Information We Collect

We collect information that helps us communicate with you, manage our community, and improve our website, including:

• Contact Form Submissions: Information you submit through our contact form (such as your name, email address, and message).
• Blog Comments: The data displayed in the comment form when you leave a response on our blog.
• Security & Spam Data: Your IP address and browser user agent string when you comment, which helps us filter out automated spam.
• Website Analytics: Basic traffic data (such as page views, browser type, and general location).

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

We use the information you provide to:

• Respond to your messages, inquiries, or licensing requests.
• Publish and manage your approved comments on our blog posts.
• Maintain the security, moderation, and technical functionality of our site.
• Evaluate traffic to improve our website layouts and overall user experience.

Children’s Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

Orchard & Hive creates artwork, patterns, and educational materials intended for children, but our website is designed and intended for use by adults, including parents, guardians, and educators.

We do not knowingly collect, solicit, or maintain personal information directly from children under the age of 13. If we discover that a child under 13 has submitted personal information through our contact form or blog comments without verifiable parental consent, we will take immediate steps to delete that data securely from our hosting servers and system databases. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately through our Contact page.

Cookies & Tracking

Our website uses cookies to improve your browsing experience. Specifically:

• Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment on our blog, you may opt-in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. These are strictly for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another response. These cookies remain on your browser for one year.
• Analytics Cookies: We use basic website analytics cookies to evaluate traffic patterns and general visitor locations, helping us optimize our layouts and design portfolios.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies at any time through your web browser’s settings.

Third-Party Services & Embedded Content

We use trusted third-party tools and platforms (such as website analytics, email services, and social media integrations) to help us operate our site efficiently, including our web hosting provide, whose secure servers store our website files and database data. These providers only receive the specific information necessary to perform their technical services.

Additionally, articles on this site may include embedded content or widgets from external platforms (such as Pinterest boards, pins, or social feeds). Embedded content behaves in the exact same way as if you had visited the source website directly. These external platforms may collect data about you, use tracking cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that content, especially if you have an account and are logged into that specific platform while browsing our site.

Data Retention

We only store your personal information for as long as it is needed to provide our services, maintain our community, or fulfill our legal obligations. Our specific retention practices include:

• Comments: If you leave a comment on our blog, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This allows us to recognize and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.
• Contact Forms & Analytics: We only retain contact form submissions and general website analytics data for as long as necessary to fulfill the operational purposes outlined in this policy, or to comply with legal obligations.

Your Rights Over Your Data

If you have left comments on this site or submitted an inquiry through our contact form, you may request to receive an exported file of the personal data we hold about you, including any information you have provided to us.

You may also request that we update or erase your data. You can request:

• Access to the personal information we have about you
• Corrections to inaccurate information
• Deletion of your information

This does not include any data we are obliged to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes. To make a request, please contact us through the form on our Contact page.

Data Security & Processing

We take reasonable technical and organizational steps to protect your information, though no online system can guarantee absolute security.

To maintain the safety and integrity of our platform, visitor comments may be processed through an automated spam detection service to filter out malicious activity.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to request the access, correction, or deletion of your personal information, please reach out to us at orchardandhive@outlook.com or through the form on our Contact page.

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Last updated: August 2026