Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy (Cookie Policy →)

Last updated: April 28, 2026

The Dirty Mule (“we,” “us,” “our”) operates thedirtymule.com (the “Site”), an overlanding publication and trail atlas. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. We try to keep this short and direct.

If you have questions, email us at hello@thedirtymule.com.

1. Who we are

The Dirty Mule is operated by Gorilla Public LLC (or your registered business name — replace this), a U.S.-based publisher. For the purposes of GDPR and similar data protection laws, we are the data controller for information collected through this Site.

2. What we collect

Information you give us directly

  • Account information. When you register, we collect your username, email address, display name, and password (stored hashed, never in plain text).
  • Profile information. If you fill out your contributor profile, we store your bio, website URL, social media URLs (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok), and any avatar image you upload.
  • Content you submit. Trail ratings, reviews, condition reports, photos, comments, vehicle descriptions, and any other content you publish on the Site.
  • Communications. If you email us or use a contact form, we keep that correspondence to respond and for our records.

Information collected automatically

  • Log data. Our hosting provider (Kinsta) records standard server logs including IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps. These are retained for security and troubleshooting and are typically purged within 30 days.
  • Cookies and similar technologies. WordPress uses functional cookies for login sessions, comment authoring, and remembering your preferences. We may use analytics cookies to understand how the Site is used (see Section 6).
  • Approximate location. We do not track precise location. Some features (like nearest-trail suggestions, if enabled) may use your IP address to estimate your general region.

Information we do not collect

  • We do not collect payment information. The Site has no paid subscriptions or e-commerce as of the date above. (If we add a shop later, we’ll update this policy.)
  • We do not collect government identifiers, financial account numbers, or precise GPS location.
  • We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13 (or under 16 in jurisdictions where that’s the threshold). If you believe a child has submitted information, contact us and we’ll delete it.

3. How we use information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Operate the Site and provide its features (account login, publishing your content, displaying your author card, showing trail data on maps).
  • Moderate the community — including reviewing flagged content, removing spam, and enforcing our Terms.
  • Communicate with you about your account, content, or questions you ask us.
  • Improve the Site by analyzing how it’s used in aggregate.
  • Comply with legal obligations and enforce our rights.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data to train AI models on your behalf. We do not share your email address with third parties for marketing.

4. Content you publish is public

Trail ratings, reviews, condition reports, photos, comments, contributor profiles, and author cards are public by design. Your display name, avatar, bio, website, and social links are visible on the public Site to anyone who visits. Don’t put anything in those fields you don’t want to be public. Your email address and real legal name are not displayed publicly unless you choose to put them in your display name or bio.

5. Service providers

We share limited information with the following service providers because we need them to run the Site:

  • Kinsta — our web host. They process server logs, database backups, and serve the Site. They have their own privacy commitments at kinsta.com/legal/privacy-policy/.
  • Anthropic — we use Claude, Anthropic’s AI service, to help generate trail descriptions and content suggestions. When AI features are used by site administrators, the prompts sent to Anthropic include site content (trail data, article drafts) but do not include your personal account information, email, or user-submitted reviews. Anthropic’s privacy terms are at anthropic.com/legal/privacy.
  • Gravatar (Automattic) — if you use a Gravatar account for your avatar (the WordPress default), your hashed email is sent to Gravatar to fetch your image. If you upload your own avatar through your profile, no data goes to Gravatar.
  • OpenStreetMap — the Atlas map uses OpenStreetMap tiles. When you load a page with the map, your browser requests tile images from openstreetmap.org, which sees your IP address.
  • Google Fonts (if used) — typography may load from Google’s font CDN, which receives your IP address as part of the standard HTTP request.
  • RankMath / SEO plugins — to generate sitemaps and metadata. These run on our server and don’t transmit your data externally.

We don’t allow these providers to use your information for their own purposes beyond providing their service to us.

6. Analytics and cookies

We use the following cookies:

  • Strictly necessary cookies — for login sessions, security tokens, and remembering you commented as yourself. These can’t be disabled if you use account features.
  • Functional cookies — for things like remembering your map preferences. These can be cleared in your browser at any time.
  • Analytics cookies — if we use Google Analytics, Plausible, or a similar tool, we’ll list it here. Replace this section with the actual analytics tool you’ve installed, or remove this bullet if you don’t use any.

You can clear or block cookies through your browser settings. Some Site features may not work if you do.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

  • Access the personal information we hold about you.
  • Correct information that’s wrong (or update it yourself in your profile).
  • Delete your account and associated personal information. Note that public content you’ve published (reviews, comments, photos) may remain after the personal info is anonymized, since other users may have responded to or relied on it. We’ll honor reasonable requests to remove specific posts.
  • Object to certain types of processing.
  • Port your data to another service.
  • Withdraw consent for any processing based on consent.

Email privacy@thedirtymule.com to exercise any of these rights. We’ll respond within 30 days. If you’re an EU/UK resident and unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.

California residents

You have the rights described in the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and CPRA, including the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, the right to correct it, and the right to opt out of “sale” or “sharing” of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising as those terms are defined under California law.

8. How long we keep information

  • Account data — for as long as your account exists. Deleted accounts have personal info purged within 30 days; published content may be anonymized rather than deleted (see Section 7).
  • Server logs — typically up to 30 days.
  • Backups — encrypted backups may retain data for up to 60 days before rotation.
  • Email correspondence — up to 3 years for support and legal records.

9. Security

We protect your information with HTTPS encryption in transit, hashed password storage, role-based access controls in WordPress, and regular security updates. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to keep your data safe.

If we ever experience a data breach affecting your information, we’ll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.

10. International users

The Site is operated from the United States. If you visit from another country, your information is transferred to and processed in the U.S. and possibly other countries where our service providers operate. By using the Site, you consent to this transfer.

For users in the EU, UK, or other regions with data transfer restrictions, we rely on standard contractual clauses (where applicable) and the legitimate interest of operating an international publication to justify these transfers.

11. Third-party links

Articles, author bios, and trail pages may link to external sites — manufacturer pages, government land-management agencies, contributor websites, social media profiles, and so on. We’re not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. Read their policies before submitting information there.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Site evolves. The “Last updated” date at the top tells you when. Substantial changes will be announced on the Site. Continued use of the Site after changes means you accept the updated policy.

13. Contact

Questions about privacy, requests for your data, or complaints:

Email: hello@thedirtymule.com Mailing address: [Your business mailing address — required for GDPR/CCPA]

Have a dirty day.