Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026-06-03 Last updated: 2026-10-15

ElderHearth ("ElderHearth," "we," "our," or "us") is operated by ElderHearth Editorial Team. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit elderhearth.com (the "Site"), why we collect it, how we use it, and the choices you have.

If you have a question about anything below, email [email protected].

A short, plain-English summary

We do not sell your personal information.
Google Analytics 4 measures every visit, including pages viewed and general location, so we can see which articles help. Impact partner tracking loads only after you accept non-essential cookies.
We do not currently run a newsletter and we keep no mailing list. If we start one, the provider that delivers it will be named here before a single address is collected, and every email will carry an unsubscribe link.
When you click an affiliate link, the merchant sets its own cookies and may know that the click came from us. We do not see your purchase details.
Our stair lift quote page embeds an Acorn Stairlifts referral form. Information entered in that form is sent to Acorn and associated with our affiliate account.
We respond to GDPR, UK GDPR, and CCPA requests at [email protected].

The rest of this page is the detailed version of the same thing.

1. Who we are

ElderHearth is an independent publication. The Site is operated by ElderHearth Editorial Team.

Data controller: ElderHearth Editorial Team Contact for privacy requests: [email protected] Site URL: https://elderhearth.com

For EU and UK readers: because we operate from the United States, we are the data controller under the GDPR and UK GDPR for any personal data we process about you through this Site.

2. What we collect

2.1 Information you give us

Email address (and optional first name). When you subscribe to our newsletter, leave a comment, or email us directly.
Comment content. If we enable comments on articles, the text you submit, along with the email address and any name you provide.
Correspondence. The contents of emails you send to us and our replies.
Acorn stair lift inquiries. The embedded Acorn form asks for your name, address, telephone number, email address, and optional comments. The form is hosted and processed by Acorn Stairlifts. ElderHearth does not store the submitted form fields in its own website database.

2.2 Information collected automatically when you visit

Standard log data. IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time and date of the visit. This is logged by our hosting provider and CDN for security and performance reasons.
Analytics data. Pages viewed, time on page, scroll depth, clicks, device type, approximate geographic location (country/region level), and similar interaction data, collected through Google Analytics 4.
Affiliate click data. When you click an affiliate link, the destination merchant or network, such as Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate, Impact, Vive Health, or Acorn Stairlifts, records the click and may set its own cookies. Affiliate dashboards provide performance data such as clicks, referrals, and conversions. The details available depend on the program.
Embedded form data. Loading the Acorn referral form connects your browser to Acorn's systems. Acorn may receive technical information such as your IP address and device or browser information in addition to information you choose to submit. Acorn may make referral and commission status available to us through its affiliate dashboard.

2.3 Information we do NOT collect

We do not knowingly collect payment information on this Site.
We do not intentionally collect biometric data, health records, or government IDs in ElderHearth's own systems. Do not include medical records or other sensitive information in the Acorn form's optional comments field.
We do not run our own user-account system.

Purpose	Legal basis
Sending newsletter emails to people who explicitly opted in	Consent (Art. 6(1)(a))
Logging requests for security and abuse prevention	Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)): running a safe site
Aggregate analytics to understand which articles help readers	Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f)): improving the Site
Responding to your support email or privacy request	Legitimate interest + contractual / legal obligation
Affiliate click attribution by partner merchants	The merchant's own basis, disclosed in their privacy policy
Acorn referral form and follow-up	Acorn's own basis, described in its privacy policy

You can withdraw newsletter consent, and you can reject Impact partner tracking, at any time without affecting prior lawful processing. Google Analytics page measurement runs on every visit under the legitimate interest above.

We share data with the following categories of service provider, only as needed to operate the Site:

Hosting and CDN: Cloudflare Pages. Receives standard request and security log data.
Analytics and attribution providers: Google Analytics 4 receives pageview and interaction data on every visit. Impact receives affiliate-attribution data only after you accept non-essential cookies.
Email delivery: none. We do not use an email delivery service, because we do not send bulk email.
Affiliate networks and merchants: Amazon Associates, CJ Affiliate, Vive Health, Acorn Stairlifts, and Ella's Bubbles. See their own privacy policies for how they handle click, referral, and transaction data.

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information with advertisers for cross-context behavioral advertising beyond what the analytics/ad providers listed above collect on their own.

We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of ElderHearth, our users, or the public.

5. Cookies and similar technologies

This Site uses cookies and similar storage (localStorage) for:

Strictly necessary: remembering your cookie preference, basic site security.
Analytics: Google Analytics measures pageviews on every visit. Rejecting non-essential cookies does not turn this off.
Impact partner tracking (off until you accept): loads only after you accept non-essential cookies.
Affiliate attribution: set by the destination merchant when you click an affiliate link, outside our control once you leave the Site.
Embedded referral form: the Acorn form is third-party content loaded from usapi.acornaffiliate.com and may use cookies or similar technologies under Acorn's policies.

You can change your preference any time via the Cookie settings link in the footer.

6. How long we keep it

Data	Retention
Newsletter subscriber records	Until you unsubscribe + a short window for audit
Analytics interaction data	Per the analytics provider's retention setting (typically 14–26 months)
Security logs	Up to 12 months, then purged or aggregated
Email correspondence	As long as needed to resolve the matter + reasonable archive
Acorn stair lift inquiry data	Retained by Acorn under its policies; ElderHearth may retain referral and commission records available through the affiliate portal

7. Your rights

You have the right to:

Access the personal data we hold about you
Correct inaccurate data
Delete your data ("right to erasure")
Restrict or object to processing
Receive a portable copy of data you provided to us
Withdraw consent (e.g., newsletter) at any time
Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

Email [email protected] to exercise any of these. We aim to respond within 30 days.

7.2 If you are in California (CCPA / CPRA)

You have the right to:

Know what personal information we collect, use, and share about you
Delete personal information we collected from you
Correct inaccurate personal information
Opt out of "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (we do not sell or share for cross-context behavioral advertising)
Be free from discrimination for exercising these rights

Email [email protected] to exercise any of these.

7.3 If you are in Canada (PIPEDA)

You have rights of access and correction. Email [email protected].

8. Children's privacy (COPPA)

This Site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, email [email protected] and we will delete it.

9. International data transfers

Our hosting and most service providers are located in the United States and other jurisdictions outside the EU/UK. Where data is transferred outside the EU/UK, our providers rely on Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent transfer mechanisms. By using the Site, you understand your data may be processed in the United States and other countries.

10. Security

We use HTTPS for all traffic. Our hosting provider and CDN enforce standard infrastructure security controls. No system is perfectly secure, however; if you become aware of a vulnerability, please report it to [email protected].

11. Changes to this Policy

When this Policy changes materially, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top and, where appropriate, post a brief notice on the Site. Continued use of the Site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy.

12. Contact

For any question about this Policy or to exercise any privacy right, contact:

ElderHearth Editorial Team [email protected] https://elderhearth.com