Privacy Policy

I. Introduction

Bill-E-Buddy (“we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data (“Data”).
This privacy policy (the “Policy”) explains how we collect, process, store, share, and protect the Data we collect when you use our website, https://bill-e-buddy.com/ (the “Site”), and any of its related services.
We reserve the right to modify this Policy at any time. If we make changes, we will publish the new policy on this page and update the “Last Updated” date. Your continued use of the Site after any changes are posted will constitute your acceptance of the modified Policy.

II. What Data We Collect

We collect your Data to provide and improve our services and to secure our Site. We collect Data in two main ways:

A. Data You Provide to Us

• Comments: When you leave a comment on the Site, we collect the data shown in the comments form (such as your name, email address, and website).
• User Accounts: For users that register on our website (if any), we store the personal information you provide in your user profile.
• Media: If you upload images to the Site, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the Site can download and extract any location data from images.

B. Data We Collect Automatically

• Device and Connection Information: When you leave a comment, we automatically collect your IP address and browser user agent string.
• Cookies: We use cookies and similar technologies to help our Site function and to improve your experience. (See Section IV for details).
• Password Resets: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email.

III. How and Why We Use Your Data

We process your Data for the following purposes:

• To Provide Our Service: To manage your account, allow you to post comments, and process your requests (like password resets).
• To Improve Your Experience: To use cookies for your convenience (e.g., saving your details so you don’t have to re-enter them) and to save your screen display choices.
• To Protect Our Site: To use your IP address and browser data for spam detection and to secure our Site.
• To Provide Integrated Features: To provide your email hash to the Gravatar service to display your profile picture with your comment, if you use this service.

IV. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

• Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience and last for one year.
• Session Cookies: We set a temporary cookie on our login page to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
• Login & Preference Cookies: When you log in, we set cookies to save your login information and screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for one year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks. These cookies are removed if you log out.
• Editor Cookies: If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie is saved in your browser. It includes no personal data, simply indicates the post ID of the article you edited, and expires after 1 day.

Cookies are small text files that are automatically stored on your device when you visit our Site. We use cookies for the following specific purposes:

V. Who We Share Your Data With

We do not sell your personal data. We only share your data with third parties in the following limited circumstances:

• Service Providers: We may share Data with third-party services that help us operate our Site.
• Spam Detection: Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
• Gravatar: An anonymized string (a “hash”) created from your email address may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.
• Legal & Security: We may disclose your Data if required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Bill-E-Buddy, our users, or others.

VI. How Long We Retain Your Data

We store your Data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

• Comments: If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
• User Accounts: For registered users, we store the personal information provided in their user profile for as long as the account remains active. 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.

VII. How We Keep Your Data Secured

We are committed to safeguarding the security of your Data. We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures consistent with industry practices to protect your Data from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access or disclosure.
However, please note that no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

VIII. Your Rights Over Your Data

You have certain rights regarding the personal data we hold about you.

• Right to Access: If you have an account on this Site, 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.
• Right to Erasure: You can also request that we erase any personal data we hold about you.
  This right does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information in Section XI.

IX. Third-Party Links & Embedded Content

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 third-party websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction if you have an account and are logged in to that website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these other websites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.

X. Children’s Privacy

Our Site is not intended for or directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal data from anyone under this age. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information.

XI. Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at: hello@bill-e-buddy.com or use our contact form.