This is my simple version of a privacy policy. Below this bit is 5 pages (I kid you not) of more legal ways of putting it, which you’re welcome to read if you have insomnia. Basically, I want you and me to both be happy with how I use your data and if you’re not happy, please let me know: melissa@melissaaddey.com
When you request a free novella from me, I take your first name and email in return. I use this to send you the novella and I also subscribe you to my monthly newsletter, called Something Nice to Share. This always contains 3 things: something nice for you (free or promotional books, chances to be an advance reader, book-related competitions), something nice about me and what I’m up to (new books coming out, my writing life) and finally a positive news snippet about the world because I get fed up with the negativity of the news media. So you get something nice – a free novella, and I get the chance to let you know about my future books, which I hope you will enjoy.
I only ever have your email because you agreed I could have it, either via my own website or through a competition’s terms and conditions. Occasionally I receive your data as a hard copy (e.g. at an event) and then I add you to the mailing list and then destroy the hard copy (I’m not interested in filing cabinets full of email addresses, there isn’t the space in my office).
You can always unsubscribe from my mailing list any time you’d like to. There’s a link at the bottom of my newsletter. Any problems, email me and I’ll remove your details myself.
I keep your contact details safely on a respected mailing system (Aweber). I never ever sell your data. Hate it being done to me, so I’m not about to do it to you!
This site uses cookies, which pretty much every site in the world does too. The cookies are there to remember things like whether you’ve already subscribed. You can disable your cookies (look it up on your browser help button) but this and other sites may then look or behave weirdly.
A few links on this site are affiliate links, this means if you buy a product then I get a commission. I never put up a link to anything I don’t already own and love.
Now, here’s the 5 extra pages of legal jargon I promised you. Sleep tight.
It is my (Melissa Addey’s) policy to respect your privacy regarding any information I may collect from you or which you may provide to me, in the circumstances set out below. Accordingly, I have developed this privacy policy in order for you to understand how I collect, use, communicate, disclose, safeguard and otherwise make use of your personally identifiable information (“Personal Data”).
I will only collect and use your Personal Data where:
For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”), I, Melissa Addey, am the “data controller”. If you have any questions about this policy or about how I use your Personal Data, please contact me via my contact details at the end of this policy.
This policy is effective as of 8thMay 2018. I review my privacy practices on an ongoing basis, and as such I may change this privacy policy from time to time. Please check this page frequently to ensure you are familiar with its current content.
1: Personal Data I collect via www.melissaaddey.com (the “Website”)
Personal Data that you provide to me
I only collect Personal Data where you choose to interact with me on the Website in the following way:
When you sign-up to receive free content, including eBooks, videos and offers; I collect your:
Data that I collect automatically
I automatically collect certain information when you visit my Website – such as the type of browser and operating system you are using, and the domain name of your Internet service provider. I do not link this information with any Personal Data. I may also collect data automatically through my use of cookies on the Website. Please see the cookie policy (below) to find out about the types of cookies we set and why, and how you can adjust your settings to disable cookies.
2: Use of your Personal Data
I will only use your Personal Data when the law allows me to. Most commonly, I use your Personal Data to:
3: Sharing of your Personal Data
I take your privacy seriously and will not share your Personal Data with others, except as permitted by applicable law or as set out below:
I share Personal Data as necessary with third parties who provide services or functions on my behalf and who require the information to provide those specific services to me. These third parties may include social media advertising platforms such as Facebook and Google Adwords for the purpose of custom audience generation and the development of targeting criteria for other audiences. Please note that I have appropriate data privacy safeguards in place with third parties with whom I share Personal Data as described above and who are providing services or functions on my behalf.
4: Keeping your Personal Data secure
I have implemented security policies and technical measures to safeguard the Personal Data I collect. I maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards that comply with applicable law, including the GDPR, to safeguard Personal Data from accidental loss, destruction or damage and unauthorised access, use and disclosure.
