PRIVACY POLICY Last updated: 01 January, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how taipingdaoism.com (the “Site”), operated by Taiping Dao (“we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, uses, and protects your information when you visit or use the Site.
- 1. Information We Collect
a) Information you provide to us
We may collect personal data if you voluntarily provide it to us, such as when you:
- Contact us via email or a contact form (name, email address, and the content of your message)
- Subscribe to a newsletter (email address)
- Leave a comment on an article (name or pen name, email address, comment text)
b) Information collected automatically
When you visit the Site, we and our service providers may automatically collect:
- Your IP address
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Referring / source URLs
- Pages visited and time spent on the Site
- Dates and times of access
c) Cookies and similar technologies
We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to operate the Site, remember your preferences, and understand how visitors use our content. You can manage your cookie preferences through the cookie consent banner displayed on first visit. The categories we use are:
| Category | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Necessary | Essential for the Site to function (e.g., security, cookie preference storage). Always active. |
| Functional | Enable features such as social-media sharing buttons and embedded content. |
| Analytical | Collect anonymous usage statistics (page views, bounce rate, traffic sources) to help us improve the Site. |
| Advertisement | Measure the effectiveness of advertising and deliver relevant content. |
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.
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.
If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
You may change or withdraw your consent at any time by re-opening the cookie preferences via the hovering Cookie preferences button in the footer
d) Third-party services
We may use the following third-party services that may collect data subject to their own privacy policies:
- Web hosting: SiteGround / DigitalOcean / Newfold Digital / AWS
- Analytics: Google Analytics / Matomo / Plausible
- Email / newsletter: Mailchimp / ConvertKit
- CDN / security: Cloudflare
We are not responsible for the data practices of third-party providers. Please review their privacy policies.
e) Comments
When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also 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 see 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.
f) Media
If you upload images to the website, you should avoid uploading images with embedded location data (EXIF GPS) included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data from images on the website.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Operate, maintain, and improve the Site
- Provide content and respond to enquiries
- Send newsletter updates (only if you have opted in)
- Analyse Site traffic and usage patterns (in aggregate, anonymised form)
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.
3. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR / UK GDPR / ePrivacy)
Where applicable under data protection law, we process personal data based on:
- Consent – for optional cookies (functional, analytical, advertising) and newsletter subscription
- Legitimate interest – for security, Site improvement, and analytics
- Legal obligation – for record-keeping where required by law
4. Embedded content and links to third party/other websites
Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website. These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.
The Site may contain links to external websites. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content or privacy practices of any third-party sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit.
5. Data Retention
- Contact / comment data: Retained for as long as the comment or correspondence remains on the Site, and deleted upon request.
- Analytics data: Retained by the analytics provider for up to [e.g., 14 / 26] months, after which it is anonymised.
- Newsletter data: Retained until you unsubscribe.
- Cookie data: Deleted when you clear your browser cookies or withdraw consent.
6. Data Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data, including:
- HTTPS / TLS encryption for all data in transit
- Restricted access to server and administrative accounts
- Regular security updates to the Site platform (WordPress) and plugins
However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction (and in particular under GDPR / UK GDPR), you have the right to:
- Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
- Rectification: request correction of inaccurate data
- Erasure: request deletion of your personal data
- Restriction: request that we limit how we process your data
- Portability: request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
- Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interest
- Withdraw consent: withdraw cookie or marketing consent at any time
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@taipingdaoism.com. We will respond within 30 days.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (e.g., the ICO in the UK, or the relevant DPA in your country).
8. Children’s Privacy
The Site is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or the applicable minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.
9. International Data Transfers
If your data is processed outside your country of residence (for example, through cloud hosting or analytics services), we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or equivalent mechanisms, to protect your data in accordance with applicable law.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. We recommend reviewing this policy periodically. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: info@taipingdaoism.com