Short version | Privacy Policy | For those who think TL:DR
We build websites for a living so we can live in Key West. We write blog posts when the spirit moves us because we love the First Amendment and we have, well, opinions. We have zero interest in stalking you or collecting and sharing your personally identifiable information. Do what I do. Set your browser cookie settings and your personal Facebook Page and social media settings to their strictest privacy settings. Use a Private Browsing Window or VPN if you really want to be stealthy on the web. Don’t over share. Even at the supper table. Some things are just TMI. Now, go about enjoying life.
Cookies: We use these tiny text files to ensure the website works well, to analyze basic anonymized data about who uses our website and to provide goods and services you may request. You can opt out of cookies in various ways, but the website likely won’t work very well for you.
How we track you: We use Google Analytics, Animoto for video embeds, and occasionally, the Facebook pixel to figure out who is reading what. These sound scary, but really aren’t since about all we could learn is your IP address (and since we anonymize it, we don’t even get the whole thing). Anyway, we’re not inclined to stalk you.
How we handle, store and process your information: If you comment on our posts or send us a contact form, we store your name and email address. If we sell you something, we’ll keep your name, email address, snail mail address and an optional phone number. And we’ll hang on to your purchase history. We’ll know what you bought, how much you paid, what you commented or what you requested via email — but we do not store your credit card details on our websites. We use MailChimp to manage our emails. Mailchimp automatically adds tracking things to links so if you click on a link (or don’t) we know. We use WooCommerce and PayPal to process payments. Those big companies are GDPR compliant.
Yep, you can be erased: Just ask. Email privacy@keywestwatch.com and we’ll let you know what, if anything, we have stored and delete it at your request. I’ve done this exercise and was shocked, I mean shocked, at how little my own websites have collected on me — and I build them.
Social media: We love social media. All our websites have their own pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like. Sometimes we post a lot; sometimes not. We like having you visit our pages, but we’re neither stalking you or collecting much, if any, information.
Complete Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. You agree to agree to these policies by virtue of using our website in a way that leads to you providing us with personal information.
State Law & Accompanying Rights
Please understand that you may have additional rights originating from State laws based on where you live. These State-based rights may augment, strengthen, or otherwise somehow compliment any privacy rights you have inherently or under Federal law. Our policy is to comply fully with the privacy policies of every jurisdiction in which we operate.
We are a United States-based company. We do not actively market to or provide services to clients in the European Union. However, on the off-chance that an EU resident might stumble upon us, we are doing our best to comply with the requirements of the EU’s GDPR, which went into effect on May 25, 2018.
Your Consent : By using our websites, you consent to the collection and use of this information by KeyWestWatch Media LLC. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page, so you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we disclose it.
You may contact us at privacy@keywestwatch.com.
Who we are
KeyWestWatch Media LLC is a Limited Liability Company based in and registered in the State of Florida, USA. We operate two businesses: KeyWestWatch Media and Key West Island News.
KeyWestWatch Media: KeyWestWatch Media builds and maintains custom WordPress websites, provides digital marketing services and project management for small businesses and not-for-profits. Our website is https://www.keywestwatch.com
Key West Island News: Key West Island News is a Key West-owned digital news and information company that uses a community-support model to sustain our news, information and connections mission. We connect Key West residents and friends of the island, foster our One Human Family culture and advance understanding of shared goals for our island community. Our website address is https://www.keywestislandnews.com
KeyWestWatch Media LLC is owned by editor and proprietor Linda Grist Cunningham, a nationally recognized legacy newspaper editor and publishing executive with more than 40 years of professional experience. She and her husband, a park ranger at Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, live in Key West with their five cats, known locally as the Cat 5s. Learn more about her and the Cat 5s.
KeyWestWatch Media LLC is the controller of the information collected from you on our websites. Linda – and not the Cat 5s – is the official Data Protection Director who oversees questions about how we handle your personally identifiable information.
If you have questions, you may contact Linda at privacy@keywestwatch.com. She’ll get back to you to do what’s necessary. A reminder: This is Key West, which means island time may prevail.
