What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
Personal data is only collected if visitors choose to leave comments on the site or sign up for our newsletter. In these cases, we collect the data shown in the related form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string. This information is used to enable spam detection and prevention.
When a comment is submitted, 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. If you are using this service, your Gravatar profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment. If you are using the Gravatar service, your use of their service is covered by their privacy policy.
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.
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 tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Who we share your data with
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service. Other than this, there are only certain exceptional circumstances where we may share your data with others – in those cases we have taken every effort to ensure its safety and security. These circumstances are:
- If required for law enforcement
- As a necessary part of contacting you – for example, by using a contractually agreed third party to process our communications.
As a necessary part of ensuring we comply with our legal obligations as a data controller – for example, by using a third party to migrate data or ensure it is accurate and up to date.
How long we retain your data
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.
What rights you have over your data
If you have left comments on our 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. To request any export or deletion of personal data, please email info@spotlightenglish.com.