BobinOz.com
WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY
Privacy Policy
Updated 8th of June 2023
The short version
I have made every effort to comply with GDPR, to be transparent about the information I collect on this website, to explain why I collect it and how I deal with it. Your personal privacy is very important to me and I do not share it with anyone in any way other than is mentioned below in the full version. As a Data Controller my aim is to ensure that your personal data is processed in a compliant manner.
The long version
On 25 May 2018 new EU regulations affecting many websites worldwide came into force. Called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it runs to 11 Chapters and 99 Articles.
The act, according to Articles 7, 12 and 34 and Recitals 23, 39 and 58, require the Privacy Policy be written in “clear and plain language“.
OK, here goes then.
Privacy Statement
I always have and always will respect your privacy and protect your personal information. I do not share any personal information I received from anybody other than in ways that are clearly defined and explained here.
On this website:
- You do not have to register to view the content
- You are not forced to provide your name or email
- I do not ask you your date of birth
- I do not ask for or hold any credit card information
- I do not require your telephone number
- I do not ask you to provide me with your address
- I have no access to your health records
These are all examples of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that I do not collect.
When you visit this website though, I do record your IP address, which is pretty much essential for the smooth operation of a website. It helps this website protect itself against spammers, hackers and undesirable IP locations.
It is generally accepted that an IP address on its own, without any other PIIs as mentioned above, make it impossible to identify an individual.
However, I do use some third-party applications on this website and I will talk about those now, the data they collect and how I control it.
Google Analytics
This website uses Google Analytics for statistical purposes and I have rigorously followed the information provided by them on their page Best practices to avoid sending Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
I have done this to, and these are Google’s words, “protect user privacy, Google policies mandate that no data be passed to Google that Google could use or recognize as personally identifiable information (PII). PII includes, but is not limited to, information such as email addresses, personal mobile numbers, and social security numbers.”
Within my settings in Google Analytics:
- I do not use User IDs
- I do not use Google Ads
- I do not use any form fields on my website to collect personal information from visitors, other than through AWeber, more about that below
- I have not uploaded or imported any data into Google Analytics
- I have not activated any analytics features that could result in a privacy risk
- I do not collect any ZIP Codes or postcodes or use any method defined as “fine-grained location” information for Analytics that could identify your geolocation to within one square mile
- I have also set “anonymize IPs while tracking” to ON in the settings, which automatically changes the last three numbers of your IP address to a zero making it impossible to identify you.
This means that no data is passed to Google that Google could use or recognize as Personally Identifiable Information(PII).
PayPal
I use PayPal to process payments to me for the sale of Visa Assessment Services and other products. The information provided by the purchasers are held on PayPal servers and I have no access to the credit card information provided to PayPal. The only information I have is the purchasers email address, which is usually the email associated with their PayPal account.
I do not share this information with anyone.
AWeber
This website uses AWeber to deliver my free seven part guide on moving to Australia and my free ebook about life in Australia. I also use AWeber to send out the introduction letter to people purchasing a Visa Assessment Service. This information is held on AWeber’s servers. I do not share this information with anyone and neither does AWeber. Anyone signing up for either of these lists can unsubscribe at any time via the link at the foot of any email communication sent by AWeber.
I very rarely send out follow-up emails to anybody on these lists after they have received these correspondences. If I were to though, as mentioned, these emails would always contain an unsubscribe link at the foot of the email. For anybody who unsubscribes, all email communications would cease immediately.
I will also delete any names on these lists within 12 months of subscribing. Anybody wishing to have their details deleted before then can get in touch with me; details are at the foot of this page.
AWeber is already self-certified with both the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield, and comply with lawful transfers of EU/EEA personal data to the U.S. in accordance with our Privacy Shield Certification.
WordPress
I use the WordPress platform to deliver my content, and the latest release has added new tools to help comply with the GDPR. Most importantly, they have added a Personal Data Export and Erasure tool to assist with requests for removal of PII.
Comments
Comments are very important part of this website. I like to think we have a very good community that tries, mostly, to help each other. I use a plug-in called Comment Mail which can assist people who want to subscribe to the comments, so they know when someone else has added a comment.
There are three settings available underneath the comment box, namely:
- no, do not subscribe
- yes, replies to my comments
- yes, all comments/replies
The first setting is the default, so by doing nothing you will not receive any email notifications of added comments. This is compliant with GDPR. You can choose the second option to receive replies to your comments only, and the third option is to receive replies from all comments made on that page or post.
Every email notification that goes out has an unsubscribe option on it, so you can stop these email notifications at any time.
When adding a comment, you are asked to include your name, but this can be a nickname or a pseudonym, or anything you want, so that you cannot be identified. If you choose to use your real name, then you have consented to reveal your identity. If you use your real name and then change your mind, do let me know directly and I will change it to a nickname or anything you want so that you cannot be identified.
Also, when you add a comment, you can choose whether or not this website saves your name, email, and if you entered one, your website address. If you would like those records saved, you need to tick the box next to the sentence “Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.” This, again, is GDPR compliant.
Participating in the comments is optional and any information you include about yourself in those comments you have clearly consented to.
Social media websites
I use a plug-in called ShareThis which allows users to share content on my site via various social media platforms. ShareThis “supports the IAB Europe’s GDPR Transparency & Consent Framework and believes this is an excellent way to keep the open web “open” and to provide room for a robust advertising landscape that enables full transparency for all participants–starting with users.”
Clicking on any of the share buttons is optional and could be used to identify you.
Contact
I am the sole operator of this website. I am your direct contact for any matters concerning this Privacy Policy and the data that this website collects. Whilst much of the information collected is stored on the third-party servers mentioned above, I am regarded as the Data Processor and I share the responsibility with these services in protecting your personal information.
You have the right to erasure of any personal information stored about you, as well is the right to complain to the regulator. If you would like to contact me about any possible personal information stored about you either directly on this website or through a third party, please get in touch with me directly.
Here are my contact details:
Email: bob@bobinoz.com
Rob Kiernan
BobinOz.com
………………
8.6.2023
