Effective date: July 20, 2026
Who We Are
Our website address is: https://bell-family.org. This site is maintained as a personal, non-commercial project to document and share the history of the Bell and Gilbert families. We take the privacy of everyone who visits this site seriously, and this policy explains what information we collect, why, and how it is handled.
Information We Collect
We collect two general kinds of information:
- Automatically collected technical information — such as the domain from which you access the site, general traffic data (like which pages are visited and how often), browser type, and similar technical details that web servers typically log.
- Information you volunteer — such as anything you submit through an on-site form, or send to us directly by mail or other means (for example, corrections or additions to the family history).
We do not currently operate any online store, user account system, or newsletter sign-up on this site, so we do not collect payment information or maintain visitor accounts.
How We Use This Information
We use the information we collect solely to maintain and improve the content of the site, to understand how the site is being used, and to respond to information that visitors choose to share with us. We do not sell, rent, or share this information with other organizations for commercial or marketing purposes.
Cookies
If your browser accepts cookies, this site may use them for basic purposes, such as distinguishing repeat visitors from new visitors or understanding overall visitor counts. Any data drawn from cookies is reviewed only in aggregate form — we do not use cookies to build individual profiles of visitors. You can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent; doing so should not affect your ability to view the content of this site.
Third-Party Services
Our web hosting provider may process basic technical logs (such as server request data) as part of normal site operation.
We also use Google Analytics to help us understand, in aggregate, how visitors use this site — for example, which pages are viewed and how visitors generally found the site. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect this information, which may include your IP address and general device and browser information. This data is processed by Google on our behalf, and Google’s use of it is governed by Google’s own privacy policy, available at https://policies.google.com/privacy. We do not use Google Analytics to identify individual visitors, and we do not combine this data with any information you may separately volunteer to us.
You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout, or by using your browser’s cookie and tracking-protection settings. This site does not embed third-party advertising or social-media tracking widgets. If that changes in the future, this policy will be updated to describe any additional third-party data processing.
Data Retention and Security
We retain the limited information described above only for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes outlined in this policy, and we take reasonable measures to protect it. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Your Choices
If you have submitted information to us through this site and would like it corrected or removed, please contact us using the details below and we will address your request.
Children’s Privacy
This site is a general-audience family history resource and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in how the site operates. The “Effective date” above shows when this policy was last revised. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can reach us at:
Bell Family History
PO Box 39
Warren, VT 05674