Last Updated: April, 24, 2025

Who We Are

Our website address is: https://nawbowny.org. We are the Western New York Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO WNY), committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring a safe online experience.

What Personal Data We Collect and Why

  1. Comments: When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help detect and prevent spam. An anonymized string (hash) created from your email address may be shared with the Gravatar service to check if you’re using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture becomes publicly visible next to your comment.
  2. Media: If you upload images to the website, avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS), as other visitors can download and extract this data from the images.
  3. Contact Forms: We may collect your name, email address, and any message content you submit through our contact forms. This data is used solely for responding to your inquiries and is not shared without your explicit consent.
  4. Cookies
    1. Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are for your convenience and last for one year.
    2. Login Cookies: When visiting the login page, we set a temporary cookie to check if your browser accepts cookies. This contains no personal data and is deleted when you close your browser.
    3. Session Cookies: When you log in, we set cookies to save your login and screen preferences: Login cookies: 2 days, Screen options: 1 year, “Remember Me” option: 2 weeks
    4. Post-Editing Cookies: If you edit or publish an article, a cookie (expiring after 1 day) will be saved to identify the article ID.
  5. Embedded Content from Other Websites: Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Embedded content behaves as if the visitor is visiting the other site directly. These sites may collect data, use cookies, and monitor interactions, including if you are logged in to their platform.
  6. Analytics: We may use third-party analytics tools to understand site usage and improve our services. These tools may collect data such as your browser type, pages visited, and session duration.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not share your personal data with third parties except where necessary to provide services (e.g., spam detection) or when required by law.

How Long We Retain Your Data

  1. Comments: Retained indefinitely, including metadata, to auto-approve follow-ups.
  2. User Profiles: If you register on our site, we store your personal information. You can view, edit, or delete your information anytime, except your username. Site administrators can also manage this data.

Your Data Rights

If you have an account or have left comments, you can request:

  • An exported file of your personal data.

  • Deletion of your personal data, excluding any data we must retain for administrative, legal, or security purposes.

Where Your Data Is Sent

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service (such as Akismet or other tools).

Your Contact Information

If you have any privacy concerns or need support, please contact us directly via our contact form or the email listed on our website.

Additional Information

  • How We Protect Your Data: We implement security measures such as encryption, firewalls, and secure server environments to protect your information.
  • Data Breach Procedures: In the event of a data breach, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by applicable data protection laws.
  • Third Parties We Receive Data From: We may receive anonymized or aggregated data from third-party services (e.g., analytics platforms) to help improve user experience.
  • Automated Decision-Making and Profiling: We do not perform automated decision-making or profiling with your personal data.
  • Regulatory Disclosures: We comply with industry-specific privacy laws and regulations, including applicable provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), where relevant.