Privacy Policy

Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us. At Esme’s Patchwork, we want to make your online experience satisfying and safe.

Because we gather certain types of information about our users, we feel you should fully understand our policy and the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses what information we gather and how we use it.

Esme’s Patchwork gathers information that users provide through optional, voluntary submissions. These are voluntary submissions to receive our electronic newsletters and from participation in polls and surveys. Under no circumstances does Esme’s Patchwork divulge any information about an individual user to a third party.

Esme’s Patchwork gathers user information in the following processes:

1. Electronic newsletters policy (Dispatches)

We will offer a free electronic newsletter to users. Esme’s Patchwork gathers the email addresses of users who voluntarily subscribe. Users may remove themselves from this mailing list by following the “Unsubscribe” link provided in every newsletter that allows users to remove themselves from the mailing list.

2. “E-mail this to a friend” policy

Our site users can choose to electronically forward a link, page, or documents to someone else. The user must provide their email address, as well as that of the recipient. This information is used only in the case of transmission errors and, of course, to let the recipient know who sent the email. The information is not used for any other purpose.

3. Surveys

Esme’s Patchwork may occasionally conduct user surveys to better target our content to our audience. We never share any of this information about specific individuals with any third party.

4. Children

Consistent with the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), we will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without requesting parental consent.

5. Usage Tracking

Esme’s Patchwork tracks user traffic patterns throughout all of our sites. However, we do not correlate this information with data about individual users. Esme’s Patchwork does break down overall usage statistics according to a user’s domain name, browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user’s browser).

Esme’s Patchwork sometimes tracks and catalogues the search terms that users enter in our Search function, but this tracking is never associated with individual users. We use tracking information to determine user preferences based on traffic to those areas. We do not track what individual users read, but rather how well each page performs overall. This helps us continue to build a better service for you.

6. Cookies

We may place a text file called a “cookie” in the browser files of your computer. The cookie itself does not contain Personal Information although it will enable us to relate your use of this site to information that you have specifically and knowingly provided. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can’t read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. Esme’s Patchwork uses cookies to track user traffic patterns (as described above).

You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. If you’ve set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use this site. However, you do need cookies to participate actively in message boards, forums, polling and surveys.

7. Security

Esme’s Patchwork operates secure data networks protected by industry standard firewall and password protection systems. Our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorised individuals have access to the information provided by our customers.

8. Opt-Out Policy

We give users options wherever necessary and practical. Such choices include:

Opting not to register to receive our electronic newsletters. Opting not to participate in certain interactive areas, which completely alleviates the need to gather any personally identifiable information from our users

9. Your Consent

By using this site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by Esme’s Patchwork. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

10. External Sites

Esme’s Patchwork may contain links to other sites on the Internet that are owned and operated by third party vendors and other third parties. You acknowledge that the company is not responsible for the availability of, or the content located on or through, these External Sites. Please contact the site administrator or Webmaster for those External Sites if you have any concerns regarding such links or the content located on such External Sites.