What personal data we may collect and why we collect it
Mostly we don’t proactively collect personally identifiable data. Our WordPress-based websites are informational. We don’t sell much of anything. But – and you knew there was a but coming – there are ways in which your personally identifiable information could be collected or tracked by our websites. That’s just the way of websites and it doesn’t mean we have the time or inclination to do anything with it.
Although we don’t do much in the way of product sales, our websites use Secure Sockets Layering (SSL) to encrypt your personal credit information, including your credit card number, before it travels over the Internet. SSL technology is the industry standard for secure online transactions. Because we use SSL, placing an order online at our website is as safe as giving your credit card number over the phone.
When visiting our website, your anonymized IP address used to access our website may be logged along with the dates and times of access. This information is purely used to analyze trends, administer our website, track user movement while viewing the site, and gather broad demographic information for internal use such as statistical assessments and website improvement. Most importantly, any recorded IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information. They are anonymized.
Other information may be collected as well, which is typical of most websites. For instance, the source that referred you to our website is generally known. Likewise, your duration on our website, and your destination when you leave our website can also be tracked. Other common data collected includes the type of operating system the computer you are using to access our website has. Similarly, the type of web browser is often noted. Again, this is common data collection, and helps ultimately produce a better end-user experience.
Common ways you might share your personally identifiable information, such as an email address or IP address, with us:
Comments: Sometimes we open our blog posts for comments. When we do, we require you to fill out your name and email address. That lets us know you’re likely a real person. We have to approve your comment before it’s published. We do that to cut down on trolls and their ilk. You do not have to be a registered website user to post comments.
WordPress: Our websites are built using WordPress, the world’s most-used content management system for website development. WordPress also uses third-party services, such as Askimet to reduce comment spam and Gravatar to post your profile picture if you have one. The complete WordPress/Automattic Privacy Policy is here: https://automattic.com/privacy-notice/ The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/
Media: If you were to upload images to the website, say, while commenting, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
Contact forms: We use contact forms as a handy way for you to get in touch with us. Mostly those forms ask for your name and email. We may also use contact forms with additional fields to elicit answers to specific questions. We integrate our contact forms with MailChimp, which is fully GDPR compliant to protect your personally identifiable information.
Facebook Feed: We use a Facebook Feed plugin to display social media content on our website. As a result, our website makes requests to Facebook’s servers in order to display images and videos. These requests make your IP address visible to Facebook, who may use it in accordance with their data privacy policy: https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/update
In order to improve performance, we load the font file used in the Facebook feed from a Content Delivery Network (MaxCDN). As a result, our website makes requests to the MaxCDN servers in order to retrieve the file. These requests make your IP address visible to MaxCDN, who may use it in accordance with their data privacy policy: https://www.maxcdn.com/legal/#pp
How we use cookies:
And we’re not talking about chocolate chips. We use cookies. Cookies are another common internet practice. Cookies are a key means of improving user experience by allows us to customize your use of our website. Simple information is transferred to your computer to allow the content and experience to reflect your actions, preferences, and so on. You should assume our website uses cookies, and note that you are free to make adjustments in your web browser to disable these or otherwise receive notification of cookies so you can take whatever desired action you so choose. Please understand that refusing cookies may cripple some of our website features and render some aspects useless to you.
At times, you will be fully aware of information we might have access to since you are the direct source providing it. For instance, you may comment on a blog post, reply to an email, provide an email address, complete a survey, or otherwise. Likewise, purchases involve collecting certain information, such as credit card information, Paypal addresses, your physical address for billing and/or shipping, phone number, and so on. Refusing to provide some of this information may lead to us being unable to provide you with the products or services you’ve requested.
A prime example of limited access to our website is where content may be protected by a username and password. Whether a username and password is generated by our website, or created by you, these will almost always be connected with some other information related to or connected with you. This is true since much content that is protected on the internet is subscription based, often paid for. Thus, the username and password must necessarily be tied to your other account data. Usernames and passwords, by their very nature, should be kept private.
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.
If you have an account and you log in to this site, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser. When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
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 cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your 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.
