Last reviewed: 24 August 2026
michelle.net.au is an independent publication based in Australia, written and run by one person. This policy explains what information the site collects, why, and what you can do about it. It is written to be read, not to be impenetrable.
The short version
- You do not need an account, and there is nothing to sign up for.
- Comments are switched off across the entire site, so no comment data is collected.
- There is no newsletter and no mailing list.
- The site is supported by advertising, and advertising uses cookies. That is the main way data is collected here, and it is not done by this site directly — it is done by the advertising provider.
Information collected automatically
Like almost every website, the server that hosts michelle.net.au keeps standard access logs. These record the requesting IP address, the browser and operating system reported by your device, the page requested, and the date and time. Logs are used to keep the site running and secure — diagnosing errors and identifying abusive traffic — and are not used to build a profile of you.
Cookies
A cookie is a small file a website asks your browser to store. This site sets no cookies of its own for ordinary visitors: there is no login, no shopping basket and no comment form to remember you by. Cookies encountered here come from third parties, described below. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time; the articles will still read perfectly well without them.
Advertising
This site is supported by display advertising served by Google, including through Google AdSense. Google and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve advertisements and, in some cases, to make them relevant to your interests based on your visits to this and other sites.
Two things worth knowing:
- Google’s use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve advertisements based on your visits to this site and other sites on the internet.
- You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can opt out of personalised advertising from many other vendors at aboutads.info/choices or youronlinechoices.com.
Third-party advertising vendors set their own cookies and are governed by their own privacy policies, not this one. This site does not control which individual advertisements appear, and does not receive your personal information from advertisers.
As at the review date above, this site is not yet running advertising. Before any personalised advertising is served to readers in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, a Google-certified consent prompt will be in place, and consent can be changed or withdrawn through it at any time.
Analytics
Where website analytics are in use, they record aggregate information about how pages are found and read — which articles are visited, roughly where in the world visitors are, and which links are followed. This is used to decide what to write next. It is not used to identify individuals, and analytics data is not sold or shared for marketing.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles may embed content such as videos or images hosted elsewhere. Embedded content behaves exactly as if you had visited that other website, which means the other site may collect data about you, set cookies, and track your interaction with the embedded content under its own policy.
What is not collected
This site does not ask for or store your name, postal address, phone number, date of birth, payment details or any health information. Nothing you read here is recorded against your identity. If you email the site, that email and any information you choose to put in it is held in an ordinary mailbox — please do not send personal medical details.
How long information is kept
Server access logs are retained only as long as needed for security and diagnostics, and are then overwritten. Email correspondence is kept for as long as it is useful for the matter it concerns. Third-party advertising and analytics data is retained under those providers’ own policies.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask what personal information is held about you, to have it corrected, to have it deleted, to object to processing, or to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. These rights exist under the Australian Privacy Act, the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, and the California Consumer Privacy Act among others.
Because this site holds almost nothing about you, most requests will be answered quickly and in the negative. To make one, use the contact form.
Children
This site is written for adults and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect information from anyone under 16.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes materially, the review date at the top will change with it. Material changes will be described rather than slipped in.
Contact
Privacy questions, and access, correction or deletion requests, go through the Contact page. Messages sent through that form reach the publisher directly and are answered from a monitored address.