Who we are

I am Nicole J. Simms, a UK based writer. My website address is http://www.nicole-j-simms.co.uk

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

I only collect and store the data used to subscribe, fill out the contact form or comment on a post, such as a name, email address, the country the visitor has accessed the website from and the IP address. These details are only collected so subscribers can receive email notifications, from people who use the contact form can receive a response, comments can be checked for spam and for my site statistics.

Also, third party services may collect information about your visit. I currently use the following that might collect your data:

By default, WordPress does not collect any personal data about visitors, and only collects the data shown on the User Profile screen from registered users. However, some of your plugins may collect personal data.

Comments

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

An anonymised 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 is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Contact forms

I use the Contact 7 Form plugin to enable visitors to send me a message. The information is sent as an email and only I can access this email. You can view Contact 7 Form plugin’s privacy policy here: https://contactform7.com/privacy-policy/.

The emails are saved in my email account for future references. However, I will not contact you via that email (Gmail and domain email which is registered with 123reg) unless you ask me to. For example, I will not notify you of published posts unless you are a subscriber.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on my site, you may opt-in to save 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.

I also have third party cookies from Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/about/privacy) and Google AdSense (https://policies.google.com/privacy).

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. Videos, images, articles, 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 cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Analytics

I use the Jetpack by WordPress.com to monitor site interaction. You can view their privacy policy here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.

Who we share your data with

I do not share your personal data with other parties. However, I do use the previously mentioned plugins that might pass on your data. You can see their privacy policies above.

How long we retain your data

I don’t have a particular time limit for storing data obtained because I need it for future references. If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue. If you are a subscriber, then your email and name will be stored in WordPress for as long as you are a subscriber. Also, messages from the contact form will be stored, but I will not contact you through those details unless by your request. If you want comments removed, then please contact me.

What rights you have over your data

If you have left comments on this site, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also 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.

Where we send your data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Also, contact form messages will be sent to my Gmail and 123reg domain email.

Your contact information

If you have any questions concerning your privacy, then please contact me.