5: Retention periods for use of your Personal Data
I will use and store your Personal Data only for as long as necessary, bearing in mind the uses of your Personal Data as described in this privacy policy and otherwise as communicated to you. I review the Personal Data I hold at regular intervals and delete permanently or anonymise any Personal Data which is no longer necessary.
6: Children
This Website and my services are aimed at adults, and I do not knowingly collect any Personal Data relating to children aged under 15 years old. If you are under the age of 15, please do not provide me with any of your Personal Data, including your email address.
7: Access to and control over your Personal Data
You have legal rights under applicable law in relation to your Personal Data. You can ask the following questions, or take the following actions, at any time by contacting me via email [Melissa@melissaaddey.com] or via my postal address:
8: Change of purpose
I will only use your Personal Data for the purposes for which I collected it, unless I reasonably consider that I need to use it for another reason and that reason is compatible with the original purpose. If you wish to have an explanation as to how the processing for the new purpose is compatible with the original purpose, please contact me. If I need to use your Personal Data for an unrelated purpose, I will notify you and explain the legal basis which allows me to do so
9: Contact me
My full details are: Melissa Addey
Email for Privacy Questions: Melissa@melissaaddey.com
Postal Address: 24 Leamington Avenue, SM4 4DW, UK
EXTRA: Cookies Policy
As is common practice with almost all professional websites this site uses cookies, which are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer, to improve your experience.
This page describes what information they gather, how I use it and why I sometimes need to store these cookies. I will also share how you can prevent these cookies from being stored however this may downgrade or ‘break’ certain elements of the site’s functionality.
I use cookies for a variety of reasons detailed below. Unfortunately in most cases there are no industry standard options for disabling cookies without completely disabling the functionality and features they add to this site. It is recommended that you leave on all cookies if you are not sure whether you need them or not in case they are used to provide a service that you use.
Disabling Cookies
You can prevent the setting of cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser (see your browser Help for how to do this).
Be aware that disabling cookies will affect the functionality of this and many other websites that you visit. Disabling cookies will usually result in also disabling certain functionality and features of the site. Therefore it is recommended that you do not disable cookies.
The Cookies I Set
This site offers opt-in newsletter and email subscription services and cookies may be used to remember if you are already registered and whether to show certain notifications which might only be valid to subscribed/unsubscribed users.
When you submit data, cookies may be set to remember your user details for future correspondence.
In some special cases I also use cookies provided by trusted third parties. The following section details which third party cookies you might encounter through this site.
This site is built using WordPress, which uses cookies and also uses Slimstat Analytics, which is one of the most widespread and trusted analytics solutions on the web for helping me to understand how you use the site and ways that I can improve your experience. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site and the pages that you visit so I can continue to produce engaging content. For more information on Slimstat Analytics and WordPress cookies, see the official Slimstat Analytics and WordPress pages.
Third party analytics are used to track and measure usage of this site so that I can continue to produce engaging content. These cookies may track things such as how long you spend on the site or pages you visit which helps me to understand how I can improve the site for you.
From time to time I test new features and make subtle changes to the way that the site is delivered. When I am still testing new features these cookies may be used to ensure that you receive a consistent experience whilst on the site whilst ensuring I understand which optimisations my users appreciate the most.
In some cases I may provide you with custom content based on what you tell me about yourself either directly or indirectly by linking a social media account. These types of cookies simply allow me to provide you with content that I feel may be of interest to you.
I also use social media buttons and/or plugins on this site that allow you to connect with your social network in various ways. For these to work the following social media sites including; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Plus, Pinterest, will set cookies through my site which may be used to enhance your profile on their site or contribute to the data they hold for various purposes outlined in their respective privacy policies.
More Information
Hopefully that has clarified things for you and as was previously mentioned if there is something that you aren’t sure whether you need or not it’s usually safer to leave cookies enabled in case it does interact with one of the features you use on my site. However if you are still looking for more information you can contact me by email.
Email: melissa@melissaaddey.com