Disclaimer & Privacy Policy

last updated October 2023

I’ve Been Bit!  Travel Blog (https://ivebeenbit.ca) and its creator, Lindsay Davies, believe strongly in keeping private information, well, private. We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of its visitors and users. This website does not share personal information with third parties and we do not store any information regarding your visit to the site other than to make your reading experience better through the use of cookies. This will be outlined below.

However, we are not responsible for content that is republished to other blogs from I’ve Been Bit! Travel Blog without our knowledge or consent.

Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)

The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website.

First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, “Tags”) may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser’s cache. The “help” feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser’s cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at All About Cookies.

Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website.

The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads:

• IP Address
• Operating System type
• Operating System version
• Device Type
• Language of the website
• Web browser type
• Email (in hashed form)

Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor’s referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising.

If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit National Advertising Initiative opt out page. You may also visit Digital Advertising Alliance website and Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at Digital Advertising Alliance’s AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.

For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.

Affiliates

I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog & Lindsay Davies are participants in the following affiliate programs:
•  Awin including Etsy & More
•  Booking.com
•  CJ Affiliate including TripAdvisor, Hotels.com, Cheapoair & More
•  Skimlinks including Priceline, Mountain Warehouse & More

These are affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites like IBB to earn advertising fees by placing advertising links on the site. In no way will you be charged extra by clicking on these, we will just earn a small percentage which helps to offset the time and resources spent to bring you the best content possible on https://ivebeenbit.ca.

This does not mean you are obligated to click on any of these links, nor purchase anything advertised. Something to note as well is that the companies selling these products are from a third party. Therefore, the products themselves along with availability, sales, organization and all transactions conducted with the third parties are not associated nor conducted by I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog.

Sponsorships & Campaigns

From time to time, I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog will work with businesses and organizations in order to help promote destinations while receiving compensation. This compensation can be in the form of a monetary value or complimentary services such as experiences, hotel stays or merchandise. These relationships are disclosed within the article itself and if a monetary value was received, it will be included in the Sponsored category.

That being said, all thoughts and opinions published on https://ivebeenbit.ca are always our own and never influenced by the businesses and organizations we work with.

Information Collected

Personal information such as your name and email address may be collected if you submit them yourself. This may occur by leaving a comment, subscribing to email updates (or in the future, a newsletter) or by submitting a contact form. Information won’t be collected unless voluntarily submitted by you, I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog’s readers.

Certain information may be automatically collected about you and the device you’re accessing the website with. Our site may log your IP address, referring site, which pages you’ve viewed along with the dates/times you accessed this website. Actions, such as links clicked, may be collected as well. However, your information has been made anonymous and is only viewed on a cumulative basis like monthly page views, etc.

Cookies are another element of I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog which can store data. These files are stored on your browser by this website. Sessions cookies (expire once your browser closes) and persistent cookies (stay in your browser until deleted) may both be used in order to optimize the site’s performance for your viewing pleasure. These are the same cookies you were notified of as soon as you arrived on I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog.

These cookies may also be used by third-party services, such as Google Analytics and Clicky, as described above. You may review Clicky’s privacy policy at http://clicky.com/terms/privacy. If you wish to prevent the usage of cookies by this website, you can do so by using your internet browser’s settings to select the permanent removal of cookies. If a viewer deactivates cookies, some functions of the site may not be entirely usable.

For Clicky, “personal data” is logged as follows, for the stated legitimate purposes: A “Unique ID” tracking cookie to identify unique visitors; your IP address for security and fraud prevention; and your username to help us to analyze visitor behavior and assist with customer service needs.

Sensitive Personal Data

When choosing to leave a comment, some of the information you submitted may be publicly visible – except your email address. The email submitted in association with your comment will never be used to contact you. If you’re looking to be contacted, please use our contact page. Requests to be contacted left in the comments will be ignored.

If you choose to submit personal details such as social security numbers, health details, criminal records, financial information or other similarly important information (which we at I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog never recommend doing), they will be subject to this privacy policy. This also includes political views which could be seen as offensive or abrasive to others.

This website does not knowingly collect any personal information from minors 16 years of age or under. If a parent/guardian is under the impression I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog has personally identifiable information of a minor, please contact us without delay in order to remove this information as quickly as possible.

Personal Data Usage by Third Parties

I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog uses third-party services for certain aspects of the website. The third parties listed below use your information as per their written privacy policices which can be found on their respective websites.

Google Analytics – service used to track website usage and traffic, providing information regarding referring websites and a visitor’s actions on the website. Google Analytics may capture your IP address, however the data is anonymous and no other personal information, nor non-aggregated data, will be obtained or observed.

Shareaholic Social Media Sharing – service used to make social media sharing quick and painless. These are the social media icons at the top and bottom of each blog post. Any personal data that is collected by this plugin is for the singular purpose of sharing the article to the appropriate social media account you’ve chosen. You can read their privacy and disclosure policy in regards to data collection on their website. In no way are you obligated to share articles using these methods.

Spreadshirt – the shop where you may purchase merchandise designed by Lindsay Davies is managed by Spreadshirt who upholds their own disclaimer and privacy policies to ensure your data (and transactions) are safe and secure.

Mailing List – while I’ve Been Bit! A Travel Blog does not currently have a mailing list, there is the possibility for one in the future. When this occurs, it will be GDPR compliant. In the meantime, if you have subscribed to receive an email when a new blog post is published and wish to be removed, please visit your WordPress.com settings or contact Lindsay to be removed.

This privacy policy is subject to change without notice. If you have any questions feel free to contact IBB directly.