Last updated October 16, 2026
Feral Bookworm (feralbookworm.com) is a small, independent website run by one person, Mandy. This page explains what information the site collects, why, and the choices you have. If anything here is unclear, email hello@feralbookworm.com.
The short version
- You can read everything here without an account, and I don’t sell your personal information.
- Visits are counted with analytics software that runs on this site’s own server and doesn’t use cookies.
- When you click a link to a store such as Amazon, that store may set its own cookies so it can credit the sale. Its privacy policy covers what it does.
- If you leave a comment or send me an email, I see what you send, plus the technical details described below.
Information collected when you visit
Server logs. Like almost every website, this site’s hosting and security providers automatically record technical details of each visit, such as your IP address, browser type, the page you asked for and the time. These records keep the site running and protect it from abuse.
Analytics. I use Independent Analytics, a WordPress plugin that counts visits and shows which pages are read and which websites (such as Pinterest) send readers here. It runs on this site’s own server and doesn’t use cookies. To tell repeat visits apart, it creates an anonymous ID from your IP address and browser details; your IP address itself isn’t stored.
Comments
If comments are open on a post and you leave one, the site collects what you enter in the comment form (your name, email address, website and comment), plus your IP address and browser details to help catch spam. Comments may be checked by an automated spam-filtering service.
An anonymized string created from your email address (called a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to see whether you have a profile picture there. Gravatar’s privacy policy is at automattic.com/privacy. Once your comment is approved, your name, profile picture and comment are visible to the public.
If you tick the box to save your details, the site stores a cookie in your browser so you don’t have to type them again next time. It lasts one year.
Comments and their details are kept so that follow-up comments can be approved automatically. Email me if you’d like a comment of yours removed.
Emails
If you email me, I receive your email address and anything you include. I use it only to reply, and I keep messages only as long as I need them.
Affiliate links and store cookies
Feral Bookworm earns money through affiliate links, as explained on the Disclosure page. When you click one, you leave this site, and the store or affiliate network (such as Amazon) may place or read cookies in your browser and collect information directly from you, so it can credit the sale. Amazon’s reports show me which products were ordered through my links, but never who ordered them.
Third parties, including Amazon and other advertisers, may serve content and advertisements, collect information directly from visitors, and place or recognize cookies on visitors’ browsers. Amazon explains how it uses this information in the Amazon.com Privacy Notice.
Content embedded from other sites
Some posts may include embedded content, such as Pinterest pins or videos. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you’d visited the other site: it may collect data about you, use cookies and track how you interact with it, especially if you’re logged in to that site.
Cookies at a glance
- Comment cookie: only if you choose to save your details when commenting. It lasts one year.
- Login cookies: only for people who manage the site.
- Store and affiliate cookies: set by stores such as Amazon when you click through to them.
- Embedded content cookies: set by the site an embed comes from.
You can block or delete cookies in your browser’s settings. This site still works without them; stores may simply not credit me for a sale.
How the information is used
- To run, secure and fix the site.
- To understand which articles help readers, using totals rather than individual profiles.
- To reply to your emails and moderate comments.
- To meet legal obligations.
Sharing
I don’t sell your personal information or share it for targeted advertising. It’s handled only by the services that keep the site running, such as web hosting, security and spam filtering, or disclosed if the law requires it.
Your choices and rights
You can ask what personal information I hold about you, or ask me to correct or delete it, by emailing hello@feralbookworm.com. I’ll reply within 30 days.
To limit interest-based ads more broadly, you can use the Digital Advertising Alliance’s tools at YourAdChoices. Amazon explains your choices about its ads in the Amazon.com Privacy Notice.
Do Not Track. Browsers’ Do Not Track signals have no agreed standard, so this site doesn’t change how it works when it receives one. Stores you click through to, and sites whose content is embedded here, may collect information about your activity over time and across different websites, as described above.
If you’re outside the United States
Feral Bookworm is run from the United States, and the services it uses may process information there or elsewhere. If you’re in the European Union, the United Kingdom or another region with similar laws, you have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the use of your personal information, to receive a copy of it, and to complain to your local data protection authority. The site relies on legitimate interests to run, secure and measure itself, on your consent for optional cookies such as the comment cookie, and on legal obligations where they apply.
Children
This site is meant for adults and isn’t directed at children under 13. I don’t knowingly collect personal information from children. If you think a child has shared information here, email me and I’ll delete it.
Keeping information safe
The site is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, its software is kept up to date, and access to its dashboard is restricted. No website can promise perfect security, but I take reasonable steps to protect what’s collected.
Changes to this policy
If the site changes how it handles information, for example by adding a newsletter, I’ll update this page and the date at the top. Big changes will also be noted on the site.
Contact
Questions or requests? Email hello@feralbookworm.com.