Let’s Bake the Books is my own personal website, written an edited by me, Hannah Charlton.  This privacy policy sets out how I use and protect any information that you give to Let’s Bake the Books when you use this website.

Should you decide to provide certain information from which you can be identified when using the website, it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.

I may change this policy from time to time by updating this page.  This policy is effective from 25 May 2018.

What personal data is collected?

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymised string created from you email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it.  The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here.  After your comment has been approved, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Subscriber Information

When you subscribe to Let’s Bake the Books, I collect the email address required to keep you informed of new posts on the blog.  I do not use this information for any other purpose.

The comments and subscriber services on Let’s Bake the Books are provided by Automattic.  Details of the information collected by Automattic when you leave a comment, or subscribe to the blog, and how the information is processed can be found here.

Contact form

When you contact me using the contact form, I ask for your name and email address so that I can get back to you to answer any questions or queries you have raised.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file that a website stores on a visitor’s computer.  Once you agree to the use of cookies, the cookie is added and it helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual.  For example, if you leave a comment on Let’s Bake the Books, you may save your name, email address and website  in cookies.  These act so that you do not have to fill in your details again if you want to make further comments.  These type of cookies last for one year.

Cookies may also be used to identify which pages are being visited most often which helps me analyse data about website traffic and improve the website.

Cookies may also be used to track when you have clicked on an affiliate link.  This ensures that, should you purchase a product through the link, I will receive the appropriate commission.  Let’s Bake the Books participates in the Amazon Associates programme.  Amazon’s notice on its use of cookies is available here.

A cookie does not give access to your computer or any information other than data that you choose to share.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies.  Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can modify your browser settings to decline them if you prefer.  This may, however, prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

To find our more about how to manage and delete cookies you can visit aboutcookies.org.

Third party websites

Let’s Bake the Books may contain links to other websites of interest.  Once you leave the site, you should note that I do not have control over any other website, and cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites, and such sites are not governed by this privacy policy.  You should exercise caution and look at the privacy policy of the website in question.

Google Analytics

Like many other website owners, I use Google Analytics on Let’s Bake the Books.  When you visit the site, your web browser automatically sends information to Google which includes, for example, the web address of the page that you’re visiting and your IP address.  Details of how Google uses data when you visit a site that uses Google Analytics can be found at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/ and Google’s current privacy policy is available at www.google.com/policies/privacy

The tracking information recorded by Google Analytics allows me to better understand the kind of people who visit Let’s Bake the Books and what content they are reading.  Occasionally I may compile aggregate statistics about the number of visitors Let’s Bake the Books receives and the browsers being used.  No personally identifying data is included in this type of reporting.

If you want to prevent you data from being used by Google Analytics, a browser add-on is available from www.tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Advertising

I include paid advertising on Let’s Bake the Books via Google Adsense.  Google uses cookies to help serve the ads that it displays on the websites of its partners, such as websites displaying Google ads or participating in Google certified ad networks. When users visit Let’s Bake the Books, a cookie may be dropped on that user’s browser.  Google uses cookies to serve ads based on a user’s previous visits to Let’s Bake the Books or other websites.  You may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting https://adssettings.google.uk 

Affiliate links

Let’s Bake the Books may link with affiliate programmes.  This means that if you follow a link to a product and then go on to make a purchase from that site, I will receive a small commission.  I will provide links where they are useful, and never simply because they are part of an affiliate programme.

Let’s Bake the Books is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to relevant products on Amazon.co.uk.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  Qualifying purchases occur where a visitor to Let’s Bake the Books clicks on an Amazon affiliate link, adds a product to their shopping cart and goes on to buy the product (the actual purchase can take place up to 89 days following the initial click-through), or where a visitor buys a product via the Amazon 1-click feature.

Anti-spam

Let’s Bake the Books uses the Akismet spam filter to screen against and prevent spam comments.  The anti-spam service is provided by Automattic, and details of how it processes comment information can be found here.

Web Hosts

Let’s Bake the Books is hosted by SiteGround.com, and some personal data in relation to visitors to Let’s Bake the Books may be stored on SiteGround servers.  SiteGround’s obligations in relation to processing that data for the purposes of providing hosting services and resolving technical issues is set out in a Data Processing Agreement which can be found here.

How long is personal data retained?

If you leave a comment, the comment and its meta data are retained indefinitely.  This is so that we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a queue for moderation.

I will keep contact form information until I have answered your query.  The longest period that I will keep contact form information is six months.

Your rights over your data

If you have left comments on Let’s Bake the Books, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data held about you, including any data you have provided.  You can also request that I erase any personal data held about you.  This does not include any data that I am obliged to keep for administrative, legal or security purposes.

If you have any questions or comments about the privacy policy or would like to request that your personal data held by Let’s Bake the Books is sent to you, or deleted, please use the contact forms below.