Updated: October 18, 2022
First, I want you know that I value your privacy like Frodo with the ring. Except I will not go to the fires of Mordor for you.
No one likes getting emails they didn’t actually sign up for, no matter how exciting or suspenseful the content, and I won’t use any information you give me in any way except how it was intended.
Here’s the thing about websites – they do store SOME data. But I’m going to tell you what I store (not much) and what you can do about it if you don’t like that.
First off, know that most of the information I store is information you give me freely. My site is protected by SSL which ensures that everything sent to or from my server is encrypted. In addition, my site is protected by powerful security maintained by my hosting company, Automattic.
Sadly, there are many people who would love to fill any website with spam comments. My site is no exception. I use Akismet to provide anti-spam services. You can read more about it below. If you are concerned with their processing of your data, I urge you not to leave comments.
Now…about what I collect (that you give me):
Comments
I love it when people comment. I love a good discussion, too! So to allow for discussion, you have the opportunity to post comments on this website. The information collected includes your name, email address, IP address, and your comments. If you ever wish to have your comments removed, send me an email and I’ll remove them.
While I love comments, I don’t like spam (no, not Spam…I’ve heard it’s good on sandwiches…I’m talking about unsolicited junk comments sent by bots to thousands of people). To protect my site from spam, your information is compared with a list of known spam senders by Akismet, an Automattic company (the same company that makes WordPress). The information Akismet collects includes the commenter’s IP address, user agent, referrer, and Site URL (along with other information directly provided by the commenter such as their name, username, email address…oh, and the comment itself, of course). Akismet doesn’t do anything with the data and they purge it in a few days…however, I keep the data (um, it’s your comments) and store it in my database.
Website Activity Tracking
Let’s be real, I can barely manage finding my phone that’s in my hand. That’s why my hosting company provides me with basic data on those who access my site. The data stored in this manner is not traceable back to any individual and is deliberately generalized. It provides me with information related to the country of origin of site visitors, what browser they are using, and how long they stayed on the site. If you want to read about what I use, here is a good article.
In addition, Google and other search engines track website visitors. This is something that happens whenever you use the internet. If you do not want to be tracked, please consider using a private browser window. The information that these search engines store is not traceable to one individual and so is very generic in nature. I do not store this information, however Automattic does store the information and I do occasionally look at it so that I can tell what people are searching for when they come to my site. This helps me provide more relevant content.
Use of Cookies
I wish I meant the chocolate chip kind. I don’t. I use cookies on this Site to ensure the integrity of the registration process and to personalize the Site. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, the cookie notice on this site will place a cookie on your computer when you accept it. Then it won’t ask you if you approve of cookies again for a month. This simplifies the process of delivering relevant content, eases site navigation, and so on. When you return to the Web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the site’s features that you customized.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Many Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser settings to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of this or other Web sites you visit.
Changes to this Statement
If there’s one guarantee, it’s that change happens. I may occasionally update this privacy statement. When I do, I will also revise the “last updated” date at the top of the privacy statement. I encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to stay informed about how I am helping to protect the personal information I collect. Your continued use of the service constitutes your agreement to this privacy statement and any updates.
Contact Form
My contact form requests your name, email address, website, and message that you wish to send me. Your IP address is also captured by the system. This information is checked for spam as noted above and then transmitted to me via email. It is not stored on my website. During the transmission, the data will be sent through normal email channels.
Site Content Owner
All of the content on this site, jeribronson.com, is owned by Jeri Bronson.
Jeri Bronson 