Privacy Policy

Comments

Comments on newer articles are handled through Discourse, a forum platform. When you create an account or comment through Discourse, your data is processed according to both this privacy policy and Discourse’s privacy policy, and the information collected may include your username, email address, IP address, browser information, and any content you post. Discourse lets you download all of your personal data and request its deletion through your user profile.

Some older articles still use WordPress’s default comment system. For those, I collect the data shown in the comment form, along with your IP address and browser user-agent string for spam detection. All comment data is stored solely to display comments and prevent spam, and if you’d like your information removed from either system, please contact me.

Media

If you upload images to the website, avoid ones with embedded location data (EXIF GPS), since visitors can download images and extract any location data they contain. Most modern smartphones and cameras embed this data in photos, so it’s worth removing before uploading to protect your privacy.

Contact forms

Contact forms let readers and me communicate easily, and when you use one you consent to me storing your information. I collect only your name and email address, and solely so I can respond to your inquiry. That data is kept only as long as necessary to handle your inquiry and any follow-up, and if you’d like it deleted, please contact me.

Cookies

If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies, purely for your convenience so you don’t have to re-enter your details next time. These cookies last for one year, are entirely optional, are only saved if you opt in, and can be cleared from your browser at any time.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content such as videos, images or articles, which behaves exactly as though you had visited the other website directly. Those websites may collect data about you, set cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that content, including if you’re logged in to them. I have no control over how third-party embedded content collects or uses your data, so please refer to their respective privacy policies for more information.

Analytics

This site uses Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with the content and to improve the experience. All of that data is anonymised to remove potentially personally identifying information such as IP addresses, so I can understand site usage while protecting your privacy. You can opt out at any time using browser extensions or by adjusting your browser settings.

Who I share your data with

Simply put, I don’t. Any data stored on BreatheSafeAir.com will not be shared with other people or websites. The only exception is data processed through Discourse for comments, which is handled according to their own privacy policy and data-processing agreements.

How long I retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely, which lets me recognise and approve your follow-up comments automatically rather than holding them in a moderation queue, helping prevent spam. Information from contact forms is kept only as long as necessary to respond to your inquiry, and anonymised analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics’ own data-retention policies.

What rights you have over your data

You have the right to request an exported file of all the personal data I hold about you, and to request deletion of any data I’ve stored on the website. For WordPress comments and contact forms, just contact me directly using the information below; for Discourse comments, you can download your data and request deletion through your Discourse user profile, or contact me for assistance. This doesn’t include any data I’m obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.