Privacy Policy

Effective Date: 22 September 2025

At The Investor Standard, your privacy is paramount. This Privacy Policy explains in detail how we collect, process, store, and protect personal information when you use our website and services. It also outlines your rights regarding your data and the measures we take to ensure transparency, security, and compliance.

1. Who We Are

The Investor Standard provides high-quality investment insights, analysis, news, and related services. We operate with a strong commitment to transparency, user trust, and adherence to applicable data protection laws.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information to operate our services effectively, improve user experience, and ensure security. Information is collected in three primary ways:

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Comments: Name, email address, website (optional), and comment content.
  • User Accounts: Registration details including name, email, password, and profile information.
  • Contact Forms / Enquiries: Information submitted via forms or email communications.

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

  • Device Information: IP address, browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and device identifiers.
  • Interaction Data: Pages visited, clicks, session duration, scroll depth, and other engagement metrics.
  • Cookies and Tracking: Data collected through cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to monitor site usage and enhance functionality.

2.3 Third-Party Data

  • Gravatar: If you use a Gravatar, an anonymized hash of your email may be provided to Gravatar to display your profile image. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.
  • Embedded Content: Embedded content such as videos, images, or articles from third-party platforms may collect data about your interactions.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected data to:

  • Provide, maintain, and improve our services.
  • Personalise content and recommendations.
  • Moderate comments and prevent spam or abusive behaviour.
  • Respond to enquiries and communicate updates, newsletters, and offers.
  • Analyse platform usage and performance to improve functionality and content.
  • Ensure platform security, detect and prevent fraud, and comply with legal obligations.
  • Facilitate account management, including login persistence, password resets, and preference storage.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Cookies and tracking tools are used to optimise your experience on The Investor Standard. Key implementations include:

  • Comment Cookies: Save your name, email, and website for convenience when leaving comments (expires after one year).
  • Login Cookies: Store login information and user preferences (standard login cookies expire after two days; “Remember Me” cookies expire after two weeks).
  • Post Edit Cookies: Temporary cookie indicating the post ID of content you edited (expires after one day).
  • Analytics Cookies: Collect aggregated usage data to monitor platform performance and improve services.

Users may disable cookies through their browser settings, though certain platform features may not function fully without them.

5. Media and File Uploads

If you upload images or files to the platform:

  • Avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS), as this may be accessible to other users.
  • Uploaded media is stored and processed according to our security standards to prevent unauthorised access.

6. Embedded Content from Other Websites

Content embedded from third-party websites (e.g., videos, social media feeds, articles) behaves as if you visited the third-party site directly. These platforms may:

  • Collect data about your interactions, including IP addresses and engagement metrics.
  • Use cookies, pixels, and tracking technologies.
  • Monitor engagement if you are logged in to the third-party service.

The Investor Standard is not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites.

7. How We Share Your Data

We do not sell or trade personal information. Data may be shared only under specific circumstances:

  • Service Providers: Trusted third-party providers assisting with platform operations, such as hosting, analytics, and email delivery.
  • Security and Legal Compliance: Where necessary to detect or prevent fraud, abuse, or illegal activity, or to comply with regulatory and legal obligations.
  • Automated Spam Detection: Comment submissions may be processed by automated services, which may temporarily store IP addresses and metadata.

8. Data Retention

  • Comments and Metadata: Retained indefinitely to allow automatic recognition and approval of follow-up comments.
  • User Accounts: Stored for the duration of account activity; users may view, edit, or request deletion of personal information.
  • Regulatory or Legal Obligations: Certain data may be retained as required to meet applicable laws, regulatory requirements, or security obligations.

9. Your Rights Over Your Data

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may exercise the following rights:

  • Access: Request a copy of personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: Request updates or corrections to inaccurate personal data.
  • Erasure: Request deletion of personal data, subject to legal retention requirements.
  • Portability: Obtain your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
  • Objection or Restriction: Object to processing or request processing limitations for certain purposes.

To exercise these rights, contact us at [Insert contact email or form link]. We will respond in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

10. Security Measures

The Investor Standard implements administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information, including:

  • Data encryption in transit and at rest where appropriate.
  • Secure authentication protocols for account access.
  • Regular security audits, vulnerability assessments, and monitoring.
  • Restricted access to personal data on a need-to-know basis.

Despite these measures, no system can guarantee complete security; users are advised to maintain personal device and account security.

11. International Data Transfers

Personal information may be transferred or accessed in jurisdictions outside your residence. When this occurs, we ensure that appropriate safeguards are in place, including contractual protections, adherence to privacy laws, and secure processing measures.

12. Automated Decision-Making

The platform may use automated systems to process data for purposes such as spam detection, content recommendations, and analytics. No automated decisions have legal or similarly significant effects on users without human review.

13. Third-Party Links

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites. Clicking these links may allow third parties to collect or share data. The Investor Standard is not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites.

14. Updates to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal obligations. All updates will be published on this page with the revised effective date.

15. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your data rights, please contact us.