For instance, we use a video-creation service called Animoto to create and embed videos on some of our blog posts and pages. Animoto tracks how many people view our videos and what platform they used to access the video. Their Privacy Policy is here https://animoto.com/legal/privacy_policy
Google Analytics:
We use Google Analytics – like most of the world’s websites – to determine such information as how folks use our websites, what pages they visit most often, how they reached our websites and what devices and operating systems they used. This information helps us improve the ways in which our websites work and helps us provide better service to our users.
We have set up our Google Analytics accounts to anonymize your IP address to minimize access to personally identifiable information. That means even if we were so inclined to do so, or had the expertise to do it, which we don’t, we would not be able to identify you from your IP address.
You can explore Google’s Privacy Policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy/
KeyWestWatch Media LLC uses Google Analytics to help analyze how users use the site. The tool uses “cookies,” which are text files placed on your computer, to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information in an anonymous form. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including your IP address) is transmitted to Google. This information is then used to evaluate visitors’ use of this website and to compile statistical reports on website activity.
We will never (and will not allow any third party to) use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any Personally Identifiable Information of visitors to our site. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. Neither we nor Google will link, or seek to link, an IP address with the identity of a computer user.
You may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this website. By using this website, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above.
We sometimes use Google AdWords for marketing, and you might want to know this: Google, as a third party advertisement vendor, may use cookies to serve ads on this website. The use of DART cookies by Google enables them to serve adverts to visitors that are based on their visits to this website, including past visits, as well as other websites on the internet.
To opt out of the DART cookies you may visit the Google ad and content network privacy policy at the following url http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html Tracking of users through the DART cookie mechanisms are subject to Google’s own privacy policies.
Other Third Party ad servers or ad networks may also use cookies to track users activities on this website to measure advertisement effectiveness and other reasons that will be provided in their own privacy policies, our website has no access or control over these cookies that may be used by third party advertisers.
However, you can opt out of some, though likely not all, of these cookies in one easy location at http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
And, of course, you can always change your browser settings to minimize tracking by any website.
With whom we may share your data
We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others. We use your data to communicate with you and improve our websites. Our websites depend, in part, on functionality provided by third party vendors, such as WordPress, Animoto, FaceBook Feed (not Facebook itself, by the way), MailChimp, PayPay, WooCommerce, Stripe or similar payment gateways. Some of your information may pass through the systems of these vendors in order to deliver a quality experience to you.
Note that any personal information you provide to others apart from us or our vendors is wholly optional. As an example, you might disclose something in a blog post comment. That “private” information is now “public,” and we have no control over that. In like fashion, you sharing information with any other third party not functioning as a service provider to us puts that information beyond our control and becomes subject to the policy that party has in place.
Our primary intention for collecting personal and private information from you is simply to conduct our business. We can use this internally to better serve you. Accordingly, we see no reason to share your personal information to other parties and outside interests unless you have authorized us to do so.
Of course, there are instances where your information is stored with third party service providers, such as email service providers, as they provide services that are industry-leading in quality and security and are far more beneficial to our end user than attempting such services “in-house.” However, you are never required to deal with any such third party directly, they are limited in how they use your information, and they cannot sell or transfer it to others in any way.
However, your information does comprise part of an overall whole. This aggregate of information, by contrast, may be used to understand our overall user base. Further, we may share this information about our website visitors as a whole, not individually, with third parties for various purposes, in our sole discretion.
While we are staunch privacy advocates, there are times when even we may be forced to abandon these ideals. Just as major search engines face ongoing compulsion to provide data against their will, so too may the same occur with our website. Illegal activity or other serious acts or allegations could create legal liability for our website. In those cases, we reserve the right to share your information, or else may simply be compelled to do so by law.
On the other hand, there may be times when we would need to share your private information in order to protect our own interests. For instance, in cases of suspected or alleged copyright infringement or other intellectual property violations, it may be necessary to share personal information.
How long we retain your data
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users (if any) that register on our websites, we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.
Tracking data collected through Google Analytics is held for 26 months. Most cookies expire at the end of a session, which is generally 30 minutes.
