Holy crap, someone’s actually reading this.
MOM! Someone’s actually reading my privacy policy.
*clears throat, wipes crumbs off shirt*
Hiiiiii, welcome to Thoughtful Gift Club’s Privacy Policy & Disclosure!
This visit is pretty unexpected, but since you’re a clearly a distinguished individual who enjoys high-adrenaline activities such as reading privacy policies, I’ll try my best to make this worth your while. Alternatively, you may be a fellow blogger looking to copy my privacy policy for your own site, in which case I say: get off my lawn, you vulturous keyboard tapper. (Just kidding, I like to help. Feel free to peruse)
Anyways, the point of this page is simple: you’re on my site, and there are some things you have the right to know. First off – I used to have a crush on David Copperfield. There, I said it. Second – you have every right to know how your data/information is being collected, and also any financial relationships I have going on with third parties. So, without further ado – here it all is!
PS: My name is Christina Guan, I’m the evil mastermind behind this site. I panic cry a lot when things go wrong. This site is a one-woman show, which means I’m also the Data Protection Officer, SO if you have any questions or concerns, you can feel free to send me an email about it! Compliments and lasagna recipes are also welcome.
FTC DISCLOSURE
The folks at the FTC would like me to tell you that I have financial relationships with many of the merchants mentioned on this site. By merchant, I’m using an old timey word for any companies, brands, etc. that sell something. (I know it sounds like I’m referring to old school merchant ships. This is sadly not the case). You should know that the majority of my posts contain affiliate links, which means I earn a commission if you click through and buy from them. This costs you nothing extra.
EXAMPLE: If I recommend a badass waffle maker and include a link to buy it online, then I earn a commission from that “merchant” if you click through my affiliate link and buy. It’s that simple.
Do realize though that I’m still a cuddly Care Bear at heart, and only recommend products or experiences that I truly believe will bring you value. No skinny teas or shiny hair gummies here, nope!
Oh, also, in case it wasn’t obvious, I travel a lot. Thanks to this little bloggy blog, many of my trips and experiences are sponsored these days. That said, you should know that I will always disclose when something has been sponsored. Key words are “in collaboration with”, “____ invited me to”, etc. etc. If you ever have questions about this though, again, hit me up via email!
PS: One “merchant” I am an affiliate for is Amazon. See below:
AMAZON ASSOCIATE DISCLOSURE
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
[Sorry that was robotic. It’s just they give us really specific phrases to use and the last thing I wanna do is anger the Amazon gods, you know? #PrimeForLife]
Privacy Policy
Thoughtful Gift Club found at https://thoughtfulgiftclub.com/ (“Website” AKA where you are right now) is governed by the following privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”). From this point forward, I will talk like a scary robot and keep refer to this site as “THE WEBSITE”. Just a heads up. If you want to make this read a little more bearable, take a drink every time I say “THE WEBSITE”. You’ll be hammered in no time ?
Anywho, we respect the crap out of you and your privacy, which is why we are committed to protecting it like it’s the last Infinity Stone for Thano’s gauntlet (can you TELL this was written in May 2018? #AVENGERS4LIFE). The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you what personally identifiable information we may collect and how it may be used. This statement only applies to this Website.
What information do we collect and how is it used?
Information You Voluntarily Submit to the Website: We may collect personal information from you such as your name or email address. For example, you may voluntarily submit information to the Website by leaving a comment, subscribing to a newsletter, or submitting a contact form. *I have installed a special consent checkbox for these instances so you are fully aware that your information will be stored for this purpose. In addition, you are able to create a user profile, which allows you to create a username and password. We will store the username, but your password will not be visible in our records.
Information We Collect from Others: We may receive information about you from other sources. That said, all comments are in-house (commenting systems via other social media channels have been disabled).
Automatically-Collected Information: We automatically collect certain information about you and the device with which you access the Website. For example, when you use the Website, we will log your IP address, operating system type, browser type, referring website, pages you viewed, and the dates/times when you accessed the Website. We may also collect information about actions you take when using the Website, such as links clicked.
Cookies: We may log information using cookies, which are small data files stored on your browser by the Website (and not the delicious baked treats I’ve been shovelling in my mouth while writing this privacy policy). We may use both session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your browser until deleted, to provide you with a more personalized experience on the Website.
How your information maybe be used
We may use the information collected in the following ways:
- To operate and maintain the Website;
- To create your account, identify you as a user of the Website, and customize the Website for your account;
- To send you promotional information, such as newsletters. Each email promotion will provide information on how to opt-out of future mailings;
- To send you administrative communications, such as administrative emails, confirmation emails, technical notices, updates on policies, or security alerts;
- To respond to your comments or inquiries;
- To provide you with user support;
- To track and measure advertising on the Website;
- To protect, investigate, and deter against unauthorized or illegal activity.
Third-Party Use of Personal Information
We may share your information with third parties when you explicitly authorize us to share your information.
Additionally, the Website may use third-party service providers to service various aspects of the Website. Each third-party service provider’s use of your personal information is dictated by their respective privacy policies.
