Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

CaseFilePrep (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates casefileprep.com, a publisher of educational guides about legal document preparation and filing procedure. We are the data controller for the personal information described in this policy. You can reach us at editorial@casefileprep.com.

We are not a law firm and we do not provide legal services. Nothing you read here or send us creates an attorney-client relationship, and nothing you send us is protected by attorney-client privilege. Please see our legal disclaimer.

2. Information we collect

2.1 Information you give us

We only receive personal information from you when you choose to send it - for example, when you email us a correction, a question or feedback. That typically means your email address, your name if you include it, and whatever you write in the message. We ask that you do not send confidential case details, medical records or financial account numbers. We cannot keep them confidential in a legal sense and we do not need them to answer a question about this site.

2.2 Information collected automatically

Like nearly all websites, our hosting provider and analytics tooling record technical data when a page is requested: your IP address (often truncated), browser type and version, device type, operating system, the page you requested, the referring page, and the date and time of the request. This data is used to keep the site running, diagnose errors, measure aggregate traffic, and detect abuse.

2.3 Information collected by advertising partners

This site is supported by advertising. Our advertising partners set their own cookies and similar technologies and receive information about your visit directly from your browser. Section 4 explains this in detail.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

A cookie is a small text file stored by your browser. A web beacon (also called a pixel tag or clear GIF) is a tiny, invisible image or snippet of code embedded in a page or an ad that lets a server know the content was loaded. Both are used on this site, and both can be controlled by you.

We group them as follows:

• Strictly necessary. Required for the site to function and to remember your cookie choice. These cannot be switched off through our consent banner because without them we cannot record that you declined the others.
• Analytics. Aggregate measurement of page views, traffic sources and performance. Set only if you consent.
• Advertising. Used by Google and other vendors to select, cap, and measure ads, including personalised ads. Set only if you consent.

4. Third-party advertising, including Google

We display advertising served through Google AdSense and/or Google Ad Manager. The following disclosures are made in accordance with Google’s publisher requirements.

• Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your 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.
• Google uses the DoubleClick DART cookie and similar identifiers to serve ads. You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
• You may opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info/choices, the NAI opt-out page, or, in Europe, Your Online Choices.
• Where required, we use a consent mechanism that signals your choice to Google through Google Consent Mode. If you decline, we instruct Google not to use your data for ad personalisation; you may still see non-personalised (contextual) ads, which are selected from the content of the page rather than from your browsing history.

Google’s own handling of this data is governed by the Google Privacy & Terms page for partner sites. Other advertising vendors, if used, operate under their own privacy policies, which we list on request.

5. Why we may process your data (legal bases)

If the UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies to you, our legal bases are:

• Consent - for analytics and advertising cookies, and for any marketing email you explicitly request. You can withdraw consent at any time (see section 8).
• Legitimate interests - for keeping the site secure, preventing abuse, and understanding aggregate, non-identifying usage so we can improve our guides.
• Legal obligation - where we must retain or disclose information to comply with law.

6. How we share information

We do not sell personal information for money. We share data only with service providers who make the site work - our hosting and content delivery provider, our email provider, our analytics provider - and with the advertising partners described in section 4. We may disclose information if legally compelled to do so, or to protect our rights or the safety of others.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended (CCPA/CPRA), the use of advertising cookies can qualify as “sharing” personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. Section 8 explains how to opt out.

7. International transfers and retention

Our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where personal data is transferred out of the UK/EEA, it is done under an approved transfer mechanism such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

Server logs are retained for a short operational period (typically up to 90 days) and then deleted or anonymised. Email correspondence is retained only as long as needed to resolve your query and to keep a record of corrections we have made to our guides. Advertising partners apply their own retention periods.

8. Your choices and rights

8.1 Everyone

• Change your cookie choice at any time. Clear this site’s local storage in your browser settings and reload the page; the consent bar will reappear so you can choose again.
• Block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking all cookies will not stop you reading any guide on this site.
• Opt out of personalised ads using the Google and industry links in section 4.

8.2 UK and EEA residents (GDPR)

You have the right to access your personal data, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict or object to processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time without affecting processing already carried out. To exercise any of these, email editorial@casefileprep.com. We respond within one month. You may also complain to your national supervisory authority - in the UK, the Information Commissioner’s Office.

8.3 California residents (CCPA/CPRA)

You have the right to know what personal information is collected and how it is used and shared, the right to delete it, the right to correct it, the right to opt out of sale or sharing for cross-context behavioural advertising, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. To opt out, decline advertising cookies in our consent bar and use the Google Ads Settings link in section 4. To make any other request, email editorial@casefileprep.com with “CCPA request” in the subject line. We honour Global Privacy Control signals where our systems receive them.

8.4 Canada and Australia

Readers in Canada (PIPEDA) and Australia (Privacy Act 1988) may request access to and correction of personal information we hold, and may raise concerns with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner respectively.

9. Children

This site is written for adults handling their own paperwork. It is not directed to children and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, email us and we will delete it.

10. Security

The site is served over HTTPS. We keep collected data to a minimum, which is the most effective protection available to a publisher of our size. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. External links

Our guides link to courts, government agencies and other third-party sites so you can verify procedures at the source. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. Review their policies before providing information to them.

12. Changes to this policy

We will update this page when our practices or partners change, and we will revise the “last updated” date above. Material changes affecting your rights will be highlighted on the site.

13. Contact

Privacy questions, access requests and complaints: editorial@casefileprep.com. See also our contact page, terms of service and editorial policy.