Who we are
I am Antony Vitillo and I am an Italian IT consultant in the field of augmented and virtual reality. With the moniker of “Skarredghost” I manage this blog of mine called “The Ghost Howls”, whose address is https://skarredghost.com. I am the owner and the manager of this website and all the personal data with it associated.
Of course I care about the privacy of my readers and I try to do my best to protect it. Anyway, if you have any privacy related problems or you do want to ask clarifications on this privacy policy, feel free to contact me at tonyvt@skarredghost.com.
What personal data we collect and why we collect it
While the visitors interact with this website, of course I will unavoidably collect personal data about them. This is because how a website typically works and is fundamental to provide you the services offered by it. I am going to tell you what data I collect and the reasons why I collect them.
Newsletter
If a visitor decides to register to The Ghost Howls newsletter, this website will store his/her first name and his/her e-mail address in an external service called MailChimp. This third party service will also save analytics regarding the number of clicks on the links inserted into the e-mails and the opening rate of the sent e-mails. This data will be saved in a database so that it is possible to provide visitors the newsletter service, that offers news and updates about virtual and augmented reality on a weekly basis. This data is fundamental to provide the service and to offer also personalized e-mails, if required. The analytics are important for me to track the success of the various e-mail that I sent, so that I can detect what are the most interesting topics for the subscribers. The newsletter is an optional service of The Ghost Howls, and every user can enjoy the website even without it, so even without leaving me this personal data.
To let the user register to the Newsletter, this website also uses popups and forms offered by MailMunch. MailMunch tools will also record your e-mail address and your name in a dedicated database.
MailChimp and MailMunch are well-known plugins to handle subscriptions and this is a guarantee of security and efficiency. Furthermore, I have signed a DPA with them to guarantee the correct handling of the users.
You can consult MailChimp privacy policy here: https://mailchimp.com/legal/
You can consult MailMunch privacy policy here: https://legal.mailmunch.com/privacy/
Comments
When visitors leave comments on the website, I collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection through Akismet service.
An anonymized string created from the visitor’s email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if the visitor is using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of the visitor’s comment, his/her profile picture is visible to the public in the context of the visitor’s comment.
This website uses DISQUS service to provide its visitors a better interface for commenting. DISQUS will collect the commenter’s name, avatar photo, IP address, website, e-mail and comment text, that are visible to me in the administration panel and to the public in the context of the visitor’s comment. DISQUS privacy policy can found here: https://help.disqus.com/terms-and-policies/disqus-privacy-policy. DISQUS is a 3rd party that will manage the visitors’ personal data and has been chosen because it is a high quality service and offers a common commenting ecosystem that let the user comment on various websites using only one account.
Contact forms
If this website offers contact forms, it is to let the users interact and communicate with me. Such forms will automatically send an e-mail to me and all the data the visitor will enter there (name, surname, e-mail, e-mail text, etc..) will be used and processed only to let him/her send the e-mail. They will not stored in my databases in any way.
Cookies
If the visitor leaves a comment on my site he/she may opt-in to saving his/her name, email address and website in cookies. These are for his/her convenience so that he/she do not have to fill in the details again when he/she leaves another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If the user has an account and logs in to this site, the system will set a temporary cookie to determine if his/her browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when he/she close your browser. If the user edits or publishes an article, an additional cookie will be saved his/her your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article he/she just edited. It expires after 1 day.
The website also stores a cookie to remember if the visitor agrees with the cookie policy of the website itself.
To guarantee the newsletter service, The Ghost Howls utilizes MailChimp and MailMunch. These softwares may use cookies to store the preferences of the users. For instance, MailMunch uses a cookie to remember if the user is interested or not in viewing the subscription popup.
Other cookies are used to track the visitors’ usage of the system and calculate aggregate analytics data that are used to understand how the website is performing and what the average user likes to read, so to improve the quality of the published articles. No personal data is stored: only aggregated analytics by Jetpack plugin are used. The privacy and cookie policy of Jetpack plugin can be accessed here: https://jetpack.com/support/privacy/ .
This website also uses Google Analytics to track the behavior of the users and so understand what is the most relevant content for the audience. Google Analytics uses cookies to better detect what the users are doing on the website. You can have a look at Google’s privacy policy by following this link.
The Ghost Howls also uses advertisement system by Google Adwords to sustain the expenses of the website infrastructure. This third party can set cookies to allow the ad server to recognize the visitor’s computer each time they send him/her an online advertisement to compile information about him/her or others who use his/her computer. This information allows ad networks to, among other things, deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to him/her. This Privacy Policy covers the use of cookies by The Ghost Howls and does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers. You can have a look at Google partners privacy policy by following this link.
Skarredghost website may present its visitors some links or banners connected with affiliation programs of third party networks and partners. These links, if clicked, will install on the user’s computer a cookie to verify if he/she completed the purchase after he/she has been taken to the partners’ websites. You’re invited to read the third parties’ privacy policy to read the conditions of these tracking cookies. The affiliation cookies will last 2-3 months.
Currently, the Affiliation programs sustained by this website are:
- Headjack
- Amazon (privacy policy)
- ShareASale (Pimax, Glorious PC Gaming Race and Geekbuying products)
- Varjo
- VR Sync
Various third parties, like content sharing platform (e.g. Youtube) and social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin) may install on your computer a cookie to track your behaviour. This may happen whenever you use the services of these third parties through this website (e.g. when you share one of the post on your facebook account). You can refer to the privacy policy and cookie policy of these third parties to better understand how such cookies behave.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.
