Privacy Policy

Last Updated:  |  Effective Date:  |  Website: passiveeuro.com

1. Who We Are

This Privacy Policy applies to Passive Euro, accessible at https://passiveeuro.com (the “Website”). The Website is owned and operated by:

• Name: Passive Euro
• Email: Contact
• Country: Austria (European Union)

As a data controller established within the European Union, we are committed to protecting your personal data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679, the Austrian Data Protection Act (Datenschutzgesetz), and all applicable data protection laws.

Passive Euro is a personal finance blog providing educational content about ETF investing, passive income strategies, and broker reviews for European investors. This policy explains what data we collect, why we collect it, and your rights in relation to it.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

• Email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter or download a free resource
• Name — when you leave a comment or fill out a contact form
• Message content — when you contact us via email or contact form
• Comment content — when you comment on blog posts (stored in WordPress)

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our Website, the following data may be collected automatically:

• IP address (anonymized where possible)
• Browser type and version
• Operating system
• Referring URL (the page you came from)
• Pages visited and time spent
• Date and time of your visit
• Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)
• Country/region (derived from IP address)
• Clicks on links and buttons

This data is collected through cookies, Google Analytics, and server logs. See Section 4 (Cookies) and Section 7 (Google Analytics) for full details.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We may receive limited data from third-party services such as:

• Social media platforms (if you interact with our content)
• Affiliate networks (anonymized referral data)
• Email marketing platforms (open rates, click rates)

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the data we collect for the following purposes:

Purpose	Data Used	Legal Basis (GDPR)
Deliver blog content and operate the website	IP address, browser data	Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))
Send newsletter and email updates	Email address, name	Consent (Art. 6(1)(a))
Respond to contact form enquiries	Name, email, message	Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))
Analyse website traffic and improve content	Analytics data (anonymized)	Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))
Display personalised advertisements (Google AdSense)	Cookies, browsing behaviour	Consent (Art. 6(1)(a))
Track affiliate referrals	Click data, cookies	Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))
Comply with legal obligations	Any required data	Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c))
Prevent fraud and ensure security	IP address, usage data	Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))
Moderate comments	Name, email, comment content	Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))

4. Cookies Policy

Our Website uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to improve your browsing experience, analyse traffic, and serve relevant advertisements. By continuing to use our Website after seeing our cookie banner, you consent to our use of cookies as described below.

4.1 Types of Cookies We Use

Cookie Type	Purpose	Examples	Can You Opt Out?
Strictly Necessary	Essential for the website to function (login, security, session)	WordPress session cookies, CSRF tokens	No (required)
Analytics / Performance	Track how visitors use the site; help us improve content	_ga, _gid (Google Analytics)	Yes (via cookie banner)
Advertising / Targeting	Show relevant ads; used by Google AdSense	IDE, _gcl_au, DSID	Yes (via cookie banner)
Functional	Remember preferences (language, theme)	wp-settings cookies	Yes (via cookie banner)
Social Media	Enable social sharing and embedded content	Facebook pixel, Pinterest tag, YouTube cookies	Yes (via cookie banner)
Affiliate Tracking	Track referrals to affiliate partners	Partner-specific tracking cookies	Yes (via cookie banner)

4.2 How to Control Cookies

You can control and manage cookies in the following ways:

• Cookie Banner: When you first visit our site, you will be shown a cookie consent banner. You can accept all cookies, reject optional cookies, or customise your preferences.
• Browser Settings: You can configure your browser to refuse all cookies or to notify you when cookies are being sent. Please note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website.
• Google Opt-Out: You can opt out of Google’s personalised advertising at adssettings.google.com
• Your Online Choices: You can opt out of interest-based advertising at youronlinechoices.eu
• Network Advertising Initiative: Opt out at optout.networkadvertising.org

5. Google AdSense & Advertising

We use Google AdSense, an advertising service provided by Google LLC, to display advertisements on our Website. Google AdSense uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our Website and other websites across the internet.

