Privacy Policy

Who we are

Merchant of the Universe is a business in Central Ohio offering AI-powered tools like apps and consultation for merchant services. We do not process payments or handle any financial information directly. Refer to the privacy and data policies of our partners for those. Our website address is: https://merchantoftheuniverse.com

Comments

Visitors may leave comments; we collect the name, email, website, comment content, IP address, and browser user agent for moderation and spam filtering. We may generate a hashed version of your email to display a Gravatar image—review the Gravatar privacy policy here. Once approved, your avatar and comment appear publicly.

Media

If you upload images, avoid embedding location data (EXIF GPS). Downloading visitors may extract metadata, so refrain from sharing sensitive files.

Cookies

We use cookies for site functionality:

Comment cookies save your name, email, and website—lasting one year.

Login cookies test browser support, last two days (login), one year (screen options), and two weeks if “Remember Me” is selected.

Action cookies track content editing and expire after one day.

When you log in, we will also set up

several cookies to save your login information and your screen display choices. Login cookies last for two days, and screen options cookies last for a year. If you select “Remember Me”, your login will persist for two weeks. If you log out of your account, the login cookies will be removed.

If you edit or publish an article, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.

We display a cookie-consent banner to obtain explicit opt-in for non-essential cookies in compliance with GDPR. California users have an opt-out option via “Do Not Sell My Personal Information.”

Embedded content from other websites

Our site may embed external content (videos, maps, social feeds). These elements may use cookies, track interactions, and collect data—behaving as if you visited the provider’s site.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

Our backend apps use third-party AI providers (e.g., OpenAI, Gemini) to power chatbots and agents. These systems process user input (prompts, chat logs, uploaded files) temporarily. We do not train these models on user data or store any personal information beyond session needs.

Who we share your data with

Spam protection: We share IP addresses and comment metadata with anti-spam services.

AI services: We send chat input to external AI providers to facilitate responses.

Password resets: When requested, the reset email may include your IP address.

data retention

Comments & metadata: Retained indefinitely to simplify moderation and context.

Registered users: Personal data (name, email, preferences) stored in your profile. You may view, edit, or delete most information; admins may also access.

What rights you have over your data

GDPR (EU Residents)

• Lawful basis for processing: consent or legitimate interest (commenting, chat).
• You have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict processing, portability, and object—especially to automated decision-making.
• Withdraw consent anytime via your account settings or email.
• Data transfers to non-EU countries are protected via standard contractual clauses.

CCPA/CPRA (California Residents)

California users can exercise rights via: info@merchantoftheuniverse.com

You have rights to:

Know what personal data we collected and why.

Request deletion of personal data (unless legally exempt).

Opt-out of any “sale” of personal data—though we do not sell data. en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org+1cookieinformation.com+1wired.com

Not be retaliated against for exercising rights.

For minors under 16, we require opt-in parental/guardian consent.

Where your data is sent

AI providers process your chats to generate responses.

Spam services analyze comment data for moderation.

Third-party embeds may track your interaction based on their own policies.

Our services are not meant for children under 13. If we learn we’ve collected data from a child under 13 without parental consent, we will promptly delete that data.

We employ reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data. We comply with GDPR transfer standards when data is processed outside the EU.

Any significant changes will be posted here with a new effective date. We recommend revisiting before major updates.

For any privacy concerns, data access, deletion requests, or to manage your privacy settings, email:

info@merchantoftheuniverse.com