Who we are
The Tea Countdown (teacountdown.com) is run by One Space Assets Limited, Unit 1603, 16th Floor, The L. Plaza, 367-375 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. We decide how the personal data described here is used, which makes us the controller. You can write to us at info@teacountdown.com.
The site reviews tea advent calendars and earns a commission when readers buy through our links. We sell nothing ourselves, and there are no accounts, comments or newsletter sign-ups.
What we collect
You do not have to give us personal details to read the site. What we receive comes from your browser and from the tools listed below.
- Usage data: the pages you open, the page that sent you here, the time of your visit, your browser, your device type and your screen size.
- Approximate location: country or city, worked out from your IP address by the analytics providers. Your IP address reaches them because your browser contacts their servers, and our host also keeps it in short-lived server logs.
- Buy-click events: when you press a buy button we record the product name, brand, price and where on the page the button sat, such as the buy box or the verdict. We see which product was clicked, not who clicked it.
- Search words: anything you type into site search is sent to our server in the page address to produce results, so our host’s logs can contain it.
- Preferences: the language and currency you choose, and your cookie choice, kept in your browser (see the cookie list below).
- Emails: if you write to us we receive your address and your message, and use them only to reply.
We do not collect names, postal addresses or payment details. Purchases happen on the retailer’s own site, never here.
Consent and your region
In the EU, the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Vercel Analytics, Microsoft Clarity and the CJ affiliate script wait until you accept cookies. Without a saved choice, a banner asks you to accept or decline, and Google Analytics can send cookieless pings with storage denied until you accept. Everywhere else these scripts run unless you opt out through the cookie link in the footer or your browser sends Global Privacy Control. The Impact script is currently disabled.
Why we use data
- to see which pages and calendars readers find useful, and to improve the site;
- to measure how many readers click through to retailers and to match purchases to our links, which is how the site earns its money;
- to keep the site secure and working;
- to answer your emails.
Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, analytics and affiliate measurement in the regions covered by the banner rest on your consent. Elsewhere we rely on our legitimate interest in understanding and funding an independent review site, and for emails on the fact that you wrote to us.
Who receives data
- Google, for analytics.
- Vercel, which hosts the site and provides Vercel Analytics and server logs.
- Impact, and the affiliate networks and retailers you click through to: AWIN, Rakuten Advertising, Impact, Effinity and CJ.
- Microsoft, for Clarity session recordings.
We do not sell personal information for money, and the site shows no adverts. Some US state laws treat identifiers passed to analytics and affiliate providers as “sharing” or “sale”. The opt-out described above covers them.
International transfers
We operate from Hong Kong. Google, Vercel, Impact and the affiliate networks process data in the United States, the European Union and other countries, so your data can leave the country you are in. Where the law requires safeguards for such transfers, such as standard contractual clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, those providers describe the ones they use in their own documentation.
How long we keep data
We run no visitor database of our own. Analytics reports are kept for as long as they help us run the site, and no longer than the retention limits set in our Google Analytics and Vercel accounts. Emails to us are kept as long as it takes to deal with your request and are then deleted. Cookies expire as listed above, and the networks and retailers keep their own records under their own rules. Pages are served over HTTPS.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, including under the GDPR, the UK GDPR and California’s CCPA/CPRA, you can ask us to:
- tell you what data we hold about you and give you a copy;
- correct or delete it;
- restrict our use of it, or stop it where we rely on legitimate interest;
- treat your withdrawal of consent as effective from now on;
- in California, stop any sale or sharing of your information, without treating you differently for asking.
Analytics data is pseudonymous, so we may ask for the value of your _ga cookie to find it. Write to info@teacountdown.com and we will answer within the time the law allows, normally one month. You can also complain to your data protection authority: in the UK the ICO, in the EU the authority of your country, in Hong Kong the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data.
Your choices
- The banner, or the footer link “Cookie settings” / “Your privacy choices”, switches Google Analytics, Vercel Analytics and the CJ affiliate script on or off.
- Google’s opt-out add-on for your browser: tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Your browser settings: block or delete cookies and local storage. Your language and currency choices then reset.
- The affiliate networks and retailers explain how to opt out of their own cookies in their privacy notices.
The site honours the Global Privacy Control signal as described above. It does not read the older Do Not Track setting, so use the choices in this list instead.
Children
The site is written for adults choosing gifts and is not aimed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect their data. If you think a child has sent us personal information, email us and we will delete it.
Changes to this policy
When our tools or practices change, we update this page and the date at the top.
Contact
One Space Assets Limited, Unit 1603, 16th Floor, The L. Plaza, 367-375 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Email: info@teacountdown.com.