Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 31, 2018.

Many thanks go out to you for visiting my little blog here! You have my undying gratitude. /bow

In all seriousness, however, this Privacy Policy is intended to describe and explain how and when I collect, use, and share information when you visit Edge of Night and any of its pages, contact me, or otherwise, such as when you willingly participate in special events, subscriptions, etc.

If you end up having any other questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me (contact info provided at the end). By continuing to visit, and participate, you are consenting to this policy and the collection and use of certain data.

Please bear in mind, this Privacy Policy does not apply to the practices of third parties that I do not own or control, including Blogger (a Google-provided service), or any third-party services or websites that you access through Blogger or Google. You can reference Google's Privacy Policy if you wish to learn more about its privacy practices.

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In this policy, you will find the following information:

• Introduction & Basic Disclaimers (above)

1. Collected Information
2. Information Needs and Uses
3. Information Sharing/Disclosure
4. Data Retention
5. Transfers of Personal Data Outside the EU
6. Your Rights
7. My Contact Details
8. TL;DR

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1) Collected Information

Directly, I collect very little of your personal information, and the majority of what I do collect is almost always completely voluntary. Google is the primary source of data collection here, at least at this time. Google, which owns Blogger, collects and uses the following on behalf of my blog:

New EU visitors should see this notification. Click to enlarge.

• Cookies. By visiting my blog, you consent to the use of cookies. Google uses cookies in a variety of ways, including to deliver its (and therefore my blog's) services, to remember your settings, for statistics and traffic analyzation purposes, and to personalize ads [currently, Edge of Night does not participate in Google Adsense].

• See here for how Google uses cookies and the types of cookies it uses, as well as how to manage them. Cookie use categories include Preferences, Security, Processes, Advertising, Session State, and Analytics.

• Google does collect other information, including things you have provided to them and things that are collected as you make use of their services. Most of this, however, I have no control over, and I never see the information.

• Analytics is the primary data I have access to. Blogger's basic stats page provides me with data related to site, page, and post views (view counts, what was viewed), followers (number of, profiles), traffic sources (referring URLs and sites, search keywords), and audience (country, operating system, browser). This is all anonymized, and an individual cannot be distinguished from this basic information.

An example of what I see on my stats page. Click to enlarge.

Data may also be collected, and some of it made available to me, via other third-party services that I use on and for my blog. This includes, but is not limited to, instances such as:

• Social Media Statistics. For example, I currently make use of Shareaholic. Content from my site shared on social media platforms (via Shareaholic buttons) provides me with stats like the number of times an item was shared, and to which platform. Generalized demographic information may also be included.

• Site Features. For example, I currently use Padlet to provide a "Guest Book" feature.

• Subscriptions & Service Providers. For example, I may use third-party services to provide subscribers with email updates and newsletters, or to perform some other function.

• Forms, Surveys. If a visitor fills out a form, or participates in a survey, information (besides the actual form/survey response) may be collected, depending on the service and its purpose.

This is not a comprehensive list, as these things change frequently and I am continually removing/adding/switching services, service providers, applications, features, etc., as I find new and better options. Each third party has its own practices regarding personal data. Depending upon the purpose of whatever it is, I generally do not see nor have access to information collected automatically. However, any personal information voluntarily shared with these third parties will only be to the extent necessary to perform the desired service or function.

You may also choose to provide me with additional personal information, by contacting me directly or by participating in an event or subscribing to my site.

Depending on the case, you may decide to provide me with info such as your name or pseudonym, email address, social profile(s), web links, or other relevant contact/personal details. If you

• Contact me,
• Comment on a post,
• Participate in a form or survey,
• Subscribe or follow,

I may receive relevant information like the above (such as your email, social profiles, name). You will know what specific personal information you are volunteering in most cases, however, as you must enter the information yourself.

Again, this type of information is voluntary, and what exactly I receive is highly dependent upon the specific case. You know what information you are consenting to give me if and when you personally include it (e.g., in an email, comment, or info field).

2) Information Needs and Uses

I never collect your personal data just to do it. There's always a reason for it. I'm very mindful about the value of such information, and therefore I treat your personal information as I do my own -- with the utmost caution and respect.

My reasons for the collection, use, and sharing of your information include the following:

• As needed to provide my services and content, such as when I use your information as part of an event or survey, to communicate with you, to settle disputes, or to deliver my content to you;

• In order to analyze helpful data related to my services/content, and to improve my services/content, such as viewing traffic and social media sharing statistics;

• When you have provided your affirmative consent, which can be revoked at any time, such as by signing up to receive email updates from me & my site;

• If consent to share is revoked, further sharing of information will cease. Previously shared material, however, may remain unless its removal is specifically requested (and it is physically possible to do so).

