Last updated November 8, 2026.
Harpers Ferry Guide ("we") runs harpersferryguide.com. This policy explains what we collect and why.
What we collect
- Messages you send us. If you email us, we keep your message and address so we can reply. We don't sell them or add you to a list unless you ask.
- Contributions. If you use the contribute form to send photos, a story, a tip or a correction, see "Contributions you send us" below.
- Basic analytics. We may use analytics (such as Google Analytics) to count visits and learn which pages are useful. These tools use cookies or similar technology and collect approximate location, device and browser type, and the pages you view.
- Server logs. Our host keeps standard logs (IP address, browser and pages requested) for security and performance.
We don't have user accounts or comments, and we don't collect payment information.
Contributions you send us
When you send something through the contribute form, we collect:
- The name you want credited. It's shown with anything we publish.
- Your email address. We use it only to contact you about your submission (and, if you tick the box, to send one short confirmation). It is never published, shared or added to a mailing list.
- An optional link (your website or Instagram), shown next to your name if we publish your contribution.
- What you send: your text, photos and captions, and your answers to the form's checkboxes (that you agreed to the contributor terms, that you took the photos, and that you're 18 or older or have a parent's or guardian's permission), with the date and terms version.
- A scrambled (one-way hashed) version of your IP address, used only to limit spam and repeated submissions. We don't store the address itself.
Photos are re-encoded as soon as they arrive, which removes location (GPS), camera and other hidden data. Submissions are stored privately on our host and seen only by the editor. Nothing is public until the editor approves it.
How long we keep them: submissions we decide not to publish are deleted automatically 90 days after that decision. For contributions we publish, we keep the record of what you sent and the license you gave for as long as the contribution is on the site, plus a reasonable period after, so we can show we had permission to publish it.
Your choices: you can ask us to delete a submission, take down a published contribution, or send you a copy of what we hold about you by emailing hello@harpersferryguide.com from the address you used. For published work, we'll remove the content from the site within 30 days and erase your email; we may keep the credit name and license record.
Advertising and affiliate links (future)
We may show ads and include affiliate links in the future. Ad partners such as Google may use cookies to show ads based on your visits to this and other sites. You can opt out of personalized advertising at Google Ads Settings or aboutads.info. Before ads go live, we'll update this policy and add a consent tool where the law requires one.
Your choices
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. To ask about or delete information you've sent us, contact us.
Children
This site is meant for a general audience and doesn't knowingly collect information from children under 13. Contributors must be 18 or older, or have a parent's or guardian's permission to send a contribution. If you believe a child under 13 has sent us something, email us and we'll delete it.
Changes
We'll post changes here and update the date above.