5.1 How Google AdSense Works

• Google uses cookies (including the DoubleClick cookie) to serve ads based on your interests and browsing behaviour
• Google may combine data collected from our Website with data from other websites you have visited to deliver more relevant advertisements
• Google AdSense also uses web beacons and similar technologies to measure advertising effectiveness
• Ads served may include text, images, video, and interactive media formats

5.2 Your Advertising Choices

You have the following options to control interest-based advertising:

• Visit Google Ad Settings to opt out of personalised advertising
• Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
• Use our cookie consent banner to reject advertising cookies
• Use an ad blocker (this will prevent all ads from being shown)

Google’s privacy policy is available at https://policies.google.com/privacy. Google’s advertising terms are available at https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

5.3 Non-Personalised Ads

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) and do not consent to personalised advertising, Google will serve non-personalised ads based on contextual factors (such as the content of the page) rather than your personal browsing history. Non-personalised ads still use cookies for frequency capping, aggregated ad reporting, and to combat fraud and abuse.

6. Affiliate Links Disclosure

6.1 What Are Affiliate Links?

Affiliate links are special tracking links provided to us by companies whose products or services we recommend. When you click an affiliate link and complete a qualifying action (such as opening a brokerage account, signing up for a service, or making a purchase), we may receive a financial commission from that company.

6.2 Our Affiliate Partners

We currently participate in affiliate programmes with the following companies and networks (this list may be updated periodically):

🏦 Brokers & Investment Platforms

• DEGIRO — European online broker (flatex DEGIRO Bank AG)
• Trade Republic — European neobroker
• Scalable Capital — European investment platform and robo-advisor
• XTB — European broker and trading platform
• Flatex — Austrian/German online broker
• Bitpanda — Austrian investment platform
• Lightyear — European investment app
• eToro — Social trading and investment platform
• Interactive Brokers — Global broker with European operations

💳 Financial Products & Apps

• Revolut — Digital banking and financial services
• Wise — International money transfers
• YNAB (You Need a Budget) — Budgeting software
• Finanzfluss — German-language financial tools
• justETF — ETF research and screening platform

🛠️ Website & Business Tools

• Hostinger — Web hosting provider
• Astra Theme — WordPress theme
• Rank Math — SEO plugin
• ConvertKit — Email marketing platform

📢 Affiliate Networks

• Awin — Affiliate marketing network
• Commission Junction (CJ)
• Impact Radius
• ShareASale
• Individual direct affiliate programmes

6.3 How Affiliate Tracking Works

When you click an affiliate link on our website, a tracking cookie may be placed on your device by the affiliate partner. This cookie records that you came from our website and allows the partner to attribute any subsequent qualifying purchase or sign-up to us. These cookies are typically valid for 30 to 90 days depending on the programme.

We use ThirstyAffiliates to manage and cloak affiliate links on our website. This means affiliate links may appear as passiveeuro.com/go/[partner-name] rather than the partner’s direct URL. The redirect automatically takes you to the partner’s website.

6.4 Our Editorial Independence

Our affiliate relationships do not influence our editorial content, reviews, or recommendations. We provide honest, unbiased information regardless of whether a product offers an affiliate commission. We always disclose when a post contains affiliate links, either at the top of the article or in the relevant section.

6.5 FTC & EU Compliance

In compliance with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on endorsements and testimonials, and the EU’s Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, we clearly disclose our affiliate relationships on all pages containing affiliate links. This disclosure appears either at the beginning of articles or via a persistent site-wide notice.

7. Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4), a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to help us understand how visitors use our Website, which pages are most popular, where our traffic comes from, and how we can improve the user experience.

7.1 What Google Analytics Collects

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• How you arrived at our website (search engine, social media, direct, referral)
• Device type, browser, and operating system
• Country and region (no precise location)
• Clicks, scroll depth, and engagement events
• New vs returning visitor status

7.2 IP Anonymization

We have enabled IP anonymization in Google Analytics 4. This means your full IP address is never stored or processed by Google. Only an anonymized, truncated version of your IP address is used, making it impossible to identify you directly.

