Introduction
Opening a map, following a source link and sending a correction create different data trails. This notice explains those trails for GeoExplore Hub. We operate a public educational site without user accounts or a newsletter database, but service providers can still receive and retain information about a visit.
Reading this notice or continuing to browse is not, by itself, consent to optional cookies. Where consent is required, it must be requested separately.
Information We Collect
Information You Provide
We may collect information that you voluntarily provide to us when you:
- Send email voluntarily using the address published on the Contact page; the website itself does not transmit the message
- Include a name, source link, or other detail voluntarily in that email
Our contact form collects a name, reply email, topic and message in your browser to prepare an email. It opens your email application; the message reaches us only if you send it. Please omit passwords, precise home locations and other sensitive details.
Automatically Collected Information
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain information about your device and browsing behavior, including:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Pages visited and time spent on pages
- Referring website addresses
- Device information
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for various purposes, including:
- To provide, maintain, and improve our website and services
- To respond to your inquiries, comments, or questions
- To analyze website usage and trends to enhance user experience
- To detect, prevent, and address technical issues or security threats
- To comply with legal obligations
AdSense and advertising choices
GeoExplore Hub uses Google AdSense. Google and other third-party advertisers may set cookies or similar identifiers on your browser. Advertising services may use IP address, device and browser details, browsing history and ad interactions to personalize advertisements, measure their performance and limit repeated displays (frequency capping), subject to your choices and applicable law.
To adjust Google advertising preferences, open Google Ads Settings / My Ad Center. For participating third-party advertisers, use DAA WebChoices or Your Online Choices. Google explains its advertising cookies in Advertising technologies. Opting out of personalization does not mean that all ads disappear. Controls may need to be applied separately on different browsers and devices.
Third-Party Services
| Service | Why it receives data | Privacy information |
|---|---|---|
| Google AdSense; Google Ad Manager where enabled | Advertising delivery, personalization where allowed, frequency control and measurement; may receive identifiers and browsing activity. | Google partner sites |
| Google Analytics | Page visits, device characteristics and interaction measurement. | Google privacy |
| OpenStreetMap map services | Map-tile requests reveal an IP address and the requested map area. Panning or zooming requests additional tiles. | OSM Foundation privacy |
| Gmail and your email provider | Delivery and storage of the correspondence you send. | Google privacy for Gmail |
| Hosting provider | Page delivery, error diagnosis and security logs, potentially including IP address and request time. | Contact us for the provider and settings relevant to your request. |
| unpkg; Tailwind CSS and jQuery CDNs where used | Delivery of map-library or page assets, which exposes connection and browser request information. | unpkg; Tailwind CSS; jsDelivr privacy (jQuery CDN delivery) |
An external source website receives information when you open its link. Services may process information for us or act independently under their own privacy terms. The list describes services used by this site, not every destination linked in an article.
Data Security
Personal information can remain on Google’s systems, our email provider’s systems, hosting infrastructure or analytics systems even though this website has no account database. A correction email, for example, is stored in our mailbox after delivery. We limit access to correspondence and use reasonable account and service safeguards; no network or storage system is risk-free.
Processing may take place outside the country where you live. Where transfer law applies, the relevant service must use a recognized transfer basis, such as an adequacy decision or appropriate contractual safeguards. Ask us for information about the providers and safeguards relevant to your data.
How long records are kept
Our retention policy for ordinary editorial and site-support correspondence is to delete it within 12 months after the matter is closed. Records needed to document a privacy-rights request may be retained for up to 24 months. A legal duty, unresolved dispute or security investigation can justify longer retention for the affected records; unrelated correspondence should not be kept for that reason.
Ad identifiers, analytics events, map-service requests and host logs follow the relevant service settings and retention schedules. We cannot promise a single lifetime for independently controlled records or backup copies. For Google’s approach, see Google data retention. Ask us about a particular record or request deletion through the contact address. A source citation may remain in a corrected article without retaining the sender’s private email details.
Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including:
- The right to access your personal information
- The right to correct inaccurate information
- The right to request deletion of your information
- The right to object to processing of your information
- The right to data portability
To exercise these rights, please contact us using the information provided in the Contact section.
EEA, United Kingdom and Switzerland
If these regional privacy laws apply to your visit, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction or portability of your information and object to processing based on legitimate interests. Consent can be withdrawn without changing the lawfulness of earlier processing. You can also complain to your data protection authority, including the UK ICO or Swiss FDPIC.
The relevant legal bases are consent for optional tracking or personalized advertising where required; legitimate interests in responding to source corrections and maintaining a secure, functioning site; and legal obligations where applicable. Non-essential processing that requires consent must wait for that choice. Google requires a Google-certified consent management platform for the relevant advertising in these regions; a policy page alone does not supply that consent.
Send a rights or withdrawal request to shemaiah640@gmail.com. If a provider controls the relevant data independently, its own controls and rights process also apply.
California requests and advertising sharing
Where the CCPA, as amended by the CPRA, applies, residents may ask to know or access personal information, correct inaccuracies, request deletion, and opt out of sale or sharing for cross-context behavioral advertising. Additional rights can include limiting qualifying uses of sensitive personal information. We do not request sensitive information to provide these pages.
Identifiers, device or internet activity and voluntarily submitted correspondence are the categories described above. They are used for the purposes in this notice and disclosed to the listed provider categories. Advertising-related disclosures may qualify as “sharing” or “sale” under California law even without payment. We do not knowingly sell or share information of people under 16.
Email shemaiah640@gmail.com with “California privacy request” or “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” in the subject. You may act through an authorized agent. We may need proportionate verification for access, correction or deletion, and will not discriminate because you exercise a right. A legally applicable Global Privacy Control signal is an opt-out preference that must be respected. Provider ad settings offer additional controls and do not replace statutory rights.
Children's Privacy
The learning material is available without an account. We do not knowingly seek personal information from children under 13, or the higher age threshold where local law applies. A parent or guardian should help a child who wishes to send a correction. Contact us if a child has sent personal information so we can address its deletion.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.
You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:
Email: shemaiah640@gmail.com