Privacy Policy

Sentienceandscience.org (‘The Sentience and Science Foundation’ or this ‘Website’) takes privacy seriously and does its best to comply with the guidelines provided by the Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA, Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens), EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the ePrivacy Directive (EPD).

For this Website to function, for it to provide certain features, for it to be maintained and for it to provide suitable content, the Website and connected services may capture and use personal data about you and your usage of the Website. This Privacy Policy must be read in conjunction with the Terms of Use.

If you are not comfortable with this Privacy Policy or the idea of this Website and connected services capturing, using or storing personal information, you have the freedom not to use this Website.

This Privacy Policy was last updated on 21st January, 2021.

What Information is Captured

Sentienceandscience.org only captures the minimum amount of essential personal information it deems necessary to provide certain website features, to analyze usage, and to improve the security of the Website.

Identifiable vs Anonymous Data

Sentienceandscience.org captures both identifiable and anonymous data. Identifiable data can be used to identify you personally. This is explicit information like your name and email address. You might provide this data when you contact Sentienceandscience.org, when you sign up to a newsletter, or when you leave a comment on an article.

Anonymous data cannot identify you personally. This information might be implicitly captured in the background when any user accesses the Website. Reports provided by analytics services that show aggregated website statistics are examples of anonymous data usage.

Explicit vs Implicit Data

Personal information that is asked for directly and typed by you is called explicit data. Some explicit data will be required to access functionality, some will be optional. Pages on this website that ask for explicit personal data are;

  • Comment Forms
  • Contact Form
  • Newsletter Form

Explicit data asked for directly on this Website is often identifiable and includes;

  • Name
  • Email Address
  • Website (optional)
  • Comment Text
  • Contact Subject
  • Contact Message

Implicit data that you may give indirectly by visiting any page on this Website is often anonymous and includes;

  • IP address
  • Date and timestamps
  • Device
  • Software operating system
  • Browser and resolution
  • Language
  • Referring pages
  • Website activity including pages you visited

IP Address

An IP address is a unique reference (like a phone number) that a device must use and share when it accesses the internet. IP addresses can be used to attempt to identify your device and its location. IP addresses could be considered identifiable information, especially when combined with other explicit data.

If you leave a comment your IP address is recorded along with your name and email for Website security. Sentienceandscience.org uses Akismet software to filter SPAM from comments by analysing IP addresses. In all other cases where IP addresses are recorded via the Website, Sentienceandscience.org anonymizes IP addresses.

How and Why Personal Data is Captured

There are several techniques and pages used to capture data in this Website. In general, identifiable personal data is explicitly provided by you in forms, while anonymous personal data is implicitly provided when you visit any page in the Website.

Comments

The ability to leave a comment is sometimes provided as a form at the bottom of a page. This form explicitly asks for your name, email address, website (optional) and comment text. When you submit a comment, your full IP address is also recorded. This identifiable information is stored in a database on the Sentienceandscience.org webserver.

The name and comment you supply will become publicly available. Sentienceandscience.org therefore recommends that you do not place identifiable information in comment text. Sentienceandscience.org does not accept any responsibility for loss or damage resulting from personal data shared this way. If you accidentally submit personal information, you can contact Sentienceandscience.org to have it edited or removed. Sentienceandscience.org will do that as quickly as possible however the responsibility is yours.

Should you encounter any personal data submitted by other Website visitors, you are not to use that data in any way that infringes that visitors privacy and can contact Sentienceandscience.org so that the visitor can be notified and the data can be edited or removed.

SPAM is automatically rejected by Akismet and removed from the website. To further increase security, hyperlinks are removed from the author and comment text. Only <p> <b> <strong> <em> <code> and <strike> HTML tags are allowed in comments.

The first comment a visitor submits is moderated by Sentienceandscience.org before being published. This might take some time. Thereafter, comments left using the same name and email address are not moderated before being published. Approved comments are stored on the Sentienceandscience.org web server and displayed on the website. Sentienceandscience.org reserves the right to delete published comments at its own discretion and for any reason.

When a visitor posts a comment, an email containing identifiable information is sent to Sentienceandscience.org. This email and any subsequent correspondence is stored on the Sentienceandscience.org email server. Sentienceandscience.org periodically deletes this information once any interaction has concluded.

Contact Form

Sentienceandscience.org has a contact form that visitors can use to send a message. This form explicitly collects the visitor’s name, email address, message subject and message comment. Without this information Sentienceandscience.org cannot answer your questions.

When a visitor submits a contact form, an email is sent to Sentienceandscience.org. This email and any subsequent correspondence is stored on the Sentienceandscience.org email server. Sentienceandscience.org periodically deletes this information once the contact request is concluded.

