Last updated: June 1, 2026

BetterBirdYard (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates betterbirdyard.com (the “Site”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we may share it, and what choices you have when using our Site.

Who We Are

BetterBirdYard is a backyard birding website that publishes practical guides about attracting, feeding, and supporting wild birds in yards, patios, balconies, and small outdoor spaces.

Our website address is: https://betterbirdyard.com/.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us through our Contact page.

Information We Collect

Depending on how you use the Site, we may collect the following types of information:

• Information you provide: such as your name, email address, and message content when you contact us through a form or email.
• Comment information: if comments are enabled, we may collect the information shown in the comment form, along with your IP address and browser user agent string to help detect spam.
• Usage data: such as pages viewed, links clicked, referring pages, approximate time on page, and general interaction with the Site.
• Device and browser data: such as browser type, device type, operating system, language settings, and similar technical information.
• Approximate location: such as country, state, region, or city inferred from your IP address.
• Cookies and similar technologies: used to operate the Site, remember preferences, measure traffic, support advertising, and track affiliate referrals where applicable.

How We Use Information

We use information for the following purposes:

• To operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site.
• To respond to messages, questions, or requests you send us.
• To understand which content is useful to readers and improve future articles.
• To detect spam, abuse, security issues, or technical problems.
• To measure traffic and content performance through analytics tools.
• To support advertising, affiliate tracking, and other monetization methods described in this policy.
• To comply with legal obligations and protect our rights, users, and the public.

Cookies and Cookie Controls

Cookies are small files stored on your device. We and our partners may use cookies and similar technologies to help the Site function, remember preferences, measure traffic, improve content, serve or measure ads, and track affiliate referrals.

You can manage optional cookie preferences through our cookie settings tool:

Open Cookie settings

You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings. Please note that blocking some cookies may affect how certain parts of the Site work.

WordPress Cookies and Comments

If comments are enabled and you leave a comment on our Site, you may choose to save your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when leaving another comment. These cookies may last for one year.

If you visit a login page, the Site may set a temporary cookie to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is typically discarded when you close your browser.

If registered user accounts are enabled and you log in, the Site may set cookies to save login information and display preferences. Login cookies, screen option cookies, and related WordPress cookies may last for different periods depending on your settings.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie may be saved in your browser. This cookie typically contains no personal data and indicates the post ID of the article you edited.

Comments and Gravatar

If comments are enabled, visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

An anonymized string created from your email address, also called a hash, may be provided to the Gravatar service to check whether you use it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture may be visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Analytics

We may use analytics tools, such as Google Analytics or similar services, to understand how visitors use the Site. Analytics may help us understand which pages are popular, how visitors find the Site, and how content can be improved.

Analytics tools may collect information such as pages viewed, referring websites, approximate location, device type, browser type, and interactions with the Site. We use this information in an aggregated way to improve the Site and its content.

You can manage analytics cookies through our cookie settings tool:

Open Cookie settings

Advertising

We may display advertising on the Site, including ads served by third-party advertising partners such as Google AdSense or similar services.

Advertising partners may use cookies, pixels, or similar technologies to serve ads, measure ad performance, limit repetitive ads, detect fraud, and, where permitted, personalize ads based on your activity on this Site and other websites.

Third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to this Site or other websites. You may be able to manage personalized advertising through your ad platform settings, browser settings, industry opt-out tools, and our cookie settings tool where available.

If our advertising activities are considered “targeted advertising,” “sharing,” or similar activity under applicable U.S. state privacy laws, you can use the cookie settings tool to manage your preferences:

Open Cookie settings

Affiliate Links

Some links on the Site may be affiliate links. This means that if you click a link and make a purchase, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

BetterBirdYard may participate in affiliate programs, including the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and similar programs. Affiliate partners may use cookies or similar technologies to track referrals and attribute purchases.

Affiliate reporting may include information such as clicks, ordered items, commissions, and referral performance in aggregated or limited form. We do not receive your full payment information from Amazon or other retailers when you make a purchase through an affiliate link.

Contact Forms and Messages

If you contact us through a form, email, or contact page, we may collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, subject, and message. We use this information to respond to your request, improve the Site, and keep appropriate records.

Please do not send sensitive personal information through our contact forms.

Media Uploads

If user uploads are enabled and you upload images to the Site, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data, such as EXIF GPS data. Visitors to the Site may be able to download and extract location data from uploaded images.

Embedded Content and Third-Party Links

Articles on this Site may include embedded content, such as videos, images, social media posts, maps, or articles from other websites. Embedded content from other websites behaves in the same way as if you visited the other website directly.

