Privacy Policy

1. Information we collect

Information you provide. When you submit a comment on an article, we collect the name you enter, your comment text, and — only if you choose to provide it — your email address. The name and comment are published alongside the article once approved; your email address is never published and is used only to contact you about your comment if needed.

Information collected automatically. Like most websites, our servers record standard technical information when you access the Site, such as your IP address, browser type, the pages you request, and the time of the request. When you submit a comment, we store a one-way hashed version of your IP address — not the address itself — to help prevent spam and abuse and to enforce rate limits.

Cookies and advertising. To keep the Site free to read, we display third-party advertising provided by Ezoic. Ezoic and its advertising partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve and measure ads and — depending on the choices you make — to personalize them, and Ezoic provides us with aggregate analytics about how the Site is used. Where required, a consent tool is presented so you can review and manage these choices. The current list of advertising partners and the purposes for which they process data is set out below. Strictly necessary cookies may also be used to operate secure staff/editor sign-in.

2. How we use information

We use the information described above to:

• Publish, moderate, and manage comments on articles.
• Protect the Site — detecting and preventing spam, abuse, and security threats, and enforcing rate limits.
• Operate, maintain, and improve the Site and its content.
• Respond to your inquiries or correction requests when you contact us.
• Comply with legal obligations.

3. Legal bases (EEA/UK visitors)

Where the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation applies, we rely on our legitimate interests in operating a secure, functioning publication and moderating comments; on your consent where you voluntarily provide an email address; and on compliance with our legal obligations where applicable.

4. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information for money. Aside from the advertising described in the “Cookies and advertising” section above — where our advertising partners may set cookies and use identifiers subject to your consent choices — we share limited information only with:

• Service providers that host the Site, store our database, and deliver operational email on our behalf. They process data only as needed to provide their services to us.
• Legal and safety authorities, where disclosure is required by law or reasonably necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of AIBites, our users, or the public.

5. Data retention

We retain approved comments (and the associated name) for as long as the article remains published, so the discussion stays intact. Comment email addresses and hashed IP data are retained only as long as needed for moderation, security, and abuse-prevention purposes, and are then deleted or anonymized. Server logs are kept for a limited period in the ordinary course of operating the Site.

6. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or restrict the processing of your personal information, and to object to certain processing. In particular, you can ask us to remove a comment you submitted at any time. To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@aibites.press. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.

7. Children's privacy

The Site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

8. International data transfers

AIBites is operated online and may be accessed from anywhere. The service providers we use may process data in countries other than your own. Where required, we take steps to ensure that such transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards.

9. Third-party links

Our articles link to external websites and sources. This Privacy Policy does not apply to those sites, and we are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any site you visit.

10. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we hold, including rate limiting and storing IP data in hashed form. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above, and material changes will be reflected on this page. Your continued use of the Site after an update takes effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

12. Contact us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at privacy@aibites.press.