Privacy Policy

First, things first. I’m Staci. I’m responsible for this website you’re checking out, located at URL https://novembersunflower.com.

Second, you can contact me at staci [at] novembersunflower [dot] com with any questions pertaining to this Privacy Policy, or your information.

Finally…..

We need to get a couple of things done first, before you read through the rest of this page. Once you read through the entire page, and scroll down, you can agree to it and be allowed to view my website. It’s a part of the new GDPR standards being set by Europe, and it’s important I keep my website available to everyone and honestly, it’s always nice to know what you’re getting into when you visit any website, no matter where you live, right? Right.

So, there’s a couple of things you must be okay with:

• I agree to allow this site to use cookies for site performance.
• I agree to allow this site to use cookies to track behavior and user patterns.
• I agree to allow this site to use cookies for advertising purposes.
• I acknowledge that I can ask for my data to be deleted at any time and/or I can unsubscribe to any mailing lists or newsletter with an easy opt-out.
• I am over 16 years of age or give parental consent for my child to use this site.

Once you scroll to the bottom of this privacy policy window and accept the terms, you’re letting me know this is okay with you.

WordPress Platform/Avada Theme

My blog is built on the WordPress platform using the Avada Theme. I do not have a membership website, so if you do not leave a comment on my website, there’s truly no information required of you to read my posts, or pages. By default WordPress does not collect any personal data about visitors.

Leaving Comments on Website

If you leave a comment on any of my posts, or pages, you’ll notice a checkbox asking you to confirm you’re cool with your information being kept on my comments database through WordPress. If you change your mind at any time and do not wish this to be the case, you can contact me at staci [at] novembersunflower [dot] com to be removed.

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. Visitor comments are checked through a spam detection plug-in. See below for the plug-ins used on this website.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Analytics

Let’s just start with this: I’m a blogger/writer. I use Google Analytics, because if I don’t, no one sees my content. Google Analytics collects IP addresses, cookies or behavior profiling. All information is kept for 14 months by Google Analytics. By reading this, and accepting the terms below, you’re letting me know this is okay with you.

I also use CloudFlare, a service that offers extra security for my website along with analytics. Same concept as Google Analytics.

Affiliate Programs

I use affiliate links on my website (LinkShare, ShareASale, Amazon Associates). Affiliate links use COOKIES. The cookies are used to track sales activity, so I can earn commissions on the sales I refer through the links on my website. All information is kept by the affiliate programs. November Sunflower doesn’t store them.

Cookies/Data Information

This site, or its third-party tools (Yoast, Google AdSense, Google Analytics), uses cookies to collect and store information about your computer. Some of these cookies are necessary to operate our site, and most of those cookies, such as IP address are anonymous. Other cookies are used to track user behavior, preferences, and to improve user experience. Cookies are small text files placed on your machine to help the site provide a better user experience.

In general, cookies are used to retain:

• user preferences
• store information for things like shopping carts
• provide anonymous tracking data to third party applications like Google Analytics

As a rule, cookies make your browsing experience better. However, you may prefer to disable cookies on this site and on others. The most effective way to do this is to disable cookies in your browser. You can look at the HELP section of your browser or look at the About Cookies website which offers guidance for all modern browsers. By agreeing to the terms below, you agree to the use of cookies.

Display Ads/Google AdSense

Here on November Sunflower, there are ad displays. All are done through a third-party (Google AdSense, ShareASale, LinkShare, Amazon Associates). Their servers collect user data for marketing research, November Sunflower does not. Again, this is done with the use of cookies. And again, if you agree to the terms below, it tells me you’re cool with this when visiting my website.

Sponsored content tracking pixels

On occasion, my SPONSORED CONTENT for brands requires I use tracking pixels, or, yes, you got it, cookies. Guess what they use the information for? Marketing. Once again, agreeing to the terms below means you’re cool with this.

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.

What rights you have over your data

If you 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.

iThemes Security

What personal data iThemes collects and why

Newsletter/Email Sign Ups

As for my newsletter sign ups. The information you provide, such as your name and email address, are kept in the MailerLite newsletter database. It is easy to unsubscribe at the bottom of any newsletter sent to you, or you can contact me to have it removed manually. Just email staci [at] novembersunflower.com.

Plug ins

CloudFlare: Adds a layer of safety to my website, and allows me to control my account right in my backend of WordPress. It handles my SSL (https) security for my website, as well as gives me a quick way to secure my website if it is attacked. It’s another way to provide safety to November Sunflower. Here’s CloudFlare’s privacy policy –> CloudFlare Privacy Policy

Fusion Builder: It’s part of my theme so I can build pages, and make my website look lovely for everyone.

Fusion Core: Again, it’s part of my Avada theme, helping me create the website’s look and feel.

BOTH of the above Fusion plug ins are through Theme Fusion. You can see Theme Fusion’s Privacy Policy here –> Theme Fusion Privacy Policy

GDPR: Well, I have this plug in because of the new GDPR regulations in Europe. It provides me with a great overlay for all visitors to my website, requiring them to read through the PRIVACY POLICY here on November Sunflower. Once visitors agree to everything they read on this Privacy Page, GDPR isn’t used for anything else. However, some can use it to control the removal of member information on websites. I use the built in functionality in WordPress to handle removal requests. You can visit the plug in developer’s Privacy Policy.

Google XML Sitemaps: Basically, this plug in is for SEO purposes. If I want to be seen on Google searches, it’s something the big, bag Google MONOPOLY pushes on all of us in the world of cyber space. It doesn’t use any personal information, just allows Google to crawl my website with a little more ease. Learn more about Google XML Sitemaps plug in.

Inline Related Posts: It just allows me to include other posts that might be of interest to readers BASED ON THE POST CURRENTLY BEING READ. It isn’t tracking your patterns, or IP Address, in order to provide suggestions for other articles to read. This plug in is created by IntellyWP, and you can read more on their privacy policy.

iThemes: Provides security for my website, keeping all information safe and secure. It also helps protect my website from brute force attacks, and any individuals attempting to gain access without authorization. Learn more about iThemes and what types of security it provides to NovemberSunflower.com.

Regenerate Thumbnails: Regenerates all thumbnail sizes for one or more images uploaded to November Sunflower’s Media Library. Absolutely no personal information is used from anyone visiting my website.

Spam Destroyer: stops automated spam while remaining as unobtrusive as possible to regular commenters. Visit and read the Spam Destroyer Privacy Policy.

Updraft WordPress Backup Plug in: It’s how I backup my website. The database, plus ins, themes, and whatever needs to be backed up so I can restore with a click of a button if anything happens to my website. Learn about Updraft.

WP GDPR Compliance: assists website owners to comply with European privacy regulations known as GDPR. Basically, for my website, it puts a little button by the comments section letting those leaving comments accept the terms of leaving comments on the website. Learn more about the WP GDPR Compliance plug in.

YOAST SEO: Most complete SEO solution for those using WordPress. Is it perfect for SEO? Nope. But it’s a nice start to have a checklist for me as a writer. Learn more about the YOAST SEO plugin.

Official Facebook Pixel: When someone visits my website and takes an action (for example, buying something), the Facebook pixel is triggered and reports this action. That’s basically it. You want to learn more? Visit the FB Pixels website and take a look.