To ensure clarity and transparency, here are some key terms used throughout this Privacy Policy:

• Personal Data (or Personal Information): Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. This may include, but is not limited to, name, email address, IP address, comment content, or any other data you provide or that is automatically collected that can be linked back to you.
• Usage Data: Data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit, browser type, IP address).
• Cookies: Small files stored on your device (computer or mobile device) by your web browser when you visit a website. They store a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website.
• Data Controller: The natural or legal person who (either alone or jointly or in common with other persons) determines the purposes for which and the manner in which any personal information is, or is to be, processed. For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, we are the Data Controller of your Personal Data.
• Data Processor (or Service Provider): Any natural or legal person who processes data on behalf of the Data Controller. We may use the services of various Service Providers in order to process your data more effectively (e.g., spam detection services).
• User (or Data Subject): Any individual using our Website and who is the subject of Personal Data.
• Consent: Any freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous indication of the Data Subject’s wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of Personal Data relating to him or her.

1. Data You Provide Directly to Us

This is information that you voluntarily provide to us when you interact with certain features on our Website.

• Comments: When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form. Typically, this includes your name (as you provide it), email address, website (optional), and the content of your comment.
  • Purpose: This information is collected to display your comment, enable follow-up communication if needed, and to help us identify and prevent spam. Your email address is not publicly displayed.
  • 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 you have one associated with Gravatar and it’s enabled) is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
• User Registration (If Applicable): If our Website offers user registration, we will collect the personal information you provide during the registration process. This may include a username, email address, password (which will be stored in a hashed format for security), and potentially other profile information you choose to provide.
  • Purpose: This information is used to create and manage your account, allow you to use member-specific features, personalize your experience, and facilitate communication.
• Contact Forms or Email Communications: If you contact us via our email address (contact.ifates@gmail.com) or through any contact forms on the Website, we will collect your name, email address, and the content of your message, including any attachments.
  • Purpose: This information is used to respond to your inquiries, provide support, and improve our services based on your feedback.
• Purchases and Transactions: While all payments are processed exclusively through PayPal (to our account contact.ifates@gmail.com), we may receive confirmation of your purchase from PayPal, which might include your name, email address, and transaction ID. We do not collect or store your full payment card details or PayPal login information.
  • Purpose: To fulfill your order, provide the purchased service or product, manage your transaction, and for record-keeping as required by our Refund and Returns Policy and for accounting purposes.

2. Data We Collect Automatically (Usage Data)

As you navigate through and interact with our Website, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns.

• Log Files and Analytics: Like most websites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information may include:
  • IP Address: Your Internet Protocol (IP) address is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. We collect your IP address when you leave a comment (for spam detection) and it may be included in password reset emails. It’s also logged for security and analytical purposes.
  • Browser User Agent String: This is a string of text your web browser sends to websites, identifying the browser type, version, operating system, and other technical specifications. It’s collected when you leave a comment to help with spam detection and may also be part of standard server logs.
  • Other Usage Details: This includes device type, operating system, referring/exit pages, date/time stamps, clickstream data, and pages visited on our Site.

  Purpose: This data helps us understand how users interact with our Website, diagnose technical problems, administer the site, analyze trends, prevent fraud, and improve the overall user experience and security of our services.

• Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track the activity on our Service and hold certain information. For more detailed information, please see the “Cookies and How We Use Them” section below.

3. Information from Third Parties

• Gravatar Service: As mentioned, if you use the Gravatar service, an anonymized hash of your email address is sent to Gravatar to retrieve your profile picture for display alongside your comments. Their privacy policy (https://automattic.com/privacy/) governs their use of this data.
• PayPal: When you make a purchase, PayPal processes your payment. We receive transaction confirmation details from PayPal, which may include your name, email address, shipping address (if applicable for a physical product, though ifates.net primarily offers digital services), and transaction ID. We do not receive or store your credit card numbers or full PayPal financial details. PayPal’s use of your information is governed by its own privacy policy.
• Embedded Content: Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos from YouTube or Vimeo, images from Flickr, articles from other news sites, 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 websites may collect data about you, use their own cookies, embed additional third-party tracking (beyond what we implement), and monitor your interaction with that embedded content. This includes tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account with that third-party website and are logged in to that website at the time you interact with the content on our Site.
  • Example: If you watch a YouTube video embedded on our site, YouTube may collect data about your viewing habits according to YouTube’s own privacy policy.
  • We do not control these third-party websites or their data collection practices. We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies to understand how they handle your data.

4. Media You Upload

If you upload images to the website (for instance, in comments if enabled, or in a user profile), you should be cautious about embedded location data. Many digital cameras and smartphones can embed precise location data (EXIF GPS) within the image files themselves.

• Recommendation: We strongly advise against uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can potentially download and extract any location data from images on the website. This could compromise your privacy if you do not wish to share your location.
• We are not responsible for removing such data if you choose to upload images containing it.

