Poetry Haven

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 22, 2025

Who we are

Our website address is: https://poetryhaven.org. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors and users. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, maintain, and disclose your personal information.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why We Collect It

We collect information about you in several ways when you interact with our site.

  • Comments:
    • When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form (such as name, email address, website – if provided).
    • We also collect the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string.
    • Why: This information is collected to help detect and prevent spam, and to display your comment once approved.
    • An anonymized string created from your 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: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture (if associated with Gravatar) is visible to the public in the context of your comment.  
  • Media:
    • If you upload images to the website (e.g., in comments or user profiles, if applicable), 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.  
    • Why: To prevent unintended disclosure of location data.
  • Contact Forms:
    • If you use our contact form(s), we collect the information you provide, typically including your name, email address, and the message content.
    • Why: To respond to your inquiries, provide support, or communicate with you as requested. We do not use this information for marketing purposes unless you explicitly consent.
  • Cookies:
    • Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. We use cookies for various purposes:
      • Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.  
      • Login Cookies: If you visit our login page (if user accounts are enabled), we will set a temporary cookie 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, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.  
      • Editor Cookies: If you edit or publish an article (applicable to logged-in users with editing privileges), 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 1 day.  
      • Analytics Cookies: We may use services like Google Analytics to understand how visitors engage with our site. These services use cookies to collect information such as your IP address, pages visited, and time spent on site. This data is typically anonymized or aggregated.
      • Third-Party Cookies: Embedded content (see below) or third-party services (like advertising networks, if used) may set their own cookies.
    • Managing Cookies: You can typically manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of the website.
  • Embedded Content from Other Websites:
    • Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos from YouTube/Vimeo, images, articles, social media feeds, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
    • These external 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. We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these third-party websites.  
  • Analytics:
    • We may use third-party analytics services (e.g., Google Analytics) to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behavior patterns.
    • Why: We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to various parts of the site, which helps us improve our website. This information is generally processed in a way that does not directly identify anyone.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal data. We only share it in the following limited circumstances:

  • Gravatar Service: As mentioned, an anonymized hash of your email may be sent to the Gravatar service for profile picture display.
  • Spam Detection: Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service (e.g., Akismet). This service may receive the comment content, IP address, user agent, referrer, and site URL.
  • Password Resets: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security purposes.
  • Third-Party Service Providers: We may share data with third parties who perform services on our behalf, such as:
    • Website hosting providers.
    • Analytics providers (e.g., Google Analytics).
    • Email service providers (if you subscribe to a newsletter).
    • Security services.
    • These providers are typically obligated to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., a court or government agency).  

How Long We Retain Your Data

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy or as required by law.

Analytics Records: Analytics records are typically kept for a specific period before being automatically deleted.

Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.  

User Accounts: For users that register on our website (if any), we store the personal information they provide in their user profile for as long as their account is active. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.  

Contact Form Entries: We retain contact form submissions for a certain period for customer service purposes, but we do not use the information submitted through them for marketing purposes unless consented to.  

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data:

  • Right to Access: 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.  
  • Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
  • Right to Erasure (‘Right to be Forgotten’): You can 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 (e.g., data related to purchases, legally required records, or security logs).  
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You may have the right to request the restriction of processing your personal data under certain conditions.
  • Right to Object: You may have the right to object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions, particularly for direct marketing or processing based on legitimate interests.
  • Right to Data Portability: You may have the right to request that we transfer the data we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.  

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.  

If you believe that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection (e.g., the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or your local authority).

Where Your Data Is Sent

Your personal information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in countries other than your own, including the United States, where our servers or third-party service providers may be located. This includes:  

  • Spam Detection Services: As mentioned, comments may be processed by services located outside your region.
  • Hosting Providers: Our website hosting servers may be located internationally.
  • Third-Party Services: Services like Gravatar, Google Analytics, etc., may process data in the USA or other countries.

We take steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy when transferred internationally.

How We Protect Your Data

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or disclosure. These may include measures like using SSL/TLS encryption (HTTPS) for data transmission, security plugins, and limiting access to personal data. However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal identifiable information from children under this age. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us so that we can take necessary actions.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Effective Date” at the top. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.