Privacy Policy
Effective Date: January 27, 2025
At MasterSteps.com, your privacy is critically important to us. This policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you visit our website or use our services.
1. Who We Are
Our website address is: https://mastersteps.com.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, the visitor’s IP address, and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.
2.2 Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors can download and extract location data from images on the website.
2.3 Cookies
- Comments: If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies last for one year.
- Login Page: A temporary cookie determines if your browser accepts cookies. This cookie contains no personal data and is discarded when you close your browser.
- Login Session: Login cookies last for two days, and screen display preference cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me,” your login will persist for two weeks.
- Article Editing: An additional cookie, stored for one day, indicates the post ID of the article you edited.
2.4 Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content behaves the same as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may:
- Collect data about you
- Use cookies
- Embed third-party tracking
- Monitor your interaction with the embedded content, including tracking if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
2.5 WooCommerce Data
When you make a purchase, we collect information such as:
- Products viewed
- Location, IP address, and browser type (for taxes and shipping estimates)
- Shipping address
Additionally, when you purchase from us, we’ll ask for:
- Name, billing/shipping address, email, phone number, and payment details
- Optional account information like username and password
This data is used to:
- Fulfill orders
- Respond to requests (e.g., refunds)
- Process payments and prevent fraud
- Comply with legal obligations (e.g., tax calculations)
- Improve our store
We store order information for tax and accounting purposes, and retain customer reviews or comments you choose to leave.
2.6 Security Logs
For security purposes, we log:
- Visitor IP addresses
- User IDs of logged-in users
- Username and login attempts
This data is retained for 60 days to detect malicious activity and ensure site security.
3. How We Use Your Data
- To operate and maintain our website.
- To send order-related communications.
- To provide customer support.
- To improve our offerings.
- To comply with legal requirements.
4. Who We Share Your Data With
- Gravatar: Email hashes for profile picture verification.
- Payment Processors: For order transactions (e.g., PayPal or Stripe).
- Shipping Providers: To ensure timely delivery.
- Security Services: To protect against brute force attacks and malware.
5. How Long We Retain Your Data
- Comments and metadata: Indefinitely.
- Account data for registered users: As long as the account is active.
- Security logs: 60 days.
- Order information: For tax and legal purposes, as required.
6. Your Rights Over Your Data
If you have an account or have left comments, you can request an exported file of the personal data we hold about you. You can also request that we erase any personal data, except data we are required to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes.
7. Where Your Data Is Sent
- Comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.
- Security logs and backup emails may be processed by third-party services (e.g., email providers).
- Some data may be shared to protect against distributed brute force attacks.
8. Third-Party Tools and Integrations
8.1 Payment Gateways
We accept payments via PayPal and Stripe. During transactions, certain data (e.g., purchase total and billing details) is shared with these processors. Refer to their privacy policies for details:
- PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/privacy
- Stripe: https://stripe.com/privacy
8.2 WooCommerce Shipping & Tax
Data may be shared with external services for shipping and tax calculations.
9. Security Measures
To protect your data:
- Temporary cookies ensure secure login.
- IP addresses and login attempts are logged to identify and block malicious activity.
- Backups of security logs are retained and scanned for vulnerabilities.
10. Updates to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy as necessary to reflect changes to our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. Updates will be posted on this page.
11. Contact Us
For questions or concerns about this privacy policy, please contact us at: [email protected].