These websites may collect data about you, use of cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor the visitor’s interaction with that embedded content, including tracing your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
Analytics
This website uses Jetpack analytics by Automattic to better understand the tastes of its readers and provide always a better service. Regarding Jetpack, the following is a reference to the data it uses.
Data Used: IP address, WordPress.com user ID (if logged in), WordPress.com username (if logged in), user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code. Important: The site owner (that is: me) does not have access to any of this information via this feature. For example, a site owner can see that a specific post has 285 views, but he/she cannot see which specific users/accounts viewed that post. Stats logs — containing visitor IP addresses and WordPress.com usernames (if available) — are retained by Automattic for 28 days and are used for the sole purpose of powering this feature.
Activity Tracked: Post and page views, video plays (if videos are hosted by WordPress.com), outbound link clicks, referring URLs and search engine terms, and country. When this module is enabled, Jetpack also tracks performance on each page load that includes the Javascript file used for tracking stats. This is exclusively for aggregate performance tracking across Jetpack sites in order to make sure that our plugin and code is not causing performance issues. This includes the tracking of page load times and resource loading duration (image files, Javascript files, CSS files, etc.).
This website also uses Google Analytics for a finer-grain detection of the behaviour of the users, so that to provide better content for its audience. The tracking data has been properly anonymized, so that it is not possible for the owner of this website or for Google to understand who has performed certain actions. Data tracked by Google includes IP address, user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code. Data regarding the users will be stored for 26 months for statistical purposes.
I have signed a DPA with Google, so your data are transmitted in compliance with the laws.
You can opt-out from Google Analytics anytime by following this link.
Anti-spam
We collect information about visitors who comment on Sites that use our Akismet anti-spam service. The information we collect depends on how the User sets up Akismet for the Site, but typically includes the commenter’s IP address, user agent, referrer, and Site URL (along with other information directly provided by the commenter such as their name, username, email address, and the comment itself).
Who we share your data with
I’ll make sure to share the data your provide to me only when strictly necessary, for instance when asked by the local authorities.
Before being handled directly by me, your data can pass through the tools that I use to manage this website, that is WordPress (privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/), the Newsletter Plugin and BlueHost hosting (privacy policy: https://www.endurance.com/privacy/privacy). Some of these companies (like Automattic and BlueHost) are not based on the EU, but they are all GDPR compliant. MailChimp, MailMunch are services not mainly based in the EU, but there is a signed DPA with them. The same holds for Google, that manages the analytics of this website.
I may also share your data with my collaborators that help me in managing the website. In case of technical failures, where I need the assistance of a third party, I could have the necessity to share your data with it to let it help me in solving the issue.
Some aggregate data regarding the analytics of the website may be shared with third parties or shared on social media, but these data will be completely de-identified.
I also use third party services to offer you a better experience on this website, like for instance social media integration. Regarding these services, that will take your data through the use of my website (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, etc…), I kindly invite you to refer to their privacy policy to evaluate their usage of data.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so this website can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register to my newsletter, the data will be retained indefinitely, to continue providing the requested service. Notice that I’ll hold also the data about the users that have not confirmed the subscription or that have canceled from it, to let them (re)subscribe easily later. Anyway, all users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time using the links inside the e-mail sent by the newsletter. Website administrators can also see and edit that information. In case of problems with the management of the data, you may contact me and ask to solve your issues.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on this site, or have left comments, or have subscribed to the newsletter, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data I hold about you, including any data you have provided to me. You can also request that I erase any personal data I hold about you. This does not include any data I am obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
Your rights on your personal data include the following:
- Request access to your personal data;
- Request correction or deletion of your personal data;
- Object to our use and processing of your personal data;
- Request that we limit our use and processing of your personal data; and
- Request portability of your personal data.
In case you don’t find an easy way to fulfill automatically your request, I will be happy of helping you with that.
Where we send your data
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
As stated before, this website uses services from third parties like Automattic (e.g. WordPress itself, Jetpack plugin, etc…), Endurance (Bluehost hosting service), MailChimp and Google to offer you its services. These companies have headquarters outside the EU, but they are all high-quality GDPR compliant services, so your data is secure even if it exits the EU.
Your contact information
In case of any problems with your personal data, you can contact me, that is Antony Vitillo, and I will help you in solving any issue. You can contact me via e-mail or standard mail.
My e-mail is: tonyvt@skarredghost.com.
My standard mail address is:
Antony Vitillo
c/o Associazione Culturale Lombroso 16
via Cesare Lombroso 16
10125 Torino (TO)
Italy
Additional information
How we protect your data
I try to keep your data as secure as possible by:
- Using only high-quality trusted products to handle them;
- Keep my website always updated with the latest security patches;
- Using all the best practices to avoid people accessing improperly to my website control panels (secure password, CAPTCHAs, etc…);
- Storing them in the encrypted WordPress database.
What data breach procedures we have in place
I continuously read my e-mails to be informed about possible data breaches on the services that I use. In case of possible data breaches I get notified about, I will notify all my users immediately.
What third parties we receive data from
This website received third party data from:
- Analytic plugin Jetpack;
- Advertisement service Google Adwords;
- Affiliation services like ShareASale and Amazon.
Privacy Policy Changes
Although most changes are likely to be minor, I may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. I encourage visitors to frequently check this page for any changes to its Privacy Policy. If I make changes. Your continued use of the website after any change in this Privacy Policy will constitute your consent to such change.