Types of Cookies We Use and Their Purposes:

• Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential for you to browse the website and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the site. Without these cookies, services like logging in cannot be provided.
  • If you visit our login page, 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. This is a necessary check for login functionality to work correctly.
  • When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. These are critical for maintaining your logged-in state and preferences. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year.
• Functionality Cookies (Convenience Cookies): These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features.
  • 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. By opting in, you consent to this storage.
  • Persistent Login: If you select “Remember Me” when logging in, your login will persist for two weeks. This cookie stores information that allows us to keep you logged in without requiring you to re-enter your credentials each time you visit. If you log out of your account, the login cookies (including the “Remember Me” cookie) will be removed.
  • Screen Options Cookies: These cookies store your preferences for how the website’s admin interface (if you are a registered user with access) or certain aspects of the site are displayed. These screen options cookies last for a year.
• Performance/Analytics Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance, which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.
  • While not explicitly detailed in the original text for ifates.net, many sites use these. Should we implement analytics tools like Google Analytics, they would utilize such cookies.
• Technical Cookies:
  • If you edit or publish an article (typically for registered users with publishing rights), 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. This helps the system manage content editing processes.

Managing Your Cookie Preferences:

Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. You can usually find these settings in the ‘Options’ or ‘Preferences’ menu of your browser. To understand these settings, the following links may be helpful, or you can use the ‘Help’ option in your browser for more details:

• Cookie settings in Chrome
• Cookie settings in Firefox
• Cookie settings in Safari web and iOS.
• Cookie settings in Internet Explorer / Edge

Please note that if you choose to block all cookies (including essential cookies), you may not be able to access all or parts of our Site, and some functionality may be impaired.

For further information about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.

• Provide, operate, and maintain our Website: Ensuring the site functions correctly and is accessible to you.
• Manage User Accounts: If you register for an account, we use your information to administer your account, provide you with access to certain features, and communicate with you about your account.
• Process and Display Comments: To enable you to participate in discussions and share your views, and to publicly display these comments as per your submission.
• Respond to Inquiries and Provide Support: To address your questions, requests, and provide customer service when you contact us via email or other channels.
• Improve and Personalize User Experience: To understand how users interact with our Website, which features are most popular, and to personalize your content and experience (e.g., using “Remember Me” functionality, screen display options).
• Process Transactions: To fulfill purchases of our products and services made via PayPal, including order confirmation, delivery of digital goods or services, and related customer service.
• Spam Detection and Security: To protect our Website and users from spam, malicious activity, and security threats. This involves the use of IP addresses, browser user agent strings, and comment data.
• Technical Administration and Troubleshooting: Using log files and usage data to diagnose server problems, manage the Website, and ensure its stability.
• Analyze Trends and Usage: To gather demographic information and analyze trends about how our Website is used, helping us to improve its design and content.
• Communicate with You: To send you important notices, such as updates to our terms or policies, or responses to your requests. If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security verification.
• Comply with Legal Obligations: To meet any applicable legal or regulatory requirements or to respond to lawful requests from public authorities.
• Enforce Our Terms and Conditions: To protect our rights and property and to enforce our site policies.

We may process your Personal Data because:

• Consent: You have given us your consent to do so for one or more specific purposes. For example, when you opt-in to save your details in cookies when leaving a comment, or if you subscribe to a newsletter (if offered). You can withdraw your consent at any time.
• Legitimate Interests: The processing is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of a third party, and your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests. Our legitimate interests include:
  • Operating and maintaining our website.
  • Ensuring the security of our website and preventing fraud and spam.
  • Understanding how users interact with our site to improve services.
  • Responding to your inquiries and providing support.
  • Fulfilling transactions and providing purchased services.
• Performance of a Contract: If the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or to take steps at your request before entering into such a contract (e.g., if you register for an account and we provide services under specific terms, or when you purchase a service from us).
• Legal Obligation: The processing of your Personal Data is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject.

We will make clear at the time of collection whether the provision of Personal Data is mandatory or optional, as well as the possible consequences of not providing the information.

• Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata (including name, email, website provided, IP address, and browser user agent string) are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue and to maintain the context of discussions on our site.
• Registered Users: For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile (e.g., username, email address, any other profile details). 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. This data is kept as long as the user account remains active or until deletion is requested by the user, subject to legal or operational needs.
• Transaction Data: Information related to purchases (such as PayPal transaction IDs, customer name, email) will be retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the service, process refunds according to our policy, and comply with financial record-keeping and legal obligations (e.g., for tax purposes), which may be several years.
• Cookies:
  • Convenience cookies for comments: Last for one year.
  • Login page temporary cookie (browser cookie acceptance check): Discarded when you close your browser (session cookie).
  • Login cookies: Last for two days.
  • Screen options cookies: Last for one year.
  • “Remember Me” login cookies: Last for two weeks.
  • Article edit cookie: Expires after 1 day.
• Usage Data and Log Files: Usage data (like IP addresses, browser info from server logs) is generally retained for shorter periods, e.g., for security analysis, site administration, or to improve website functionality, unless longer retention is required for legal reasons or to resolve security incidents.
• Contact Form/Email Submissions: Information sent via contact forms or direct emails will be kept as long as necessary to address your inquiry and for our internal record-keeping, unless you request its deletion and we have no overriding legal obligation to retain it.

When we no longer need your Personal Data for the purposes for which it was collected, we will take reasonable steps to securely destroy or de-identify it.

