Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy & Waiver
Effective Date: April 3, 2025

Who We Are

WATCH Citizen Science (“we,” “us,” “our”) is a grassroots initiative dedicated to community-driven scientific engagement.
Website: http://citizenscience.ca

Collection and Use of Personal Data

Comments

When visitors leave comments on our site, we collect the data shown in the comments form, as well as the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help detect spam.

An anonymized string (hash) generated from your email address may be provided to the Gravatar service to check if you are using it. Gravatar’s privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. Once your comment is approved, your profile picture (if applicable) becomes publicly visible alongside your comment.

Media Uploads

If you upload images to the website, please avoid including embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Visitors to the site may be able to download and extract this data.

Cookies

We use cookies to improve user experience and site functionality. Cookies may:

  • Save your name, email, and website for future comment submissions (lasts one year).
  • Store temporary editing information for articles (expires after one day).

Embedded Content and External Links

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g., videos, images, articles). Such content behaves the same as if you visited the originating website directly and may collect data, use cookies, and track your interactions—especially if you are logged in to those sites.

Our site may also link to external websites for informational purposes. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, content, or policies of these third-party sites.

Data Sharing and Retention

Who We Share Your Data With

Visitor comments may be reviewed through an automated spam detection service.

How Long We Retain Your Data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely to support follow-up and moderation.

Your Rights Over Your Data

If you’ve left comments on our site, you can request:

  • An exported file of the personal data we hold about you.
  • The deletion of your personal data, excluding data we are required to keep for legal, administrative, or security reasons.

Limitation of Liability & Waiver

By accessing and using our website, you agree to the following:

  • WATCH Citizen Science is not liable for unauthorized access, data breaches, or third-party misuse of your data.
  • You assume all risk from using this website and voluntarily waive any legal claims against us.
  • We operate in accordance with applicable laws in Ontario, Canada, and may update this policy at any time.

Contact Us

For questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy & Waiver, please contact us at:
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Last updated: June 4, 2025