Privacy and Cookie Policy

Who we are

We are Petalina, a blog and classified advert website that is run by Cate O’Neill. If you have any concerns regarding the use of your data, please contact Cate via the contact form here.

Our user’s privacy is very important to us and we only ask for information that is really needed to make our website work well.

We also don’t share personal data with anyone else, the only exception being if a law enforcement authority should ask for information in connection with the prevention of unlawful activities.

Why do we have a Privacy and Cookie policy?

Petalina’s website collects and uses a limited amount of personal information and we are required to let our users know what we collect and how we use that information.

We may update our Privacy and Cookie policy from time to time and therefore we recommend that all users of our website check on a regular basis for any changes.

What information do we collect?

Petalina collects your name, email address and IP address for different functions on the website. You are also asked to leave a phone number for us to contact you regarding adverts placed, but this is not essential.

What is the personal information used for?

In order to subscribe to our email updates users will have provided us with their email address. This is stored securely and is not shared. Users can unsubscribe and stop receiving emails at any time. There is a link to unsubscribe at the bottom of every blog update email sent to our subscribers.

When a user comments on a blog post they may also provide us with their name and email address. This comment remains in place unless the user requests for it to be removed.

When users choose to place an advert on our site they will also have provided us with their name and email address. We advise that an account needs to be created which will allow a user name to be displayed on the website. A user name need not be the person’s full name and only the user name will be displayed. The user’s email address will not be displayed either. When setting up the account and creating adverts users are also asked to leave a telephone number but this is optional. This would only be used by us to help users with their advert and would not be shared. Users can close their account at any time.

We also use information such as IP addresses to monitor website usage, but this is purely statistical and we would not be able to identify users browsing history individually.

Keeping information secure

We host Petalina’s website with TSOHost. All information from our website is encrypted and stored securely on servers, managed by a 24/7 dedicated team.

We have measures in place to ensure that personal information remains secure, and if for any reason there is a breach of security, we would inform registered users by email.

Can users have their data removed from Petalina’s website?

Yes, this is possible and is very straight forward. Users should contact us via the contact form and ask for data to be removed for a specified email address. They will then receive emails from WordPress asking for confirmation of this request, and then a further email will confirm that the removal of any data has been completed.

What are cookies?

We do use cookies on the Petalina website. They are there to make the website work correctly and to provide users with specific services.

Cookies are small pieces of data which are sent from our website into the browser on a user’s computer while they are on our website. Cookies perform many useful functions.

How does Petalina use Cookies?

At Petalina cookies are used for the following purposes:

  • to ask for consent for cookies to be used while users are on our website
  • to recognise users when logging into their account
  • to recognise a user when they comment so that they don’t have to put in their details again
  • to allow users to create and log into an account to create and manage adverts
  • to allow Petalina to monitor usage of it’s website
  • to allow users to share content from Petalina on social media
  • to prevent our website being populated with spam

How long do Cookies stay on your computer for?

I used to think that cookies were permanent, but they aren’t. How long they remain for does vary considerably.

If a user leaves a comment on our site you they can opt-in to save their name, email address and website in cookies. These are for convenience so that the user does not have to fill in their details again. These cookies will last for one year.

Whenever a user with an account logs into our website, a temporary cookie is set to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.

When a user logs in, we will also set up several cookies to save their login information and their screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If the user selects “Remember Me”, their login will persist for two weeks. If they log out of their account, the login cookies will be removed.

If a user edits or publishes an article, an additional cookie will be saved in their browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article just edited. It expires after 1 day.

Petalina has a Cookie Consent Pop Up which allows users to consent to cookies being used on their computer. This consent lasts for one month only after which the user will be shown the Cookie Consent Pop Up again requesting for consent once more. Users can choose not to allow cookies to be used, but this will mean that the website will not function at its best.

Users can also opt out of the use of cookies on all websites via their chosen internet browser.

For more information about cookies please visit www.allaboutcookies.org

Google Analytics and Advertising

Petalina does not currently use Google Analytics or host any advertising on the website with Google Adsense.

Please contact Cate with any questions about either Petalina’s Privacy or Cookies Policy. You can use the contact form here.