Privacy policy

Who we are

This policy covers hatchandhackle.com, operated as Hatch & Hackle in Seattle, Washington.

For privacy questions or requests, email hello@hatchandhackle.com.

Contact messages

Our Contact form uses WordPress.com/Jetpack Forms. We receive your name, email address and message so we can reply, investigate corrections and keep track of the conversation.

Form responses are stored in the site’s WordPress database and sent to our email inbox. Jetpack may also record your IP address, browser information and submission time for spam prevention and troubleshooting. Messages sent directly by email are handled by our email and forwarding services.

When Akismet spam filtering is active, Automattic processes form content and related technical information to check for spam. Please avoid sending payment details or sensitive personal information.

Email subscriptions

WordPress.com/Jetpack Newsletter manages subscriptions and sends the updates you choose to receive. It processes your email address, subscription status and related records, along with technical information used to prevent abuse. Subscribing may create or connect a WordPress.com account.

The newsletter service can record email opens and link clicks and provide subscriber engagement reports. These measurements can be affected by your email app’s privacy settings.

Use the unsubscribe or subscription-management link in an email to change your preferences, or contact us for help. We do not sell our subscriber list.

River observations, corrections and photos

The conditions page accepts observations and corrections. We collect the message and any details you choose to provide, including an observation date, general river stretch, display name, email address and optional photo. We use them to review the report, investigate issues and follow up when helpful.

Atlas requests are stored privately with the selected river and any email address you provide. An optional email is used only to let you know if that river’s atlas is announced. Requesting an atlas does not subscribe you to our newsletter or guarantee publication.

Submissions and photos are stored in a private review inbox in the site’s WordPress database. Nothing is published automatically. Publishing permission is required when a photo is attached and optional for an observation without a photo. The permission box grants nonexclusive use, without payment, of the observation and photo on Hatch & Hackle’s website, social channels and in printed publications after review. The photographer keeps copyright; photos may be cropped or resized. We credit the display name provided or keep the contribution anonymous. Your follow-up email is not published. Older submissions retain their original permission limits.

Uploaded photos are resized and re-encoded, and embedded metadata is removed before storage. Visible details in the image may still reveal a person or location. Share only your own photos and avoid faces or exact-location details.

The submission feature uses a short-lived, coded identifier derived from the network address to limit repeated submissions. The hosting service may keep separate security logs.

Hosting, cookies and statistics

WordPress.com, operated by Automattic, hosts this site. Its services process information such as IP addresses, browser and device details, pages requested and visit times to operate, secure and maintain the website.

We use Jetpack Stats to understand visits, popular pages, referral sources and outbound link clicks. Automattic processes technical information to produce these reports. Website traffic reports do not show us which named person viewed a particular page.

WordPress.com/Jetpack uses cookies and similar technologies for features such as account access, subscription preferences, security and statistics. We have not added Google Analytics, Meta Pixel or a separate advertising-tracking tool.

You can restrict or remove cookies in your browser and use privacy controls provided by WordPress.com where available. Restricting cookies may affect some features. Read Automattic’s visitor privacy notice and cookie policy for details about its services and available choices.

Services and information sharing

Automattic provides our hosting, forms, newsletter and website statistics. Email and forwarding providers process correspondence so it can reach our inbox. These providers may process information in countries other than your own, under their own terms and privacy practices.

We use these services to operate the site and respond to you. We may also disclose information when legally required or when reasonably necessary to protect the site, address misuse or defend legal claims.

The conditions feature retrieves public flow and forecast data from USGS and the National Weather Service through our server. That retrieval does not send your river submissions or contact details to those sources.

Purchases and external links

This website does not take payments. When a purchase link takes you to Amazon or another retailer, that retailer handles checkout, payment and order support under its own privacy practices. We do not receive your payment-card details through those links.

Our Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and official river-source links take you to other websites with their own privacy practices. The social links are ordinary links, rather than embedded social feeds.

Keeping and protecting information

We keep correspondence and river submissions for handling questions, corrections, follow-up and related records. These inboxes do not currently have a fixed automatic deletion schedule. You can ask us to delete information you supplied.

Subscription records are managed through WordPress.com while you subscribe and as needed to maintain preferences and service records. Unsubscribing stops the relevant emails; it does not necessarily delete your WordPress.com account or every provider record.

Some records may need to be kept for legal, security or dispute-resolution purposes. Copies in backups and service-provider systems follow those services’ retention procedures. We use access controls and the safeguards provided by our services, but no internet service can guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and requests

To ask about information you provided, request a copy or correction, request deletion, or withdraw permission to reuse a river observation or photo, email hello@hatchandhackle.com. We may need to verify your request. Rights and exceptions depend on the laws that apply. We can address copies under our control; information held independently by a retailer or your WordPress.com account may require a request to that provider.

Changes to this policy

We will update this page when our practices change and show the revised date above.