Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to me.

Did you know there is a law about privacy? Yep, there is. It’s a European law called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It applies to a website, even if it is not based in Europe. If a website is processing or collecting data from EU citizens, then it must abide by GDPR regulations. The purpose of this law is to give people more control over how organizations use their data.

This web page explains how data is collected by Spoiled Hounds and what is done with it.

How I Use Your Data

• To send you emails if you have subscribed to my email list. Also to respond if or when you contact me via email or contact form.
• To ensure content from this site is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer and mobile device.
• To analyze website traffic so I can better understand the demographics of visitors to this website along with what type of content those visitors are interested in.
• To store information for user-submitted articles and photos.
• To allow for and display comments made on articles. Also to prevent spammers from posting spam comments.
• To prevent hackers from hacking this website and getting your data. Note there are always jerks trying to hack websites and they get more clever each day so I can’t 100% guarantee the security of this website.

How is data being collected?

Data is collected through this website and email.

Who is collecting the data?

Data is collected by this website along with third-party tools. Third-party tools are used for website and communication functions and operations which may mean your information will pass through their systems. Here is a list of these tools:

• BigScoots hosts this website.
• This website is secured by an SSL certificate issued by Lets Encrypt.
• Google Drive is where I store files outside of this website.
• Google G-Suite is the email service provider I use to send and receive emails with the exception of ones sent to recipients of my email subscription list.
• MailerLite is the service I use for sending emails to recipients on my email subscription list. I utilize a double opt-in to ensure you have agreed to be added to the subscription list.
• I use Google Analytics, a web analytics service of Google Inc., (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookie text files to analyze how our websites are used. Google uses the data stored on these cookies to compile reports on website activities and to provide further services related to the use of the website. Google may also transfer this information to third parties if required to do so by law or if third parties process this data on behalf of Google.
  • I have enabled Anonymize IP for Analytics tracking which means IP addresses are masked before sending to Google.
  • You can object to data collection and storage by Google Analytics at any time by downloading and installing a browser deactivation add-on. This prevents Google Analytics from storing and processing data about your website visits. For more information and instructions on how to download and install, see https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout .
• I use Google fonts to make this website faster and more responsive. Google Fonts is an unauthenticated service. In order to serve fonts as quickly and efficiently as possible with the fewest requests, Google caches all requests made to its servers so that your browser only contacts Google Fonts when it needs to. The result is that website visitors send very few requests to Google. Google does log records of the font file requests, and access to this data is on a need-to-know basis and kept secure. Google Fonts also keeps aggregated usage numbers to track how popular font families are.
• I use Akismet for spam protection (darn those spammers!). Akismet keeps a database of names, email addresses, URLs, and comments to use for determining if a comment or other form submission is spam.
• This website includes social media features, such as the Facebook share button. These features may collect your IP address and which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third-party or hosted directly on this site. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the organization providing it.

Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)

The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website.

First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, “Tags”) may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser’s cache. The “help” feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser’s cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at All About Cookies.

Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website.

The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads:

• IP Address
• Operating System type
• Operating System version
• Device Type
• Language of the website
• Web browser type
• Email (in hashed form)

Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor’s referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising.

If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit National Advertising Initiative opt out page. You may also visit Digital Advertising Alliance website and Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at Digital Advertising Alliance’s AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.

For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.

Contact Me

If you complete a contact form or send an email to me, the data you send is only for private communication purposes.

Cookies

By visiting this website, cookies will be placed on your device (computer, mobile, or tablet). A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your device by the websites you visit. Some of the cookies are necessary for the functionality of this website. Cookies are used for analyzing the usage of this website. Cookies are also used for users to have faster and easier submission of comments and forms.

You can prevent the setting of cookies by changing your browser settings. Already set cookies may be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. If you deactivate the use of cookies in your Internet browser, not all the functions of this website may be entirely useable.

Children’s Information

This website does not knowingly or intentionally collect information from anyone under the age of 16. If a parent or guardian believes this website has personally identifiable information of a child under the age of 16 in its database, please contact me immediately at [email protected] and I will use my best effort to promptly remove such information from the database.

Links to Other Sites

Other sites I link to are not in my control and this privacy policy does not cover those sites’ privacy policy.

Sharing Your Personal Data

I do not sell, trade, rent, or share your personal information with third-party organizations other than those disclosed in this privacy policy.

How long will the data be stored for?

In most cases, the data will be stored indefinitely unless you request it to be removed. Why indefinitely? Here are examples:

• Comments: I don’t delete comments on blog posts after a specified amount of time. If you leave a comment it will stay there as long as this website is operating.
• User-submitted Posts and Photos: I don’t delete old content just because it was posted a while ago. Actually, longevity is an important part of SEO (search engine optimization) and deleting old posts would negatively impact the SEO of this website.
• Email subscription: If you signed up to receive emails from this website then I’ll keep sending you emails as long as you want to receive them. You can easily unsubscribe at any time.

What rights do you have regarding your data?

You have the right to view your data and request it to be removed. If you wish to do so, please contact me at [email protected]

Changes to the Privacy Policy

I may review and update this Privacy Policy periodically without any prior notice.