7.3 Opting Out of Google Analytics

• Install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
• Reject analytics cookies via our cookie consent banner
• Use private browsing / incognito mode

Google’s Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Google Analytics Terms: https://marketingplatform.google.com/about/analytics/terms/

We also use Google Search Console to monitor our website’s search performance. Search Console does not collect personal data about individual visitors.

8. Email Marketing

We offer a free newsletter and may offer free downloadable resources (such as investment checklists or guides) in exchange for your email address. By subscribing, you consent to receiving periodic emails from us about new blog posts, investing tips, and occasionally information about products or services we recommend.

8.1 Email Service Provider

We use ConvertKit (also known as Kit, operated by ConvertKit LLC) as our email marketing platform. When you subscribe to our newsletter, your name and email address are stored on ConvertKit’s servers, which are located in the United States. This transfer is covered by appropriate safeguards (EU Standard Contractual Clauses).

ConvertKit’s Privacy Policy: https://convertkit.com/privacy

8.2 What We Track in Emails

• Whether you opened an email (via a tracking pixel)
• Which links you clicked inside emails
• Your email client and device type

This data helps us improve our email content and understand what our subscribers find useful.

8.3 Unsubscribing

Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link at the bottom. You can also request removal of your data by emailing us at [YOUR EMAIL]. Upon unsubscribing, we will remove your email address from our active mailing list within 10 business days.

8.4 No Spam

We will never sell, rent, or share your email address with third parties for marketing purposes. We comply fully with the EU’s ePrivacy Directive and only send emails to subscribers who have given explicit consent.

9. Social Media

Passive Euro maintains a presence on the following social media platforms:

Platform	Profile	Privacy Policy
YouTube	@passiveeuro (if applicable)	Google Privacy Policy
Instagram	@passiveeuro (if applicable)	Instagram Privacy Policy
X (Twitter)	@passiveeuro (if applicable)	X Privacy Policy
Pinterest	passiveeuro (if applicable)	Pinterest Privacy Policy
LinkedIn	Passive Euro (if applicable)	LinkedIn Privacy Policy
TikTok	@passiveeuro (if applicable)	TikTok Privacy Policy
Facebook	Passive Euro Page (if applicable)	Meta Privacy Policy
Reddit	u/passiveeuro (if applicable)	Reddit Privacy Policy

9.1 Social Sharing Buttons

Our Website may include social sharing buttons (e.g. Share on Pinterest, Share on X). These buttons may load scripts from the respective social media platforms and set cookies on your device, even if you do not click them. By using our cookie consent banner, you can choose whether to allow these third-party scripts.

9.2 Social Media Pixels

We may use social media tracking pixels (such as the Pinterest Tag or Meta Pixel) to measure the effectiveness of our content and to create custom audiences for potential future advertising campaigns. These pixels are only loaded with your consent via our cookie banner.

9.3 When You Interact with Us on Social Media

When you follow us, comment on, or share our content on social media, you are subject to the respective platform’s privacy policy and terms of service. We do not control how social media platforms handle your data. We only use the data you share with us publicly (such as comments) to respond to enquiries.

10. Third-Party Services

We use various third-party services to operate our website. Each processes certain data according to their own privacy policies:

Service	Purpose	Data Processed	Privacy Policy
Hostinger	Web hosting	Server logs, IP addresses	Link
WordPress.org	CMS / blog platform	Comments, user data	Link
Google LLC	Analytics, AdSense, Search Console	Usage data, cookies	Link
Cloudflare	CDN, security, performance	IP addresses, traffic data	Link
ConvertKit / Kit	Email marketing	Email address, name	Link
Disqus (if used)	Comment system	Name, email, comments	Link
Akismet	Spam filtering for comments	Comment content, IP	Link
Complianz / CookieYes	Cookie consent management	Consent records	See their respective sites
Awin / Impact / CJ	Affiliate tracking	Click data, cookies	See their respective sites
YouTube (embedded videos)	Video content	Cookies, IP address	Link
Gravatar	Comment profile images	Email hash	Link

We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these services to understand how they process your data.