The Website currently uses the following third-party service providers:
Google Analytics – this service tracks Website usage and provides information such as referring websites and user actions on the Website. Google Analytics may capture your IP address, but no other personal information is captured by Google Analytics.
MailMunch – this service is used for delivery of email updates and newsletters. We store your name and email address for purposes of delivering such communications. Please refer to MailMunch’s privacy policy for further information.
MailerLite – his service is used for delivery of email updates and newsletters. We store your name and email address for purposes of delivering such communications. Please refer to MailerLite’s privacy policy for further information.
At this time, your personal information is not shared with any other third-party applications. This list may be amended from time to time in the Website’s sole discretion.
Except when required by law, we will not sell, distribute, or reveal your email addresses or other personal information without your consent; however, we may disclose or transfer personal information collected through the Website to third parties who acquire all or a portion of our business, which may be the result of a merger, consolidation, or purchase of all or a portion of our assets, or in connection with any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding brought by or against us.
Plugins
NOTE: The Website does use plugins to keep it running. Below are the specific plugins we use that deal with data in some form and how they play by GDPR rules:
Yoast: I use the Yoast plugin for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) purposes. Just know that Yoast deals with website data, not personal data. Nobody from Yoast is gonna come knocking at your door anytime soon. Here’s more info on that from Yoast if you need it.
Facebook Pixel: I have a Facebook Pixel installed which means sometimes, when I have a piece of content I think you’d enjoy, I’ll target a Facebook ad to you to make sure you see it. I wish I didn’t need to do this, but Zuckerberg wants my money. Blame him. You can easily disable this if you wish though. Opt-out of Facebook remarketing here.
Anonymous Data
From time to time, we may use anonymous data, which does not identify you alone, or when combined with data from other parties. This type of anonymous data may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. Examples of this anonymous data may include analytics or information collected from cookies.
Publicly Visible Information
If you create a user profile on the Website or leave a comment, certain information may be publicly visible. To create a user profile, you must choose a username and password and input your email address for profile confirmation. Your email address will never be available publicly. At your option, you may also add an avatar, a profile description, and a link to your website.
If you choose to leave a comment, people will see your, avatar, name and any website information you leave.
Cookies (not the fun kind)
The Website uses cookies to store visitors’ preferences, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, ensure that visitors are not repeatedly sent the same banner ads, customize Website content based on visitors’ browser type or other information that the visitor sends. Cookies may also be used by third-party services, such as Google Analytics, as described herein.
Users may, at any time, prevent the setting of cookies, by the Website, by using a corresponding setting of your internet browser and may thus permanently deny the setting of cookies. Furthermore, already set cookies may be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all popular Internet browsers. However, if users deactivate the setting of cookies in your Internet browser, not all functions of our Website may be entirely usable.
Advertising
Retargeting Ads
From time to time, the Website may engage in remarketing efforts with third-party companies, such as Google, Facebook, or Instagram, in order to market the Website. These companies use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the Website.
Facebook: Opt-out of Facebook remarketing here
Google: Opt-out of Google remarketing here
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.
Affiliate Program Participation
As mentioned above, the Website engages in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Website. If you click on a link for an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions (but this comes at no extra cost to you).
I am part of the following affiliate programs, who may be using cookies to track any sales/commissions coming via my recommendations on this Website.
Affiliate Window: I use Affiliate Window for a few different affiliate programs, including Etsy. You can read more about Affiliate Window’s GDPR Compliance here.
Amazon: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.
ShareASale: I use ShareASale for a few different affiliate programs including Tailwind. Here’s their terms of use.
Newsletters
On the Website, you may subscribe to our newsletter, which may be used for advertising purposes. All newsletters sent may contain tracking pixels. The pixel is embedded in emails and allows an analysis of the success of online marketing campaigns. Because of these tracking pixels, we may see if and when you open an email and which links within the email you click. Also, this allows the Website to adapt the content of future newsletters to the interests of the user. This behavior will not be passed on to third parties.
Rights Related to Your Personal Information
Opt-out – You may opt-out of future email communications by following the unsubscribe links in our emails. You may also notify us at [email protected] to be removed from our mailing list.
Access – You may access the personal information we have about you by submitting a request to [email protected].
Amend – You may contact us at [email protected] to amend or update your personal information.
Forget – In certain situations, you may request that we erase or forget your personal data. To do so, please submit a request to [email protected].
Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes or to complete transactions, or when required by law.
Sensitive Personal Information
At no time should you submit sensitive personal information to the Website. This includes your social security number, information regarding race or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, health information, criminal background, or trade union memberships. If you elect to submit such information to us, it will be subject to this Privacy Policy.
Children’s Information
The Website does not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 16. If a parent or guardian believes that the Website has personally identifiable information of a child under the age of 16 in its database, please contact us immediately at [email protected] and we will use our best efforts to promptly remove such information from our records.
Contact Information
At any time, please contact the Data Protection Officer, Christina Guan, at [email protected] for questions related to this Privacy Policy. Or if you just wanna say hi and compliment our excellent sense of humour. Thank you!