Travel Essentials
Website: travelessentiales.com
Last updated: 10 July 2026
Effective date: 10 July 2026
1. Introduction
Travel Essentials (“we,” “us,” “our”) operates travelessentiales.com (the “Site”). We are an independent publication that reviews luggage, packing gear, and travel technology.
This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why we collect it, how we use and share it, how long we keep it, and what rights you have over it.
By using the Site, you acknowledge you have read this policy. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the Site.
2. Who Is Responsible for Your Data
For the purposes of UK GDPR and EU GDPR, Travel Essentials is the data controller for personal information collected through this Site.
Contact for privacy matters: Email: info@travelessentiales.com
Subject line: “Privacy Request”
3. Information We Collect
3.1 Information You Give Us Directly
| What | When you give it | Why |
| Email address | You email us, or subscribe to our newsletter | To reply to you; to send the newsletter you asked for |
| Name (if you provide one) | You email us or leave a comment | To address you properly |
| Message content | You email us or use our contact form | To answer your question or handle your request |
| Comment content and display name | You post a comment | To publish your comment |
| Any information in your message | You choose to include it | Only to respond to you |
You are never required to give us any of this. You can read the Site without providing anything.
3.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit the Site, certain data is collected automatically:
- IP address (often truncated or anonymised by our analytics provider)
- Browser type and version
- Operating system and device type
- Screen resolution
- Referring URL (the page that sent you to us)
- Pages viewed, time on page, and navigation path
- Approximate geographic location (country or region level, derived from IP — not precise GPS)
- Date and time of visit
3.3 Information From Third Parties
We may receive aggregated, non-identifying data from:
- Affiliate networks — for example, that a purchase originated from a link on our Site, and the commission amount. We generally do not receive your name, address, or payment details.
- Analytics providers — aggregated traffic reports.
- Advertising partners (if applicable) — audience segment data.
3.4 Information We Do Not Collect
We do not knowingly collect:
- Payment card numbers or bank details (we take no payments on this Site)
- Passport numbers, national ID numbers, or government identifiers
- Precise GPS location
- Health data, biometric data, genetic data
- Racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, trade union membership, sex life, or sexual orientation
If you send any of the above to us voluntarily in an email, we will delete it unless it is necessary to answer your question.
4. Cookies and Similar Technologies
4.1 What Cookies Are
A cookie is a small text file placed on your device. Similar technologies include local storage, pixels, and web beacons. This section covers all of them.
4.2 Categories We Use
Strictly necessary cookies Required for the Site to function — session management, security, load balancing, and remembering your cookie preferences. These do not require your consent under UK/EU law, and cannot be switched off.
Analytics cookies Help us understand which reviews people read, where visitors come from, and which pages fail. Set only with your consent in the UK/EU/EEA.
Affiliate tracking cookies When you click an affiliate link, the merchant or affiliate network sets a cookie so any resulting purchase is credited to us. Typical lifespan is 24 hours to 90 days depending on the merchant.
Advertising cookies If we serve display advertising, these may build a profile of your interests and show you relevant ads across other sites. Set only with your consent in the UK/EU/EEA.
| Cookie name | Set by | Category | Purpose | Duration |
| _ga | Google Analytics | Analytics | Distinguishes users | 2 years |
| _ga_* | Google Analytics | Analytics | Session state | 2 years |
| cookie_consent | Travel Essentials | Necessary | Stores your consent choice | 12 months |
| affiliate cookie | Affiliate | Attributes referrals | 30 days |
4.3 Managing Cookies
In the UK, EU, and EEA: a consent banner appears on your first visit. Non-essential cookies are not set until you accept. You can change your choice at any time via the “Cookie Settings” link in our footer.
Elsewhere: you can opt out via our Cookie Settings link, or through your browser settings.
Browser controls: every major browser lets you block or delete cookies. Instructions are in your browser’s help menu. Blocking all cookies may break parts of the Site.
Global Privacy Control (GPC): we honour GPC signals as a valid opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information under California law.
Do Not Track (DNT): there is no industry consensus on how to interpret DNT headers. We do not currently respond to them. We do respond to GPC.
5. Affiliate Links — What This Means for Your Privacy
This is worth its own section, because it is how we fund the Site and it involves third parties.
We participate in affiliate programmes, including the Amazon Associates Program and others. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
When you click an affiliate link:
- You leave travelessentiales.com and land on the merchant’s site.
- The merchant or affiliate network places a cookie identifying us as the referrer.
- If you buy something within the cookie window, we earn a commission.
- The price you pay is exactly the same. You are never charged extra.
What we receive: aggregated reports — number of clicks, number of orders, product categories, commission earned.
