Privacy Policy

Introduction

Leatherpedia is an organization that operates a collaborative, free knowledge website. This Policy explains how we collect, use, and share your personal information. By using Leatherpedia, you consent to this Policy.

When we say… …we mean:
“Leatherpedia” / “the site” / “we” / “us” / “our” Leatherpedia, the non-profit organization that operates Leatherpedia.org.
“our services” Leatherpedia website, services and mobile applications, APIs, emails, and notifications.
“you” / “your” / “me” You, regardless of whether you are an individual, group, or organization, and regardless of whether you are using our services on behalf of yourself or someone else.
“this Policy” / “this Privacy Policy” This document, entitled the “Leatherpedia Privacy Policy”.
“contributions” Content you add or changes you make to the Leatherpedia site.
“personal information” Information you provide us or information we collect from you that could be used to personally identify you. To be clear, while we do not necessarily collect all of the following types of information, we consider at least the following to be “personal information” if it is otherwise nonpublic and can be used to identify you:
(a) your real name, address, phone number, email address, password, identification number on government-issued ID, IP address, user-agent information, credit card number; (b) when associated with one of the items in subsection (a), any sensitive data such as date of birth, gender, sexual orientation, racial or ethnic origins, marital or familial status, medical conditions or disabilities, political affiliation, and religion; and (c) any of the items in subsections (a) or (b) when associated with your user account.
“third party” / “third parties” Individuals, entities, websites, services, products, and applications that are not controlled, managed, or operated by Leatherpedia. This includes other Leatherpedia users and independent organizations or groups who help promote Leathepedia including employees, directors, officers and contractors of those organizations or groups.

This Privacy Policy applies to our collection and handling of information about you that we receive as a result of your use of the Leatherpedia site. This Policy also applies to information that we receive from our partners or other third parties.

Types of Information We Receive From You, How We Get It, & How We Use It

Your Public Contributions

The Leatherpedia site was primarily created to help you share your knowledge with the world, and we share your contributions because you have asked us to do so.

When you make a contribution to Leatherpedia, you are creating a permanent, public record of every piece of content added, removed, or altered by you. The page history will record when your contribution or deletion was made, as well as your username and your IP address. We may use your public contributions, either aggregated with the public contributions of others or individually, to create new features or data-related products.

Unless this Policy says otherwise, you should assume that information that you actively contribute to Leatherpedia, including personal information, is publicly visible and can be found by search engines. Like most things on the Internet, anything you share may be copied and redistributed throughout the Internet by other people. Please do not contribute any information that you are uncomfortable making permanently public, like revealing your real name or location in your contributions. 

You should be aware that specific data made public by you or aggregated data that is made public by us can be used by anyone for analysis and to infer information about users, such as which country a user is from, political affiliation, and gender.

Account Information & Registration

You are not required to create an account to read Leatherpedia, however you are required to create an account to contribute.

If you want to create an account, in most cases we require only a name, email address, and a password. Your name or username may be publicly visible. Your password is only used to verify that the account is yours. Your IP address is also automatically submitted to us, and we record it temporarily. No other personal information is required: no date of birth, no physical address, no credit card information.

Once created, user accounts cannot be removed entirely. This is because your public contributions must be associated with their author (you!).

To gain a better understanding of the demographics of our users, to localize our services, and to learn how we can improve our services, we may ask you for more demographic information, such as gender or age, about yourself. We will tell you if such information is intended to be public or private, so that you can make an informed decision about whether you want to provide us with that information. Providing such information is always completely optional. If you don’t want to, you don’t have to—it’s as simple as that.

Information Related to Your Use of Leatherpedia

We want to make Leatherpedia better for you by learning more about how you use it. Examples of this might include how often you visit the Leatherpedia site, what you like, what you find helpful, how you get to the Leatherpedia site, and whether you would use a helpful feature more if we explained it differently. We also want this Policy and our practices to reflect our community’s values. For this reason, we keep information related to your use of the Leatherpedia sites confidential, except as provided in this Policy.

Information We Receive Automatically

Because of how browsers work and similar to other major websites, we receive some information automatically when you visit Leatherpedia. This information includes the type of device you are using (possibly including unique device identification numbers), the type and version of your browser, your browser’s language preference, the type and version of your device’s operating system, in some cases the name of your internet service provider or mobile carrier, the website that referred you to the Leatherpedia site, which pages you request and visit, and the date and time of each request you make.

Put simply, we use this information to enhance your experience with the Leatherpedia site. For example, we use this information to administer the site, provide greater security, and fight vandalism; optimize mobile applications, customize content and set language preferences, test features to see what works, and improve performance; understand how users interact with the Leatherpedia site, track and study use of various features, gain understanding about the demographics of the Leatherpedia site, and analyze trends.

Information We Collect

We actively collect some types of information with a variety of commonly-used technologies. These generally include tracking pixels, JavaScript, and a variety of “locally stored data” technologies, such as cookies and local storage. We realize that some of these technologies do not have the best reputation and can be used for less-than-noble purposes. So we want to be as clear as we can about why we use these methods and the type of information we collect with them.