• If necessary to comply with a legal obligation, or in connection with a legal claim, such as copyright or ownership disputes, or, if money is involved, to fulfill any tax requirements;

3) Information Sharing/Disclosure/span>

I will never directly share your information without first obtaining your permission. In some instances, this permission may be implied in the action, such as when you provide me with info that you're aware is to be shared or displayed when participating in an event.

Even then, I will only share it for the stated, requested, or implied purposes, except where it may be necessary to do otherwise (e.g., compliance with a legal obligation).

Excluding automatic collections by Google, etc., which I have little to no control over, it's typically this simple: I receive your info, I use it for its intended purpose, and that's that. Nothing else.

Depending upon why the information was given, it may be shared with, for, or on

• Google & Third-Party Service/App Providers.

• See the Collected Information section for Google collections; other examples include my use of Google Docs, Google Forms, and others for temporarily storing information and for forms/surveys, or if a third-party email update/newsletter provider is used. This all remains between me and the third party, however, unless the purpose of providing me the info is for it to be made public.

• Social Media.

• Again, purpose-depending. Typically only non-confidential, promotional info. I'm not going to share your email address, other personal things willy-nilly!

• Relevant Blog Posts.

• e.g., contests, collaborations, promotional, tag...

• Compliance with laws.

• I may collect, use, retain, and share your information if I believe that it may be necessary in order to: Respond to legal process or to government requests; enforce my agreements, terms and policies; prevent, investigate, and/or address fraud and other illegal activity, security, or technical issues; or to protect the rights, property, and safety of myself, my site, content, or others.

4) Data Retention

Unless a specific situation calls for it [I have yet to need it in any other form], I never store any of your personal information in a physical format. Electronic only.

I keep your information only for as long as necessary to provide you with my or others' services/content and as described in this policy. If I believe it may be necessary to retain the information for legal reasons, to resolve disputes, or to enforce my agreements, I may retain the information for a longer period of time.

As I typically archive these items for future reference, if you participate in a form or survey, or provide information in an email to me, the related personal info you provide may, in effect, also be archived. It will be neither shared nor used for another purpose without fresh and recent permission from you, and I will always delete any of your personal information that is within my control if you request it done.


5) Transfers of Personal Information Outside the EU

I may decide to store and process your information through third-party services (such as hosting services, like Google Drive) in the US and other jurisdictions. As a result, I may transfer your personal information to a jurisdiction with different data protection and surveillance laws than your own.

I will only use services that are deemed trustworthy, and any third-party hosting service used will be Privacy Shield certified.


6) Your Rights

Within certain territories, including the EU, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information. While some of these apply generally, certain rights apply only in certain limited cases. These rights include:

• Access. You may have the right to access and receive a copy of the personal information I hold about you by contacting me in one of the several ways I have provided.

• Change, restrict, delete. You may also have rights to change, restrict my use of, or delete your personal information. Excluding exceptional circumstances, like where I am required to store data for legal reasons, I will delete any of your personal information that is within my control upon request.

• Object. You can object to my processing of some of your information, and to receiving update or promotional messages from me after providing consent to receive them. In such cases, I will delete your personal information unless I have compelling and legitimate grounds to continue using it or if it is needed for legal reasons.

• Complain. If you live in the EU and wish to raise a concern about my use of your information (and without prejudice to any other rights you may have), you have the right to do so with your local data protection authority. (But please keep in mind that I am more than happy to work with you myself on these issues!)

7) My Contact Details

If, for any reason whatsoever, you wish to contact me, I am more than happy to tell you more about what I do or don't do with your information, to ease any concerns you may have, or in some other way to work with you on these issues.

• You can email me at eve.edgeofnight@gmail.com (or use my Contact page to do so).

• Alternatively, you can reach out to me via any of my social media profiles (Twitter, Facebook, or Google+).

8) TL;DR (too long; didn't read)

If you read through this entire thing, hooray! However, it's a long wall of text that makes everything sound much more complicated than it really is.

Many things here apply more to businesses and large organizations, of which I am [currently] neither, but I've included them in the event of a future transaction, etc., in an effort to avoid anyone getting wrongly caught off guard by after-the-fact policy changes (though some are inevitable).

In reality, at this time, what happens is this:

- You visit my blog. Maybe you share my content.
I see impersonal stats.

- You decide to contact me, subscribe, or participate in an event.
I, and possibly a trusted third party (service providers, etc.) receive your relevant information.
I use this information for its intended purpose, and put it away or delete it [if it's a form/survey or an email, for instance, it may be archived, but never reused without your permission].

And that's about the gist of it!

I'm very aware of how important your privacy and your information is. Remember that I'm mostly an anonymous blogger here. I love my own privacy, and I equally respect yours.

As an ever-changing blogger and site, things are bound to change, and frequently. I love to try out new content, new features, new services, and new types of events for you to participate and be engaged in. I'll do my best to keep this policy updated, accurate, and as easy to understand as I can.

Thank you!!


Please note: This policy may receive sudden changes as the things around it change. If and when that happens, the time of the most recent update can be found at the top of this page.