Newsletter Form

Sentienceandscience.org has a newsletter form that visitors can use to subscribe to the newsletter. This form explicitly collects the visitor’s name and email address which are required to subscribe to the newsletter.

When a visitor submits a newsletter subscription form, an email is sent to Sentienceandscience.org. This email and any subsequent correspondence is stored on the Sentienceandscience.org email server. Sentienceandscience.org periodically deletes this information once any interaction is concluded.

The subscription information is also sent to the Sentienceandscience.org newsletter service Mailchimp. Using a system called double opt-in, Mailchimp will send a visitor a subscription confirmation email. Once as visitor has ‘double’ confirmed via the Mailchimp email, the visitor will have subscribed to the newsletter.

Subscriber information will remain on the Mailchimp servers until the subscriber unsubscribes or Sentienceandscience.org removes them from the service. Please refer to Mailchimp’s GDPR Compliance policy for more information.

Sentienceandscience.org periodically sends newsletters. A subscriber has the option to unsubscribe via a link in those emails. A subscriber can also visit the newsletter page, where a link takes them directly to an unsubscribe page.

Email

The contact and newsletter forms send an email to Sentienceandscience.org. Emails sent this way use a dedicated Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) authentication server and ports for added security.

This may initiate subsequent email communication. Subsequent email correspondence may use open SMTP relay servers. The content included in these subsequent emails may also include personal data. While all care will be taken by Sentienceandscience.org, subsequent email correspondence containing personal data is the responsibility of the initiating visitor. Sentienceandscience.org does not accept any responsibility for loss or damage resulting from personal data shared in subsequent email communication.

Subsequent emails are stored on the Sentienceandscience.org email server and the email server used by the visitor. Sentienceandscience.org periodically deletes information held on its server once any interaction is concluded. The visitor is responsible for deleting the emails held on their email server.

Cookies

Cookies are small files that a website saves to a visitor’s browser. Cookies can be used by a website to collect data about website usage or the visitor and how they access the internet. Sentienceandscience.org follows the law and guidelines of the DPA, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and the ePrivacy Directive (EPD) in regard to cookies.

Sentienceandscience.org does not use third-party, persistent marketing cookies.

Sentienceandscience.org uses three first-party, persistent cookies. There is one strictly necessary cookie (AMP-CONSENT) and one preference cookie (wp_gdpr_cookie_preference), both used to control privacy. One statistics cookie (_ga) is used to provide website analytics. All cookies on Sentienceandscience.org are aggregated and/or anonymized.

AMP-CONSENT

This is a strictly necessary cookie that is part of the Google AMP framework. It is permitted without consent. The cookie is used to manage a visitor’s privacy and consent. It is a persistent cookie that expires after 12 months unless cleared earlier.

wp_gdpr_cookie_preferences

This is a preference or functionality cookie that works with the AMP-CONSENT cookie. It is only saved after a visitor gives their consent via the cookie notice at the bottom of Website pages. It saves the visitors consent and is used to hide the banner once the cookie notice has been accepted. It is a persistent cookie that expires after 12 months unless cleared earlier.

_ga

This is a statistics or performance cookie that is used by Sentienceandscience.org and Google Analytics to capture anonymous visitor data on each page in Website. It is only saved after a visitor gives their consent via the cookie notice at the bottom of Website pages. It is a persistent cookie that expires after 12 months unless cleared earlier.

Sentienceandscience.org follows the DPA privacy-friendly settings manual of Google Analytics. Specifically, this are to notify you that;

  • This Website uses the Google Analytics _ga cookie;
  • This Website has entered into an agreement with Google Analytics;
  • The IP address of the visitor has been anonymized;
  • Data sharing within Google Analytics has been turned off;
  • This website does not use other Google services in combination with the Google Analytics _ga cookie.

How you can control what personal data is captured

The only identifiable personal data captured by this Website is done so via a Comment, Contact or Newsletter subscription form. Not using any of these forms will prevent the collection of identifiable personal data. If you submit any of these forms, it will be interpreted as your consent for Sentienceandscience.org to capture identifiable personal data.

Not consenting to the cookie notice will stop the wp_gdpr_cookie_preferences and _ga cookies from being saved to your device. This will prevent the collection of anonymous personal data.

You have the ability to adjust the Privacy and Security settings on the device and/or browser you use to access the internet. Sentienceandscience.org recommends you consider blocking third-party cookies and adjust the tracking protection features of your browser. This Website will function when blocking all cookies, however Sentienceandscience.org does not recommend doing so. If all cookies are blocked you will not be able to remove the cookie notice at the bottom of pages.

Additional browser plugins, software programs and apps are available to manage your online security and data privacy. Sentienceandscience.org recommends you consider services like Disconnect.me.

