Privacy Policy
A plain-English summary of what data we collect, why, who we share it with, and the choices available to you.
Last updated: June 2026.
SoftwareMarketplace.Net (the “Site”, “we”, “us”) is operated by the SoftwareMarketplace.Net editorial team from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. This policy explains what personal information we collect when you visit the Site or subscribe to our newsletter, how we use it, who we share it with, and your rights under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA / CPRA), and similar laws.
1. Information we collect
- Information you provide: your email address when you subscribe to our newsletter, and the contents of any message you send through the contact page.
- Information collected automatically: IP address (truncated where feasible), browser type, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, time on page, and similar log and analytics data.
- Cookies and similar technologies: first- and third-party cookies, local storage, and pixel tags. See our Cookie Policy.
2. How we use information
We process personal information to:
- operate, secure, and improve the Site;
- deliver the newsletters you have subscribed to;
- respond to your inquiries and corrections;
- measure aggregate readership and content performance;
- display, deliver, and measure advertising (including, where you consent, personalised advertising);
- prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents; and
- comply with legal obligations.
We do not sell your personal information in the ordinary meaning of the word. Under the CCPA / CPRA definition of “sale” or “share,” use of advertising cookies by third parties may be considered a “share”; California residents can opt out as described below.
3. Legal bases (GDPR / UK GDPR)
- Consent — for non-essential cookies, advertising cookies, and the newsletter.
- Contract — to deliver the newsletter you have signed up for.
- Legitimate interests — to secure the Site, prevent abuse, and measure aggregate usage in a privacy-respecting way.
- Legal obligation — where required by applicable law.
4. Advertising partners (Google AdSense and others)
We use third-party advertising companies — including Google, through products such as Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager — to display advertisements when you visit the Site. These companies may use cookies, web beacons, device identifiers, and IP-derived location to serve advertisements that are based on your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our sites and/or other sites on the Internet.
- Learn more at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising by Google at Google Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting aboutads.info (US), NAI (US), or Your Online Choices (EU).
For visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland we present a consent banner on first visit and rely on the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) and Google’s consent signals to communicate your choices to advertising partners.
5. Service providers we use
We use a small number of well-known processors to run the Site:
- Hosting and content delivery (edge platform provider);
- Analytics (privacy-respecting, aggregate);
- Email delivery for the newsletter;
- Advertising — Google AdSense and Google-certified third-party vendors.
These providers process data on our behalf under contractual data-protection obligations.
6. International transfers
Some of our service providers are located outside your country of residence (for example, in the United States or the European Union). Where required, we rely on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or the EU–US Data Privacy Framework as the transfer mechanism.
7. Retention
Newsletter subscriptions are retained until you unsubscribe. Server logs are retained for up to 90 days for security and abuse-prevention purposes. Aggregate analytics may be retained indefinitely in non-identifying form.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to:
- access, correct, delete, or port the personal data we hold about you;
- object to or restrict certain processing;
- withdraw consent at any time (without affecting prior lawful processing);
- opt out of the “sale” or “share” of personal information (California residents); and
- lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority (in the EU/UK), or with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) in Australia.
To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@softwaremarketplace.net. We respond to verified requests within 30 days.
9. Children
The Site is intended for IT professionals and is not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
10. Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures — TLS in transit, encrypted storage where applicable, least-privilege access, and routine security review — to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be highlighted on this page and the “last updated” date above will be revised.
12. Contact
Data controller: SoftwareMarketplace.Net editorial team, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Privacy inquiries: privacy@softwaremarketplace.net