Information collected through our contact forms is retained indefinitely and for as long as it’s needed to provide goods or services to you or to provide you with updates and service information, including potential data breeches.
What rights you have over your data
If you have an account on our websites, or have left comments, you can request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have provided to us. You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you. This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
For other questions, email us at privacy@keywestwatch.com
How we protect your data: Our websites are built using WordPress best practices, including SSL to ensure secure online transactions. We use electronic software and plugins with proven track records of security, stability and support. We do not keep your data on napkins or paper plates. And we don’t leave it around so the Cat 5s can play with it.
What data breach procedures we have in place: If there were a data breech, we will notify registered users (if any) and those with active email addresses on file with us within 72 hours of our knowledge of the breech.
Links to Third Party Websites
We have included links on this website for your use and reference. We are not responsible for the privacy policies on these websites. You should be aware that the privacy policies of these websites may differ from our own.
Our Commitment To Children’s Privacy
Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, our website will never collect or maintain information at our website from those we actually know are under 18, and no part of our website is structured to attract anyone under 13.
Under our Terms of Service and Conditions of Use, children under 13 are not allowed to use our website and access our services. It is not our intention to offer products or services to minors.
Our Comments Policy
As you know, Web 2.0 is all about the conversation. Without a few simple ground rules, that conversation can turn into a shouting match that discourages others from entering into the fray.
So here is KeyWestWatch Media comments policy. By posting on my blog, you agree to the following:
You may comment without registering as a user, but you must provide your name and a valid email address. You may post anonymously. I don’t recommend this, but you may do so if you wish. I may change this rule if it is abused.
You may post follow-up questions. If you have a question, chances are you are not alone. Others are likely thinking similarly. Therefore, I would rather receive your comments on KeyWestWatch Media than via email. It is a better use of my time to address everyone at once rather than answer several similar emails.
You may disagree with me. I welcome debate. However, I ask that if you disagree with me—or anyone else, for that matter—do so in a way that is respectful. In my opinion, there is way too much shouting in the public square to tolerate it here.
KeyWestWatch Media reserves the right to delete your comments. This is my blog. I don’t have an obligation to publish your comments. The First Amendment gives you the right to express your opinions on your blog not mine.
Specifically, I will delete your comments if you post something that is, in my sole opinion, (a)snarky; (b) off-topic; (c) libelous, defamatory, abusive, harassing, threatening, profane, pornographic, offensive, false, misleading, or which otherwise violates or encourages others to violate my sense of decorum and civility or any law, including intellectual property laws; or (d) “spam,” i.e., an attempt to advertise, solicit, or otherwise promote goods and services. You may, however, post a link to your site or your most recent blog post.
You retain ownership of your comments. I do not own them and I expressly disclaim any and all liability that may result from them. By commenting on my site, you agree that you retain all ownership rights in what you post here and that you will relieve me from any and all liability that may result from those postings.
You grant KeyWestWatch Media a license to post your comments. This license is worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free. You grant me the right to store, use, transmit, display, publish, reproduce, and distribute your comments in any format, including but not limited to a blog, in a book, a video, or presentation.
In short, my goal is to host interesting conversations with caring, honest, and respectful people. I believe this simple comments policy will facilitate this.
CHANGE NOTICE: As with any of our administrative and legal notice pages, the contents of this page can and will change over time. Accordingly, this page could read differently as of your very next visit. These changes are necessitated, and carried out by KeyWestWatch Media, in order to protect you and our KeyWestWatch Media website. If this page is important to you, you should check back frequently as no other notice of changed content will be provided either before or after the change takes effect.
COPYRIGHT WARNING: The legal notices and administrative pages on this website, including this one, have been diligently drafted by an attorney. We at KeyWestWatch Media have paid to license the use of these legal notices and administrative pages on KeyWestWatch Media for your protection and ours. This material may not be used in any way for any reason and unauthorized use is policed via Copyscape to detect violators.
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS/CONCERNS: If you have any questions about the contents of this page, or simply wish to reach us for any other reason, you may do so by emailing us at privacy@keywestwatch.com or following this link: https://www.keywestwatch.com/contact-us