Version 2.1, last updated 19 December 2022

I take pride in handling your data responsibly. That’s why I wrote this privacy policy, to lay out everything from what cookies are used and why, to how you can ask to be unsubscribed from comments. If you have questions or concerns, contact me and I will do my best to help.

Contact

The Art of Allyship is a personal blog of Guy Rintoul. If you have any queries relating to this privacy policy please email guy@theartofallyship.com.

What personal data is collected and why

Comments

When you leave a comment the data shown in the comments form (e.g. name, email, website and comment) is stored. Additionally, your IP address and browser user agent string may be stored to help spam detection, and data about your comment may be sent to an automated spam detection service such as Akismet.

An anonymised string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you use it. If you are registered with Gravatar then the profile picture linked to your email address may be displayed beside your comments and elsewhere on the site in the context of your comment.

Akismet and Gravatar are part of the same company and as such are both covered by the Automattic Privacy Policy.

Cookies

Three broad categories of cookies are stored by this site:

• Anti-spam cookies
• Comment cookies
• Other WordPress.com cookies

Further information on each of these is given below.

Anti-spam cookies

Some cookies are required for core functionality, anti-spam and security reasons. For example, whenever you comment a cookie is temporarily set while the site checks whether your comment requires moderation, in case it is suspected to be spam or if moderation is turned on for a specific post. If your comment does require moderation then that cookie will stay in your browser until your comment has been approved. It is not possible to opt out of these cookies, but they are automatically removed when they are no longer required.

Comment cookies

If you leave a comment on the site you may select a checkbox to opt in to storing your name, email address and website in a cookie in your browser. This is for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when leaving future comments. These cookies may also be used to recognise you when you post follow-up comments, to reduce the chance of your comment being marked as spam or held for moderation.

The cookies last for one year, but if you wish to opt out sooner simply uncheck the checkbox or clear your browser cookies, and this will delete them.

You may also opt in to subscribing to comments on any given post, or all posts. If you do so, your email address is saved in a cookie in your browser to allow this functionality to work. These cookies allows the software to recognise you when you return, detect whether you have already subscribed to comments on a given post, and provide options such as managing (deleting or suspending) your subscriptions. Details such as your name and email address will also be saved if you opt-in to email updates, to enable the software to send you emails as requested. This data is stored and hosted by WordPress.com (covered by the Automattic Privacy Policy).

If you wish to opt out at a later date, follow the instructions in the email you receive when opting-in, or visit the WordPress.com subscriptions page to manage your subscriptions. You can also delete all cookies via your browser settings.

Other WordPress.com cookies

This site is hosted on WordPress.com and parent company Automattic uses various cookies as described on this page on their website. See also the Automattic Privacy Policy. You can remove these cookies by clearing your browser cookies. In addition, many of these are only set if you are a logged-in WordPress.com user, and therefore not applicable unless you have an account.

Embedded content

Pages on this site may include embedded content or functionality from other sites, such as videos or tweets. Content served from other websites behaves in the same way as if you visited that site directly. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with the embedded content. They may also link this tracking to your account if you are logged in to that website. To understand how these sites use your data you can review their individual privacy policies via their homepages.

Social media interactions

If you interact with The Art of Allyship on social media (e.g. commenting on a post on the Facebook page or getting in touch on Facebook Messenger) your publicly-available information (such as your name and profile picture) will be visible to me in the same way that it’s visible to everyone else on those sites. I do not collect or store that data. Any interactions with me on social media are governed by those sites’ terms of service and privacy policies.

How long your data is retained for

As mentioned above, comment cookies are retained on your device for one year, or until you delete them, whichever is sooner.

If you leave a comment on an article then that comment and its metadata (such as your name and email) are retained indefinitely, so that other people can read and interact with your comment. By commenting you agree to grant me a perpetual and irrevocable license to the content of your comment, whether in whole or in part.

If you choose to subscribe to comments via email, your email address and the subscriptions you have chosen are retained until you unsubscribe.

Right to view your data or request deletion

Under GDPR you have the right to request a copy of any personal data held about you and/or request that this data is erased. This request must be made using the contact details given at the top of this Privacy Policy.

Once your request is received you may be asked to verify your email address by way of a verification link that will be sent to you. This is to ensure that you do not access or request deletion of someone else’s data.

Once you have completed this process the following will be extracted and shared with you via email within 30 days, and/or deleted if so requested:

• Any comments made against your verified email address, along with the associated name and website.
• Any comment subscription data held against your verified email address, along with the associated posts you subscribe to.
• All data relating to any newsletter subscription against your verified email address, including name and history of emails sent to you.

You can also view data relating to comments and newsletter subscriptions at the WordPress.com subscriptions page.

If you request erasure of data it may remain in archived backup files for additional time after being erased from the live system. However these files will not be used for any purpose other than providing redundancy in case of disaster recovery.

In line with my licence to use your comment (see “How long your data is retained for”), when erasing your personal data your comments may be left visible to others but with personal data removed. For example, the comment may be attributed to “Anonymous” with no email address or website, and any personal details in the comment itself edited out.

I reserve the right to edit or delete your comments or any personal data I hold about you at any time, without giving notice or providing reason or justification.