11. Data Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We may share your data only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: We share data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating the website (as listed in Section 10). These parties are contractually obligated to keep your data confidential and process it only as instructed by us.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose your data if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority, including Austrian and EU regulatory bodies.
• Protection of rights: We may disclose data to protect the rights, property, or safety of Passive Euro, our readers, or others.
• Business transfer: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of the website, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change via a prominent notice on our website.

We will never sell your email address or personal data to third-party marketers.

12. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected:

Data Type	Retention Period
Email subscriber data	Until you unsubscribe + 30 days
Contact form submissions	12 months from last contact
Comment data (WordPress)	Until you request deletion
Analytics data (Google Analytics)	14 months (as configured in GA4)
Cookie consent records	12 months
Server logs	90 days
Affiliate tracking data	As specified by affiliate networks (typically 90 days)

13. Your Rights Under GDPR

As a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• 🔍 Right of Access (Art. 15): You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• ✏️ Right to Rectification (Art. 16): You have the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
• 🗑️ Right to Erasure / “Right to be Forgotten” (Art. 17): You have the right to request deletion of your personal data, subject to certain legal exceptions.
• ⏸️ Right to Restriction of Processing (Art. 18): You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• 📦 Right to Data Portability (Art. 20): You have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• 🚫 Right to Object (Art. 21): You have the right to object to processing of your personal data for direct marketing or where we rely on legitimate interests.
• 🔕 Right to Withdraw Consent (Art. 7): Where processing is based on your consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
• 🤖 Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making (Art. 22): We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

13.1 How to Exercise Your Rights

To exercise any of the above rights, please contact us at [YOUR EMAIL]. We will respond within 30 days of receiving your request. We may ask you to verify your identity before processing your request.

13.2 Right to Lodge a Complaint

If you believe we have not handled your personal data in accordance with GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority:

• Datenschutzbehörde (DSB)
• Barichgasse 40-42, 1030 Wien, Austria
• Email: dsb@dsb.gv.at
• Website: www.dsb.gv.at

14. Children’s Privacy

Our Website is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately at [YOUR EMAIL] and we will delete that information promptly.

15. External Links

Our Website contains links to third-party websites, including broker platforms, financial tools, and affiliate partners. These external websites have their own privacy policies, which we do not control. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any website you visit through our links.

The presence of a link to a third-party website does not constitute our endorsement of that website’s privacy practices.

16. International Data Transfers

Some of our third-party service providers are located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), including in the United States. When your data is transferred to countries outside the EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as:

• EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
• EU-US Data Privacy Framework (for qualifying US companies)
• Binding Corporate Rules (where applicable)

Specifically, Google LLC participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. ConvertKit relies on Standard Contractual Clauses for data transfers. You can request more information about our transfer mechanisms by contacting us.

17. Data Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously and implement the following measures to protect it:

• SSL/TLS encryption — All data transmitted between your browser and our website is encrypted via HTTPS
• Secure hosting — Our website is hosted on Hostinger’s secure infrastructure
• Cloudflare protection — We use Cloudflare for DDoS protection and additional security
• Wordfence security — We use the Wordfence plugin to protect our WordPress installation
• Regular backups — We perform automated daily backups via UpdraftPlus
• Strong authentication — We use strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication for all administrative accounts
• Regular updates — We keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated to patch security vulnerabilities
• Limited access — Access to personal data is restricted to authorized personnel only

However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

In the event of a personal data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority within 72 hours and affected individuals without undue delay, as required by GDPR.

18. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page
• Post a notice on our Website homepage
• Send an email notification to our newsletter subscribers (for significant changes)

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of the Website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Previous versions of this Privacy Policy may be obtained by contacting us at the address below.