Privacy Policy

This page was last updated on March 03, 2021. The Bug Squad values your privacy, and it is my goal to be 100% transparent about how your information is handled when you visit and use this website. If you have any questions, please click this link to contact me.

Although data collection is common practice on the internet, it is very important that you safeguard your privacy and understand how websites are using it to deliver their services and advertisements. Additionally, it is useful to know the technologies being utilized to protect your data when it is in transit and at rest, and what your rights are if you want personally identifiable information removed from any form of long-term storage.

Please note that if you choose to use The Bug Squad, you thereby agree to the terms in this privacy policy and give us explicit permission to collect, process and use your personal information as outlined on this page. Additionally, while this page is focused on privacy, please note that there is also a terms of use policy which contains specific rules and regulations that must be agreed to before using the content on this site.

What measures are taken to protect your privacy?

Even if you choose not to submit any personally identifiable information, it is still important to know what technologies a website is using to protect your data from prying eyes and those that seek to steal it. In addition to things like encryption, The Bug Squad also has strict rules that govern the amount of data that is collected, and it is limited to only what is needed to provide a good service and user experience to our visitors.

What sort of information is collected and why?

The Bug Squad respects your privacy, and wants you to know what is being collected. Additionally, this gives us a chance to explain why it is being done, and differentiate between what is being provided by us, and what is delivered by our partners. Please note that with the exception of names and email addresses, all anonymous usage data (listed below) is collected automatically using Google Analytics (here is their privacy policy).

Names and email addresses: When you submit a comment on an article, reach out to me via email, or decide to purchase an ebook, your name and email address will be collected and stored on our servers. They will only be used to deliver a notification when the comment has been answered (if you have chosen to allow it), to respond to your question via email, and to deliver a download link to the ebook itself.

Usage analytics and behavior: Since Google Analytics is used on this website, we are able to view anonymous data what pages are being visited (both live and historically), time on page, the source of traffic, and other audience, behavior and device related data points. This allows us to understand how visitors are using our content and what can be done to improve on that experience.

Information on social media: The Bug Squad collects information about the number of social shares per article and for each platform. However, this information is completely anonymous and we don’t know who did the sharing, unless a search is performed on the social media service itself and its public. Much like Google analytics, this is done so that we can understand how our content being received.

Who else can assess my data? I do not share your personally identifiable information with any third parties. The Bug Squad is affiliated with CMI Marketing, d/b/a CafeMedia (“CafeMedia”) for the purposes of placing advertising on this site, and CafeMedia will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes (none of which is PII). To learn more about CafeMedia’s data usage, click here. Please note that if you click on an advert (or an external link) and leave my blog, you are governed by that destination website’s privacy policy.

How is it managed and what are my rights?

After you have intentionally submitted personally identifiable information (your name and email), it is important to us that it is not only secured stored (mentioned already), but also you have the full power to request its removal at any time. Please note that The Bug Squad does not knowingly collect this type of data from people under the age of 18, and your email will never be sold or used solely for marketing purposes.

Where is your data stored? Our hosting servers are hosted in the United States on Google’s Cloud infrastructure, and mail services are provided via Google Apps. The first will contain your PII if you make a comment or purchase an ebook, and the latter if you contact me via email. Both our hosting and mail services are only accessed by me via secure channels, and I use very strong authentication methods.

How long is data retained? The Bug Squad doesn’t have a set time limit for purging personally identifiable information, and it is kept until such a point that it is not needed, or someone requests that it is deleted (more on that below). However, we reserve the right to remove your data at any date (especially applicable to comments), so please don’t presume that we have kept your submission forever.

Can I op-out of tracking? You are free to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking by installing various plugins in your browser, and you can even use Adblock if you don’t want to see any advertising. However, if you don’t want to share your personally identifiable information, please refrain from contacting me via email, purchasing any ebooks, and leaving any comments on my guides.

Can I have my data deleted? Absolutely yes, and I take these requests very seriously. If you have already submitted any PII (personally identifiable information) and wish to have it removed (you don’t have to even provide a reason), please drop me an email and I will get that done for you. I will confirm when the deletion process has been initiated, but you won’t hear from me after it is complete.

Please note that since we are using Google Analytics, we use cookies to remember what you have done in the past (such as coming back to the same page after a few days). Additionally, we sometimes use Facebook remarketing to promote certain pages to people (via adverts) that have performed some sort of action on The Bug Squad. Although this can feel rather targeted, rest assured that no PII is collected.

Policy changes and my contact information:

If this policy changes in any way, the date at the top (in the header) will be modified to reflect that. However, please note that you will not be notified, and it is up to you to revisit this privacy policy from time to time if you want to keep current with potential modifications. If you have any questions about this page or want PII deleted, please click here to contact me, and I will typically get back to you within 48 hours.

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