Privacy policy

1. Who we are

kpopdropz ("we", "us") operates kpopdropz.com, an independent fan-curated guide to K-pop merchandise, photocards, and Korea-only releases. We are not affiliated with any agency or artist.

2. What we collect

• Server logs: IP address, user agent, requested URL, timestamp. Used for security and abuse prevention. Retained up to 30 days.
• Cookies and local storage: theme preference (light/dark) and language preference are stored in your browser. In addition, our advertising and analytics partners (see section 9) may set cookies or similar identifiers in order to serve ads and measure traffic. In regions that require it (EU, UK, EEA, Switzerland) personalised advertising cookies are only set after you grant consent through the on-site consent banner; in other regions you can opt out using the links listed in section 9.
• Affiliate click metadata: when you click an outbound link to a retailer (Ktown4u, Weverse, etc.), the retailer's tracking parameters identify the referral. We do not receive your personal information from these clicks.
• Analytics: aggregated, anonymized page-view counts and referrers. No personal identifiers, no cross-site tracking.
• Email correspondence: only what you send us voluntarily. Used to reply to your inquiry.

3. What we do not collect

No accounts, no passwords, and no payment information. We do not sell personal data to data brokers and we do not build our own cross-site advertising profiles. Where advertising partners process data on their own infrastructure (section 9), that processing is governed by their respective policies and you can opt out using the controls listed there.

4. Third parties

We use a hosting provider for content delivery, a privacy-respecting analytics service for aggregated traffic measurement, and Google AdSense together with its certified advertising partners to display ads (see section 9 for the full list and opt-out controls). Outbound retailer and YouTube embed links place these services under their own privacy policies once you click or play.

5. Your rights (GDPR · LGPD · CCPA)

Depending on your region you have the right to access, correct, delete, or port your personal data, and to object to or restrict processing. To exercise these rights, email legal@kpopdropz.com with the subject line "Privacy request". We respond within 30 days.

California residents may also opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information; we do not sell or share, but you can confirm in writing.

6. Children

kpopdropz is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU/UK). We do not knowingly collect data from children below this age. Contact us for removal if you believe a minor has submitted information.

7. International transfers

Our infrastructure may process data outside your country (including the United States and South Korea). Where required, we rely on standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.

8. Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be reflected in the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the site constitutes acceptance.

9. Advertising · Google AdSense

kpopdropz is supported in part by display advertising. We use Google AdSense and its certified third-party advertising partners to serve ads on the site. These providers may use cookies, web beacons, mobile advertising identifiers, or similar technologies to:

• Serve ads based on your prior visits to kpopdropz.com or other websites on the Internet.
• Measure ad performance and prevent the same ad from being shown to you repeatedly.
• Detect invalid traffic and protect against fraud and abuse.

Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and other sites on the Internet. You can review Google's policies and the data Google uses to serve ads at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

You can opt out of personalised advertising at any time:

• Google account-level controls: adssettings.google.com.
• Aggregate opt-out (US/Canada): optout.aboutads.info and optout.networkadvertising.org.
• Aggregate opt-out (EU/UK): youronlinechoices.eu.

For visitors located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other regions whose law requires prior consent for non-essential cookies, kpopdropz presents an on-site consent banner before personalised advertising cookies are set, in line with the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF v2) and Google's EU User Consent Policy. Your stated choice is stored locally and can be revisited from the footer at any time.

kpopdropz does not knowingly serve personalised ads to users under the age of consent in their jurisdiction. We instruct Google to treat traffic flagged as directed to children as non-personalised where applicable.

10. Contact

Questions or requests: legal@kpopdropz.com.

11. Retention periods

Server logs are kept for up to thirty days for abuse prevention, then aggregated or discarded. Email correspondence is kept for as long as needed to handle the inquiry — typically twelve months, longer where a legal hold applies. Theme and locale preferences stored in your browser persist until you clear local storage. Aggregated analytics figures are kept indefinitely because they no longer identify an individual.

12. Security

kpopdropz is served over HTTPS with HSTS, signed responses, and standard security headers. We do not maintain user passwords today; the lack of an account system is a deliberate privacy-minimizing choice. When a future paid product introduces authentication, this section will be updated with the specific controls in place — two-factor, encrypted storage, third-party penetration testing, breach-notification timelines.