Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 2026

Welcome to merlify.top (the “Website”), a blog dedicated to publishing articles about climate action, environmental awareness, and sustainability. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting any personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your data when you visit our blog, leave comments, use contact forms, or interact with third-party services (including advertising networks).

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

• Information you provide directly: When you use our contact form or leave a comment on an article, you may provide your name, email address, and the content of your message or comment. We do not ask for payment details, credit card numbers, or account registration.
• Automatically collected information: When you visit merlify.top, certain data is automatically collected via cookies, log files, and similar technologies. This includes your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and the date/time of your visit.
• Cookies and tracking technologies: We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and similar technologies to improve your experience, analyze traffic, and enable advertising. For more details, see Section 5 below.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected data for the following purposes:

• To respond to your inquiries submitted via the contact form.
• To display and manage comments on our blog posts (including moderation to prevent spam).
• To understand how visitors interact with our content and improve our articles about climate action.
• To serve relevant advertisements (including personalized ads) via third-party ad networks, as described in Section 6.
• To comply with legal obligations and protect the security of our website.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We do not use your data for e-commerce, account creation, or payment processing because merlify.top is a blog, not an online store.

3. Contact Forms and Comments

Contact Form

When you submit a message through our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message. We use this information solely to reply to your inquiry. We do not add you to any marketing lists unless you explicitly opt in. Your message is stored securely and retained only as long as necessary to address your request.

Comments

Visitors may leave comments on blog posts. When you leave a comment, we collect the data shown in the comments form (typically name, email, and website), your IP address, and the browser user agent string to help spam detection. Your comment and the name you provide will be publicly visible. Your email address is not published. We use third-party spam detection services (e.g., Akismet) which may process your comment data according to their own privacy policies.

4. Analytics

We use third-party analytics services (such as Google Analytics or similar) to understand how users interact with our blog. These services use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about your device, browsing actions, and usage patterns. The data collected includes pages visited, time spent on the site, and referral sources. This information is aggregated and anonymized where possible. Analytics providers may process your IP address to provide geographic reports but do not identify you personally. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

5. Cookies – How We Use Them

Cookies are small text files stored on your browser or device. We use the following types of cookies on merlify.top:

• Essential cookies: Required for basic site functionality (e.g., remembering your comment preferences or session).
• Analytics cookies: Help us count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve site performance.
• Advertising cookies: Used by third-party ad networks (including Google AdSense) to deliver ads that are relevant to you, limit the number of times you see an ad, and measure ad effectiveness. These cookies may track your browsing across different websites.
• Functional cookies: Enable enhanced features such as embedded social media sharing buttons.

By continuing to use merlify.top, you consent to the use of cookies as described. You can manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that blocking certain cookies may affect site functionality.

6. Third-Party Advertising and Personalized Ads

We may display advertisements on merlify.top through third-party ad networks, including Google AdSense and similar services. These advertising partners use cookies, web beacons, and device identifiers to collect information about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services that may interest you. This process is known as interest-based advertising or personalized advertising.

How ads use cookies/device identifiers

When you view an ad on our site, the ad network may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser or a device identifier on your mobile device. This allows the network to:

• Show you ads that are more relevant to your interests based on your browsing history.
• Limit the number of times you see a particular ad.
• Measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns.

We do not control which specific ads are shown; the ad network selects ads based on your profile and other factors.

Opting out of personalized ads

If you prefer not to receive personalized ads, you can opt out through the following mechanisms:

7. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We may share your personal information only in the following circumstances:

• With service providers: We use third-party tools for analytics, spam detection, and advertising (as described above). These providers have access to necessary data only to perform their functions and are contractually bound to protect your information.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or to protect our rights, property, or safety.
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via a prominent notice on the site.

We do not rent, sell, or share your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

8. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy. Comments and their metadata are retained indefinitely so we can recognize and approve follow-up comments automatically. Contact form submissions are retained for a reasonable period to respond to your inquiry and then deleted. Analytics data is retained for up to 26 months.

9. Your Rights (GDPR & Other Privacy Laws)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), the UK, or other jurisdictions with data protection laws, you have the following rights:

• Right to access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: Correct any inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data, subject to legal obligations.
• Right to restrict processing: Limit how we use your data.
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used format.
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests, including analytics and advertising.
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the