Privacy
Privacy Policy
Thru Picks does not run user accounts and does not sell personal information. This page describes what a content and affiliate site like this actually collects and how that information is used.
Last updated August 30, 2026.
Who we are
Thru Picks is an independent editorial site at thrupicks.com. We publish Trail Trials rankings, Pack Shakedown kits, and Field Notes. We are not REI, Garage Grown Gear, Amazon, or any brand named on a card. Privacy questions: [email protected].
What information may be collected
Hosting and security logs. The host that serves this site may log standard request data — time, path, IP address or approximate region, referrer, and user-agent — to keep the site up and to debug outages. We do not use that log to build marketing profiles.
Email form. If you join the list, the address stays in your browser on this device (localStorage) so the form does not keep asking. We do not currently store mailing-list addresses on our servers. If you email us, we keep that correspondence to reply.
Cookies and similar storage. This site may use first-party storage for the email form and ordinary session needs. We load Google Analytics 4 only when a measurement ID is configured for this deployment. That pixel is used to count sessions, ranking-page views, item-list impressions, GEAR UP product selections, and checklist signups. We do not send purchase events — a sale happens on the merchant site, not here. IP addresses are anonymized when GA4 is on. We do not run a third-party advertising network on these pages.
Affiliate tracking. When you follow GEAR UP or “Also at,” the merchant or their affiliate network may set cookies on their domain to attribute a sale. Amazon may set cookies after a GEAR UP click. That happens after you leave Thru Picks.
We do not collect names, payment cards, hike plans, precise location, or account passwords, because there is no account and we do not process payments.
How that information is used
Hosting logs: operations, security, and abuse prevention. Email you send: to answer you. Checklist signups: to send ranking and Field Notes updates when a list actually changes. Buy links do not currently carry Thru Picks query tags. If analytics is enabled, GEAR UP clicks may be counted in the browser without putting an ID in the URL. Affiliate cookies: so a merchant can credit a sale under their program once those programs are live. We do not sell personal information as that phrase is used in California consumer-privacy law, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Third-party tools
Pages on this site may load fonts from Google Fonts. That request is made by your browser to Google under Google’s privacy policy.
Ranking pages may fetch public product pages so we can show a listed price and, when published, a shop star average. Those requests go from our servers to the merchant. They are not tied to your identity on Thru Picks. We store price, rating, and URL — not review text.
Merchants and networks we may link to include Garage Grown Gear, REI, Amazon, and their affiliate platforms (for example AvantLink or Impact). After you click through, their privacy policies apply. Thru Picks does not receive your order, cart, or payment details.
You can block third-party cookies in your browser. GEAR UP will still open the shop; we may not be credited for a sale.
Retention
Hosting logs are kept only as long as the host needs them for operations. Email you send is kept as long as needed to answer you and then as ordinary correspondence. LocalStorage on your device stays until you clear site data. We do not keep a standing customer database.
Your rights
There is no account to access or download. If you emailed us, you may ask us to delete that correspondence. If a future mailing list is stored on our servers, you may ask to be removed. California, Colorado, and similar state laws: we do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. To make a request, email [email protected].
Children: Thru Picks is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes
If this policy changes in a material way, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use after that date is the new policy.
Contact
Privacy questions: [email protected]. Also About, Affiliate Disclosure, and Terms of Use.
Last updated August 30, 2026. Affiliate Disclosure · Terms of Use · Contact · Methodology