Privacy & Cookie Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to LevelSpike. My name is Axel Sterling, and I run this blog. Your privacy is important to me. This policy explains what little information is collected from visitors, why it's collected, and how you can control it.

This blog is designed to be a simple, content-focused experience. We do not have user accounts, comment sections, or contact forms, so the data we collect is minimal and used for the sole purpose of understanding our audience and improving the site.

2. What Data We Collect and Why

As a visitor to LevelSpike, we collect two types of information:

a) Technical Data for Site Delivery (Server Logs)

To securely deliver this website to your browser, the third-party hosting service that runs LevelSpike performs standard, automated logging. This is a fundamental part of how the internet works and helps protect the site against malicious activity.

• Your IP address
• The type of browser you are using (e.g., Chrome, Firefox)
• The date and time of your visit
• The pages you accessed

We, as the operators of LevelSpike, do not access or use these raw server logs. Our focus is solely on the anonymous, aggregated statistics provided by Google Analytics, as detailed below.

b) Analytics Data via Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors engage with our content. This helps us learn what topics are popular and how we can improve the blog over time. Google Analytics collects anonymous, aggregated data, such as:

• Which pages you visit and how long you stay
• General geographic location (e.g., country or city)
• How you arrived at the site (e.g., from a search engine, social media)
• The type of device and operating system you use

Important: This data is processed in a way that does not personally identify you. We are interested in broad trends (e.g., "30% of visitors read our latest article"), not individual user activity.

3. How We Use Cookies (Our Cookie Policy)

a) What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a small text file stored on your device (computer, phone) by your web browser at the request of a site you visit. It helps the site remember information about your visit.

b) How LevelSpike Uses Cookies

LevelSpike uses cookies for one primary purpose: website analytics through Google Analytics. These are considered "performance" or "analytics" cookies. They help us count visitors and see how they move around the site.

Specifically, Google Analytics uses cookies (like _ga, _gid) to distinguish one visitor from another and to analyze user behavior anonymously.

c) Your Choices Regarding Cookies

Your consent is paramount.

• Cookie Consent Banner: When you first visit LevelSpike, you will be presented with a cookie consent banner. Non-essential cookies, such as those for Google Analytics, will not be activated until you provide your explicit consent by clicking "Accept." You can also choose to decline.
• Browser Settings: You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, this may affect the functionality of some websites.
• Google Analytics Opt-out: You can prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. The anonymous and aggregated data collected is shared only with the following essential service providers:

• Google: As the provider of Google Analytics.
• Our Web Hosting Provider: Who stores the server logs.

We may also disclose information if required to do so by law.

5. Your Data Rights (Under GDPR)

As a visitor from the EU, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectify any inaccurate personal data.
• Erasure of your personal data ('the right to be forgotten').
• Restrict the processing of your data.
• Object to the processing of your data.

Given our minimal data collection, these rights would primarily apply to the data collected by our service providers. To exercise these rights, please contact us.

6. Links to Other Websites

Our blog may contain links to other websites (e.g., game developer sites, online stores). This privacy policy only applies to LevelSpike. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites.

7. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date.

8. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy & Cookie Policy, please contact us at:

Email: contact@levelspike.com