Privacy policy.

CrossingHQ is an editorial publication for cross-border property buyers. We collect the minimum information needed to operate the site, deliver our newsletter, and respond to messages you send us. We do not sell or rent personal information.

What we collect

Information you give us directly. When you subscribe to The Brief, you give us your email address. When you write to us through the contact form, you give us the message body, your email address, and any other fields you fill in. We collect nothing else from you unless you email us directly.

Information collected automatically. Like most websites, our hosting provider records standard server log data on every request: IP address, user-agent string, requested URL, referrer, and timestamp. We use this only for security, abuse mitigation, and operational debugging. We do not build advertising profiles.

Analytics. We use Google Analytics 4 to measure page-level traffic, popular content, and high-level reader patterns. GA assigns an anonymous identifier; we do not provide it with your name, email, or other personal information from our forms. You can opt out at the browser level via the Google Analytics Opt-out add-on, or by enabling Do Not Track or comparable browser controls.

How we use it

• To send you the newsletter you subscribed to (you can unsubscribe at any time via the link in every issue).
• To answer questions you send us via the contact form.
• To improve the site by understanding which content readers find useful (in aggregate, via analytics).
• To detect abuse, fraud, and security issues in server logs.

Cookies

We use a small number of first-party cookies and one or two third-party cookies for the functions described above. Specifically: a session cookie for site-preference state; the Google Analytics cookies (`_ga`, `_ga_*`); and, during the pre-launch period, a `chq_unlock` cookie that gates the preview password. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies.

Third parties we share data with

We use a small set of vendors to operate the site. We share with each vendor only what they need to do their job, and they are contractually required to use the data only for our purposes. The current set is:

• Vercel — hosting and content delivery (US-based; data may transit through global edge nodes).
• Google Analytics — anonymous traffic measurement.
• Formspree — newsletter and form submission processing (when wired; pending at the time of this update).
• Resend — transactional email delivery (when wired; pending at the time of this update).

We do not transfer personal information to any other third party except where legally required (e.g., a valid court order).

Your rights

You can ask us at any time to:

• Send you a copy of any personal information we hold about you.
• Correct information that is inaccurate.
• Delete your information from our systems (newsletter unsubscribe is one click; for everything else, email us).
• Stop using your information for any specific purpose.

To exercise any of these rights, use the contact form with the "Privacy" topic selected. We respond within 14 days. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also have additional rights under GDPR (UK/EU), CCPA/CPRA (California), PIPEDA (Canada), or comparable laws — those rights apply in addition to the rights above.

Children

CrossingHQ is written for adult property buyers. We do not target children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a child, email us and we will delete it.

Data retention

We keep newsletter subscriber emails for as long as the subscription is active, plus a 90-day grace period after unsubscribe. Pre-qualification submissions are retained while the inquiry is open and for 24 months after, then archived or deleted. Server logs roll off after 30 days. Analytics retention follows Google's default (currently 14 months).

International transfers

Our hosting and email vendors operate primarily from the United States and may transit data through global infrastructure. By using the site or submitting a form, you consent to your information being processed in the United States and other jurisdictions where our vendors operate.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our practices evolve, vendors change, or law requires. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will also be summarized in the newsletter.

Contact

Privacy questions, data requests, and corrections: contact form, "Privacy" topic.

This policy describes current practice in plain English and is subject to revision once counsel completes review. Where this policy and applicable law conflict, applicable law governs.