Introduction

Lester Jacobson (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the lesterjacobson.com website (“Site”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our Site, including any other media form, media channel, mobile website, or mobile application related or connected thereto.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Site.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Voluntarily Provide

Comment Submissions: When you submit a comment on a blog post, we collect the following information:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your IP address
• Your comment text

This information is stored in our database for the purpose of displaying your comment on the Site and managing our comment section.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

Google Analytics 4 (GA4): We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors interact with our Site. GA4 collects the following information automatically:

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Referring website or search terms
• Browser type and operating system
• General geographic location (country/region level)
• Device type (desktop, mobile, tablet)

Google Analytics does not collect personally identifiable information such as your name, email address, or user ID from our Site. Analytics data is anonymized and aggregated.

GA4 data is retained for 14 months before automatic deletion.

For more information about Google Analytics and its privacy practices, visit: Google Privacy Policy and Google’s use of data when you use partners’ sites.

1.3 No Cookies

Our Site does not use cookies. Google Analytics may set cookies for analytics purposes; you can control this through your browser settings or by opting out (see Section 4).

2. How We Use Your Information

2.1 Comment Information

We use the information you provide in comments to:

• Display your comment on the Site
• Contact you regarding your comment (if necessary)
• Monitor and prevent spam using Akismet spam filtering service
• Comply with legal obligations

2.2 Analytics Information

We use Google Analytics data to:

• Understand how visitors use our Site
• Improve Site performance and user experience
• Monitor Site traffic and trends
• Troubleshoot technical issues

3. How We Share Your Information

3.1 Third-Party Service Providers

We share information with the following third-party services:

Akismet: Your comment data (name, email, IP address, and comment text) is transmitted to Akismet for spam detection and prevention. Akismet processes this data to identify and filter spam comments. For more information about Akismet’s privacy practices, visit: Akismet Privacy Policy.

Google Analytics: Anonymized, aggregated Site usage data is transmitted to Google for analytics purposes. Google does not receive your name, email, or other personally identifiable information from our Site. For more information, visit: Google Privacy Policy.

GoDaddy (Hosting Provider): Your data is stored on servers hosted by GoDaddy. GoDaddy may access your data only as necessary to provide hosting services and is bound by confidentiality obligations. For more information about GoDaddy’s privacy practices, visit: GoDaddy Privacy Policy.

3.2 Other Disclosures

We do not sell, rent, or otherwise disclose your personal information to third parties except as required by law or as described in this Privacy Policy.

4. Your Privacy Rights and Choices

4.1 Accessing and Controlling Your Data

Comments: You may request to view, modify, or delete your comment data at any time by contacting us (see Contact Information below). We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe, typically within 30 days.

Analytics Opt-Out: You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by:

• Disabling Google Analytics in your browser settings
• Installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on
• Adjusting your browser’s cookie and tracking settings

You may also see an opt-out option on this Site that allows you to disable tracking for this specific domain.

4.2 Data Retention

Comment Data: We retain comment data indefinitely unless you request deletion or we delete it at our discretion. Spam comments may be deleted without notice.

Analytics Data: Google Analytics automatically deletes data older than 14 months.

5. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information.

6. International Visitors

Our Site is operated from the United States (Illinois) and is intended for visitors in the United States. If you are accessing this Site from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from your home country.

For European Union Visitors (GDPR): If you are located in the EU, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

• Right to access your personal data
• Right to rectify inaccurate data
• Right to erase your data (“right to be forgotten”)
• Right to restrict processing
• Right to data portability
• Right to object to processing

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below.

7. Third-Party Links

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites before providing your information.

8. Children’s Privacy

Our Site is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete such information and terminate the child’s access to our Site.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of material changes by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of a revised Privacy Policy means you accept and agree to the changes.

10. Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you wish to exercise your rights regarding your personal information, please contact us at:

Lester Jacobson
lesterjacobson.com

We will respond to your inquiries within 30 days of receipt.