This policy explains what information MALS Compass ("we", "this website") handles when you visit, and why. MALS Compass is an independent educational website. It is not a hospital, clinic, doctor or any other healthcare provider: we do not keep medical records, and we do not ask for your health information.
Please do not send us medical information
We cannot give personal medical advice. Questions about your symptoms, tests or treatment belong with your own doctor or an official healthcare institution, where your health information is protected by the rules that apply to medical care. Please do not include medical details about yourself or anyone else in messages to us.
What we collect and why
When you visit the website
Like every website, our server and our network provider Cloudflare receive the technical information your browser sends with each request: IP address, browser type, the page requested, the referring page, and the date and time. We use it to deliver pages, keep the site secure and stop automated abuse. Server logs are kept for a limited time and then deleted. We do not use them to find out who you are.
Advertising (Google AdSense)
The website is free to read and is supported by ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the Internet.
You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google Ads Settings, and opt out of many other third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at aboutads.info. More about how Google uses information from sites that use its services. We do not choose individual advertisers, and we do not give advertisers any information we hold.
Cookies
Our own website sets one cookie: it remembers that you closed the cookie notice. Advertising cookies are set by Google and its partners as described above, and Cloudflare may set a technical cookie that helps tell people from automated traffic. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the website still works without them.
Contact form and e-mail
If you write to us, we store the type of your message, the page address you mention, your message, your e-mail address if you give one, and the date. We do not store your IP address with your message. To limit spam, a one-way coded value derived from your connection is kept for 24 hours and then deleted. We use your message only to answer you and to correct or improve our pages. Messages are deleted when they are no longer needed, and at the latest after 12 months.
Patient survey
Our patient survey is anonymous. We store only the multiple-choice answers you select and the date of your answer. We do not collect your name, e-mail address or free text, and we do not store your IP address with your answers. To limit repeated or automated submissions, a one-way coded value derived from your connection is kept for one hour and then deleted. Survey results are published only as group totals, and only once at least 30 people have answered. Taking part is voluntary; the survey is for people aged 18 or older, or parents and carers answering for a child.
What we do not do
- We do not offer user accounts, newsletters or paid services.
- We do not sell, rent or trade the messages or survey answers we hold.
- We do not pass any information to hospitals, clinics, doctors or insurers.
Children
This website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. The contact form and the survey are for adults, or parents and carers writing for a child. If you believe a child has sent us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
Your choices and rights
You can ask us what information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it, through the contact form below. We will answer within 30 days. Depending on where you live (for example, in California, the United Kingdom or the European Union), you may have further rights under local law, and we will respect them.
Security
The website is served only over an encrypted connection (HTTPS), and access to stored messages is limited to the people who run the site. No method of storing or sending information over the internet is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Links to other websites
Our pages link to research databases, guidelines, hospitals and other websites. Those sites have their own privacy policies, which we do not control.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update it on this page and change the date below.
Contact
Questions about this policy: or through the contact form.
MALS Compass is an independent educational website, not a medical provider, and is not affiliated with any hospital, clinic or university. This page is educational information and does not replace advice from your own doctor. For any question about your health, please contact your doctor or an official healthcare institution.
