This page explains what data tradermarkus.com collects, why, who else receives it, and what you can ask me to do with it.
About this website
This website, https://tradermarkus.com, is the Trader Markus blog about trading and the financial markets. The content is for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not financial advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell any asset, and every trading decision may lead to a loss of capital.
What data I collect and why
Analytics (Google Analytics 4)
Google Analytics 4 records how the site is used: pages viewed, time and duration of the visit, approximate location, device, browser, operating system, screen size and the page that referred you. I use it only to see which content is read. Google Analytics 4 does not store IP addresses, and the data is kept for at most 14 months.
If you are in the European Union, the EEA, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, analytics stays off until you press Accept on the cookie bar. Everywhere else, analytics runs unless you press Decline. Your country is read from the connection by Cloudflare, only to make this choice. It is kept in your browser for the current visit and not stored anywhere else. If it can’t be determined, the European rule applies. If you press Decline, the analytics script is not loaded at all. You can change your choice at any time with Cookie settings in the footer.
Cookies and storage in your browser
The site itself sets no cookies. It stores two small values in your browser’s local storage: your cookie choice (Accept or Decline, asked again after 180 days) and, if you pick one, your light or dark theme. Neither contains personal data, and neither is sent to me.
If you accept analytics, Google Analytics sets its own cookies (_ga and _ga_…) to recognise a returning browser. They expire after up to two years, or are removed when you decline later.
Contact form
If you send a message through the Contact page, your name, email address, subject and message are delivered to my mailbox so I can reply. I keep messages only as long as needed and delete them on request. To stop spam, the form uses Google reCAPTCHA, and submissions are checked by Akismet (Automattic), which receives the form content together with your IP address and browser details.
Comments
Comments are closed on this site. Comments left in earlier years are still shown with the name the commenter gave at the time. If one of them is yours and you want it removed, write to me through the Contact page.
Embedded videos
Videos are shown as a preview image first. Nothing is loaded from YouTube or Vimeo until you press play. YouTube videos then play in YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com). From that moment, the video provider’s own privacy policy applies.
Search
The search runs entirely in your browser. What you type is not sent to me or to anyone else.
Share buttons and outbound links
The X and LinkedIn share buttons are plain links. Nothing is loaded from those networks unless you click one.
Amazon affiliate links
Tradermarkus.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The book links on review pages carry my referral ID. When you follow one, Amazon’s own privacy notice applies.
Hosting and security
The site is delivered through Cloudflare, and its server keeps standard access logs (IP address, browser, the page requested and the time) for security and troubleshooting. The logs are kept for a limited time and are not used to build profiles.
Who receives data
I don’t sell or share your data. These providers process some of it when you use the site as described above, under their own privacy policies:
Google (Analytics, reCAPTCHA) – https://policies.google.com/privacy
Automattic (Akismet) – https://automattic.com/privacy/
Cloudflare – https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/
Amazon, only if you follow a book link – https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GX7NJQ4ZB8MHFRNJ
YouTube and Vimeo, only if you play a video – YouTube (Google), Vimeo
X and LinkedIn, only if you click a share button – X, LinkedIn
Your rights
You can ask me for a copy of the personal data I hold about you, ask me to correct it or delete it, and object to its use. You can also withdraw your analytics consent at any time with Cookie settings. Data I have to keep for legal or security reasons is excluded. If you think your data has been handled wrongly, you can also complain to your local data protection authority.
Contact
For any privacy question or request, write to me through the Contact page.
How I protect your data
The site is served only over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, the software behind it is kept up to date, and administrative access is protected with long, unique passwords.
Changes to this policy
I update this page when the site changes. The date below shows the latest version.
Last updated: 23 September 2026.