1. Introduction
Microbe Notes, accessible at https://microbenotes.com/, respects the privacy of its visitors. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, how we protect it, and the choices available to you when you visit our website or use its features.
This policy applies to information collected through Microbe Notes and its online features. It should be read together with our Cookie Policy and Disclaimer.
2. Information We Collect
The information we collect depends on how you interact with our website and the services we use.
Information You Provide
We may collect information that you voluntarily submit, including:
- Comments: Your name or display name, email address, website URL if provided, comment content, and related information.
- Subscriptions: Your name and email address if you subscribe to our mailing list or other updates.
- Contact forms and requests: Your name, email address, message, and other information you include when contacting us or submitting a content request.
- Other communications: Information you provide when you contact us regarding our content, services, corrections, or other matters.
Please avoid submitting sensitive personal information unless it is necessary for your request.
Information Collected Automatically
When you visit Microbe Notes, our website, hosting provider, analytics services, and other authorized service providers may collect certain technical and usage information, including:
- Internet Protocol (IP) address.
- Browser type, operating system, and device information.
- Date and time of visits.
- Pages viewed and referring or exit URLs.
- Interactions with website features and advertisements.
- General location information inferred from an IP address.
- Cookies, device identifiers, and similar tracking information where applicable.
The information collected depends on the technologies and services active on our website.
3. How We Use Information
We may use collected information to:
- Operate, maintain, and improve Microbe Notes.
- Publish and moderate comments.
- Respond to inquiries and content requests.
- Send newsletters or requested updates and manage subscriptions.
- Analyze website traffic, performance, and content engagement.
- Maintain website security and detect spam, fraud, abuse, or technical problems.
- Display advertisements and measure advertising performance.
- Support affiliate tracking and calculate commissions where applicable.
- Comply with legal obligations and protect our rights.
Where required by applicable law, we rely on an appropriate legal basis for processing personal information, such as consent, contractual necessity, legitimate interests, or legal obligations.
4. Comments and Spam Prevention
When visitors leave comments, we collect the information entered in the comment form, along with technical information such as the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent string, where applicable.
We may use automated spam-detection services, including Akismet if enabled, to review comments and help prevent spam and abuse. These services may process comment information and associated technical data in accordance with their own privacy policies.
If a comment is approved, the display name and comment content may be visible publicly. Other information, such as an email address, is not intentionally displayed as part of the public comment unless specifically indicated.
5. Subscriptions and Email Communications
If you subscribe to our mailing list, we may use your name and email address to send newsletters, educational updates, or other communications described at the time of subscription.
You can unsubscribe from marketing emails using the unsubscribe instructions provided in those messages. Unsubscribing from marketing communications does not necessarily prevent us from sending essential messages related to a request you have made.
We may use an external email delivery or subscription service to manage these communications. If so, that provider may process your information on our behalf or for its own specified purposes.
6. Contact Forms and Content Requests
Information submitted through contact forms or content-request forms is used to respond to your inquiry, evaluate requests, and provide the requested assistance.
We do not intentionally use information submitted through these forms for unrelated marketing purposes. However, service providers that operate or secure these forms may process information as necessary to provide their services.
7. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Microbe Notes uses cookies and similar technologies for website functionality, security, analytics, advertising, preferences, and affiliate tracking, depending on the services enabled.
Third-party service providers may also use these technologies when providing services on our website.
Visitors can also manage or delete cookies through their browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect certain website features and may not prevent all tracking technologies from operating.
For details about cookie categories, consent choices, and ways to manage cookies, please read our Cookie Policy.
8. Analytics
Microbe Notes uses Google Analytics to understand how visitors access and interact with our website. Google Analytics may collect information such as pages viewed, session duration, referral sources, browser and device information, approximate location, and interactions with website content. We use this information to evaluate website traffic, measure content performance, identify usage patterns, and improve our educational resources.
Google Analytics may use cookies and similar technologies to collect and process usage information. The information collected and its retention depend on our configuration and the applicable service settings.
Visitors who wish to prevent Google Analytics JavaScript from sending information about their website activity to Google Analytics can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
For more information, review Google’s Privacy Policy and Google Analytics information.
9. Advertising and Advertising Partners
Microbe Notes works with Publisher First, Inc. dba Freestar (“Freestar”) and may use other advertising operations companies, advertising networks, demand partners, ad exchanges, and related service providers to deliver and manage advertisements.