These third-party websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content. They may also track your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that third-party website.

We may also link to third-party websites, retailers, affiliate partners, conservation organizations, product pages, or other resources. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites. Please review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

How We Share Information

We do not sell personal information for money. However, we may share or disclose information in the following situations:

• Service providers: we may share information with hosting providers, security tools, analytics providers, email delivery services, form plugins, spam detection tools, and other vendors that help operate the Site.
• Advertising and measurement partners: advertising partners may receive information through cookies, pixels, or similar technologies to serve ads, measure performance, and prevent fraud.
• Affiliate partners: affiliate networks and retailers may receive referral information through affiliate links and cookies to attribute purchases and commissions.
• Legal and safety reasons: we may disclose information if required by law, legal process, or to protect our rights, users, Site security, or the public.
• Business transfers: if the Site or its assets are sold, transferred, merged, or reorganized, information may be transferred as part of that transaction.

Data Retention

We keep information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

• Contact messages: may be retained for a reasonable period so we can respond and keep records of communication.
• Comments: if comments are enabled, comments and related metadata may be retained as long as the comment remains published or as needed for moderation and spam prevention.
• Analytics and advertising data: retention depends on the settings of the relevant provider and your cookie choices.
• Security logs: may be retained for a limited period for fraud prevention, troubleshooting, and Site protection.
• User accounts: if user registration is enabled, profile information may be retained while the account remains active or as needed for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to help protect information. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. Please use the Site responsibly and avoid sending sensitive information through forms or comments.

Your Choices

• Cookie settings: you can manage optional cookie preferences here:
  Open Cookie settings
• Browser controls: you can delete or block cookies through your browser settings.
• Advertising controls: you may be able to adjust ad personalization through your advertising platform settings and industry opt-out tools, depending on your region and browser.
• Contact requests: you can contact us to ask questions about your information or request updates or deletion where applicable.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights regarding your personal information, such as the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of certain information, and the right to opt out of certain uses of your information.

If you have an account on the Site or have left comments, you may request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including data you provided to us. You may also request that we erase personal data we hold about you, subject to information we must keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

To make a privacy request, please contact us through our Contact page.

California Privacy Notice

This section applies to California residents to the extent the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CCPA/CPRA), applies to our activities.

Categories of Personal Information We May Collect

• Identifiers: such as name and email address if you contact us, and online identifiers such as cookie IDs or IP address.
• Internet or network activity: such as pages viewed, interactions with the Site, referring pages, browser type, and device information.
• Approximate geolocation: such as general region inferred from IP address.
• Commercial information: limited affiliate or ad-related referral information, such as clicks or referral activity, where applicable.

Sources of Personal Information

• Directly from you, such as when you contact us or leave a comment.
• Automatically from your browser or device when you use the Site.
• From cookies, analytics tools, advertising partners, and affiliate partners where applicable.

Purposes for Collecting Personal Information

• To operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site.
• To respond to inquiries and provide support.
• To measure traffic, content performance, and user experience.
• To support advertising, affiliate attribution, and reporting.
• To prevent fraud, spam, abuse, and security issues.
• To comply with legal obligations.

Categories of Third Parties We May Disclose Information To

• Hosting, security, and technical service providers.
• Analytics providers.
• Advertising partners and measurement providers.
• Affiliate networks and retailers for referral attribution.
• Spam detection, form, and email delivery providers.
• Authorities or other parties where required for legal or safety reasons.

Sale, Sharing, and Targeted Advertising

We do not sell personal information for money. However, some advertising or analytics cookies may be considered “sharing” or “targeted advertising” under certain U.S. state privacy laws. You can manage these preferences through our cookie settings tool:

Open Cookie settings

If your browser sends a recognized opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, we will honor it where required by applicable law.

California Rights

California residents may have the following rights, subject to legal limits and exceptions:

• The right to know/access categories and specific pieces of personal information collected.
• The right to request deletion of personal information.
• The right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• The right to opt out of sale or sharing of personal information and certain targeted advertising.
• The right to not be discriminated against for exercising privacy rights.

To submit a California privacy request, please use our Contact page and include the subject line “California Privacy Request.” We may take reasonable steps to verify your request. Authorized agents may submit requests as permitted by applicable law.

Children’s Privacy

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us so we can take appropriate steps to delete it.

International Visitors

The Site is operated for a primarily U.S.-based audience. If you access the Site from outside the United States, please understand that your information may be processed in the United States or in other locations where our service providers operate. Data protection laws in these locations may differ from those in your country.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the latest version. Any changes will be posted on this page.

Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to make a privacy request, please contact us through our Contact page.