What we do not receive: your name, your address, your payment details, or your full order contents tied to your identity.
Important: once you click through, you are on the merchant’s site and their privacy policy governs, not ours. We do not control what Amazon, Walmart, REI, or any other merchant collects. Read their policies.
Commission never influences our reviews or scores. See our Terms and Conditions.
6. Why We Process Your Data (Legal Bases)
Under UK/EU GDPR we must have a lawful basis for every processing activity.
| Processing activity | Lawful basis |
| Replying to your email or contact form | Legitimate interests — you contacted us and expect a reply |
| Sending our newsletter | Consent — you opted in, and can withdraw any time |
| Publishing your comment | Consent — you chose to submit it |
| Analytics cookies (UK/EU) | Consent |
| Advertising cookies (UK/EU) | Consent |
| Strictly necessary cookies | Legitimate interests — the Site cannot function without them |
| Affiliate tracking | Consent (UK/EU) / Legitimate interests (elsewhere) |
| Security logging, fraud and abuse prevention | Legitimate interests — protecting the Site and its users |
| Retaining records to meet tax or legal duties | Legal obligation |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have assessed that our interest in operating and protecting the Site does not override your rights and freedoms. You may object to this processing at any time (see Section 10).
Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before you withdrew.
7. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information to:
- Answer your questions and correspond with you
- Deliver the newsletter you subscribed to
- Publish comments you submit
- Understand which content is useful and which is not
- Diagnose technical problems and maintain Site security
- Detect, prevent, and investigate spam, abuse, and fraud
- Attribute affiliate referrals and reconcile commission
- Comply with legal, accounting, and tax obligations
We Do Not:
- Sell your personal information. Not for any price.
- Rent or trade your email address.
- Add you to a mailing list you did not ask to join.
- Use your data to train machine learning models.
- Share your contact details with brands whose products we review.
8. Who We Share Data With
We share personal information only with the categories of recipient below, and only as far as necessary.
Service providers (processors acting on our instructions):
| Category | Example provider | What they process |
| Web hosting | [Your host] | Server logs, IP addresses |
| Analytics | Google Analytics | Usage data, IP (anonymised) |
| Email delivery | [e.g. Mailchimp, ConvertKit] | Email address, name, engagement data |
| Content delivery network | [e.g. Cloudflare] | IP address, request headers |
| Security / anti-spam | [e.g. Akismet] | Comment content, IP, email |
Affiliate networks and merchants — as described in Section 5.
Advertising partners — only if you consented to advertising cookies.
Legal disclosure — we may disclose information where we are legally compelled to do so: a valid court order, a lawful request from a regulator or law enforcement, or where disclosure is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Travel Essentials or others. Where we are permitted to notify you of such a request, we will.
Business transfer — if Travel Essentials is sold, merged, or its assets acquired, personal information may transfer to the acquirer. We will notify you by email or a prominent Site notice before your data becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy, and you will have the opportunity to object or delete your data.
9. International Data Transfers
We operate across the USA and UK, and serve readers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and Western Europe. Our service providers are located in various countries, including the United States.
This means your personal information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in a country other than your own — including countries whose data protection laws differ from those in your jurisdiction.
Where we transfer personal data out of the UK, EU, or EEA, we rely on one or more of the following safeguards:
- An adequacy decision by the European Commission or the UK Government (for example, transfers to organisations certified under the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or its UK Extension)
- Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission, and/or the UK International Data Transfer Addendum
- Your explicit consent, where no other mechanism applies
You may request a copy of the safeguards we rely on by emailing info@travelessentiales.com.
10. Your Rights
Your rights depend on where you live. We honour the rights below for all users, regardless of location, as a matter of practice.
10.1 Rights Available to Everyone
- Access — ask what personal information we hold about you, and receive a copy.
- Rectification — ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete.
- Erasure — ask us to delete your personal information.
- Restriction — ask us to pause processing while a dispute is resolved.
- Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests, and object at any time to direct marketing.
- Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format, or have it sent to another controller where technically feasible.
- Withdraw consent — at any time, with no penalty.
- Non-discrimination — we will not degrade your experience, deny you content, or charge you differently for exercising any right.
10.2 Additional Rights — California (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you also have the right to:
- Know the categories of personal information collected, the sources, the business purpose, and the categories of third parties it is disclosed to
- Know the specific pieces of personal information collected about you
- Delete personal information, subject to statutory exceptions
- Correct inaccurate personal information
- Opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information
- Designate an authorised agent to exercise these rights on your behalf
On “sale” and “sharing”: we do not sell personal information for money. However, under California’s broad definitions, the use of third-party advertising or analytics cookies may constitute a “sale” or “sharing” for cross-context behavioural advertising. You may opt out via our Cookie Settings link, or by sending a Global Privacy Control signal, which we honour.
