Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to sven-miller.com. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. If you have any questions or concerns about our policy or our practices with regards to your personal information, please refer to our imprint page for contact information.

This Privacy Policy governs the privacy policies and practices of our Website, located at sven-miller.com. As a WordPress-based blog focused on enhancing personal gatherings, we understand that privacy is crucial when discussing social interactions and event planning.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you:

  1. Visit our website
  2. Register as a user on our site
  3. Leave comments on our blog posts
  4. Sign up for our newsletter

Please read this privacy policy carefully as it will help you make informed decisions about sharing your personal information with us.

By accessing or using our website, you signify that you have read, understood, and agree to our collection, storage, use, and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service.

2. Information We Collect

At sven-miller.com, we collect different types of information for various purposes to provide and improve our service to you. Here’s what we collect and why:

2.1 Personal Information

a. User Registration

When you register on our site, we collect:

  • Username
  • Email address

In the future, we may also offer the option to upload a profile image. If this feature is implemented, we will update this policy accordingly.

b. Comments

If you choose to leave a comment on our blog posts, we collect:

  • Name (as provided)
  • Email address
  • The content of your comment

c. Newsletter Subscription

[Note: Details about newsletter subscription data collection will be added once the process is finalized.]

2.2 Non-Personal Information

a. Log Data

Like many website operators, we collect information that your browser sends whenever you visit our site. This Log Data may include:

  • Your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address
  • Browser type and version
  • Pages of our site that you visit
  • Time and date of your visit
  • Time spent on those pages
  • Other statistics

b. Cookies

We use cookies to collect information and improve our services. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our site.

c. Analytics

We use analytics tools to help us understand how our site is being used. These tools may collect information such as:

  • Pages visited
  • Time spent on the site
  • Referring sites
  • Other analytical data to help improve our content and user experience

2.3 How We Use Collected Information

We use the collected information for various purposes:

  • To provide and maintain our service
  • To notify you about changes to our service
  • To allow you to participate in interactive features of our site when you choose to do so
  • To provide customer support
  • To gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our service
  • To monitor the usage of our service
  • To detect, prevent and address technical issues
  • To personalize your experience on our site

2.4 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.

2.5 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.

We are committed to using your personal information only for the purposes stated in this policy and will update this section if our data collection practices change.

3. Data Storage and Security

We prioritize the security of your personal information. This section outlines how we store, protect, and retain your data.

3.1 Data Storage

All data collected through sven-miller.com is stored on servers provided by our hosting service, Strato, a company based in Germany. This means that your data is subject to German data protection laws, which are among the strictest in the world.

3.2 Data Backups

We create regular backups of our website, which includes user data. These backups are currently stored on the same webserver as our website. We may consider third-party storage options in the future, and this policy will be updated accordingly if that change is implemented.

3.3 Security Measures

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information:

  • Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption: Our website uses SSL technology to encrypt data transmitted between your browser and our servers.
  • Regular software updates: We keep our WordPress installation, themes, and plugins up-to-date to protect against known vulnerabilities.
  • Limited access: Only authorized personnel have access to personal information, and they are required to maintain its confidentiality.
  • Password protection: User accounts are protected by passwords. We encourage users to create strong, unique passwords for their accounts.

3.4 Data Retention

Our data retention practices are as follows:

  • Comments: 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.
  • User Accounts: For users that register on our website, we store the personal information they provide in their user profile indefinitely. 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.

We retain this information to provide our services effectively and to maintain a record of our interactions with users and visitors.

3.5 Third-Party Services

While we take measures to protect your data within our systems, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

3.6 Data Breach Procedures

In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you via email within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach. We will provide information about the extent of the breach and the steps we are taking to address it.

3.7 Cookies

We use cookies to enhance your experience on our website. Here’s how we use them:

  • 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.
  • If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
  • When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
  • If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our site.

If you have any questions about the security of your personal information, you can contact us through the methods provided in our imprint page.

4. Sharing of Information

We are committed to maintaining your trust, and we want you to understand when and with whom we may share the information we collect.

