EMPIRICAL ARCHIVE

Empirical Archive is an independent science and knowledge publication operating under the brand Decoding Nexus. Our website is located at https://empiricalarchive.com and is published from India. We publish editorial content covering space science, research, archaeology, psychology, life & health, and current news.

For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, “we”, “us”, and “our” refer to Empirical Archive / Decoding Nexus. “You” refers to any visitor or user of our website.

For any privacy-related queries, you may contact us at: admin@empiricalarchive.com

We collect two broad categories of information: information you provide directly, and information collected automatically when you visit our site.

• Comments: If you leave a comment on an article, we collect your name, email address, website URL (optional), and the content of your comment.
• Newsletter sign-up: If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address.
• Contact enquiries: If you contact us via email or a contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the content of your message.

• Log data: Our hosting servers automatically record your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages visited, and the time and date of your visit.
• Cookies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies. See Section 4 for full details.
• Analytics data: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site. This includes pages viewed, session duration, device type, and approximate location (city/country level).

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To operate, maintain, and improve our website and content.
• To publish and manage reader comments on articles.
• To send newsletters and editorial updates to subscribers who have opted in.
• To respond to enquiries and support requests sent to us.
• To understand audience behaviour and improve editorial strategy using analytics data.
• To serve relevant advertisements through Google AdSense (see Section 5).
• To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, spam, or abuse.
• To comply with our legal obligations.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. We use cookies to make our site function properly and to understand how it is used.

• Essential cookies: Required for core website functionality, such as remembering your comment preferences or WordPress session data. These cannot be disabled without affecting site performance.
• Analytics cookies: Set by Google Analytics to track aggregated, anonymised visitor behaviour (pages viewed, session duration, traffic sources). No personally identifiable information is stored in these cookies.
• Advertising cookies: Set by Google AdSense to serve personalised or contextual advertisements. These cookies may track your browsing behaviour across different websites. See Section 5 for details.
• Functional cookies: Used to remember your preferences such as comment name/email fields in your browser.

Empirical Archive participates in the Google AdSense programme, operated by Google LLC. AdSense allows us to display advertisements on our website to help fund our editorial operations.

Google uses cookies (including the DoubleClick cookie) to serve ads based on your prior visits to our website and other websites on the internet. This allows Google to display advertisements that may be relevant to your interests.

• Google AdSense may use cookies and web beacons to collect data about your browsing activity.
• Google may share this data with its advertising partners to serve personalised ads.
• Google’s use of advertising cookies complies with Google’s Privacy & Terms policy.
• We do not have access to or control over the cookies set by Google AdSense.

You may opt out of personalised advertising from Google by visiting google.com/settings/ads. Alternatively, you can opt out of third-party vendor advertising cookies by visiting aboutads.info/choices or networkadvertising.org/choices.

We use the following third-party services on our website, each of which may independently collect data subject to their own privacy policies:

• Google Analytics — Website traffic and behaviour analytics. Google Privacy Policy →
• Google AdSense — Advertising platform. Google Privacy Policy →
• WordPress (Automattic) — Our website is powered by WordPress. Comments and site functionality may involve Automattic’s services. Automattic Privacy Policy →
• Akismet — Used for comment spam filtering. Comment data including IP addresses and email addresses may be processed by Akismet. Akismet Privacy Policy →
• Social Media Platforms — Our site links to and embeds content from Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, and Instagram. These platforms may set their own cookies when you interact with their embedded content.
• Email Newsletter Provider — If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address is processed by our email service provider in accordance with their own privacy policy.

We recommend reviewing the privacy policies of these services directly, as we are not responsible for their data practices.

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: We share data with trusted third-party services (listed in Section 6) solely to operate our website. These parties are bound to use your data only as directed by us.
• Legal compliance: We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental authority, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Empirical Archive, our readers, or the public.
• 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 of any such change via a notice on our website.

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy:

• Comments: Retained indefinitely as part of the published article, unless you request deletion.
• Email addresses (newsletter): Retained until you unsubscribe. You may unsubscribe at any time via the link in any newsletter email.
• Contact enquiries: Retained for up to 12 months after the enquiry is resolved.
• Analytics data: Google Analytics data is retained according to our configured retention period (26 months by default).
• Server log data: Retained for up to 90 days for security and diagnostic purposes.

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal data. These include:

• Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to certain conditions.
• Right to object: You may object to our processing of your data for direct marketing or analytics purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on your consent (e.g. newsletter subscription), you may withdraw consent at any time.
• Right to data portability: You may request your data in a structured, machine-readable format (where applicable).

To exercise any of these rights, please email us at admin@empiricalarchive.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.

Empirical Archive is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided personal information to us, please contact us immediately at admin@empiricalarchive.com. We will take prompt steps to delete such information from our records.

Our articles and pages may contain links to external websites, research papers, government portals, or other third-party resources. These links are provided for informational purposes only.

Empirical Archive has no control over the content or privacy practices of external websites and is not responsible for their policies. We strongly encourage you to review the privacy policy of any external site you visit through a link on our website.

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our website (HTTPS).
• Regular security updates and patches applied to our WordPress installation.
• Restricted access to personal data within our organisation on a need-to-know basis.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or for other operational reasons. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Continued use of Empirical Archive after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

For significant changes, we may also publish a notice on our homepage or notify newsletter subscribers directly.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the way we handle your personal data, please reach out to us. We are committed to addressing your enquiries promptly and transparently.