Third Party Services

Sentienceandscience.org uses common third party services to build the Website pages and provide services and features to Website visitors. Third party services include the Mailchimp newsletter service, but also static resources like fonts and software that are requested and downloaded from third-party URLs when you access a Website page. Browser plugins like Disconnect.me can help you monitor what third-party sites and URLs are being contacted by web pages.

Each time a third-party service is requested, that URL has the potential to capture personal data. The data captured by third-party services is governed by their own privacy policies. Sentienceandscience.org may contact the following third-party services when serving Website pages;

Akismet

Akismet is a SPAM filter that works by combining information about SPAM captured on over 5 million participating sites, and then using those SPAM rules to block future spam. This process requires Sentienceandscience.org to communicate and send comment form data to the Akismet servers. The Akismet service is governed by the Automattic privacy policy.

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is used to provide an explicit newsletter service. This process requires Sentienceandscience.org to communicate and send newsletter form data to the MailChimp servers. The Mailchimp service is governed by the Mailchimp GDPR Compliance policy.

ampproject.org, ampproject.net

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an open source HTML framework optimized for mobile web browsing and intended to make websites load faster. AMP compliant websites like Sentienceandscience.org display pages by downloading components from cdn.ampproject.org and contacting ampproject.net. These AMP services are governed by the Google privacy policy.

www.google.com

The Contact and Newsletter subscription forms utilise a website security and anti-SPAM service called reCAPTCHA v3. The reCAPTCHA service is served from www.google.com and is governed by the Google privacy policy.

fonts.googleapis.com

Sentienceandscience.org uses Google Fonts in its design. These fonts are downloaded from fonts.googleapis.com or gstatic.com. The fonts.googleapis.com service is governed by the Google privacy policy.

gstatic.com

Gstatic is a domain employed by Google to host various static content, such as fonts, images, CSS, or JavaScript. The gstatic.com service is governed by the Google privacy policy.

gravatar.com

A Gravatar is an image and public profile that follows you from site to site appearing beside your name when you do things like comment or post on a blog. Avatars help identify your posts on blogs and web forums. The gravatar.com service is governed by the Automattic privacy policy.

The third-party services below are only contacted if cookie consent has been granted via the cookie notice.

google-analytics.com

Google Analytics is a website statistics service provided by Google. It is used by Sentienceandscience.org to analyze Website traffic. The google-analytics.com service is governed by the Google privacy policy.

googletagmanager.com

Google Tag Manager is a service that allows websites to add tags to web pages. Tags can be pieces of information or coded instructions like scripts that trigger an action if present on a page. The Google Analytics script is deployed by Google Tag Manager as a tag on all Sentienceandscience.org pages. The googletagmanager.com service is governed by the Google privacy policy.

How Personal Data is Stored and Protected

Personal information collected on this website is stored either in the website file-, database- or email-server. Sentienceandscience.org uses a website, database and email hosting service with security services that include;

  • A Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate to transfer information securely via HTTPS;
  • Malware scanning and constant tracking and auto-patching of detected security risks;
  • Web filters to help block malicious traffic;
  • SQL injection detection, general rootkit and brute-force attack protection;
  • Firewall protection;
  • Protection from DDoS attacks by filtering corrupt bot traffic (using NAWAS)

Sentienceandscience.org, separately and via the services provided by its hosting service, will use reasonable efforts to protect the personal information it holds from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction.

Sharing of Personal Data

Sentienceandscience.org will not share personal data with third-parties with the exception of those situations described above.

In case of infringement of any law or regulation, of which a visitor is suspected and for which the authorities require the personal data collected by Sentienceandscience.org, personal data will be provided to them after an explicit and reasoned request of those authorities, after which these personal data do not fall anymore under the protection of the provisions of this Privacy Policy.

Accessing and Correcting Personal Data

You can request access to, the correction or deletion of any personal information that Sentienceandscience.org may hold about you by contacting Sentienceandscience.org. Sentienceandscience.org will respond to your contact as quickly as possible.

Websites of Third Parties

Sentienceandscience.org may contain links to websites of third parties. Sentienceandscience.org is not responsible for their content or how those websites use any personal information that you provide them. Sentienceandscience.org recommends that you read the privacy policies of those websites.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

Sentienceandscience.org reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to update or revise this Privacy Policy at any time. Changes to this Privacy Policy will be effective immediately upon their posting on this website. Please check this Privacy Policy regularly for changes and updates. Continued use of this Website after Sentienceandscience.org posts changes to this Privacy Policy signifies your agreement to those changes.

Applicable Law

This Privacy Policy is governed by Dutch law and the Dutch courts have the non-exclusive authority to hear and settle disputes related to this Privacy Policy.

For questions about the Privacy Policy, please contact Sentienceandscience.org.

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