Depending on which technology we use, locally stored data can be anything from text, pictures, and whole articles (as we explain further below) to personal information (like your IP address) and information about your use of the Leatherpedia site (like your username or the time of your visit).

We use this information to make your experience with the Leatherpedia site safer and better, to gain a greater understanding of user preferences and their interaction with the Leatherpedia site, and to generally improve our services. We will never use third-party cookies, unless we get your permission to do so. If you ever come across a third-party data collection tool that has not been authorized by you (such as one that may have been mistakenly placed by another user or administrator), please report it to us at leatherpedia.org@gmail.com.

Locally stored data, JavaScript, and tracking pixels help us do things like:

  • Provide you with a personalized experience, such as using cookies to know your language preference, to remember the user preferences you set so we can provide you with the customized look and feel that you want, and to tell you about interesting Wikimedia issues and events in your area.
  • Deliver more relevant content to you faster. For example, we may use local storage to store your most recently read articles directly on your device, so they can be retrieved quickly. Also, we may use cookies to learn about the topics searched so that we can optimize the search results we deliver to you.
  • Understand how you use the Leatherpedia site, so that we know what works and what is useful. For example, we might use cookies to learn about the list of articles you are following so that we can recommend similar articles that you may be interested in.
  • Understand how you use the Leatherpedia site across different devices, so that we can make our Leatherpedia site more efficient and effective for you.
  • Make the Leatherpedia site more convenient to use, such as by using cookies to maintain your session when you log in or to remember your username in the login field.

We believe this data collection helps improve your user experience, but you may remove or disable some or all locally stored data through your browser settings, depending on your browser. While locally stored data may not be necessary to use our sites, some features may not function properly if you disable locally stored data.

While the examples above concerning information about you collected through the use of data collection tools are kept confidential in accordance with this Policy, please note that some information about the actions taken by your username is made publicly available alongside actions taken by other users.

Emails

Your email address is kept confidential, except as provided in this Policy. We do not sell, rent, or use your email address to advertise third-party products or services to you.

We may use your email address to let you know about things that are happening with the Leatherpedia site, such as telling you important information about your account, or letting you know if something is changing about the Leatherpedia site or policies. Please note that if you contact us, we may keep your message, email address, and any other information you provide us, so that we can process and respond to your request.

We will never ask for your password by email (but may send you a temporary password via email if you have requested a password reset). If you ever receive such an email, please let us know by sending it to leatherpedia.org@gmail.com, so we can investigate the source of the email.

Surveys & Feedback

Participating in optional surveys or providing feedback helps us make the Leatherpedia site better. Because every survey and request for feedback may be used for various purposes, we will tell you, at the time we give you the survey or request for feedback, how we plan on using your answers and any personal information you provide. If you don’t feel comfortable with how we plan on using the survey or feedback results, you are not obligated to take the survey or give feedback.

Location Information
GPS & Other Location Technologies

Some features we offer work better if we know what area you are in. But it’s completely up to you whether or not you want us to use geolocation tools to make some features available to you. If you consent, we can use GPS (and other technologies commonly used to determine location) to show you more relevant content. We keep information obtained by these technologies confidential, except as provided in this Policy.

Metadata

Sometimes, we may automatically receive location data from your device. For example, if you want to upload a photo, we may receive metadata, such as the place and time you took the photo, automatically from your device. Please be aware that, unlike location information collected using GPS signals described above, the default setting on your mobile device typically includes the metadata in your photo or video upload to the Leatherpedia site. If you do not want metadata sent to us and made public at the time of your upload, please change your settings on your device.

IP Addresses

Finally, when you visit the Leatherpedia site, we automatically receive the IP address of the device (or your proxy server) you are using to access the Internet, which could be used to infer your geographical location. If you are visiting Leatherpedia site with your mobile device, we may use your IP address to provide anonymized or aggregated information to service providers regarding the volume of usage in certain areas. We use IP addresses for research and analytics; to better personalize content, notices, and settings for you; to fight spam, identity theft, malware, and other kinds of abuse; and to provide better mobile and other applications.

Sharing

When May We Share Your Information?

With Your Permission

We may share your information for a particular purpose, if you agree.

For Legal Reasons

We may access, preserve, or disclose your personal information if we reasonably believe it necessary to satisfy a valid and legally enforceable warrant, subpoena, court order, law or regulation, or other judicial or administrative order. However, if we believe that a particular request for disclosure of a user’s information is legally invalid or an abuse of the legal system and the affected user does not intend to oppose the disclosure themselves, we will try our best to fight it. We are committed to notifying you via email at least ten (10) calendar days, when possible, before we disclose your personal information in response to a legal demand. However, we may only provide notice if we are not legally restrained from contacting you, there is no credible threat to life or limb that is created or increased by disclosing the request, and you have provided us with an email address.

Nothing in this Privacy Policy is intended to limit any legal objections or defenses you may have to a third party’s request (whether it be civil, criminal, or governmental) to disclose your information. We recommend seeking the advice of legal counsel immediately if such a request is made involving you.

