Pass the Olives

A Jumble of Opinions on Living, Thinking, Reading, and Making Things

Privacy Policy

Who is Pass the Olives?

I am Sharon Villines. I am the publisher, editor, and writer of Pass the Olives. It’s my personal website. In other words, the opinions, ideas, and stories on Olives are mine unless otherwise noted. I also refer to the software I use to design the site, WordPress, and all its accouterments, as Olives. WordPress is very busy behind the scenes giving orders and filing things.

The Olives website address is https://passtheolives.com. Additional information about can be found on the About page and littered throughout the site. You can also search the web for more information about me. I have a checkered past as well as an olive personality.

What personal data Olives collects and why

If you leave a comment

When you leave comments on the site, Olives uses the data from the comments form and your IP address and browser information to detect possible spam. Olives doesn’t collect information about users.

When you register  Olives will obtain your Gravatar, if you have one. The Gravatar service has its own privacy policy. If you don’t have a Gravatar, a funny image will be created randomly as an icon that will be visible along with your comment.

Media

(This is probably not relevant to you at all since I am the only person who uploads images to the website, but I’m supposed to include it. It was on the form.)

I make every attempt to avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Otherwise, curious persons could obtain the location data from the image’s innards.  If you send me an image, you can remove this data yourself just to be sure. (Sometimes I do slip up.)

I do use images from the web fairly freely. I check for copyright and give credit when I find one. Since the images I use that might be copyrighted are those for organizations or resources I am recommending, I consider the use to be publicity for the site, certainly not to generate income for me.

Cookies

If you leave a comment you may opt-in to save your name, email address, and website in cookies in your browser. This is for your convenience so you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies expire in one year. Then you start over. Or if you have opted-out, you will have to start over every time you want to leave a comment.

When you log in, Olives 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.

Olives will also set up 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, the login cookies will be removed.

(That is probably more than you ever knew about cookies, right?)

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on Olives may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.) from another website. Embedded content behaves exactly as it would if you had 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. I have no control over that, although I rarely embed content.

Who I share your data with

I don’t share data with anyone. Firstly, I don’t know how to share data, and secondly, why would I want to?

How long I retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so I can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically.

If you register on my website, I store the personal information you provide in your user profile. You can see, edit, or delete your personal information at any time —except you cannot change your username unless you delete your account and then re-register with a new username.

What rights you have over your data

If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you can request an exported file of the personal data stored about you, including any data you have provided. You can also request that I erase any personal data I have. This does not include any data I am obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where we send your data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service but otherwise, they stay on Olives. I have no idea who else would want them.

How I protect your data

I have normal security measures installed and use a secure server. Access to the website is only given to trusted members of my staff or consultants hired by me working on my behalf. (At the moment and for the foreseeable future, none of those people exist.)

What third party data I receive

I receive no information about you except what you give me. (I would have to pay for it and I don’t know what I would do with it.)

What automated decision-making and/or profiling we do with your data

I have no automated decision-making processes. I don’t do profiling although I do think about who my readers tend to be—who is happy and what is working. Again, it is based only on the information you have provided. Nothing from third parties. No intention to invade privacy.