Privacy Policy, San Juan Excursions

1. Who This Is

San Juan Excursions ("we," "us," or "the site") is operated by Mateo Rivera, a certified Puerto Rico tour guide based in San Juan. This policy explains what information we collect when you visit san-juan-excursions.com, how we use it, and the rights you have over that data. It applies only to this website; when you click through to a tour operator like Viator, their privacy policy governs what they collect.

If anything on this page is unclear, email me at the address listed on the contact page and I'll answer directly.

2. The Short Version

• We collect anonymous usage analytics (pages visited, device type, country) to know which guides help people.
• Bookings happen on Viator's site. We never see your credit card, passport, or full identity.
• We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to anyone, ever.
• You can request a copy of any data we hold on you, or ask us to delete it, at any time.

3. Information We Collect

Automatically, when you visit the site:

• Pages viewed, time on page, and referrer (the previous site or search engine).
• Approximate country and city, derived from your IP address.
• Device type (mobile, desktop, tablet), operating system, and browser.
• Whether you arrived from a search engine, social media, or directly.

Only if you choose to provide it:

• Your name and email if you write to us through the contact form or reply to an email.
• Anything you include in your message to us, including tour preferences or trip dates.

We do not collect: your full name, mailing address, phone number, payment information, passport, or government ID. We do not run advertising trackers and we do not embed Facebook, TikTok, or other third-party ad pixels.

4. How We Use That Information

We use the automatically collected data to understand which tour guides and pages are actually useful to travelers, so we can improve them and write about what people are really looking for. We use email correspondence to answer your questions and, if you've asked to be updated about new guides, to notify you when we publish something relevant. We do not use your email for any marketing list, paid newsletter platform, or third-party mailing service.

Aggregate, anonymous usage statistics may inform which topics we cover next, but they are never tied to a specific individual in any report or decision.

5. Cookies, Analytics, and Affiliate Links

Analytics: We use GoatCounter, a privacy-respecting analytics tool that does not require cookies, does not track users across sites, and does not collect IP addresses in full. GoatCounter stores a small amount of usage data in the EU and is GDPR-compliant out of the box. You can read their policy at goatcounter.com.

Affiliate cookies: When you click a "Check Availability" or "Book Now" link, the destination (Viator) may set a cookie in your browser so they can attribute any resulting booking to this site. This is how affiliate tracking works across the industry. If you block or clear cookies, the link still works; we simply may not earn a commission on that booking. Viator's privacy policy governs anything that happens after you arrive on their site.

No advertising cookies: We do not use Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Taboola, Outbrain, or any programmatic advertising network. There are no third-party ad pixels on this site.

6. How This Site Makes Money

San Juan Excursions is a participant in the Viator affiliate program. When you book a tour through a link on this site, Viator pays us a small commission, typically 4–8% of the booking value, at no extra cost to you. This is the only revenue the site generates. We do not accept payment from tour operators for placement, ranking, or favorable reviews. Our editorial recommendations are made independently of any affiliate relationship. For full background, see the about page.

7. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent, lease, or trade your personal information to third parties for marketing or any other purpose. The only parties who may process data on our behalf are:

• GoatCounter, anonymous analytics, EU-hosted.
• Our hosting provider (Vercel), serves the website; standard server logs are retained briefly for security and debugging.
• Email provider, if you write to us, your message is stored in our email account until you ask us to delete it.

We will disclose information only when legally required (court order, valid subpoena) or when strictly necessary to investigate suspected illegal activity on the site.

8. Data Retention

Anonymous analytics data is retained by GoatCounter for the duration of our account with them, currently indefinitely in aggregated form. Individual email correspondence is retained until you request deletion or until 24 months have passed without active correspondence, whichever comes first. We do not retain any backups of email on personal devices beyond normal mail-client behavior.

9. Your Rights (GDPR, CCPA, and Friends)

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, California, or any jurisdiction with comparable data-protection law, you have the right to:

• Access a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
• Correct anything inaccurate.
• Delete your data, subject to the retention limits above.
• Object to processing or request that we restrict it.
• Data portability in a machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.
• Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email us using the address on the contact page. We respond within 30 days, usually much sooner.

10. Children's Privacy

This site is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect any information from anyone in that age group. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the contact form, please email us and we will delete it promptly.

11. International Visitors

We are based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, United States. By using this site from outside the US, you understand that your data may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the US and the EU (for analytics). We use providers with appropriate safeguards regardless of where you visit from.

12. Changes to This Policy

If we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, if the change is significant, note it briefly on the home page for 30 days. We will not silently expand what we collect or who we share it with.

13. Contact

For privacy questions, data access requests, or to report a concern, use the email address on the contact page. We take every privacy inquiry seriously and respond personally.