• Service Providers (Data Processors): We may employ third-party companies and individuals to facilitate our Website (“Service Providers”), provide the Website on our behalf, perform Website-related services (e.g., web hosting, maintenance services, database management, web analytics, payment processing, and improvement of Website features), or assist us in analyzing how our Website is used.
  • These third parties have access to your Personal Data only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose. They are contractually bound to standards of security and data protection.
  • Spam Detection: Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service (e.g., Akismet or a similar service). This service would receive comment data, IP address, and browser user agent string to determine if a comment is spam.
  • Payment Processor (PayPal): When you make a purchase, your payment is processed by PayPal. We share necessary transaction information with PayPal to facilitate this payment (e.g., order amount, item description). PayPal’s use of your information is governed by its own privacy policy.
• Gravatar Service: As explained, if you use Gravatar, an anonymized hash of your email is shared with the Gravatar service to display your profile picture.
• Embedded Content Providers: When you interact with embedded content from other sites (e.g., YouTube, Twitter), those sites collect data directly from you as if you were visiting their site. Their data collection is governed by their own privacy policies.
• Password Resets: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email. This is a security measure to help confirm the legitimacy of the request and inform you from where it originated.
• Legal Requirements and Protection of Rights: We may disclose your Personal Data if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to:
  • Comply with a legal obligation (e.g., a subpoena, court order, or government request).
  • Protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of ifates.net, our users, or the public.
  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Website.
  • Protect the personal safety of users of the Website or the public.
  • Protect against legal liability.
• Business Transfers: If ifates.net is involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your Personal Data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice before your Personal Data is transferred and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.
• Aggregated or Anonymized Data: We may share aggregated or anonymized information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you with third parties for various purposes, including research, analysis, or to improve our services.

• The Right to Access: You have the right to request access to the personal data we hold about you. 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. This allows you to review the information we have and verify its lawfulness.
• The Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete. If you have a user account, you can often see, edit, or delete your personal information directly within your account settings (except you usually cannot change your username, though site administrators may be able to assist).
• The Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): You can request that we erase any personal data we hold about you under certain conditions. For example, if the data is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected, if you withdraw consent and there is no other legal ground for processing, or if your data has been unlawfully processed.
  • This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes (e.g., transaction records, data necessary for compliance with legal obligations, or data needed to defend against legal claims). We will inform you if we are unable to comply with your request for these reasons.
• The Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain conditions, for example, if you contest the accuracy of the data or if the processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure.
• The Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions, particularly where we rely on legitimate interests as our legal basis for processing.
• The Right to Data Portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions. This applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you. The exported file mentioned above is how we facilitate this.
• The Right to Withdraw Consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal data conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
• The Right to Complain: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority in your jurisdiction if you believe that our processing of your personal data violates applicable data protection laws.

Exercising Your Rights:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at contact.ifates@gmail.com. We may need to request specific information from you to help us confirm your identity and ensure your right to access your personal data (or to exercise any of your other rights). This is a security measure to ensure that personal data is not disclosed to any person who has no right to receive it. We may also contact you to ask you for further information in relation to your request to speed up our response.

We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. Our Website (ifates.net) and its servers may be located in a specific country (e.g., the United States), which means if you access the site from outside this country, your data will be transferred internationally.

Specifically:

• Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. This service may be hosted in a different country.
• Our web hosting providers, analytics providers, payment processor (PayPal), and other third-party service providers may also be based in various countries.

If you are located outside the United States and choose to provide information to us, please note that we transfer the data, including Personal Data, to the United States (or other jurisdictions where our servers/service providers are located) and process it there.

Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer.

We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place including the security of your data and other personal information. For users in the EEA/UK, where we transfer your data to countries not deemed adequate by the European Commission, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses approved by the European Commission or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

The security of your data is important to us. We strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we aim to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information, including:

• Using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt data transmitted to and from our website (look for “https” in the address bar).
• Regularly reviewing our information collection, storage, and processing practices, including physical security measures, to guard against unauthorized access to systems.
• Restricting access to personal information to our employees, contractors, and agents who need to know that information in order to process it for us and who are subject to strict contractual confidentiality obligations.
• Employing hashing and anonymization techniques where appropriate (e.g., password hashing, email anonymization for Gravatar).
• Implementing measures to detect and respond to security incidents.

However, you also play a critical role in keeping your data safe. If you have an account with us, you are responsible for keeping your password confidential. Do not share your password with anyone.

In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you and relevant supervisory authorities as required by applicable law.

Our Website is not intended for children under the age of 13 (or a higher age threshold as required by applicable local law, e.g., 16 in some EEA countries). We do not knowingly collect personally 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 without your consent, please contact us immediately at contact.ifates@gmail.com. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Data from children without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers promptly.

We encourage parents and guardians to observe, participate in, and/or monitor and guide their children’s online activity.

Our Website may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us (e.g., links in articles or sources for embedded content). 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. This Privacy Policy applies only to our Website (ifates.net).

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 “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you through a notice on the Website home page or by other means we deem appropriate, such as an email to your registered email address (if we have one).