Privacy and Disclosure Policy

Privacy and Disclosure Policy for blissfulhiking (dot) com

The privacy of our visitors to Blissful Hiking is important to us.

At Blissful Hiking (dot) com we recognize that privacy of your personal information is important. Here is information on what types of personal information we receive and collect when you use and visit blissful hiking (dot) com and how we safeguard your information. We never sell your personal information to third parties, and all data collected is only used to notify you about giveaway winnings or to send you blog updates as you have requested by checking the comment follow box or filling out the email contact form. You can, at any time, remove your consent.

Log Files
As with most other websites, we collect and use the data contained in log files. The information in the log files include your IP (internet protocol) address, your ISP (internet service provider, such as AOL or Shaw Cable), the browser you used to visit our site (such as Internet Explorer or Firefox), the time you visited our site and which pages you visited throughout our site.

Cookies and Web Beacons
We do use cookies to store information, such as your personal preferences when you visit our site. This could include only showing you a popup once in your visit, or the ability to login to some of our features.

We occasionally use third party advertisements on blissful hiking (dot) com to support our site. Some of these advertisers may use technology such as cookies and web beacons when they advertise on our site, which will also send these advertisers (such as Google through the Google AdSense program) information including your IP address, your ISP , the browser you used to visit our site, and in some cases, whether you have Flash installed. This is generally used for geotargeting purposes or showing certain ads based on specific sites visited.

DoubleClick DART cookies
We may use DART cookies for ad serving through Google’s DoubleClick, which places a cookie on your computer when you are browsing the web and visit a site using DoubleClick advertising (including some Google AdSense advertisements). This cookie is used to serve ads specific to you and your interests (”interest based targeting”). The ads served will be targeted based on your previous browsing history. DART uses “non personally identifiable information”. It does NOT track personal information about you, such as your name, email address, physical address, telephone number, social security numbers, bank account numbers or credit card numbers. You can opt-out of this ad serving on all sites using this advertising by visiting http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/dart_adserving.aspx 

You can chose to disable or selectively turn off our cookies or third-party cookies in your browser settings, or by managing preferences in programs such as Norton Internet Security. However, this can affect how you are able to interact with our site as well as other websites. This could include the inability to login to services or programs, such as logging into forums or accounts.

Deleting cookies does not mean you are permanently opted out of any advertising program. Unless you have settings that disallow cookies, the next time you visit a site running the advertisements, a new cookie will be added.

Disclosure

Copyright: All written and photographic content on blissfulhiking (dot) com (with the exception of content directly from the publisher or author of which permission and / or credit has been given) is the property of Blissful Hiking and may not be copied or reproduced in any fashion. The exception is sharing the entire blog post via social media and/or quoting portions of the post when it is shared.

Images: Other than images created by Blissful Hiking or those Blissful Hiking has hired,  all other images on this blog are the property of their respective owners. All possible effort has been made to give a source credit to images when applicable, but regardless, Blissful Hiking claims no credit for any image on this site other than those created by me as already indicated.  If there is an image belonging to you that appears on this website and you would like it removed, please contact blissfulhiking (at) gmail (dot) com with a link to the image and I will promptly take it down.

Giveaways: NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING.

·         Eligibility: Each giveaway is open only to those who enter through the Rafflecopter or whichever form is used for that particular giveaway. Most will be Rafflecopter) and who are 18 years or older as of the date of entry. The giveaway is open to U.S. only (unless otherwise indicated) and is void where prohibited by law. The odds of winning depend on the number of entries received.

·         Agreement to Rules: By participating, you agree to be fully unconditionally bound by these rules, and you represent and warrant that you meet the eligibility requirements set forth herein. In addition, you agree to accept the decisions, as final and binding as it relates to the content.

·         Giveaway Period: Unless otherwise stated, a giveaway’s entry period is one week. Entries will be accepted on the day the contest begins until the Rafflecopter/PromoSimple/Gleam form closes to entries, usually at midnight a week later.

·         How to Enter: See eligibility terms

·         Prizes: Winners will receive the prize or prizes as stated on the blog. Actual/appraised value may differ at time of prize award. The specifics of the prize shall be solely determined by the sponsor. No cash or other prize substitution permitted except at sponsor’s discretion. The prize is nontransferable. Any and all prize related expenses, including without limitation any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes shall be the sole responsibility of the winner. No substitution of prize or transfer/assignment of prize to others or request for the cash equivalent by winners is permitted.

·         Winner Selection & Notification: Winners of each giveaway will be selected in a random drawing through Rafflecopter. The winner or winners will be notified by email as soon as possible after the giveaway ends. The winner will have one week to notify the sponsor and supply mailing address. Blissful Hiking or its sponsors shall have no liability for a winner’s failure to check email, receive notices due to winners’ spam, junk e-mail or other security settings or for winners’ provision of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information.

·         Limitation of Liability: By entering you agree to release and hold harmless Blissful Hiking and its sponsors for liability, mail loss, illness, injury, death, litigation, claim or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from such entrant’s participation in the giveaway and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Blissful Hiking often receive free books (whether egalleys, ARCs, or paperbacks) and sample outdoor items from publishers, authors, publicity groups and gear representatives in exchange for only my honest review. I am not required to write a positive review, nor any review for that matter. The opinions I express are always my own. Reviews of books and outdoor items which I received free in anticipation of a review will be indicated as such at the end of that particular post. Otherwise, the book or gear item is part of my personal collection or borrowed from a library.

I am never paid for a review that appears on this site.