1. Who We Are
TipsByCountry.com ("we", "our", "us") is a free online tipping calculator and travel information resource. Our website is located at https://www.tipsbycountry.com. For privacy-related enquiries, you can contact us at: hello [at] tipsbycountry [dot] com
2. What Data We Collect
We collect the following categories of personal data:
Usage data collected automatically: When you visit our website, we automatically collect certain information about your device and how you interact with our site. This includes your IP address (anonymised), browser type and version, pages visited, time spent on pages, referring website, and general geographic location (country/city level). This data is collected via Google Analytics 4.
Email address (if you subscribe): If you choose to sign up for our free Global Tipping Guide PDF, we collect your email address. This is entirely voluntary — you are not required to provide your email to use our calculator or access any content on the site.
Cookie data: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies. Please see our Cookie Policy for full details.
What we do NOT collect: We do not collect your name, phone number, home address, payment details, or any sensitive personal information. Our tip calculator operates entirely in your browser — no calculation data is ever sent to our servers.
3. How We Use Your Data
We use the data we collect for the following purposes:
Analytics and site improvement: We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use our site — which pages are most popular, how long people spend on each page, and where visitors come from. This helps us improve our content and user experience. Google Analytics data is aggregated and anonymised.
Email communications: If you subscribe to our email list, we use your email address to send you the free tipping guide PDF and occasional relevant travel tips and updates. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email we send.
Advertising: We display Google AdSense advertisements on our site. Google uses cookies to serve relevant ads based on your interests. See Section 6 for more details.
Affiliate referrals: When you click an affiliate link on our site (such as Wise, Revolut or travel insurance), the affiliate partner may set their own cookies to track referrals. We receive a commission if you subsequently make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.
4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
For visitors from the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom, our legal basis for processing personal data is as follows:
Legitimate interests: Analytics data is processed under our legitimate interest in understanding how our site is used and improving it for visitors.
Consent: Email collection and marketing communications are based on your explicit consent when you subscribe. You may withdraw this consent at any time.
Consent: Non-essential cookies (analytics, advertising) are only placed with your consent, obtained via our cookie consent banner.
5. Data Sharing and Third Parties
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We share data in the following limited circumstances:
Google Analytics: Usage data is shared with Google LLC for analytics purposes. Google's privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy. We have enabled IP anonymisation in Google Analytics.
Google AdSense: We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google may use cookies to personalise ads. You can opt out of personalised advertising at adssettings.google.com.
Email service provider: If you subscribe to our email list, your email address is stored with Mailchimp (The Rocket Science Group LLC). Mailchimp's privacy policy is available at mailchimp.com/legal/privacy.
Affiliate partners: When you click affiliate links, you are directed to third-party websites (Wise, Revolut, World Nomads etc.) which have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for their data practices.
6. Advertising and Google AdSense
We use Google AdSense to display advertisements. Google AdSense uses cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to our site and other sites on the internet. You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings at adssettings.google.com. Alternatively, you can opt out of third-party vendor cookies by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page at networkadvertising.org/choices.
7. Data Retention
Google Analytics data is retained for 14 months before automatic deletion. Email subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe, at which point your email address is removed from our active list within 30 days.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
Right to access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate data.
Right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data.
Right to object: You can object to our processing of your data for marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at: hello [at] tipsbycountry [dot] com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Children's Privacy
Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
10. International Data Transfers
Our service providers (Google, Mailchimp) may process your data in countries outside South Africa and the EEA, including the United States. These transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards including Standard Contractual Clauses and adequacy decisions where applicable.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact Us
For any privacy-related questions or to exercise your data rights, please contact us at:
hello [at] tipsbycountry [dot] com