If the Organization is Transferred

In the extremely unlikely event that ownership of all or substantially all of Leatherpedia changes, or we go through a reorganization (such as a merger, consolidation, or acquisition), we will continue to keep your personal information confidential, except as provided in this Policy, and provide notice to you via the Leatherpedia site or similar mailing list at least thirty (30) calendar days before any personal information is transferred or becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

To Protect You, Ourselves & Others

We, or particular users with certain administrative rights as described below, may need to share your personal information if it is reasonably believed to be necessary to enforce or investigate potential violations of our Terms of Use, this Privacy Policy, or any Foundation or user community-based policies. We may also need to access and share information to investigate and defend ourselves against legal threats or actions.

We hope that this never comes up, but we may disclose your personal information if we believe that it’s reasonably necessary to prevent imminent and serious bodily harm or death to a person, or to protect our organization, employees, contractors, users, or the public. We may also disclose your personal information if we reasonably believe it necessary to detect, prevent, or otherwise assess and address potential spam, malware, fraud, abuse, unlawful activity, and security or technical concerns.

To Our Service Providers

As hard as we may try, we can’t do it all. So sometimes we use third-party service providers or contractors who help run or improve the Leatherpedia site for you and other users. We may give access to your personal information to these providers or contractors as needed to perform their services for us or to use their tools and services. We put requirements, such as confidentiality agreements, in place to help ensure that these service providers treat your information consistently with, and no less protective of your privacy than, the principles of this Policy.

To Understand & Experiment

The open-source software that powers the Leatherpedia site depends on the contributions of volunteer software developers, who spend time writing and testing code to help it improve and evolve with our users’ needs. To facilitate their work, we may give some developers limited access to systems that contain your personal information, but only as reasonably necessary for them to develop and contribute to the Leatherpedia site.

Similarly, we may share non-personal or aggregated information with researchers, scholars, academics, and other interested third parties who wish to study the Leatherpedia site. Sharing this information helps them understand usage, viewing, and demographics statistics and patterns. They then can share their findings with us and our users so that we can all better understand and improve the Leatherpedia site.

When we give access to personal information to third-party developers or researchers, we put requirements, such as reasonable technical and contractual protections, in place to help ensure that these service providers treat your information consistently with the principles of this Policy and in accordance with our instructions. If these developers or researchers later publish their work or findings, we ask that they not disclose your personal information. Please note that, despite the obligations we impose on developers and researchers, we cannot guarantee that they will abide by our agreement, nor do we guarantee that we will regularly screen or audit their projects.

Because You Made It Public

Any information you post publicly on the Leatherpedia site is just that – public. For example, if you put your mailing address on a page, that is public, and not protected by this Policy. Please think carefully about your desired level of anonymity before you disclose personal information on the site.

Protection

How Do We Protect Your Data?

We strive to protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. We use a variety of physical and technical measures, policies, and procedures (such as access control procedures, network firewalls, and physical security) designed to protect our systems and your personal information. Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as completely secure data transmission or storage, so we can’t guarantee that our security will not be breached (by technical measures or through violation of our policies and procedures).

How Long Do We Keep Your Data?

Once we receive personal information from you, we keep it for the shortest possible time that is consistent with the maintenance, understanding, and improvement of the Leatherpedia site, and our obligations under applicable U.S. law. Non-personal information may be retained indefinitely.

Please remember that certain information is retained and displayed indefinitely, such as any public contributions to the Leatherpedia site.

Important Info

For the protection of Leatherpedia and other users, if you do not agree with this Privacy Policy, you may not use the Leatherpedia site. 

Where is Leatherpedia & What Does That Mean for Me?

Leatherpedia is an organization based in Los Angeles, California. If you decide to use the Leatherpedia site, whether from inside or outside of the U.S., you consent to the collection, transfer, storage, processing, disclosure, and other uses of your information in the U.S. as described in this Privacy Policy. You also consent to the transfer of your information by us from the U.S. to other countries, which may have different or less stringent data protection laws than your country, in connection with providing services to you.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

Because things naturally change over time and we want to ensure our Privacy Policy accurately reflects our practices and the law, it may be necessary to modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. We reserve the right to do so in the following manner:

  • In the event of substantial changes, we will provide the proposed changes to our users 10 calendar days in advance.
  • For minor changes, such as grammatical fixes, administrative or legal changes, or corrections of inaccurate statements, we will post the changes and, when possible, provide at least three (3) calendar days.

We ask that you please review the most up-to-date version of our Privacy Policy. Your continued use of the Leatherpedia site after this Privacy Policy becomes effective constitutes acceptance of this Privacy Policy on your part. Your continued use of the Leatherpedia site after any subsequent version of this Privacy Policy becomes effective, following notice as outlined above, constitutes acceptance of that version of the Privacy Policy on your part.

Contact Us

If you have questions or suggestions about this Privacy Policy, or the information collected under this Privacy Policy, please email us at leatherpedia.org@gmail.com or contact us here

Thank You!

Thank you for reading our Privacy Policy. We hope you enjoy using the Leatherpedia site and appreciate your participation in creating, maintaining, and constantly working to improve the largest repository of knowledge about the leather community in the world.

Please note that in the event of any differences in meaning or interpretation between the original English version of this Privacy Policy and a translation, the original English version takes precedence.

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