Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 27/08/2024

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://alistairridge.co.uk. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring that your personal information is handled responsibly in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

What Data We Collect and Why

We collect personal data that you voluntarily provide, such as when you leave comments, fill out forms, or interact with the site. This data includes your name, email address, and any other details you provide. We may also collect data automatically, such as your IP address, browser type, and information gathered through cookies and similar technologies.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection. An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture will be visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Media

If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

We use cookies to enhance your experience on our site, including saving your preferences and tracking usage patterns. For example, if you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies for your convenience. These cookies last for one year. We also use cookies for analytics purposes, such as through Google Analytics, to understand how visitors interact with our site and to improve our services.

If you visit our login page, a temporary cookie will be set to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, several cookies are set up to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login persists for two weeks. If you log out, the login cookies are removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after one day.

Embedded Content from Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Analytics and Advertising

We use third-party services like Google Analytics and Google Ads to track and report website traffic and to serve ads. These services may use cookies and collect data about your use of the website, which is shared with Google. Google may use this data to contextualise and personalise ads on its own advertising network. You can learn more about how Google uses your data and manage your ad settings here: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

We also use heat mapping services to analyse user interaction on our website. This data helps us improve user experience by showing us how users navigate our site.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. However, we may share your data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving you, as long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

How Long We Retain Your Data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically. For users that register on our website (if any), we store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except for their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where Your Data Is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Additionally, some data may be processed by third-party services that assist with website analytics, advertising, and heat mapping, as mentioned earlier. These third-party services may operate outside of the European Economic Area (EEA), and by using this website, you consent to the transfer of your data to these services under conditions that comply with GDPR requirements.

How We Protect Your Data

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We employ technical and organisational measures to protect your data from unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. This includes using encryption where appropriate and regularly reviewing our data processing practices.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Any changes will be posted on this page, and we encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy or how your data is handled, please contact us at: contact@alistairridge.co.uk

By using this website, you agree to the terms outlined in this privacy policy. If you do not agree with any part of this policy, please do not use our website.