🔒 Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Destinexa ("we," "us," "our") is a travel information platform operating at destinexa.com. We publish travel guides, destination articles, and premium downloadable travel guides. Our registered contact email is contact@destinexa.com.

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Destinexa acts as the data controller for personal data collected through this website.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Data you provide directly

• Contact form submissions: name, email address, message content
• Premium guide purchases: email address, PayPal transaction data (processed by PayPal — we only receive transaction confirmation and your email)
• Newsletter subscriptions: email address (if you opt in)

2.2 Data collected automatically

• Log data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time on site
• Device information: screen resolution, device type (mobile/desktop)
• Cookies: see Section 4 below for full details

2.3 Data we do NOT collect

• Credit card numbers or payment card data (handled entirely by PayPal)
• Government-issued ID or passport information
• Precise GPS location (only approximate country/city via IP)
• Data from children under 16 (see Section 11)

3. How We Use Your Data

Purpose	Legal Basis (GDPR)	Data Used
Deliver premium guide download links after purchase	Contract performance	Email, purchase record
Respond to contact form messages	Legitimate interest	Name, email, message
Analyze website traffic and improve content	Legitimate interest	Analytics data (anonymized)
Show relevant advertising	Consent (cookie banner)	Cookies, browsing data
Prevent fraud and abuse on payment endpoints	Legitimate interest	IP address, purchase logs
Comply with legal obligations	Legal obligation	As required by law

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal effects.

4. Cookies & Tracking

We use cookies — small text files stored on your device — to provide a functional and personalized experience. Here is a breakdown of the cookies we use:

Cookie Name / Type	Provider	Purpose	Duration
_ga, _gid, _gat	Google Analytics	Track sessions, page views, behavior statistics (IP anonymized)	Up to 2 years
IDE, DSID, NID	Google AdSense / DoubleClick	Ad personalization and frequency capping	Up to 13 months
wordpress_*, wp-settings-*	WordPress	Functional: remember login state (admin only), UI preferences	Session / 1 year
dx_consent	Destinexa	Remember your cookie consent choice	12 months
PREF, 1P_JAR	Google	YouTube embeds (if present on page)	Up to 6 months

You can manage cookie preferences through your browser settings or our consent banner. Disabling analytics cookies will not affect your ability to use the site. Disabling ad cookies will not reduce the number of ads — it will make them less relevant to you.

5. Third-Party Services

We integrate several third-party services. Each has their own privacy policy which we encourage you to review:

• Google Analytics (privacy policy) — website traffic analytics. We use IP anonymization.
• Google AdSense (privacy policy) — advertising. See Section 6.
• PayPal (privacy policy) — payment processing for premium guides. We never see or store your card data.
• WordPress / Automattic — content management platform. Hosting is managed by us on our own server.

6. Advertising (Google AdSense)

We use Google AdSense to display advertisements on our website. Google AdSense may use cookies and web beacons to collect data about your visits to this and other sites in order to provide relevant advertisements.

• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to Destinexa and other websites.
• You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings.
• You can also opt out via the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

We participate in the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF v2.2) where applicable to EU users.

7. Payments (PayPal)

Premium guide purchases are processed exclusively by PayPal. When you purchase a guide:

• You are redirected to PayPal's secure checkout
• Destinexa receives only: your email address and a transaction confirmation ID
• We never receive, store, or have access to your card number, bank account, or PayPal password
• Your email is used solely to deliver your download link and is stored for up to 48 months to resolve potential disputes

8. Data Sharing & International Transfers

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third parties for marketing purposes.

We may share data in these limited circumstances:

• Service providers: Google (analytics, ads), PayPal (payments) — all are bound by data processing agreements
• Legal requirements: if required by law, court order, or to protect our rights
• Business transfers: if Destinexa is acquired or merged, your data would transfer to the new entity under the same privacy commitments

Some of our service providers (notably Google) are based in the United States. Data transfers to the US are conducted under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses.

9. Data Retention

Data Type	Retention Period	Reason
Contact form messages	24 months	Customer service history
Purchase records (email + order ID)	48 months	Legal obligation, dispute resolution
Server logs (IP, access logs)	90 days	Security monitoring
Analytics data	26 months (Google default)	Traffic trend analysis
Download tokens	48 hours	Guide delivery window

10. Your Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Depending on your location, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information is collected, to delete it, to opt out of its sale (we don't sell it), and to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at contact@destinexa.com with the subject line "Data Rights Request." We will respond within 30 days.

11. Children's Privacy

Destinexa is not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately and we will delete that information.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Your continued use of Destinexa after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us