The F3OS Privacy Policy was last updated on November 30, 2023.
First of all, let me say that your privacy is important to us. We collect as little data as possible (and whenever possible, none at all), but when we do, we make sure to protect and respect your privacy and we never, in any way, shape, matter, or form, sell that information to third parties. After all, I don’t like it when that’s done with my data and I’m sure you don’t, either.
Here are some principles we follow when it comes to your privacy:
- Your data belongs to you.
- We respect your rights, namely your rights to access and modification of your data.
- We don’t look at personal data as an asset, but a liability.
- The only reasons we ever store any of your personal data are so that the forums, donations, and our future store all operate properly as well as to comply with the laws of the state of Missouri (where I’m located) and the United States of America.
- Quite frankly, we want as little of your data as possible. Most of the services and products provided here don’t require you to divulge such information, and we try to keep such gathering of data to an absolute minimum.
- We strive to be transparent about data collection and use. If anything isn’t clear or satisfactory, please contact us and we’ll help and / or fix the issue.
- We protect data via strong security, encryption and anonymizing techniques.
- We do not store contact information for marketing purposes.
What is herein referred to as “products” is a set of Internet websites, products and services operated by F3OS, a company registered in the United States of America. This privacy policy describes what information we collect, how we use that information, and what options you have to control your personal information.
We sometimes need to process your personal information in order to provide our products. By using our products you confirm that you have read and understood this privacy policy. If you do not want us to collect or process your personal information as described herein, you have several choices including limiting the information we collect on you, or not using our products.
By using these products, you acknowledge that F3OS will use your information in the United States of America and in any other country where F3OS operates. This privacy policy complies with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Please be aware that the privacy laws and standards in certain countries, including the rights of authorities to access your personal information, may differ from those that apply in the country in which you reside. We will transfer personal information only to countries to which we are permitted by law to transfer personal information and we will continue to ensure that your personal information is appropriately safeguarded.
Collected Data
This section details what data is gathered and how it is collected.
Account Registration
Although our websites and products provide for anonymous and pseudonymous participation, in some instances in order to use certain features, we require account registration. This requires a unique username associated with your account, an email address, and in some cases, additional information including, an IP address and a password to help secure your personal information.
Profile Information
When setting up a public “profile” or a signature, you may share information that is not required but will be displayed publicly at your option.
Server and Website Information
The F3OS website is hosted on SiteGround, with our forums hosted by ProBoards. These sites may receive and record networking information sent by your computer and your browser or mobile device when you visit our websites. This information may include your Internet Protocol (IP) address or unique device identifier. This information is stored in secure logs and is collected automatically.
Authentication Information
In an effort to reduce the amount of data we gather and to no longer store email addresses and passwords, we offer single sign-on solutions for account login on some of our websites. As a result, third-parties including Github, Facebook and Google may receive information when you elect to use them. When F3OS shares your personal information and other collected information with third party service providers, we require that they use your information only for the purpose of providing services to us and that their terms comply with this privacy policy.
Donations
When you make a donation we receive personal information from Donorbox. Transaction dates, amounts and county of origin are kept and shared with accountants and the IRS. Although your full name and your postal address are kept by Donorbox and accessible by us via Donorbox, we do not store, copy or share this information.
We keep a record of your email address to be able to identify future donations from being associated with you and to provide you with information and access to the list of donations you sent us.
Your Rights
You may change or correct your account settings. Most of the data we collect is voluntary and your choice entirely to provide us or not. You may remove certain optional information that you no longer wish to be publicly displayed. You may also request the permanent deletion of your account, in which case all personal information collected on you will be removed (except, in some cases your IP address required for security purposes, site maintenance, and spam protection).
In accordance with the GDPR, you also have the right to data access and portability (including the right to obtain and download a copy of the personal data you provided to F3OS), data correction (the ability to update the personal data we collect and display on you, in many cases via your account settings), data deletion (where F3OS will delete personal information stored on you, which we are not required to maintain), and the ability to have us stop processing your personal data, with certain exceptions as necessary. Please also be aware that in order to provide some of these data choices to you, we may need to first verify your identity. We will make reasonable efforts to verify your identity, however if we are unable to do so, we reserve the right to refuse such a request in keeping with data privacy and information security principles.
Data Security
Security is important to us and we know it is important to you. F3OS follows generally accepted standards to protect your personal information when processing, transferring, and storing your personal information including Transport Layer Security (“TLS”), by restricting your personal data when we do not need to access it and by keeping your personal data only as necessary.
As the data provider, you too have an important role to play in helping us protect your personal information. We encourage you to protect yourself against unauthorized access to your personal information by choosing a password carefully and in accordance with industry best standards. Do not share your password with anyone you do not trust, and make sure your computer accesses F3OS via a secure network and that you do not leave your personal information vulnerable to hackers and other bad actors by leaving your computer unattended or by failing to logout of your account when you have ended your session activity.
All records containing personal information are considered to be proprietary and are afforded confidential treatment at all times. Linux Mint is committed to the safety and security of your personal data and the information that you share with us and with the public. We treat your personal safety and safety from harassment as top organizational priorities. At F3OS we consider it necessary to pursue these legitimate interests in order to keep our community, you and your information safe from spam, harassment, intellectual property infringement, identity theft, and the scraping and unlawful collection of your information.
Cookies Policy
How Do We Use Cookies?
A cookie is a small piece of text that allows a website to recognize your device and maintain a consistent, cohesive experience throughout multiple sessions. If you use the our websites, both F3OS and third parties will use cookies to track and monitor some of your activities, and store and access some data about you, your browsing history, and your usage of the F3OS website and related websites.
This policy describes how both F3OS and other third parties use cookies and how you can exercise a greater degree of control over cookies. Please keep in mind that this may alter your experience with our platform, and may limit certain features (including being logged in as a user).
Session Cookies
We use session cookies for account registrations and log ins. These cookies are generated and necessary for our web software to authenticate you and log you in your account correctly.
What Information is Collected About Me From Cookies?
In general, we collect most data from you via form submission. However, there are cases when visiting our site and/or using our platforms in which we may receive certain information through the use of cookies. This data will generally not include personally identifying information about you, such as unique identification tokens, which are used to know when or if you are logged in.
How Do I Restrict Cookies?
You can adjust the settings on your internet browser and choose from the available Cookies setting to best meet your preferences. While setting options may vary from browser to browser, you can generally choose to reject some or all cookies, or instead to receive a notification when a cookie is being placed on your device. For more information, please refer to the user help information for your browser of choice. Please keep in mind that cookies may be required for certain functions, and by blocking these cookies, you may limit your access to certain parts or features of our sites and platforms.
You can also manually delete cookies at any time. However, deleting cookies will not prevent the site from setting further cookies on your device unless you adjust the settings discussed above.
If you have any further questions about any of the above, feel free to E-mail me at g6ad3g6ad3.