Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://myhometownheat.com/

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help with spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to determine if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

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). Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.

Cookies

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when leaving another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

If you visit our login page, a temporary cookie will be set to determine whether your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When you log in, several cookies will be set up to save your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for one year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks. Logging out of your account removes the login cookies.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie contains no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you edited. It expires after one day.

Embedded Content From Other Websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (such as videos, images, or articles). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the same way as if the visitor had visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Contact Forms

When you submit information through contact forms on this website, we collect the data shown in the form, such as your name, email address, and message content.

This information is used solely to respond to inquiries or communicate with you. Contact form submissions are not used for marketing purposes without your explicit consent and are retained only as long as necessary for customer service or administrative purposes.

Newsletter (Mailchimp)

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect personal information such as your name and email address. This information is managed through Mailchimp, a third-party email marketing service.

Mailchimp stores your information on their servers and uses it in accordance with their own privacy policy. We use this data solely to send newsletters, updates, and related communications you have opted in to receive.

You may unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link included in every email or by contacting us directly.

Google Analytics

This website uses Google Analytics to analyze how visitors use the site. Google Analytics collects information such as pages visited, time spent on the site, browser type, and approximate geographic location.

This data is collected through cookies and is used to improve website functionality and user experience. Google processes this data in accordance with its own privacy policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by adjusting your browser settings or using Google’s opt-out tools.

Who We Share Your Data With

If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. Limited data may be shared with service providers such as analytics, email marketing, or spam detection services strictly for website functionality.

How Long We Retain Your Data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them for moderation.

For users who register on our website (if any), we store the personal information provided in the user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time, except for their username. Website administrators can also view and edit this information.

Contact form submissions and newsletter subscription data are retained only for as long as necessary to fulfill their respective purposes or until you request removal.

What Rights You Have Over Your Data

If you have an account on this site, have left comments, submitted forms, or subscribed to the newsletter, you can request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you.

You may also request that we erase your personal data. This does not include any data we are required to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where Your Data Is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Newsletter subscription data is processed through Mailchimp, and analytics data is processed by Google Analytics.