Privacy Policy

Last updated: 8 May 2026

BackyardADU is a static informational site serving California homeowners researching accessory dwelling units. This policy explains what we collect, what we share with advertising and analytics partners, and how you can opt out — including the rights you have as a California resident under the CCPA/CPRA.

Notice at collection

When you visit BackyardADU, the following categories of personal information may be collected automatically through your browser:

• Identifiers — IP address, advertising/analytics cookies, Google AdSense advertising ID.
• Internet or other electronic activity — pages viewed, click paths, referring URL, approximate page-load timing.
• Geolocation (approximate) — city- or region-level location inferred from IP, used by analytics and ad partners.
• Device information — browser type, operating system, screen size.

We retain analytics data for up to 14 months. We do not collect Social Security numbers, government IDs, financial-account numbers, biometric data, precise geolocation, contents of communications, or sensitive personal information. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16.

How we use and share information

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4) — for traffic measurement. Aggregate visit counts and page-popularity reports only. You can opt out site-wide via the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• scout-analytics — our internal privacy-light analytics script. Records anonymised pageview events and traffic source. No fingerprinting. No personal identifiers.
• Google AdSense — serves advertisements (when active). AdSense uses cookies and the advertising ID to choose which ads to show; under California law (CPRA), behavioural advertising of this type is treated as sharing personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. See “Your California privacy rights” below for the opt-out mechanism. Manage ad personalisation in Google Ads Settings.
• Affiliate links (when active) — some outbound links may contain an affiliate identifier so the destination site can attribute the visit back to BackyardADU and we may earn a commission. The affiliate identifier is set by the destination site, not by us, and only activates when you click the link. See our affiliate disclosure.
• Email correspondence — if you email us, we retain that email for as long as necessary to address your message. We never add it to a marketing list without explicit consent.

We do not sell personal information for money. We do, however, share information with the advertising and analytics partners listed above as part of normal site operation, and CPRA's broad definition of “sharing” includes the AdSense flow. The opt-out path below covers both.

Your California privacy rights — including Do Not Sell or Share

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), gives you the following rights at no cost:

• Right to know — request what categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of recipients.
• Right to delete — request deletion of personal information we have collected from you (subject to legal retention requirements).
• Right to correct — request correction of inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information — including the cross-context behavioural advertising done by Google AdSense and any future affiliate-network tracking.
• Right to limit use of sensitive personal information — we do not collect any, but the right exists.
• Right to non-discrimination — we will not deny you service, charge a different price, or provide a lower quality of service for exercising any of these rights.

How to exercise the “Do Not Sell or Share” right

You have three independent ways to opt out:

1. Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. If your browser or extension transmits a GPC signal (Brave, DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, Firefox with the GPC pref enabled, the OptMeowt extension, etc.), we treat that as a verified Do Not Sell or Share request for the device. AdSense honors the GPC signal where applicable in California.
2. Google AdSense controls. Visit Google Ads Settings and disable Personalised Ads. AdSense will continue to show non-personalised ads on this site for that browser/device.
3. Email request. Email us at hello@backyardadu.net with subject “Do Not Sell or Share — BackyardADU”. Include the IP address or browser/device you'd like the request applied to. We will respond within 15 business days.

Authorised agents may submit requests on your behalf with verification of authority. To exercise any of the other rights above, email hello@backyardadu.net; we will respond within 45 days.

Cookies

This site uses cookies set by Google Analytics, Google AdSense (when active), and Google Fonts. You can disable cookies via your browser settings; the site works without them. Disabling cookies disables ad personalisation for that browser.

Third-party links

We link to external sites including the California HCD, CSLB, UC Berkeley, and individual builders. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. Affiliate-link destinations have their own privacy policies and trackers — review theirs before signing up or sharing personal information.

Children

This site is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact hello@backyardadu.net and we will delete it.

Changes

We will update this page if our practices change. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be flagged on the homepage for at least 30 days.