Who we are

Protecting your privacy is very important to Ammie’s Heart.

This privacy statement applies to our collection, use, and sharing of personal information we receive from visitors and users of this website.

This privacy policy has been put together to better serve users who may be concerned with how their ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII) is used online. As described in US privacy law, this is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate an individual or to identify an individual in context of other provided information. Please read our privacy policy carefully so that you will understand how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your information in accordance with this website.

If you do not agree with any aspect of this privacy policy, it is recommended that you cease use of this website.

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

When you visit this site, you may be asked to enter your name, email address or other details to enhance your user experience. Data may include, but is not limited to, data shown in the comments form, media such as images, as well as your IP address and browser user agent string to assist with spam detection. Information is collected when you register on this site, subscribe to newsletters or email lists, respond to a survey or fill out a form or otherwise enter your information on this site.

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: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of any 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.

How your information may be used

We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for email notifications, respond to a survey or marketing communication, browse the website, or use other site features in the following ways:

  • To improve our website so that Ammie’s Heart may better serve you.
  • To efficiently process your transactions.
  • To send periodic emails regarding new blog posts, print items, orders and other marketing communications.

Except as otherwise stated in the privacy policy, we do not sell, trade, rent or otherwise share your Personal Information with third parties without your consent.

Cookies – What they are and how and why 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.

  • We use cookies to analyze data about site traffic and interactions. We may also use trusted third-party services to track this information on our behalf. You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You can do this through your browser settings. Every browser is set up differently so please read your browser’s Help Menu to read their instructions on modifying cookies.
  • Please note, if you disable cookies it may disable some of the features of this site.

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.

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. Ammie’s Heart has no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of any embedded content and/or linked sites. However, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these external sites.

Third Party Disclosure

Unless provided with advance notice to the user, Ammie’s Heart does not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information. This does not include web hosting partners and other entities who assist in the operation of our website, or conducting our business, or serving our users, so long as those entities have agreed to keep this information confidential. Where appropriate, to comply with law, enforce site policies or protect the rights, property and/or safety of Ammie’s Heart or our users we may release required information. However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other entities for marketing or advertising purposes.

  • Social Sharing – Social Sharing buttons such as those for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and/or Pinterest for example, are provided by plugins that are operated and managed by a third-party. When you click on one of the social sharing buttons, certain PII may be stored by those services in accordance with their own terms of service and use.

Regarding the use of Affiliate Links:

The author of ammiesheart.com personally chooses the affiliates she wishes to work with. Any affiliate, company, or organization written about on this website are ones that the author trusts and are chosen based on personal experiences. Should the author receive a commission when you utilize a link, there will be a brief disclosure with a link to here. Commissions received by the author via these affiliate links do not incur any additional cost to you.

The author is not liable or responsible for any materials, products, or services from third party websites that are linked to on ammiesheart.com. Additionally, reviews of products and/or services does not imbue or imply liability or warranty for said products and/or services by this website in any way. Reviews are opinions only and are not to be construed as endorsements. It is your responsibility as a buyer to perform due diligence on any product and/or service you purchase.

AMAZON AFFILIATES DISCLOSURE

ammiesheart.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, which is an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to http://www.amazon.com.

Google Analytics

We, along with third-party vendors such as Google, use first-party cookies (such as Google Analytics) and third-party cookies or other third-party identifiers together to compile data regarding user interactions with ad impressions and other ad service functions as they relate to this website.

  • Opting Out: Users can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Settings page. You may also opt out by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out page or by using the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-On.

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.

Where we send your data

Visitor comments are checked through Akismet, an automated spam detection service. You can read their Privacy Policy here: https://automattic.com/privacy/

How we protect your data

  • We only provide articles and information. We never ask for credit card numbers.
  • We use regular Malware Scanning from our web hosting service.
  • Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons with special access rights to these secured networks and who are required to keep the information confidential. Additionally, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secured Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
  • Multiple security measures are utilized when a user enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of your personal data.
  • All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.

What data breach procedures we have in place

We adhere to the Fair Information Practices Principles and we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:

  • We will notify you via on-site notification within one business day and via email within 7 business days.

We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

California Online Privacy Protection Act

To learn more about the full intent of this act, you can read more here. In accordance with CalOPPA, we agree to the following:

  • Users can visit our site anonymously.
  • Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our homepage or, at a minimum, on the first significant page after entering our website.
  • Our privacy policy link includes the word “Privacy” and can easily be found on the page specified above.

You will be notified of any Privacy Policy changes on our Privacy Policy page and/or via email, if you are subscribed to our email list.

You can change your personal information by emailing us OR by logging into your account and making the changes.

COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control regarding the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old. The Federal Trade Commission, United States’ consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online. Ammie’s Heart does not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.