Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Caryn Winters (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and protects information when you visit carynwinters.com, join the Butterfly Society, subscribe to email communications, use our contact forms, participate in reader promotions, or otherwise interact with the website.
Who We Are
This website is the official author website of Caryn Winters.
Website: carynwinters.com
We respect your privacy and collect only information reasonably necessary to operate the website, communicate with readers, provide requested content, understand website use, and improve the reader experience.
Information You Provide to Us
You may voluntarily provide personal information when you:
- Join the Butterfly Society or subscribe to the Caryn Winters newsletter;
- Request reader content, including Whispers Behind the Mask;
- Contact us through a contact form;
- Correspond with us by email; or
- Subscribe through a participating BookFunnel or Book Cave promotion, where offered;
- Otherwise choose to provide information through the website or an associated promotion.
Depending on how you interact with the site, this information may include your email address, name, information you include in a message, and, where available, subscription preferences and the source of your signup.
Butterfly Society and Email Newsletter
When you provide your email address through a Butterfly Society or newsletter signup form, it is used to provide the content you requested and to send occasional Caryn Winters communications, which may include book news, new releases, reader exclusives, Butterfly Society updates, related author news, and occasional book-related promotions. We send ongoing marketing communications to readers who have subscribed or otherwise provided appropriate permission to receive them.
We use MailPoet to manage newsletter subscriptions and email communications. Information associated with your subscription may be processed through MailPoet and its sending services for purposes such as delivering email, managing subscriptions, maintaining delivery records, and providing email-related services.
New subscribers may be asked to confirm their email address before their subscription becomes active.
Every marketing newsletter includes a way to unsubscribe. You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our emails.
We do not sell our newsletter subscriber list.
BookFunnel, Book Cave, and Reader Promotions
We participate in book-discovery promotions and may offer complimentary reading materials, including Whispers Behind the Mask, through BookFunnel, Book Cave, or links on this website. Depending on the promotion, you may be directed to a third-party page to request or download a book, or invited to subscribe to our newsletter.
If you choose to subscribe through a participating promotion, the service may provide us with information associated with your signup, such as your email address, name (if supplied), and promotion or referral source. Where applicable, we use this information to administer your subscription and send the Caryn Winters communications described in this policy. Subscriber information may be added to our MailPoet newsletter system when the applicable signup process and permissions allow it.
Receiving a complimentary book does not, by itself, mean that you have agreed to receive ongoing marketing emails. Any newsletter subscription is subject to the choices and notices presented during the relevant signup process. Some promotions may require a newsletter subscription as a condition of receiving a particular offer; that requirement should be explained on the promotional signup page.
BookFunnel and Book Cave operate their own websites and services and may collect or process information under their own privacy policies. Their practices, including download records, cookies, and account information, are not controlled by Caryn Winters.
Promotion and Referral Measurement
We may review promotional reports, referral sources, website traffic, link activity, and subscription totals to understand how readers discover our books and to evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns. Depending on the services and links involved, this information may include aggregated statistics or limited signup and referral details. Website analytics and related cookies are described in the sections below.
Contact Forms and Correspondence
If you contact us through a form on the website, we may collect the information you provide, such as your name, email address, and message.
This information is used to respond to your inquiry and, where appropriate, maintain records relating to the correspondence.
Submitting a contact form does not by itself subscribe you to the Caryn Winters newsletter or Butterfly Society.
Comments
If visitors are permitted to leave comments on the website, we may collect the information shown in the comments form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent information for spam detection and website security.
An anonymized string created from an email address may be provided to the Gravatar service to determine whether the commenter uses Gravatar. If a comment is approved, a Gravatar profile image, if applicable, may be publicly visible with the comment.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
This website may use cookies and similar technologies for website functionality, security, preferences, analytics, and other features.
WordPress and services or plugins used by the website may place cookies where necessary to provide their functionality.
We also use Google Analytics, implemented through MonsterInsights, to help us understand how visitors use the website. Google Analytics may collect information such as website visits, session activity, approximate geographic location, browser and device information, pages viewed, and other information about how visitors interact with the site.
Google Analytics may use cookies or similar technologies, including first-party analytics cookies such as _ga, to distinguish visitors and sessions when analytics storage is permitted.
Analytics information is used to understand website traffic and reader behavior, evaluate website performance, determine which content and features are useful to visitors, and improve the website and reader experience.
