Who we are and what we do
Our website address is https://www.minimalistfocus.com. We are a blog – website (the “Website” or “Minimalist Focus“) sharing content about minimalism, design, personal finance, and culture. The Website is legally subject to the laws of Estonia as well as EU law through the owner of the site. For more info on the ownership of the site, check our terms and disclaimer.
Legal framework
In order to comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation or “GDPR”), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA“), this is our transparent and public privacy statement (the “Privacy Statement“).
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
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. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the Website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Cookies in relation to comments
If you leave a comment on our 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.
Cookies and web beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site.
We also use third party advertisements on minimalistfocus.com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP, the browser you used to visit, and in some cases whether you have a flash player installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes.
You can choose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our website as well as other websites.
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.
Newsletter & Emails
If you have subscribed to our newsletter or if you are a member of our website (you can log in), there is a good chance you will receive emails from us.
We will only send you emails that you have signed up to receive, or which pertain to the services we provided to you.
To send you emails, we use the name and email address you provide us. Our site also logs the IP address you used when you signed up for the service to prevent abuse of the system. None of the content of the emails is in any way directed toward minors but nothing could be defined as “harmful” or “unsuitable” to minors.
This website can send emails through the MailPoet sending service. This service allows us to track opens and clicks on our emails. We use this information to improve the content of our newsletters.
No identifiable information is otherwise tracked outside this website except for the email address.
Analytics – what happens with your data
Your data
We do not share personal information with third-parties nor do we store information we collect about your visit to this blog for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at any time by modifying your Internet browser’s settings.
We do not directly sell data collected from visitors on the Website. Third-party sales may occur through our ads or by any other means used to optimize the content and to analyze the performance of the Website. By using the Website, you agree to our Terms of Service and to the use of your data, eg to analyze the performance of our content.
We are not responsible for the republishing of the content found on this blog on other websites or media without our permission. This Privacy Statement is subject to change without notice.
Notice for residents in California and CCPA compliance
If you wish to opt out of the sale of Personal Information (as defined in the CCPA), please click the button down below
Third-party use of information
Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to track our traffic and website statistics. They may receive anonymous aggregated information such as your location, how you landed on our site, links clicked, how you long you stayed on our site and other statistics.
Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your website visits is subject to the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy. You can choose to opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting the Google advertising opt-out page or the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
Siteground: Siteground is our hosting platform. They may receive your IP address, cookie information, and any data they need to ensure our website is visible and running to the public.
WordPress: WordPress is the company we use to create our online website. They may receive analytics data from you, such as your IP address, your name, and email if you comment on our posts and other data.
As of May 25th, 2018, all these third-parties meet GDPR requirements. Please note that each of these 3rd parties may also have 3rd party companies they share with. Each company should have a privacy policy detailing more information about how they share your data. It is your responsibility to know and understand each company’s privacy policy and how it relates to you.
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.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. 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.
What rights you have over your data
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. 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.
The right to be informed
You have the right to be informed about the personal data we collect from you, and what kind of processing is being done
The right of access
You have the right to get confirmation about whether your personal data is being processed and the ability to receive access to your personal data.
The right to rectification
You have the right to have your personal data rectified if it lacks accuracy or is incomplete.
The right to erasure (right to be forgotten)
You have the right to request the complete removal or deletion of your personal data unless there is a compelling reason for us to retain and continue processing it.
The right to restrict processing
You have a right to block or restrict our processing of your personal data. When your personal data is restricted, we are permitted to retain your data, but we will not be able to process it further.
The right to data portability
You have the right to request to get the personal data that you provided to us and use it for your own purposes. You will obtain your data to within 30 days of your request. To request your personal data, please contact us using the information below
The right to object
You have the right to object to us processing your personal data.
The right to opt out
You have the right to opt out of any personal information collecting, sharing, or selling. If you wish to do so, please contact us under the below-mentioned contact data.
The right to non-discrimination
No discrimination, direct or indirect, is allowed against Users wishing to exercise their rights under the GDPR or the CCPA.
Automated individual decision-making and profiling
You will have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling, which produces legal effects concerning you or significantly affecting you.
Filing a complaint with authorities
You have the right to file a complaint with supervisory authorities if your information has not been processed in compliance with the GDPR or the CCPA. If the supervisory authorities fail to address your complaint properly, you may have the right to a judicial remedy.
For details about your rights under the law, visit https://goo.gl/F41vAV
For any data queries, write to us at hello@minimalistfocus.com
How visitors’ age and identity are verified in relation to data requests
We do not share any information with Users, including for the purpose of exercising their rights under the GDPR or the CCPA, without identity verification by government-issued identity documents.
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
How we keep your data safe
We use several mechanisms to keep your data safe and to avoid any potential breach.
What data breach procedures we have in place
Our procedures include SSL certificates and two-factor authentification. The SSL encryption helps us to ensure secure browsing. You recognize a site using an SSL encryption by the change of the application protocol (also known as HTTP). A secure site, using an SSL certificate will have the protocol HTTPS, such is the case for the Website.
What third parties we receive data from
We receive data from advertisers, notably Google AdSense in order to track content performance. We do not retain or use this data in any way other than to analyze content performance and to optimize the site.
Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
Minimalist Focus is subject to the laws of Estonia.
Any dispute, legal controversy, or claim, except for legal actions taken by us to claim damages, arising, which is related to this Agreement, the content on the Website, or any of our services, will be settled by the competent courts of Estonia accordance with Estonian law and without regard to conflict of law provisions.
Revisions to this privacy statement
Minimalist Focus may update this Privacy Statement at any time, without providing specific notice. Users are encouraged to frequently check this Privacy Statement for any changes, and to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal data we process. Users’ continued use of the site will be deemed acceptance of any amendments to this Privacy Statement.
Last updated: June 2021