These providers and their advertising partners may collect or process information automatically through your browser or device when you visit Microbe Notes. Depending on the services used, this information may include:
- Device information and identifiers: IP address, browser type and language, operating system, platform, device type, and certain device or advertising identifiers.
- Internet and website activity: Pages and content viewed, interactions with website features, referring URLs, and information about browsing activity relevant to advertising services.
- Advertising information: The advertisements displayed, their type and placement, whether an advertisement was clicked, and the frequency of advertisement displays.
- General location information: Approximate location, such as city, state, or postal code, inferred from an IP address or other available signals.
Freestar’s own privacy disclosures also describe the potential processing of more precise geolocation information where supported by device functionality and permission. We do not assume that Microbe Notes or every advertising partner collects precise geolocation information through our website.
Advertising providers may use information for purposes such as delivering and customizing advertisements, measuring advertising performance, reporting conversions, limiting repeated advertisements, improving services, detecting errors, preventing fraud, maintaining security, and complying with legal obligations.
Depending on the services involved, information may be disclosed to service providers, affiliates, advertisers, ad servers, advertising partners, and other entities where necessary for advertising operations, legal compliance, or relevant business transactions.
The specific information processed, purposes of use, and recipients depend on the providers and services active on our website. Third-party providers may process information under their own privacy policies and applicable terms.
To learn more about Freestar’s data usage and privacy policy, click here: https://freestar.com/privacy-policy/.
10. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Advertising Opt-Out
Microbe Notes provides a California advertising opt-out option through a Freestar link in the website footer. California visitors can use this option to access the available controls for opting out of applicable advertising-related data processing.
Through its advertising services, Freestar may process categories of information such as device identifiers, IP addresses, internet or website activity, advertising interactions, and approximate location information. The information processed depends on the services and technologies involved.
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), eligible California residents may have rights concerning their personal information. Depending on the circumstances, these may include the right to know, access, correct, or delete certain personal information and to opt out of certain sales or sharing of personal information, including for cross-context behavioral advertising.
The Freestar footer option provides an advertising-related opt-out mechanism. It does not necessarily control all cookies, Google Analytics activity, or other processing conducted independently of Freestar.
To submit a privacy request directly to Microbe Notes, contact microbenotes@gmail.com. We will review requests and respond in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
For details about information processed through Freestar’s advertising services, consult Freestar’s privacy policy and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
11. European Privacy Rights and GDPR Advertising Consent
Microbe Notes uses a GDPR-related advertising consent form provided through Freestar to allow applicable visitors to manage their advertising consent preferences. This form relates to advertising and does not necessarily manage consent for Google Analytics, all website cookies, or other non-advertising technologies. Those technologies are addressed separately through the applicable website settings and consent mechanisms.
Depending on applicable law, individuals in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal information, restrict or object to certain processing, withdraw consent, and request data portability.
Where consent is required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies, we will seek consent as required by applicable law.
To submit a privacy request directly to Microbe Notes, contact microbenotes@gmail.com. We will review and respond to requests in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
For details about information processed through Freestar’s advertising services, consult Freestar’s privacy policy and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
12. Affiliate Links
Some Microbe Notes pages may contain affiliate links. When you click an affiliate link, the relevant merchant or affiliate program may use cookies or similar tracking technologies to attribute a purchase or other eligible action to that link.
If a qualifying transaction occurs, Microbe Notes may earn a commission at no additional cost to you, where applicable.
Affiliate partners process information according to their own privacy policies and terms.
13. Embedded Content and External Websites
Articles on Microbe Notes may contain embedded content, such as videos, images, social media posts, or other material hosted by third parties.
Embedded content may behave as though you visited the third-party website directly. The third party may collect information about your interactions, use cookies or similar technologies, and process information in accordance with its own privacy policy.
Our website may also link to external websites. We do not control the privacy practices, content, or security of third-party websites. Please review their policies before providing personal information.
14. How We Share Information
We may share or make information available to the following categories of service providers, as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:
- Website hosting and security providers: To host, maintain, secure, and protect the website.
- Comment and spam-prevention services: Including Akismet, to moderate comments and detect spam or abuse.
- Email and subscription providers: To manage mailing lists and deliver requested communications.
