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Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 30, 2026

This policy explains what personal data RoadReturn (roadreturn.com) handles, why, and what you can do about it. We collect very little. We do not sell insurance, we do not ask for quotes, and we do not have accounts, forms, comments or a newsletter.

Who is responsible

RoadReturn is run by Samuel Smajek, Founder and Editor, an individual based in Spain (European Union). He is the “controller” of your personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We have not appointed a data protection officer, because the law does not require one for a site like this. Write to the email above for any privacy question.

Who this policy covers

Most of our readers are in the United States. Because the site is run from the EU, we apply the GDPR to everyone. We also explain below the rights that residents of California and other U.S. states have under their state privacy laws.

What data we handle and why

1. Server logs

When you load a page, your browser sends technical information to our hosting provider, Namecheap. This includes your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, your browser type and the referring page. These logs are needed to deliver the site, keep it secure and investigate errors or attacks.

  • Legal basis (GDPR): our legitimate interest in running a secure, working website (Art. 6(1)(f)).
  • Retention: server logs are kept for a limited period set by our hosting provider and then deleted.

2. Analytics (only with your consent)

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand which pages are read and how people find them. We use Google Consent Mode v2, which is set to “denied” by default. Analytics cookies are only stored after you accept them in our consent banner.

If you do not accept, no analytics cookies are stored on your device. Google may still receive limited signals without cookie identifiers (for example, that a page was loaded), which it uses only in aggregate.

When you do accept, Google Analytics processes data such as pages viewed, time on page, approximate location (country or city, derived from your IP address), device and browser type, and how you arrived at the site. We do not send your name or email to Google Analytics, and we do not use it to identify you.

  • Legal basis (GDPR): your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw it at any time.
  • Retention: Google Analytics keeps event data for 14 months, then deletes it.

3. Advertising

The site is funded by ads served by Google AdSense. Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to show ads, limit how often you see the same ad, measure performance and detect fraud. If you allow it, ads can also be personalized based on your activity on this and other sites.

We show a consent banner and, where required, Google’s certified consent message. Ad cookies used for personalization are only stored if you agree. If you do not agree, Google may still show non-personalized ads, which are based on context such as the page you are reading, and may use limited data for fraud prevention and frequency capping.

Google acts as an independent controller for the data it collects through its ads. You can read how Google uses this data at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.

  • Legal basis (GDPR): your consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) for storing ad cookies and for personalized ads.
  • Retention: set by Google; see our Cookie Policy and Google’s policies.

4. Emails you send us

If you email us, we receive your email address, your name if you include it, and whatever you write. We use this only to reply, to look into corrections you report, and to keep a record of what was changed and why.

  • Legal basis (GDPR): our legitimate interest in answering messages and keeping the site accurate (Art. 6(1)(f)).
  • Retention: we keep correspondence only as long as needed for that purpose and delete it within 24 months. If you report an error, we may keep a short note of the correction in our change log, without your name or email.

Please do not send us details of your driving record, court case, health or other sensitive information. We cannot advise on individual cases, so we do not need them.

5. Your consent choice

We store your cookie choice in your browser’s local storage under the key rr_consent, so we do not ask you again on every page. This stays on your device and is not sent to us. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in remembering your choice, and our legal obligation to respect it.

What we do not collect

  • We do not have user accounts, contact forms, comments or a newsletter.
  • We do not ask for your license number, insurance details or driving history.
  • We do not knowingly collect sensitive data.
  • We do not make automated decisions about you that have legal or similarly significant effects.

Who receives the data

  • Namecheap: our hosting provider. It stores the site and server logs on our behalf under a data processing agreement.
  • Google: for Google Analytics (as our processor) and for Google AdSense and its ad partners (Google acts as an independent controller for advertising data).
  • Email provider: the service that handles mail for contact@roadreturn.com, our hosting provider Namecheap.
  • Authorities: only if the law requires it.

We do not sell personal data to anyone.

International transfers

Some recipients, Google in particular, may process data in the United States or other countries outside the EU. Google LLC is certified under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and Google also uses the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers. Our site and server logs are hosted by Namecheap in the United States, under its data processing agreement, which includes the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.

Your rights under the GDPR

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

  • tell you whether we hold data about you and give you a copy (access);
  • correct data that is wrong (rectification);
  • delete your data (erasure);
  • limit how we use it (restriction);
  • give you your data in a portable format (portability);
  • stop using it where we rely on legitimate interest (objection).

You can withdraw consent to analytics or ads at any time with the “Cookie settings” link in the footer. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that happened before.

You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority. In Spain this is the Agencia Española de Protección de Datos (aepd.es). If you live elsewhere in the EU, you can contact your local authority.

Your rights as a U.S. resident

California (CCPA, as amended by the CPRA) and several other states give residents rights over their personal information. Some of these laws only apply to businesses above certain size thresholds. Whether or not they formally apply to us, we follow their principles.

  • Know and access: you can ask what personal information we have about you and get a copy.
  • Delete and correct: you can ask us to delete or correct it.
  • No discrimination: using your rights will not change how the site works for you.

“Do not sell or share my personal information”

We do not sell personal information for money. However, California law treats personalized advertising in a specific way. When Google’s ad cookies are used to show you ads based on your activity across different websites, that counts as “sharing” personal information for “cross-context behavioral advertising.” Other states call this “targeted advertising.” So, to be clear: if you allow personalized ads on RoadReturn, we share information in that legal sense.

You can opt out of this at any time:

  • Use the “Cookie settings” link in the footer and decline advertising cookies.
  • Turn off personalized ads in your Google account at adssettings.google.com or google.com/settings/ads.
  • Block third-party cookies in your browser.

After you opt out you may still see ads, but they will not be personalized based on your activity on other sites.

We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information, and we do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.

How to use your rights

Email contact@roadreturn.com and tell us what you want us to do. We may ask for information to confirm the request comes from you. We do not hold much, so in most cases this is simple. We will reply within one month (GDPR) or 45 days (California), and tell you if we need more time and why. You can use an authorized agent; we may ask them for proof that you authorized them.

Children

RoadReturn is written for adult drivers. It is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, email us and we will delete it.

Security

The site uses HTTPS. We keep the software up to date, limit who can access the site’s back end, and collect as little data as possible. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what we hold.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle data, for example by adding a new tool, we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also note it on the site.

Contact

Questions about this policy: contact@roadreturn.com. See also our Cookie Policy and Terms of Use.