Privacy Policy - IT Pro Insights

Last updated: 1 November 2026

This policy explains what data IT Pro Insights collects, why, and your rights over it. It is written to reflect how the site actually works today.

Who we are

IT Pro Insights ("we", "us") operates this website. For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, contact thorsteinn.halldorsson@gmail.com.

The site is hosted in the European Union (Microsoft Azure, West Europe region).

What we collect

Newsletter subscriptions. If you subscribe, we store the email address you provide so we can send you the newsletter. We use it for that purpose only. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email, or by emailing us.

Server and security logs. Like virtually all websites, our host records standard technical data on each request — IP address, browser/user-agent, the page requested, and a timestamp — for security, abuse prevention, and reliability.

Comments (if enabled). If you leave a comment, we store the name, email, and content you submit so the comment can be displayed and moderated.

Cookies and local storage

We aim to keep tracking to a minimum.

Dark-mode preference. Your light/dark theme choice is saved in your browser's localStorage. It never leaves your device and is not used to track you.
Essential cookies. WordPress may set functional cookies (for example, when you log in or comment). These are not used for advertising.

Cookies, ads and visit counting in detail

A plain-language list of every cookie and storage item, with durations, providers and consent categories, is on our Cookies and Ads page. In short: our own visit counter sets no cookie (it counts on the server; to avoid counting the same visit twice it keeps, for 24 hours only, a keyed hash of your masked network address, browser identifier and the day, and never your full IP address), and the Space Grotesk heading font is now hosted on this site rather than loaded from Google Fonts. Google AdSense and Google Analytics cookies are set only after you consent in Google's message.

Third-party services

Some resources are loaded from third parties, which means your IP address and browser information are visible to them when a page loads:

Web fonts and code/diagram libraries served from content delivery networks (e.g. Google Fonts, cdnjs, jsDelivr) to render typography, syntax highlighting, and diagrams.
Google AdSense (display advertising) and Google Analytics 4 (audience measurement), both loaded under Google Consent Mode — see "Advertising and analytics" below.

The analytics script loads on every page view and the advertising script loads on article pages and the blog index, but both start in a denied-by-default state that sets no advertising or analytics cookies. Cookie-based measurement and personalized advertising switch on only after you make a choice in Google's consent message. The section below explains this in full.

Affiliate links (disclosure)

Some articles may, in future, contain affiliate links. If you buy through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate links never change our editorial recommendations. Any such links will be disclosed.

Advertising and analytics

We show display advertising served by Google AdSense, and we measure traffic with Google Analytics 4. Analytics loads on every page view; the advertising script loads only on article pages and the blog index. Both load in a denied-by-default state under Google Consent Mode v2: until you make a choice, all four consent signals — ad storage, analytics storage, ad user data, and ad personalization — are set to denied. In that state the scripts store nothing on your device and send only anonymous, cookieless signals. Google Analytics is configured with IP anonymization.

Your choice is collected by Google's "Privacy & messaging" (Funding Choices) consent management platform — a message shown by Google rather than a banner of our own. It operates under the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) v2.2 in the EEA and the UK, and under Google's US states framework (IAB GPP) in the United States. Cookie-based measurement and personalized advertising activate only after you accept through that message; if you decline, the scripts keep running in their cookieless, non-personalized mode.

When Google AdSense serves an ad, Google may:

receive your IP address, browser/user-agent, and the page you are viewing;
set or read cookies (or similar identifiers) to select ads, cap repetition, and measure performance.

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not build a profile of you ourselves. Ads we place directly are chosen from the article's topic (contextual). Note, though, that if you accept personalization in Google's message, Google may use the profile it holds about you to choose the ads shown here — that profile is Google's, not ours. You can change your mind at any time via the "Cookie settings" link in the footer, which reopens Google's consent message (the same link lets you withdraw consent), and you can manage ad personalization directly with Google (see myadcenter.google.com and adssettings.google.com).

Our own ad measurement. So we can see which placements are worth keeping, the site records aggregate impression and click counts per article — plus whether an AdSense unit was filled — through a first-party endpoint on this domain (/wp-json/itpro/v1/ad-event). These are plain counters: no cookies, no identifiers, no personal data, and nothing that can be traced back to an individual reader.

In practice: if you accept, ads can be personalized and cookie-based measurement is switched on; if you decline or have not chosen, you still see ads, but they are non-personalized and the scripts stay cookieless.

Where required, this processing relies on your consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a) / ePrivacy); you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior processing. The anonymous signals sent before you choose involve no cookies or similar storage on your device.

Your rights

Under the GDPR and similar laws, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or port your personal data, and to object to or restrict its processing. To exercise any of these, email thorsteinn.halldorsson@gmail.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

Data retention

We keep newsletter data until you unsubscribe. Server logs — including IP addresses — are retained for up to 30 days for security and operational purposes, then automatically deleted. Our visit counter's network log holds only daily counts per masked network (IPv4 shortened to /24, IPv6 to /48 before storage) and is pruned after 30 days. Comment data is kept while the comment remains published.

Children

This site is intended for IT professionals and is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the site evolves. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data: thorsteinn.halldorsson@gmail.com.