4.1 We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information

We want to assure you that we do not sell, rent, or otherwise disclose your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

4.2 Sharing with Service Providers

We may share your information with third-party service providers who help us operate our website, conduct our business, or service you. These service providers include:

  • Strato: Our Germany-based hosting provider, which stores all data related to our website.
  • WordPress: The content management system we use to run our website.
  • UpdraftPlus: The backup plugin we use to create and store backups of our website data.

These service providers have access to your information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.

4.3 Compliance with Laws

We may disclose your information where required to do so by law or subpoena or if we believe that such action is necessary to:

  • Comply with a legal obligation
  • Protect and defend the rights or property of sven-miller.com
  • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service
  • Protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public
  • Protect against legal liability

4.4 Business Transfers

If sven-miller.com or its assets are acquired by or merged with another company, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information.

4.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information in any other circumstances where we have your explicit consent.

4.6 Publicly Visible Information

Please remember that any information you choose to make public on our website (such as comments on blog posts) may be seen and used by others. We advise you to be cautious about what information you choose to make public.

4.7 Aggregated or Non-personally Identifiable Information

We may share aggregated, non-personally identifiable information publicly and with our partners. For example, we may share information to show trends about the general use of our services.

4.8 Affiliate Links

Our website may contain affiliate links to products or services on third-party websites. When you click on these links and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. However, we want to assure you that:

  • We do not share your personal information with these affiliate partners.
  • The use of affiliate links does not affect the price you pay for products or services.
  • We only recommend products or services that we believe will add value to our readers.

4.9 Newsletter and Promotional Content

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we may send you emails containing promotional content. Please note:

  • Your email address will only be used for sending the newsletter and related communications.
  • Each newsletter will contain an option to unsubscribe or opt out from future communications.
  • We do not share your email address or other personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes.

If you have any questions about sharing of your information, please contact us through the methods provided in our imprint page.

5. Your Rights and Choices

We respect your rights regarding your personal information. This section outlines the choices you have concerning your data and how to exercise these rights.

5.1 Access and Update Your Information

If you have registered on our website, you can access, edit, or delete your personal information at any time by logging into your account. Please note that you cannot change your username once it has been set.

5.2 Unsubscribe from Communications

If you have subscribed to our newsletter, you can unsubscribe at any time by:

  • Clicking the “Unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any newsletter email
  • Logging into your account and adjusting your newsletter preferences
  • Contacting us through the methods provided in our imprint page

5.3 Comments

If you have left comments on our site, you can request to have the personal information associated with those comments modified or deleted. Please contact us through the methods provided in our imprint page for such requests.

5.4 Cookies and Tracking Technologies

Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies. Please note that if you choose to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of our website.

5.5 Data Portability

You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. We will provide this in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.

5.6 Right to be Forgotten

You have the right to request that we delete all personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

5.7 Withdraw Consent

Where we rely on your consent to process your personal data, you have the right to withdraw or decline your consent at any time. Please note that this does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

5.8 Lodge a Complaint

If you believe that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection.

5.9 How to Exercise These Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through the methods provided in our imprint page. We will respond to your request within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request.

Please note that we may not be able to comply with your request in all circumstances, particularly if it conflicts with our legal obligations or legitimate interests. In such cases, we will explain our reasoning to you.

6. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We are committed to maintaining the accuracy and relevance of our Privacy Policy. As our services evolve and privacy regulations change, we may need to update this policy. This section outlines how we manage such changes.

6.1 Policy Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

6.2 Notification of Changes

For significant changes to this Privacy Policy, we will make reasonable efforts to provide notification:

  • We may post a prominent notice on our website informing users of the changes.
  • For registered users, we may send an email notification about the changes to the email address associated with their account.

6.3 Continued Use of the Service

Your continued use of our website after we post any modifications to the Privacy Policy will constitute your acknowledgment of the modifications and your consent to abide and be bound by the modified Privacy Policy.

6.4 Review of This Policy

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we collect, use, and protect your information. If you disagree with any changes in this policy, you may need to stop using our services and deactivate your account.

6.5 Material Changes

If we make material changes to how we treat our users’ personal information, we will notify you by email to the primary email address specified in your account and/or through a notice on the website home page.

By using sven-miller.com, you signify your acceptance of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our website. Your continued use of the website following the posting of changes to this policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.