This Privacy Policy describes what information Shared Interest Blog collects from people who visit and interact with the site, how it’s used, who it’s shared with, and what your rights are. It’s written to comply with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).

If anything below is unclear, or if you’d like to exercise any of the rights described, contact us at [email protected].

Who we are

Shared Interest Blog is an AI-assisted publication based in Australia, operating at https://sharedinterestblog.com. The editorial team is responsible for content and is the data controller for any personal information collected through this site.

What information we collect

We collect personal information only when you give it to us, and a limited amount of technical information automatically when you visit. Specifically:

Information you provide

• Contact form submissions. When you use one of our contact, pitch, or guest-contribution forms, we collect the name, email address, and any other content you enter (the message itself, suggested topic, bio, links to writing samples). This is sent to the relevant editorial inbox and stored for the period needed to respond and follow up.
• Comments. If comments are enabled on a post and you leave one, we receive the name and email you provide, the comment itself, and the IP address of the device you submitted from (used for anti-spam purposes only).
• Newsletter signups (where offered). If you subscribe to a Shared Interest Blog newsletter, we collect the email address you provide. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send you.

Information collected automatically

• Analytics. We use Jetpack site statistics and Google Tag Manager / Google Analytics to understand how the site is being read. These services collect aggregated information about visits — pages viewed, approximate location (country / region), device and browser type, referring site, and time on page. We see this data in aggregate; we don’t use it to identify individual visitors.
• Server logs. Our web host keeps short-term server logs that include IP address, the URL requested, and the user-agent string. These are used for security and operational purposes and are not used to build a profile of individual visitors.
• Cookies. The site uses cookies for two purposes: keeping you logged in if you’re an author or administrator, and analytics (Jetpack and Google). We don’t use cookies for behavioural advertising. See “Cookies” below for detail.

How we use your information

• To reply to enquiries, corrections, pitches, and other messages you send us.
• To consider topics and guest contributions for publication.
• To understand which articles are reaching readers and how the site is performing, in aggregate.
• To keep the site secure and operational (filtering spam, blocking abusive traffic, debugging issues).
• To send the newsletter to subscribers who’ve asked for it.

We don’t sell your personal information, share it with advertisers, use it for behavioural ad targeting, or combine it with data from third parties to build profiles. We don’t currently run affiliate content. If any of that changes in the future, this page will be updated before the change takes effect.

Who we share information with

We use a small number of third-party service providers that necessarily receive some information in order to operate:

• Hosting provider (HostGator / Endurance International Group) — stores the site, processes incoming requests, keeps server logs.
• Cloudflare — sits in front of the site for performance and security; sees request metadata and IP addresses in transit.
• Jetpack / Automattic — provides site statistics, security features, and image delivery (Photon CDN).
• Google (via Google Tag Manager and Analytics) — analytics data as described above.

Each of these providers has its own privacy policy. We choose providers that operate to recognised privacy and security standards. Some of these providers operate servers outside Australia; by using the site you accept that your data may be processed in other jurisdictions in the course of normal site operation.

We will disclose personal information to law enforcement or government authorities only where we are legally required to do so.

How long we keep information

• Form submissions are kept for the period needed to respond and follow up, then archived. We typically retain editorial correspondence for up to two years for reference.
• Comments are kept indefinitely unless the comment author or an editor removes them.
• Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe.
• Analytics data is kept according to each provider’s retention settings (commonly 14–26 months for Google Analytics).
• Server logs are kept short-term (typically a matter of weeks) for security purposes.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that websites store on your device to remember things between visits. We use the following:

• Authentication cookies set by WordPress to keep editors and administrators logged in. These are only set when you log in.
• Analytics cookies set by Jetpack and Google Analytics to count visits and understand which pages are read.
• Cloudflare cookies (__cf_bm) used to distinguish humans from automated bots, set automatically when you load the site.

You can disable cookies in your browser, though some site features may not work correctly without them.

Your rights

Under the Australian Privacy Principles you have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct any personal information you believe is inaccurate or out of date.
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal and operational record-keeping requirements.
• Withdraw consent for processing where the processing was based on your consent (e.g. unsubscribing from the newsletter).
• Lodge a complaint with us or with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au if you believe we’ve handled your data inappropriately.

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

Security

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information from misuse, loss, or unauthorised access — including a CDN-level firewall (Cloudflare), HTTPS site-wide, restricted administrative access, and routine software updates. No transmission over the internet is completely secure; if you have particularly sensitive information to share, please consider whether email is the right channel.

Children

Shared Interest Blog is not directed at children. We don’t knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe we’ve collected information from a child, please contact us so it can be removed.

Changes to this policy

If we make a material change to how we handle personal information, we’ll update this page and note the new effective date below. Routine clarifications and editorial fixes won’t change the substance of the policy.

Last updated: 19 May 2026.