Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Semstage (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the website semstage.com, a software review and comparison site for U.S. buyers. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and handle information when you visit and use semstage.com.

2. What information we collect

Information collected automatically

When you visit Semstage, our servers and analytics tools automatically collect certain information about your visit, including:

• Pages you visit and time spent on pages
• Referring website (the page that sent you to Semstage)
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Approximate geographic location (country and region level, derived from IP address)
• Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
• Clicks on links, including outbound affiliate links

This information is collected in aggregate and is used to understand how visitors use the site. We do not use this data to identify individual visitors.

Information you provide

If you contact us through the contact form or by email, we collect the information you provide — your name, email address, and the content of your message. This information is used solely to respond to your inquiry.

Newsletter sign-ups

If you sign up for the Semstage newsletter, we collect your email address. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email.

3. How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

• Understand how visitors use the site and which content is most useful
• Improve page content, navigation, and recommendations
• Respond to contact inquiries and reader feedback
• Send newsletters to subscribers who have opted in
• Analyze affiliate link performance to understand which recommendations lead to purchases
• Detect and address technical problems with the site

We do not use your information to build advertising profiles, sell data to third parties, or serve targeted advertising on Semstage.

4. Cookies and tracking technologies

Semstage uses cookies and similar technologies. A cookie is a small file stored on your device by a website. Cookies help sites remember your preferences and understand how you use them.

Types of cookies used on Semstage

• Essential cookies: Required for the site to function. These include session cookies that keep you logged in if you have an account and cookies that remember your cookie consent choice.
• Analytics cookies: Used by services like Google Analytics to collect aggregate data about how visitors use the site. These cookies do not identify individual users.
• Affiliate tracking cookies: Set when you click an affiliate link, to track whether a purchase is completed. These cookies are set by affiliate networks or vendors and are required for affiliate commission tracking.

Managing cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use Semstage. Disabling affiliate tracking cookies means that if you purchase a product after clicking a Semstage link, Semstage may not receive a commission — but this does not affect your purchase or the price you pay.

Most browsers allow you to view, manage, and delete cookies in the browser settings menu. Instructions vary by browser.

5. Third-party services

Semstage uses the following third-party services that may collect data according to their own privacy policies:

• Google Analytics: Web analytics. Google’s privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
• Email service provider: Used to send newsletters to subscribers. Subscriber email addresses are stored by this service.
• Affiliate networks: Affiliate tracking services used to attribute purchases to affiliate links. These services operate independently and have their own privacy policies.
• WordPress hosting: The site is hosted on a third-party server. Standard server logs are maintained by the hosting provider.

We do not control how these third-party services collect or use data. We encourage you to review their privacy policies directly.

6. Affiliate links and third-party sites

Semstage contains links to external websites, including affiliate and partner links that point to software vendors. When you click these links, you leave Semstage and are subject to the privacy policies of the destination site.

Affiliate links may set tracking cookies to attribute purchases to Semstage. Semstage does not control what data is collected by third-party sites once you leave semstage.com.

7. Data retention

Analytics data is retained according to the settings of the analytics platform used (Google Analytics default retention is 14 months). Contact inquiry data is retained for as long as necessary to resolve the inquiry and for a reasonable period thereafter. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe.

8. Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Request access to personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Request deletion of personal information we hold about you
• Opt out of marketing communications (newsletter unsubscribe links are in every email)

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the contact page or by email at hello@semstage.com.

9. California privacy rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to know: You may request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
• Right to delete: You may request deletion of personal information we have collected about you, subject to certain exceptions.
• Right to opt out of sale: Semstage does not sell personal information. No opt-out is required because no sale occurs.
• Right to non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights.

To submit a CCPA request, contact us at hello@semstage.com or through the contact page. We will respond within 45 days as required.

10. Children’s privacy

Semstage is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us and we will take prompt steps to delete it.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When material changes are made, we update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of Semstage after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact us about privacy

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise your privacy rights, or believe your data is being handled in a way that does not comply with this policy, please contact us.