Privacy Policy

Introduction

At The Big Reference (TBR), we value your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or contribute to our knowledge platform.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the site or create an account.

Information We Collect

Account Information

When you register for an account on The Big Reference, we collect the following information:

• Username
• Email address
• Password (securely stored as a hash)
• Profile picture (optional)
• Account creation date

Content Contributions

As a knowledge platform, we store the following information related to your contributions:

• Articles you create or edit
• Images you upload
• Edit history and timestamps
• Category selections

Usage Data

We may also collect information on how the website is accessed and used. This usage data may include:

• Your computer's Internet Protocol address (e.g., IP address)
• Browser type and version
• Pages of our website that you visit
• Time and date of your visit
• Time spent on those pages
• Search queries performed on the platform

Tracking Technologies and Cookies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to track activity on our website and store certain information. Cookies are files with a small amount of data that may include an anonymous unique identifier.

You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our website.

How We Use Your Information

The Big Reference may use the collected data for various purposes:

• To provide and maintain our knowledge platform
• To attribute article authorship and track contributions
• To notify you about changes to our website
• To allow you to participate in interactive features of our website
• To provide user support
• To gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our website
• To monitor the usage of our website
• To detect, prevent and address technical issues

Content Licensing

By submitting content to The Big Reference, you understand and agree that:

• Your contributed articles and images remain attributed to your username
• Your contributions may be edited by editors and administrators for accuracy or clarity
• Content history and changes are tracked in our database
• Your content becomes part of the TBR knowledge base and may continue to be displayed even if you delete your account

Third-Party Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties without your consent, except as described in this Privacy Policy.

We may share your information with trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving our users, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential.

User Account Rights

Regarding your account on The Big Reference, you have the following rights:

• Access and update: You can access and update most of your account information through your profile settings.
• Content management: You can view and manage your article contributions.
• Content attribution: Your username will be associated with content you create.
• Account deletion: You may request deletion of your account by contacting us, though contributed content will remain in the database with your username.

Data Security

The security of your data is important to us. We implement the following security measures:

• Passwords are stored as secure hashes, not plain text
• Secure communication protocols for data transfer
• Regular database backups to prevent data loss
• Access controls to limit database access to authorized personnel

However, remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top.

You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.