Unless you somehow send us an email containing personal or sensitive information, we do NOT collect any personal or sensitive data from you. If you do, somehow, send us an email with some amount of personal data, it is usually because you are asking a question or wanting to let us know something is not right or you have something to add to what is already on a particular page or you are suggesting new pages. In all these cases, we usually read your email and take action, or not. But once that decision is made on our part, your email is erased from our systems. We will not forward, give, sell, or otherwise transfer any personal or sensitive data that comes into my possession to any third party without your prior consent. We don't like it when that happens to us and we won't do it to you.
This website is hosted on an Apache web server. What that means is when your browser makes a request of that server, your browser "announces" itself by telling our server your IP address, your browser version, your operating system, what time of day it is, what your browser is "requesting," etc. Our server collects that data in our "web logs" and then fulfills your browser's request. None of that information is usable by us to reverse the info stream and locate or learn anything about you. You, as an individual visitor to our site, are essentially anonymous. That raw information is usable by us to define raw statistics in terms of what on our site is actually viewed and how often. Your browser delivers this information automatically and our server collects it automatically. On neither side are we able to shut that off.
We do use Google Analytics to track visits and visitor trends through our site. That works via the Analytics code on each page placing and then tracking a unique, but not-personally-identifiable, cookie on your browser. We use the data returned to us through Google Analytics to improve the quality of our site and the information on it. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies, or to indicate when a cookie is being sent and then decide on an individual basis as to whether to accept the cookie or not. In no way is personal or sensitive information returned to either us or Google Analytics. Everything native to this site will work perfectly well regardless of whether or not you accept any cookies.
This site uses no pop-ups or pop-unders. Javascript is used on TheArmchairExplorer.com for certain User Interface functioning. Disabling javascript in your browser will not affect your use of TheArmchairExplorer.com in any other way.
We monetize this site through ads served by Google AdSense and a couple other sources. Some of those third-party advertisers might place cookies in your browser. If you don't want that, click on the the "Ad Choices" button on any ad displaying one (all the ads coming from common ad-servers like Google have that button) and follow the instructions at the other end to opt out of any and all cookies trying to be placed that way. Some of the ads on this site are direct-sold to advertising customers and none of them place any cookies.