- Analytics providers: Including Google Analytics, to measure website traffic and performance.
- Advertising and ad operations providers: Including Freestar and other advertising partners involved in ad delivery, monetization, measurement, fraud prevention, and reporting.
- Affiliate programs and merchants: To attribute eligible transactions and calculate commissions when affiliate links are used.
- Legal and regulatory authorities: When disclosure is required by law or reasonably necessary to protect legal rights, security, or the website.
The information shared depends on the service, its configuration, and the purpose of the processing. Third-party providers may also process information under their own privacy policies and terms.
15. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.
Retention periods may differ by information type:
- Comments: Comments and related metadata may be retained to support moderation and recognize follow-up comments.
- Subscriptions: Subscription information may be retained while you remain subscribed and for a reasonable period afterward where necessary for recordkeeping or compliance.
- Contact requests: Information may be retained for as long as needed to respond, maintain relevant records, and resolve follow-up matters.
- Technical and analytics data: Retention depends on our hosting, analytics, security, and advertising providers’ configurations and policies.
Information may be deleted, anonymized, or retained where necessary to meet legal, security, or operational requirements.
16. Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. These measures may include security monitoring, access controls, software updates, and malware or vulnerability scanning.
No website or electronic transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to maintain appropriate safeguards for the information we process.
17. Your Privacy Rights and Choices
Depending on where you live and which laws apply, you may have rights concerning your personal information. These rights may include:
- Requesting access to personal information we hold about you.
- Requesting correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Requesting deletion of personal information, subject to applicable exceptions.
- Requesting restriction of, or objecting to, certain processing.
- Requesting a copy of certain information in a portable format.
- Withdrawing consent where processing is based on consent.
- Opting out of certain targeted advertising, sale, or sharing of personal information where applicable law provides that right.
- Complaining to a relevant data protection authority.
To submit a privacy request, email microbenotes@gmail.com and describe your request. We may ask for information reasonably necessary to verify your identity and determine whether the request applies to information we control.
We will respond in accordance with applicable law. Some rights may be subject to legal exceptions or may not apply in every jurisdiction.
You can also manage email subscriptions through the unsubscribe instructions in our emails, manage advertising opt-out and consent preferences through the mechanisms described in Sections 10 and 11, and manage cookie preferences through the controls described in our Cookie Policy.
18. Privacy Laws and Regulatory Compliance
Microbe Notes aims to respect applicable privacy and data protection laws and to provide transparent information about how personal information is collected, used, stored, and shared.
Depending on the website’s activities, the information processed, and the locations of visitors, relevant laws may include:
- California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA): Requirements concerning privacy policy disclosures for covered websites and online services.
- California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA): Privacy rights and business obligations that apply to covered businesses and relevant personal information processing.
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Data protection requirements that may apply to the processing of personal data of individuals in the European Economic Area, depending on the circumstances.
- Other US state privacy laws: Additional privacy laws may apply depending on the website’s activities, the information processed, and the applicable legal criteria.
Some advertising and technology providers that support Microbe Notes may publish additional privacy notices for residents of states with specific privacy laws, including Maryland. These notices describe the providers’ own data practices and the rights available under applicable laws.
Where a US state privacy law applies to Microbe Notes or its processing activities, we will address the relevant requirements and provide applicable privacy rights and choices. The applicability of any law depends on its legal criteria and the circumstances of the processing.
19. Children’s Privacy
Microbe Notes is an educational website and is not intended to knowingly collect personal information from children in violation of applicable law.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 for purposes that require parental consent under applicable law without obtaining the required consent.
If you believe a child has provided personal information to us inappropriately, contact microbenotes@gmail.com. We will review the request and take appropriate steps as required by applicable law.
20. International Data Transfers
Some of our service providers may process or store information in countries other than the country in which you reside. Data protection laws in those countries may differ from those in your jurisdiction.
Where applicable law requires safeguards for international transfers, we will take reasonable steps to ensure that the relevant transfers comply with those requirements.
21. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our website, services, data practices, advertising partners, or legal requirements.
The revised policy will be published on this page with an updated revision date. We encourage visitors to review this page periodically.
22. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to submit a privacy request, contact us at:
Name: Dr. Sagar Aryal
Address: New Baneshwor-31, Kathmandu, Nepal
Email: microbenotes(at)gmail(dot)com
Last Updated: 2026-10-21