Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 23, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how The EC Guide (“The EC Guide,” “we,” “us” or “our”) collects, uses and shares information when you visit theecguide.com (the “Site”), submit a form, or buy a paid listing placement. The EC Guide is published by Palmside Press.

We’ve tried to keep this readable. If anything is unclear, please contact us.

Information we collect

Information you give us

We collect the information you choose to send us through the Site’s forms, including:

• Business submissions and listing claims: your name, email address, phone number, business name, address, website, hours, description, photos, social media links and similar business details.
• Listing updates: the email address associated with a claimed listing, which we use to send you a secure “magic link” so you can edit the listing without creating an account.
• Event submissions: your name, email address, and event details such as the title, date, location, description, images and ticket links.
• Contributor applications: your name, email address, writing samples or links, and anything else you include about your background.
• Messages to us: anything you include when you email us, contact us through a form, or message us on social media.

Business and event details you submit are intended for publication. Contact details you provide for our use only (such as your personal email or phone number) are not published unless you enter them as the public contact information for your business or event.

Payment information

If you buy a paid placement (such as a Featured or Homepage Spotlight listing), payment is handled by our payment processor, Stripe. Your card details go directly to Stripe and are not stored on our servers. We receive limited information from Stripe, such as your name, email address, billing details, the plan you bought, and the status of your payments and subscription.

Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, some information is collected automatically by our Site, our host and the third-party services described below. This can include your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring website, pages you view, links you click, the date and time of your visit, and approximate location (such as city or region, derived from your IP address).

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small files stored on your device. We and our service providers use cookies and similar technologies to keep the Site working, remember your preferences, understand how the Site is used, and protect our forms from spam.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Some parts of the Site, such as forms, may not work properly without them.

Third-party services we use

Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager

We use Google Analytics, managed through Google Tag Manager, to understand how visitors use the Site (for example, which pages are popular and how people find us). Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect information such as pages visited, time on the Site, device and browser information, and approximate location. We use this information in aggregate to improve the Site. We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual visitors.

You can learn how Google uses this information at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Cloudflare Turnstile

Our forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to tell real people apart from bots. Turnstile processes signals such as your IP address, browser (user-agent) information and technical characteristics of your connection. Cloudflare states that it uses this information to detect bots and improve its bot detection, and not to identify individuals. See the Cloudflare Turnstile Privacy Addendum.

Stripe

Stripe processes payments for paid listing placements. See Stripe’s Privacy Policy.

Embedded content from other sites

Some pages include embedded content, such as Instagram feeds or posts. Embedded content behaves as if you visited the other site directly. That site (for Instagram, Meta Platforms) may collect information about you, set cookies and track your interaction with the embedded content, especially if you’re logged in to that service. See Meta’s Privacy Policy.

Hosting and email

The Site is built on WordPress and hosted by WP Engine, which processes server logs (including IP addresses) to run and secure the Site. We send emails, such as listing magic links, submission confirmations and replies, through a third-party email delivery (SMTP) service, which processes your email address and the message content to deliver them.

Booking partners

Some pages include booking links to partners such as TripShock. If you click a booking link, you leave our Site, and the partner may use cookies to record that you came from The EC Guide so we can earn a commission. Anything you enter on the partner’s site, including payment details, is governed by that partner’s privacy policy, not this one. See our Booking Link Disclosure.

How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• Review, publish and maintain business listings and event listings
• Verify listing ownership and send secure links to edit listings
• Review contributor applications and work with contributors
• Process payments and manage paid placements
• Respond to your messages and requests
• Send service emails about your listing, event, application or subscription
• Understand how the Site is used and improve it
• Protect the Site and our forms from spam, fraud and abuse
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms

We do not send marketing newsletters unless you have signed up for one. If we launch a newsletter, it will be opt-in and every email will include an unsubscribe link.

How we share information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising in exchange for money.

We share information only in these situations:

• Service providers that help us run the Site, such as our host (WP Engine), analytics (Google), bot protection (Cloudflare), payment processing (Stripe) and email delivery. They may use it only to provide services to us or as described in their own policies.
• Publicly, when you submit business or event details intended for publication.
• Palmside Press, our publisher, which operates The EC Guide.
• Legal reasons, when we believe disclosure is required by law, subpoena or court order, or needed to protect the rights, property or safety of us, our users or others.
• Business transfers, if The EC Guide or Palmside Press is involved in a merger, sale or transfer of assets, in which case information may be transferred as part of that transaction.
• With your consent, or at your direction.

Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control

Some browsers send “Do Not Track” signals. Because there is no common industry standard for these signals, the Site does not currently respond to them. You can still use the Google Analytics opt-out and your browser’s cookie controls described above.

How long we keep information

We keep information only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy:

• Published listings and events stay on the Site while they are current. Past events may remain as an archive.
• Listing owner contact details are kept while the listing is active and for a reasonable time afterward.
• Declined submissions and contributor applications are kept only as long as we need them to review and respond, then deleted.
• Payment records are kept as long as needed for tax and accounting purposes.
• Analytics data is retained according to our Google Analytics data retention settings.

How we protect information

We use reasonable measures to protect information, including encrypted (HTTPS) connections, a managed hosting provider, bot protection on forms, and payment processing through Stripe so we never handle card numbers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we can’t guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and rights

• Update your listing at any time by claiming your listing and using the secure link we email you.
• Ask us to access, correct or delete personal information we hold about you by emailing theemeraldcoastguide@gmail.com. We’ll respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity. We may keep some information where we’re legally required to, such as payment records.
• Opt out of analytics with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or your browser’s cookie settings.
• Cancel a paid placement by contacting us at theemeraldcoastguide@gmail.com.

Florida and other US state privacy rights

Several US states, including California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas and others, have privacy laws that give residents rights such as the right to know what personal information a business collects, to access and correct it, to delete it, and to opt out of its sale or use for targeted advertising. Florida’s Digital Bill of Rights gives similar rights to Florida residents, though it applies mainly to very large companies.

Many of these laws apply only to businesses above certain size or data thresholds. Whether or not a particular law applies to us, we’re happy to honor reasonable requests to access, correct or delete your personal information, no matter which state you live in. Email theemeraldcoastguide@gmail.com with your request. We will not discriminate against you for making one.

California residents

Under the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), this policy describes the categories of personal information we collect, the categories of third parties we share it with, how we respond to Do Not Track signals, whether third parties may collect information about you over time and across websites (they may, as described under “Third-party services we use”), and how we notify you of changes. Under California’s “Shine the Light” law, you may ask us about disclosures of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing. We do not make such disclosures.

Children’s privacy

The Site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Our forms are meant for adults (business owners, event organizers and writers). If you believe a child has sent us personal information, please contact us at theemeraldcoastguide@gmail.com and we’ll delete it.

Visitors from outside the United States

The EC Guide is operated in the United States and intended for a US audience. If you visit from another country, your information will be processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

Links to other websites

The Site links to many other websites, including local businesses, booking partners and social media. We’re not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites, so please review their privacy policies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll change the effective date at the top of this page. If we make material changes, we’ll post a notice on the Site and, where appropriate, email people with active listings or subscriptions.

Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to make a privacy request, contact us:

The EC Guide, published by Palmside Press
Email: theemeraldcoastguide@gmail.com