Privacy Policy

At Recreation Leader, we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, and safeguard your personal information. By using our website (https://recreationleader.com), you consent to the practices described below.

Data Collection

We collect your name and email address when you subscribe to our newsletter. This information is used to provide you with outdoor tips, updates, and promotional content related to our services. Additionally:

• Comments: When you leave comments, we collect data from the comments form, your IP address, and browser user agent string to detect spam. An anonymized hash of your email may be sent to Gravatar to display your profile picture (if applicable) after comment approval. See Gravatar’s privacy policy: https://automattic.com/privacy/.
• Media: If you upload images, avoid including EXIF GPS data, as visitors can extract location info from these files.
• Cookies: Commenting may save your name, email, and website in cookies (lasting 1 year) if you opt-in. Login pages set temporary cookies (no personal data) and persistent login/screen option cookies (2 days or 1 year; 2 weeks with “Remember Me”). Editing posts saves a cookie with the post ID (1 day).
• AI Services: We collect additional data such as usage patterns, preferences, and interactions with our AI features (e.g., responses, clicks, or submitted content). This may include your name, email, IP address, and any information you provide while using these services.

Purpose

Your data helps us personalize your experience and deliver relevant content. We may also use it to improve our website and services. For comments, it enables interaction and spam management; cookies enhance usability by remembering your preferences. For AI Services, we use your data to train and enhance our artificial intelligence systems, improving their functionality and tailoring your experience over time.

Data Protection

We employ industry-standard security measures to protect your data from unauthorized access, disclosure, or alteration. Embedded content from other sites (e.g., videos, images) may collect data or use cookies as if you visited those sites directly—we don’t control this but ensure our own practices are secure. Data collected for AI enhancement is anonymized where possible and stored securely to prevent misuse.

Who We Share Your Data With

We do not share your personal information with third parties without your explicit consent, except as required by law or for:

• Spam Detection: Comments may be checked via an automated service.
• Reset Emails: Your IP address is included in password reset emails.
• AI Development: Aggregated and anonymized data may be shared with our AI development team or trusted partners solely to improve our AI services, never for unrelated purposes.

How Long We Retain Your Data

• Newsletter: Until you unsubscribe.
• Comments: Indefinitely, for auto-approving follow-ups unless you request deletion.
• AI Data: Usage data for AI enhancement is retained for up to 5 years to support ongoing improvements, unless you request earlier deletion, after which it’s anonymized or removed.

User Rights

You have the right to:

• Opt-out of our newsletter via the unsubscribe link in emails.
• Request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data (e.g., comments, AI usage data) by contacting us. This excludes data we must retain for legal purposes or AI functionality (we’ll inform you if this applies).
• Receive an exported file of your data we hold.
• Opt-out of AI data collection by disabling AI features (where available) or contacting us, though this may limit your experience.

Compliance

We comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Your data, including that used for AI services, is processed in accordance with these regulations, ensuring your rights and privacy are upheld.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about our Privacy Policy, including our use of your data for AI enhancement, please contact us.