Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 8, 2026
This policy explains what data AI Comparison (Staging) collects, why, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it. We collect the minimum needed to run the site and attribute affiliate clicks — we do not collect account profiles, and we never sell personal data to data brokers.
What we collect
- A random visitor identifier (`vid`) — not tied to your name or email, only set once you accept cookies.
- Click events — which partner link you clicked, from which page, and campaign parameters (e.g. `utm_source`, `gclid`) if you arrived from an ad. Your raw IP address is never stored; we store a one-way salted hash of it for fraud detection only.
- Chat concierge metadata — if you use the chat widget, we record that a session happened, how many messages were exchanged, and which category it routed you to. We do not store the text content of your chat messages.
Cookies
| Cookie | Purpose | Type | Retention |
|---|---|---|---|
| vid | Random, non-identifying visitor ID used to attribute an affiliate click back to the visit that produced it. | First-party, essential to revenue attribution | 400 days (browser maximum) |
| consent | Remembers your cookie consent choice (accept/reject) so we don't ask again on every visit. | First-party, strictly necessary | 400 days |
| payload-token | Admin/editor login session for our content management system. Only set for logged-in staff, never for site visitors. | First-party, strictly necessary (staff only) | Session / short-lived JWT |
Data retention
- Click and visitor records are retained for 24 months, after which they are anonymized (identifiers removed) by an automated process.
- Chat session metadata follows the same 24-month cycle; chat message content is never stored to begin with.
- Conversion records used for partner revenue reconciliation are retained as long as needed for accounting/reconciliation purposes.
EU/UK/EEA visitors — GDPR
If you are located in the EU, UK, or EEA, our legal basis for setting the `vid` identifier and related analytics is your consent, collected via the cookie banner — nothing is set until you accept. You have the right to: access the data we hold about you, request correction, request erasure, restrict or object to processing, and request data portability. Because our visitor identifiers are anonymous by design, most requests can be satisfied simply by clearing your cookies; for anything else, contact us using the channel below.
US visitors — CCPA/CPRA
If you are a California resident (or a resident of a state with a similar law), you have the right to know what personal information we collect, request deletion, request correction, and opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. Because affiliate click data can be considered "sharing" under CPRA, we treat every visitor's cookie-consent rejection (see the banner shown on your first visit) as an opt-out, and we honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal from your browser as a valid opt-out request automatically — no separate form needed. To exercise any of these rights, or to submit a manual "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" request, email us at hello@ai-comparison.example.
Other jurisdictions
For visitors in Japan (APPI), Singapore (PDPA), and South Korea (PIPA), we currently apply the same GDPR-level opt-in consent behavior described above as the strictest common baseline, pending any jurisdiction-specific requirements.
Exercising your rights / contact
Email hello@ai-comparison.example with your request. We will respond within the timeframe required by the applicable law (typically 30 days under GDPR, 45 days under CCPA/CPRA).