Effective date: November 3, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information HVAC Switch (hvacswitch.com) collects, why we collect it, who we share it with and the choices you have.
Who we are
HVAC Switch is an independent website run by Alex Ivov, C/ Segovia 70, Madrid, Spain (“we,” “us”). Alex Ivov is the data controller responsible for your personal information. For any privacy question or request, email privacy@hvacswitch.com or use our contact form.
Information we collect
- Contact form: your name, email address, subject and message. We use them only to reply to you.
- Comments: if you leave a comment, we collect the name, email address and website you enter, the comment itself, your IP address and your browser’s user agent string to help detect spam. An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check whether you use it.
- Technical data: like most websites, our hosting server automatically records your IP address, browser type, the pages you request and the time of each request in server logs, for security and to keep the site working.
- Cookies and similar technologies: see our Cookie Policy.
We don’t ask for, and you shouldn’t send us, sensitive information such as financial or health data.
How we use your information
Because we are based in the European Union, we apply the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to all visitors. We use personal information to:
- reply to your messages (legal basis: your request and our legitimate interest in answering it);
- publish and moderate comments and prevent spam (legitimate interest);
- keep the website secure and running (legitimate interest);
- show advertising through Google AdSense, including personalized ads where you have consented (consent where the law requires it; otherwise legitimate interest).
We don’t sell your personal information for money, and we don’t use it to make automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on you.
Advertising and third-party vendors
We use Google AdSense to show ads. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user’s prior visits to this website or other websites. Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google’s Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors’ use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info. To learn more, see how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland are asked for consent before cookies or personal data are used for personalized ads.
Who we share information with
We share personal information only with service providers that help us run the site, and only as needed:
- Namecheap, Inc. – web hosting (our server is in a European data center).
- Google – advertising (Google AdSense).
- Automattic Inc. – Gravatar profile images shown next to comments.
We may also disclose information when the law requires it. Some of these providers are based in the United States. When personal data is transferred outside the EU, it is protected by safeguards such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.
How long we keep it
- Contact messages: the form does not store messages on the website. They arrive by email and are kept for up to 12 months after we reply, unless we need them longer to handle your request.
- Comments: kept for as long as the comment is published. You can ask us to delete yours at any time.
- Server logs: kept by our hosting provider for a limited period for security purposes.
Do Not Track
Our website does not respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals. Other parties, such as Google, may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites when you use our site. You can limit this with the opt-out links above and your browser settings.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to access, correct or delete your personal information, to restrict or object to how we use it, to receive a copy in a portable format, and to withdraw your consent at any time (this doesn’t affect anything done before you withdrew it). To make a request, email privacy@hvacswitch.com. We will respond within one month.
If you are in the EU, you can also file a complaint with the Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos) or your local data protection authority. Residents of some U.S. states may have additional privacy rights under state law. Contact us and we’ll help you exercise them.
Children
This website is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (under 14 in Spain). If you believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
Our site uses HTTPS encryption and we keep our software up to date, but no method of transmitting or storing data is completely secure.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the effective date at the top of this page and post a notice on the website.
Contact
Alex Ivov · C/ Segovia 70, Madrid, Spain · privacy@hvacswitch.com · Contact form