Legal

Privacy Policy

Short version: our planning tools run entirely in your browser and never send your answers anywhere. We use cookies only for essential site functions, advertising and affiliate attribution — and you can control the optional ones.

Last updated:

1. Who we are

China Travel OS ("we", "us") operates pandatriptool.com, an independent travel guide for visitors to China. For any privacy question or request, contact us via the contact page.

2. What we collect

Nothing you type into the toolkit. The visa checker, payment wizard and currency calculator run entirely as client-side JavaScript. Your nationality, dates, card choice and checklist progress stay in your browser (the wizard may store its state in local storage on your device so it survives a reload) and are never transmitted to us.

Standard server logs. Like most websites, our hosting provider records IP address, user agent, requested pages and timestamps for security, abuse prevention and troubleshooting.

Analytics. If analytics is enabled and you consent, we use aggregated, privacy-respecting measurement to understand which guides are read. We do not use it to identify you personally.

No account, no email list. This site does not require registration and does not currently operate a newsletter. If that changes, this policy will be updated before any address is collected.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

We use three categories of cookies and local storage:

  • Essential. Required for the site to function, such as remembering interface state and security protections. These cannot be switched off.
  • Analytics. Optional. Help us understand aggregate page usage so we can improve guides. Set only with your consent where consent is required.
  • Advertising and affiliate. Optional. Set by Google and by affiliate networks such as Awin when advertising or affiliate content is shown, or when you click a partner link. Used to measure impressions, limit repeat ads and attribute commissions.

Where required by law (for example in the EEA or the UK), non-essential cookies are set only after you give consent through the consent message provided by our advertising partner or an approved consent management platform. You can change or withdraw that consent at any time through that message or by clearing this site's cookies in your browser. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; essential parts of the site will still work.

4. Advertising (Google AdSense)

We use Google AdSense to display advertising. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visit to this site and/or other sites on the internet.

Google uses the DoubleClick cookie (and similar identifiers) for interest-based advertising. You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings, or opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising at aboutads.info. You can also review Google's partner-sites policy at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Visitors in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland are asked for consent before personalised advertising cookies are used, through a consent management platform that complies with the IAB Transparency and Consent Framework. Refusing consent does not remove ads; it means ads are non-personalised.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not knowingly serve personalised advertising to children.

5. Affiliate links (Awin and other networks)

Some outbound links are affiliate links, including links from the Awin network. When you click one, the merchant or network may set a cookie that records that you came from this site, so we can be paid a commission if you buy. This never increases the price you pay and does not give us access to your payment details. See our affiliate disclosure for the full list of partners and how recommendations are chosen.

6. Third-party services and links

We link out to payment, eSIM, VPN, insurance and booking providers. Once you leave this site, their privacy policies apply, not ours. We recommend reading theirs before entering payment details. We may also load fonts or scripts from third-party providers; where required, those requests are limited to what is necessary to display the page.

7. Your rights (GDPR / UK GDPR / CCPA)

  • Request a copy of any personal data we hold about you.
  • Ask us to correct or delete it.
  • Object to processing, or ask us to restrict it.
  • Withdraw consent for analytics or advertising at any time.
  • California residents: request disclosure of, or deletion of, personal information, and opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" as those terms are defined by the CCPA/CPRA. We do not sell personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, use the contact page. We respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

8. Data retention and security

We keep server logs for a limited period and delete them when no longer needed for security or troubleshooting. Consent records are kept for as long as needed to demonstrate compliance. We use HTTPS, least-privilege access and regular updates. No system is perfectly secure, so please never email us passport scans or card numbers.

9. Children

This site is intended for adult travellers. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 16.

10. Changes

If this policy changes materially, we update the date above. Continued use of the site after an update means you accept the revised policy.