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Long story short: the only data we collect from you on this site is the data needed to perform basic transactions. For example, you’re interested in buying something. You put it in your cart. We make sure it stays in your cart as you browse the site. We process your credit card when you decide to finally buy it.
Below we outline how we collect and use data, how long we keep different types of data, third parties that you should be aware of, and how you can delete any and all data that we have about you that we actually control.
We believe privacy policies should be straightforward and simple to understand. If you have any questions or issues with anything you read here, please reach out to us. Our goal is to be as transparent as possible.
Microbe Garden is a regenerative garden lab focusing on natural ways to improve and maintain soil health.
We collect the minimum amount of information needed from you in order process sales on this site. We keep that information for what we believe is a reasonable amount of time before it is automatically deleted from our systems.
That said, there are other activities you may engage in while here that leave personal data trails. There are also opt-in features such as newsletters that you may decide to join in which case you are proactively sharing data (read: your email address) that you should be aware of. In all cases, we have mechanisms in place for you to either delete data of yours that is in our possession, or are able to request that we do so on your behalf.
When you shop on this site we place a cookie in your browser to track what you are attempting to purchase. This is used to maintain your shopping cart with the items you proactively placed in it. When you check out, you are asked to pay by credit card and are required to provide information that verifies that you are authorized to use that credit card.
We process your credit card through a company called Stripe. According to their privacy policy, Stripe will not collect your personal data. Instead, it resides with us. Here’s what we do with it, and how long we do it for:
Some clarification on inactive accounts: During the checkout process you are asked whether you want to create an account with us. Doing so is optional but allows you to log into the site, view previous orders and manage the information you have shared with us. If you do not utilize your account with us, we will delete it – and the information associated with it – after one year. Otherwise, we maintain it so that if you come back some time before that your shopping and data management experience is streamlined.
Some clarification on Stripe data: If you have a Stripe account, we will have access to your customer ID and other identifying information that allows us to process your payment.
Additional Shopping Notes: We will remove personal data from orders upon request. When we do that, our records will show that an item or items were purchased, but there will no identifiable information on who purchased the item.
When you leave comments (or product reviews) on this site, we collect the data shown in the comments form in order to display it. We also collect your IP address and browser user agent string in order to help us detect spam.
When leaving a comment (or product review), we ask for an identifying email address in order to protect against spam. This address is then anonymized into a string (also called a hash) that is sent to Gravatar, an identity service many people use. If you use it, the profile picture associated with your Gravatar account will be visible to the public in the context of your comment (or product review).
If you do not use Gravatar, your comment will appear with whatever self-identifying information you choose to use (or not use).
The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here.
If you choose to contact us via contact forms found on this site, your message, email address, web browser type and IP address will be logged in the same manner as the comments and product reviews above. The primary reason for this is to automate spam detection.
Once your message passes through spam detection, the information listed above along with your message is emailed to Microbe Garden and eliminated from this server.
If you would like your message to us deleted, simply let us know when you contact us, or in follow-up communication with us.
If you leave a comment on our site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year. You are able to eliminate them on your side by deleting your web history in the browser that you use.
If you visit our login page, we will set a temporary cookie to determine if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
When you log in, we will also set up several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.
Unless required by law enforcement agencies, we do not share your data with anyone.
If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so we can recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. 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.
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. 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.
Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
If you have additional questions that are not answered here, please contact us and we will respond as soon as possible. We are aware that there may be edge cases we have not thought about but can and should address them as they arise.