Where required, cookie or consent controls may be used to allow visitors to make choices regarding non-essential cookies and analytics technologies. Google Analytics and related technologies may adjust their behavior based on consent choices communicated through those controls.
You may also control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking or deleting certain cookies may affect how portions of the website function.
Google Analytics and MonsterInsights
Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google. MonsterInsights is used on this WordPress website to connect the site with Google Analytics and provide website analytics reporting.
Analytics data may be processed by Google and MonsterInsights in connection with providing their respective services.
Google and MonsterInsights maintain their own privacy policies and terms governing their services and data-processing practices.
We use analytics information for statistical and website-improvement purposes and do not intentionally use Google Analytics to collect information that directly identifies you through website forms or newsletter subscriptions.
Embedded Content and Third-Party Services
Pages on this website may contain or link to content or services provided by third parties, such as music, video, book-delivery services, social platforms, or other external websites.
Embedded content from another website may behave in the same manner as if you visited that website directly. Those third parties may collect information, use cookies, or track interactions according to their own privacy practices.
When you leave carynwinters.com or interact directly with a third-party service, that service’s privacy policy and terms may apply.
Reader Downloads and External Links
The website may provide links to third-party services used to deliver books, downloads, music, or other reader content, including BookFunnel and Book Cave.
When you follow a link to an external service, information you provide directly to that service is governed by that service’s own privacy practices.
How We Use Information
Information collected through the website may be used to:
- Provide requested reader content;
- Manage Butterfly Society and newsletter subscriptions, including eligible third-party promotional signups;
- Send author and book-related communications to subscribers;
- Respond to messages and inquiries;
- Operate, maintain, and secure the website;
- Prevent spam, fraud, or misuse;
- Measure website traffic, reader referrals, and promotional performance;
- Improve website functionality, accessibility, content, and reader experience; and
- Comply with applicable legal obligations.
Who We Share Your Information With
We do not sell your personal information or newsletter subscriber list.
Information may be processed by service providers that help us operate the website and provide requested services. This may include website hosting and infrastructure providers, email and newsletter services such as MailPoet, analytics and website measurement services such as Google Analytics and MonsterInsights, book-delivery and promotion services such as BookFunnel and Book Cave, giveaway and promotion administration services, spam-prevention or security services, and other providers necessary to operate website features.
These providers may process information as necessary to provide their respective services and are subject to their own privacy practices and contractual obligations.
Information may also be disclosed when reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect legal rights, prevent fraud or abuse, or protect the security of the website and its users.
How Long We Retain Information
We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, to operate our services, or to satisfy applicable administrative, legal, security, or recordkeeping requirements.
Newsletter subscription information may be retained while you remain subscribed. If you unsubscribe, certain limited information may be retained when necessary to honor your opt-out request and prevent unwanted future mailings.
Correspondence may be retained when reasonably necessary to respond to inquiries or maintain appropriate business records.
Analytics information may be retained according to the retention settings configured for the analytics services used by this website.
Your Choices and Privacy Rights
You may unsubscribe from Caryn Winters marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link contained in an email. Unsubscribing from Caryn Winters marketing messages may not unsubscribe you from separate newsletters operated by other authors or promotional services.
You may also use available cookie or consent controls, where provided, to manage certain analytics or non-essential technologies.
Depending on where you live, applicable privacy laws may provide rights regarding personal information, which may include rights to request access to, correction of, or deletion of certain information we hold about you.
Some information may need to be retained where required for administrative, legal, security, fraud-prevention, or other legitimate purposes.
To make a privacy-related request, please contact us using the contact information provided below.
Children’s Privacy
This website and the Caryn Winters books and reader experiences promoted through it are intended for a general adult audience and are not directed to children under 13.
We do not knowingly solicit personal information from children under 13. If we learn that personal information from a child under 13 has been collected inappropriately, we will take reasonable steps to delete it.
Data Security
We take reasonable measures intended to protect information collected through the website. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes to the website, services we use, analytics or tracking technologies, or applicable privacy requirements.
When the policy is updated, the “Last updated” date at the top of this page will be revised.
Contact
Questions or requests concerning this Privacy Policy or personal information may be submitted through the Contact page at carynwinters.com.
Privacy contact email: caryn@carynwinters.com
Mailing address:
Caryn Winters
P.O. Box 36
102 N. Gardner Avenue
Kenly, NC 27542