Privacy Policy

Last updated: 6 October 2026

HerbKnowledge provides educational information about herbs, their traditional uses, evidence and safety. This Privacy Policy explains how personal data is handled when you visit www.herbknowledge.net or contact us.

Who operates HerbKnowledge

Cath Davis, trading as HerbKnowledge, is the controller for the personal data described in this policy.

For privacy questions or requests, email herbknowledge.net@gmail.com.

Please do not send medical emergencies, highly sensitive health information or information that you do not want included in an email.

Information used to operate the site

Hosting, security and technical logs

HerbKnowledge uses AWS Lightsail infrastructure in the UK region. Hosting and security systems process technical information needed to deliver, secure and troubleshoot the site. This can include an IP address, browser or device information, the requested page, the time of a request and security or error information.

We use this information to operate, secure and troubleshoot HerbKnowledge. We do not use it to build a health profile about you. Technical and security logs are kept only for as long as needed to operate, secure and troubleshoot the site, or to meet a legal obligation. The precise hosting-level retention configuration is reviewed when hosting or logging arrangements change.

Email correspondence

If you email us, we process the information in your message and the address from which you contact us. We use it to respond to and manage your enquiry. Correspondence may be retained until it is no longer needed or is deleted as part of ordinary record keeping.

Cookies, storage and privacy choices

We use necessary storage to remember your privacy choice. When you make a choice, HerbKnowledge stores the choice, notice version, expiry and an opaque reference in your browser. We also retain a minimal first-party record of the choice in the WordPress database. This record contains a keyed digest of the opaque reference, decision time, category choices, notice and mechanism versions, source and Global Privacy Control status. It does not contain your raw IP address, page path, search term, health information, email address, message, merchant or browsing history.

You can accept, reject or customise optional categories. You can change your choice at any time through Cookie preferences in the footer. Declining optional categories does not prevent you from reading articles, using the Herb Library or using site search. Read the Cookie & Storage Notice for the current storage inventory.

Shopping Country

Shopping Country is a country-level setting for future shopping and product links. It does not change HerbKnowledge articles, language, search results or your access to educational content. You can change it through the country control in the footer.

Your manual choice takes priority. If you allow Functional preferences, HerbKnowledge stores only your selected two-letter country code, a manual-choice marker, a version and an expiry in your browser for up to 180 days. If Functional preferences are not allowed or browser storage is unavailable, your manual choice works for the current visit only.

Where no manual choice is available, HerbKnowledge uses a local country-level IP database to make a best-effort country selection for the current request. This lookup happens on our server. Your IP address is not sent to a country-lookup provider for this feature and HerbKnowledge does not store your raw IP address, automatically selected country or a location history for Shopping Country. Country data is provided by DB-IP.

If a country cannot be determined, the site uses United States as a commercial fallback. This is not a finding about your location. We do not use browser GPS or a location permission prompt for Shopping Country.

Analytics

Google Analytics is used only if you choose the Analytics category. When active, it helps us understand use of public pages, including page or herb performance, acquisition, engagement and ordinary geographic reporting where Google provides it.

We configure analytics not to collect site-search terms, contact-form interactions, outbound-link destinations, affiliate destinations, Shopping Country, raw IP address, GPS location, User-ID, user-provided data or advertising audiences. We do not load Google Analytics before Analytics consent. Rejecting or withdrawing Analytics consent stops later Analytics loading.

Commercial links

HerbKnowledge may in future include commercial or affiliate links. A commission may be earned from qualifying purchases or clicks where applicable, at no additional cost to you. The existence of a commercial link does not alter the educational purpose of HerbKnowledge or mean that health information is influenced by a merchant.

Current and future commercial links are explained further in the Affiliate Disclosure. A page-level disclosure will be used near any relevant affiliate link or recommendation where required. We will update this policy and the Cookie & Storage Notice before activating new on-site affiliate or advertising technology.

Who may process information

Information is shared only where needed to operate the site, respond to an enquiry or provide an optional service that you choose. This can include hosting, security, email and, after Analytics consent, Google Analytics service providers. Service providers may process information outside the UK or EEA. Where this applies, we use safeguards required for the relevant transfer.

Why we use personal data

We rely on the legal basis that applies to the processing and your location. This can include processing needed to run and secure the site, responding to an enquiry that you send to us, legitimate interests in operating and protecting the site where those interests are not overridden by your rights, consent for optional storage and analytics where consent is required, and legal obligations where applicable.

Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live and the processing involved, you may have rights to ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection or portability. You may also withdraw consent at any time where we rely on consent. Withdrawal does not affect processing that happened before withdrawal.

If you are in the UK, you may have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Information is available at ico.org.uk.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the site, its services or legal requirements change. The current version and update date will appear on this page.