Effective: May 14, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what data Rated18Plus.com (“the site,” “we,” “us”) collects about you, why, and what you can do about it. It’s written to be readable. If something here is unclear, email contact@rated18plus.com and we’ll clarify.
What We Collect
1. Automatic — server and analytics
When you visit the site, we automatically receive:
- Your IP address (used for security and abuse prevention)
- Your browser type, language, operating system, and screen size
- The pages you visit and time spent on each
- The site you came from (referrer)
- Approximate geographic location derived from IP
This data is processed by:
- Cloudflare (CDN and security) — see Cloudflare’s privacy policy
- Google Analytics 4 (anonymized aggregate analytics) — see Google’s privacy policy
- Our own server logs (rotated and deleted after 14 days)
We do NOT use Google Analytics for advertising remarketing. IP addresses are anonymized before analytics processing.
2. Voluntary — submitted by you
When you interact with the site, we collect what you give us:
- Email subscription: your email address, used only to send you new review notifications. Unsubscribe link in every email.
- Contact form: name (optional), email, and message content. Stored only as long as needed to respond.
- Comments (if enabled): your name, email, and comment text. Email is not publicly displayed.
We do NOT collect:
- Your phone number
- Your date of birth (beyond a generic “I’m 18+” affirmation where required)
- Your real name (unless you choose to provide it via contact form)
- Any payment information (we don’t process payments on this site)
- Sensitive personal data (race, religion, health, sexual preferences, etc.)
3. Cookies and similar tracking
We use cookies for the following purposes:
| Purpose | Type | Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Site functionality | Essential | rated18plus.com |
| Anonymous analytics | First-party | Google Analytics (anonymized) |
| Affiliate attribution | Third-party | The platform you click through to |
| Security | Essential | Cloudflare |
You can refuse non-essential cookies via the cookie banner on your first visit. Refusing cookies does not affect your ability to read the site.
Affiliate cookies in particular: when you click an affiliate link on this site, the destination platform sets a cookie that lets them know you came from us. That cookie is the destination platform’s, not ours. It governs how the destination platform attributes your signup, which is what enables our affiliate commission. See the Affiliate Disclaimer for more.
Why We Collect Data
- Security: to detect and prevent abuse, fraud, and attacks against the site
- Site improvement: to understand what content people find useful and what we should write more of
- Communication: to send you the email updates you specifically signed up for
- Affiliate attribution: to be credited for signups you make through our links (commercial purpose, disclosed in the Affiliate Disclaimer)
- Legal compliance: to fulfill FTC, GDPR, CCPA, and similar regulatory obligations
We do NOT sell your data. We do NOT share your data with marketers. We do NOT build advertising profiles on you.
How Long We Keep Data
| Data type | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Server logs | 14 days |
| Analytics (aggregate, anonymized) | 26 months |
| Email subscription | Until you unsubscribe |
| Contact form messages | 12 months from last reply, then deleted |
| Affiliate referral records (cookied by third party) | Set by destination platform |
Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate personal data
- Delete your personal data (“right to be forgotten”)
- Object to processing for specific purposes
- Restrict processing
- Port your data to another service
- Withdraw consent at any time
These rights are guaranteed under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK Data Protection Act 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), and similar laws in other jurisdictions.
To exercise any of these rights, email contact@rated18plus.com with the subject line “Privacy Request.” We respond within 30 days.
For EU residents, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority if you believe we have mishandled your data.
Children
This site is intended for adults aged 18 or older. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data from a minor, contact us immediately and we will delete it.
Third-Party Services
We use the following third-party services that may receive data about your visit:
- Cloudflare (CDN, DDoS protection)
- Google Analytics (anonymized site analytics)
- Email service provider (newsletter delivery — provider to be specified once activated)
- WordPress.org / Automattic (CMS infrastructure, where applicable)
- Affiliate program operators (when you click an outbound affiliate link)
Each of these services has its own privacy policy. We choose providers that offer GDPR-compliant data processing.
Data Transfers
Some of the services we use process data outside the European Union, including in the United States. Where this occurs, we rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and provider-level safeguards to ensure equivalent protection.
Security
We protect site infrastructure with HTTPS encryption, Cloudflare WAF, regular software updates, and limited-access server configuration. We cannot, however, guarantee absolute security — no internet-based service can. If we ever experience a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you in accordance with applicable law.
Updates to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll update the “Effective” date at the top. Significant changes will also be announced in our newsletter and on the homepage. Continued use of the site after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the new terms.
Contact
For privacy questions or requests:
📧 contact@rated18plus.com
For all other matters, see Contact.
Effective May 14, 2026.