Privacy Policy

Last updated

This policy explains what information HerbsMedicine.net (“we”, “us”) collects when you visit the site, why we collect it, who we share it with and the choices you have.

We collect as little as we can. You can read every article, review and guide without creating an account or telling us who you are.

Who we are

HerbsMedicine.net is an independent website about herbal supplements and remedies. For any privacy question or request, email info@herbsmedicine.net or use our contact page.

Information you give us

Contact form. When you write to us we receive your name, email address and message. We use them only to reply and to fix any problem you report.

Newsletter. If you subscribe, your email address is stored with our email provider, Mailchimp, together with the IP address and time of sign-up as a record of your consent. We use it only to send the newsletter. Every email has an unsubscribe link.

Our tools. Words you type into our tools, such as herb or medicine names, are used to show your results. Please do not type your name or other personal details into them.

Information collected automatically

Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand which pages are read and how people find the site. It records information such as pages viewed, time on page, approximate location (country or city), device and browser type, and how you arrived. Google Analytics uses cookies to do this. We use these reports only in summary form to improve the site.

Server and security logs. Like every website, our hosting server records technical details of each visit, such as your IP address, browser and the page requested. These logs are used to keep the site secure and working, and to block attacks.

Our free tools

  • Herb–drug interaction checker, label checker and remedies finder: the names you search for are looked up in our own records and may be sent to public health databases, such as those of the US National Institutes of Health, the US National Library of Medicine and the US Food and Drug Administration, to fetch results. No account or personal details are needed.
  • Evidence summaries: some research summaries are written with the help of an AI model (Google Gemini). The herb or condition you look up may be sent to Google to create a summary. Do not enter personal or health details about yourself.
  • Skin analyzer: the analysis runs entirely in your own browser. Your camera image is not uploaded, stored or sent to us. The program files it uses are loaded from the jsDelivr network, which sees your IP address in the normal way.

Cookies

A cookie is a small file a website stores in your browser. We use as few as possible:

  • Google Analytics: tell visits apart so we can count readers. They last up to two years unless you delete them.
  • Login cookies: only for site editors who sign in. Visitors never receive them.

When you click a link to a shop such as Amazon, that shop may set its own cookies on its website to record that you came from us. Those cookies are controlled by the shop under its own privacy policy.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. The site still works without them. You can also stop Google Analytics on every site with Google’s opt-out add-on.

Affiliate links

Some links on the site are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, HerbsMedicine.net earns from qualifying purchases. If you click such a link and buy something, the shop tells us that a sale happened so we can be paid a commission. We do not receive your name, address or what else you bought.

Services that receive data

We never sell your personal information or share it for advertising. We use these services to run the site, and each handles data under its own privacy policy:

  • Our web hosting provider (the server the site runs on)
  • Google (Analytics, Google Fonts and the Gemini AI model used for some summaries)
  • Mailchimp (newsletter)
  • jsDelivr (program files for the skin analyzer)
  • Amazon and other shops, only when you follow a link to them

Some of these services store data in the United States or other countries. Where the law requires it, they use recognised safeguards such as standard contractual clauses.

How long we keep information

  • Contact messages: up to two years, then deleted, unless needed to resolve an ongoing issue.
  • Newsletter: until you unsubscribe.
  • Google Analytics: for the period set in our account, no longer than 14 months.
  • Server logs: for a short period, as set by our hosting provider for security.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, including under the EU and UK GDPR and California law, you may have the right to:

  • ask what personal information we hold about you and get a copy
  • ask us to correct or delete it
  • withdraw consent at any time, for example by unsubscribing from the newsletter
  • object to or limit how we use it
  • complain to your local data protection authority

To make a request, email info@herbsmedicine.net. We will reply within 30 days. We may need to check your identity before acting on a request.

Children

This site is written for adults. It is not directed at children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe a child has sent us personal details, contact us and we will delete them.

Security

The site uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS), a firewall and limited, password-protected access for editors. No website can be completely secure, but we work to protect the little information we hold.

Changes to this policy

If we change how we handle information, we will update this page and the date at the top. Important changes will also be noted on the site.

Contact

Questions about privacy: info@herbsmedicine.net or our contact page.