Disclosures in the past 12 months. We collected the categories of personal information listed in Section 3. We disclosed the following categories for a business purpose: identifiers (IP address, email address), internet activity information, and approximate geolocation — to the service provider categories listed in Section 8. We did not disclose sensitive personal information for purposes beyond those permitted under CPRA § 1798.121(a).
10.3 Additional Rights — Other US States
If you reside in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, or another state with a comprehensive privacy law, you have substantially similar rights to those above, including the right to opt out of targeted advertising and profiling with legal or similarly significant effects. Some states provide a right to appeal a denied request; if we deny your request, our response will explain how to appeal.
10.4 How to Exercise Your Rights
Email info@travelessentiales.com with the subject line “Privacy Request.” Tell us:
- Which right you are exercising
- Enough detail for us to locate your data (usually the email address you contacted us from)
Verification. To protect you, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before acting. Usually this means replying from the email address on file. For sensitive requests we may ask for additional confirmation. We will not ask for more information than is necessary.
Timeframe. We respond within 30 days (UK/EU) or 45 days (California and most US states). If your request is complex, we may extend once, and we will tell you why before the original deadline expires.
Cost. Free. If a request is manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive, we may charge a reasonable administrative fee or decline it — and we will explain our reasoning.
Authorised agents. California residents may use an authorised agent. We will require written proof of authorisation and may still verify your identity directly.
10.5 If You Are Unhappy
Please contact us first — most issues resolve quickly. If you remain dissatisfied:
- UK: Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) — ico.org.uk
- EU/EEA: your national supervisory authority, or the authority in the country where the alleged infringement occurred
- California: the California Privacy Protection Agency, or the California Attorney General
- Other US states: your state Attorney General
You have the right to lodge a complaint without contacting us first. We would simply prefer the chance to fix it.
11. How Long We Keep Data
| Data | Retention period |
| Email correspondence | 24 months after the last message, unless an ongoing matter requires longer |
| Newsletter subscriber data | Until you unsubscribe, plus 30 days to process the removal |
| Published comments | Indefinitely, or until you ask us to delete them |
| Analytics data | 14 months (or the shortest period our provider allows) |
| Server and security logs | 90 days |
| Affiliate transaction records | 7 years, to meet tax and accounting obligations |
| Records of consent | 3 years after consent is withdrawn, as evidence of compliance |
| Records of privacy requests | 24 months, as required to demonstrate compliance |
When a retention period ends, we delete the data or irreversibly anonymise it. Anonymised data that cannot identify you is no longer personal data and may be retained indefinitely for statistical purposes.
12. Security
We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information, including:
- HTTPS/TLS encryption on all pages
- Access controls — only team members who need data can reach it
- Regular software patching of the Site and its dependencies
- Reputable hosting providers with their own security certifications
- Data minimisation — we collect as little as we can get away with
We must be honest with you: no method of transmission over the internet, and no method of electronic storage, is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security. If a personal data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, and we will notify you without undue delay where the risk is high.
13. Children’s Privacy
The Site is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16 (or under 13 in the United States, per COPPA).
If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, email info@travelessentiales.com. We will delete it promptly.
If we discover we have collected data from a child without verifiable parental consent, we will delete it as soon as we become aware.
14. Third-Party Sites and Embedded Content
Our articles link to merchants, brands, and other websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any site we link to. Once you click away, this policy no longer applies. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of every site you visit.
Our pages may embed content from third parties — for example, YouTube videos or images hosted elsewhere. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited that third-party site directly. Those sites may collect data about you, use cookies, and track your interaction with the embedded content, including if you have an account and are logged in.
15. Automated Decision-Making
We do not use your personal information to make automated decisions that produce legal effects concerning you, or that similarly significantly affect you. We do not carry out automated profiling of that kind.
16. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices, our technology, or the law.
- The “Last updated” date at the top always reflects the most recent revision.
- For material changes — for example, a new category of data collection, a new purpose, or a new category of recipient — we will post a prominent notice on the Site at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Where the change relies on consent, we will ask for your consent again.
- Minor clarifications and corrections may be made without notice.
We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the Site after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy, except where consent is legally required.
Contact
Questions, requests, complaints, or corrections:
Email: info@travelessentiales.com
Subject line for privacy requests: “Privacy Request”
Contact page: travelessentiales.com/contact-us
We aim to acknowledge privacy emails within 5 business days and to resolve them within the statutory deadlines set out in Section 10.4.