Privacy Policy
Last updated:
China in Hand (chinainhand.com) is a free website about travel to mainland China. This page explains what data the site collects, why, who else handles it, and what you can do about it.
In short
- You don't need an account, and there is nothing to buy.
- Cloudflare, which hosts the site, counts every visit without cookies.
- In the EU, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, Google Analytics runs only if you accept it. Elsewhere, it runs unless you turn it off.
- If you email us, we use your message only to reply.
- We don't sell your data.
Who is responsible for your data
China in Hand is an independent site run by one person, based in Japan. That person decides what data this site collects and how it is used. You can reach them at hello@chinainhand.com. If you ask, we will tell you their name and postal address.
In this policy, "we" and "us" mean the person who runs China in Hand.
When you open a page
Cloudflare hosts this site. Each time you open a page, your browser sends a request to Cloudflare's servers. The request includes your IP address, your browser type and the address of the page. Cloudflare uses this to deliver the page and to protect the site from attacks.
This site does not keep its own log of visitors.
How we count visits
We count visits in two ways.
Cloudflare Web Analytics: every visitor
Cloudflare adds a small script to our pages that counts visits. From it, we see totals for:
- which pages were opened;
- which website people came from;
- which country they were in;
- which browser they used;
- how fast the pages loaded.
Cloudflare says this script does not use cookies or local storage, and does not try to identify individual people (sometimes called "fingerprinting"). It does not record the part of a web address after the "?". We can see these totals for six months.
This count includes everyone, including people who click "Decline". "Decline" turns off Google Analytics only. We do not ask before the Cloudflare count, because it stores nothing in your browser and does not identify you.
We use it to know how many people use the site and which pages help them. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in running and improving the site.
In the United Kingdom, the law allows a site to count visits for statistics without asking first, as long as it tells you and lets you object. To object to this count, block scripts from static.cloudflareinsights.com in your browser, for example with a content blocker. The site works the same without them.
Google Analytics
If you visit from the European Economic Area (the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), the United Kingdom or Switzerland, a banner asks whether we may use Google Analytics. There, it does not load until you click "Accept".
To know where you are, your browser asks Cloudflare which country your IP address is in. We don't store the answer. If Cloudflare can't tell, you see the banner too.
Everywhere else, Google Analytics loads when you open a page. You can turn it off at any time: see Change your choice below.
When Google Analytics runs, it:
- sets cookies in your browser called
_gaand_ga_followed by our site's ID. They last up to two years; - tells us which pages you viewed, how you found the site, roughly where you are, what kind of device and browser you use, and how long you stayed.
Google says Google Analytics does not log or store IP addresses. The data is linked to a random ID in the cookie, not to your name. We keep data about single visits for 14 months. After that, only totals remain.
To learn how Google uses this data, see How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
We use it to see which pages are useful and how people find them.
Where we ask first, the legal basis is your consent.
What we store in your browser
- Your choice. When you click "Accept" or "Decline", we save your choice in your browser's local storage, under the name
analytics_consent. It stays until you change your choice or clear your browser data. It is not sent to us. - Where you came from, until you choose. If the banner asks you, then until you choose, we keep a short note in your browser's session storage for this tab, under the name
ga_landing. It holds the website that sent you here and any campaign tags in the link, such asutm_source. If you accept, it is passed to Google Analytics once, so your visit is counted from the right source. If you decline, we delete it. It also disappears when you close the tab.
Change your choice
You can accept or decline Google Analytics at any time, with these buttons or with "Analytics choice" at the bottom of every page. Your choice applies to this browser only.
You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or install Google's opt-out add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
What the site does not have
- No accounts, sign-ups, comments or forms.
- No newsletter.
- No payments.
- No ads.
- Our fonts, photos and other files load from our own domain. Apart from the two counting scripts above, our pages load nothing from other companies.
Links to other sites
Our pages link to official websites and other services. When you click one, you leave China in Hand, and that site's own privacy policy applies.
Affiliate links
Some of our links may be affiliate links (see our Affiliate Disclosure). When you click one, the company you visit, or the affiliate network that works with it, may set its own cookies to record that you came from China in Hand. This happens on their website, under their privacy policy.
The reports they send us show that a booking or sale happened and what commission it earned. They do not name you. If Google Analytics runs for you, we also count clicks on these links there.
When you email us
If you write to hello@chinainhand.com, we receive your email address and your message.
Messages to this address are forwarded by Cloudflare to a Gmail inbox, so Cloudflare and Google also handle them.
We use your message only to answer you and to improve the site. We don't add you to any mailing list. We delete emails once we no longer need them to deal with your message.
Who receives data
- Cloudflare: hosting, security and visit counts.
- Google: Google Analytics, when it runs.
- The email service named above, when you write to us.
- Affiliate partners: only when you click their links, and only on their own websites.
We do not sell or rent your data. We share it with no one else unless the law requires us to.
Where data is processed
Cloudflare and Google are based in the United States. They may process data there and in other countries. The person who runs China in Hand is based outside the European Union and the United Kingdom.
How long we keep data
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Cloudflare visit totals | We can see them for six months |
| Google Analytics data about single visits | 14 months. Totals stay in reports |
Your choice (analytics_consent) | Until you change it or clear your browser data |
The note on where you came from (ga_landing) | Until you choose, or close the tab |
| Emails | Until we have dealt with your message |
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask us to:
- tell you what data we hold about you, and give you a copy;
- correct it or delete it;
- stop or limit how we use it.
You can withdraw your consent to Google Analytics at any time with the buttons above, or with "Analytics choice" at the bottom of every page. This does not affect anything that happened before.
Most of what we collect does not identify you, so we may not be able to find data that belongs to you. Google Analytics data is linked to a random ID in a cookie on your device, not to your name.
To make a request, email hello@chinainhand.com. We will reply within one month.
Complaints
If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please write to us first at hello@chinainhand.com. We will confirm that we received your complaint and tell you what we will do.
You can also complain to a data protection authority. In the European Union or the European Economic Area, that is the authority in the country where you live or work, or where you think the problem happened. In the United Kingdom, it is the UK Information Commission (formerly the ICO).
Children
China in Hand is written for adults planning a trip. It is not meant for children, and we do not knowingly collect data about them.
Changes to this policy
If we change how the site uses data, we will update this page and the date at the top before the change takes effect. If a change needs your consent, we will ask for it first.