanently.

We do not share newsletter subscriber lists with anyone. We do not sell our list. We do not “rent” it to advertisers.

7. Children’s privacy

SkincareTopic is written for adults. We do not knowingly collect any information from individuals under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us and we will delete it immediately.

8. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including:

  • The right to access information we hold about you
  • The right to request correction of inaccurate information
  • The right to request deletion of your information
  • The right to object to or restrict certain types of processing
  • The right to data portability (receive your data in a portable format)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us and we will respond within a reasonable timeframe.

9. Data retention

We retain information only as long as needed to provide the service or as required by law. Analytics data is retained for up to 14 months in Google Analytics and indefinitely in our self-hosted Matomo instance. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe.

10. Security

We use industry-standard security measures (HTTPS encryption site-wide, server-side firewalls, application-layer security, secure password storage) to protect your information. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable precautions.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will also note the change in our newsletter or with a notice on the site.

12. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or to exercise any of the rights above, please contact us.