Privacy Policy
Last Updated: 2/12/2018 (dd/mm/yyyy) (draft)
Privacy in Feren OS:
As the developer of Feren OS, I do not collect any data from the OS whatsoever personally, nor is there any data collection done that is to my benefit within Feren OS. This does not mean however that no data collection will ever happen within the Feren OS experience offered by default.
- Feren OS includes the Vivaldi Browser. Until it is first opened, it does not run so it won't be doing any data collection or anything else that might compromise the privacy of the user, however, upon opening the Vivaldi Browser, you agree to the terms of Vivaldi's End User License Agreement and Privacy Policy. If you do not want this to happen, simply use Web Browser Manager to remove Vivaldi and install another internet browser instead before running Vivaldi for the first time.
- Feren OS also does not automatically start Vivaldi the moment the user logs in, so it is up to the user to decide whether they agree to these terms or not by using Vivaldi.
- Applications available to install on Feren OS may do data collection or other operations that may compromise the user's privacy. Any complaints to the developers of applications that Feren OS doesn't include by default over privacy issues should be sent directly to the developers of those applications rather than to Feren OS, given they are not part of the Feren OS experience. These applications can at any time have their own sets of Privacy Policies, End User License Agreements, Terms of Service(s), and more.
- Feren OS does automatic updates by default, meaning the OS may connect automatically to websites such as the Ubuntu Package Repository, Launchpad, Feren OS Repositories on SourceForge, The Linux Mint Package Repository, The WineHQ Package Repository, The Google Chrome Package Repository, The Vivaldi Package Repository, and other sources as well to get information about available packages for installation, updates, and so on. You can disable these within Software Sources, excluding the ones that are crucial to Feren OS (Ubuntu, Mint and SourceForge), or also configure unattended-upgrade to disable automatic updates via '/etc/apt/apt.conf.d/xx-unattended-upgrade.conf'.
- Feren OS is built on Ubuntu, meaning that the usage of Feren OS may require the agreement to the terms of Ubuntu's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.
Third-parties and the Feren OS Websites:
The default download mirror for Feren OS ISO Files is through a third-party project file hosting website called SourceForge. The use of the SourceForge Download Mirror to download the Feren OS ISO may require the agreement to SourceForge's Privacy Statement and Terms of Use.
The Feren OS Start Page that is used in the default Vivaldi Browser configuration for Feren OS stores a cookie to determine which search engine was selected last by the visitor by default. This cookie is never sent to anyone, but is rather just put on the machine to, as stated, recall which search engine the user went for last time. If you do not want this behaviour, most browsers allow you to block cookie storing for certain websites, including Vivaldi, as well as blocking cookie storing full-stop. Just note that if you do this, the chosen search engine on the start page will default to StartPage Search every time the Start Page loads. Otherwise, you can also configure Vivaldi to change the home page, and also change the New Tab page back to 'Speed Dial', so you don't then use Feren OS Start Page.
As well as this, the Feren OS Start Page uses a widget from 'Feedwind', meaning you will have to agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to have quick access to the latest posts on the Feren OS Blog.
Furthermore, on the Main Feren OS Website, the website provider (Weebly) has the ability to collect information as per the Weebly Privacy Policy and Weebly Terms of Service. As well as this, the Feren OS Website uses AddThis widgets to add easy ways to share Feren OS with others, as well as providing a means of analytics, meaning you may have to agree to the AddThis's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Furthermore, there is also a piece of Website Verification Code in the website's header meaning there is also a small piece of Google Analytics on the website, so you will need to agree to Google's Privacy Policies and Terms of Service surrounding the use of Google Analytics code. If you do not agree to these, either get an extension such as uBlock Origin on your browser to block most of these requests, or do not use the Feren OS Website at all, and remove it from your Web Panels in Vivaldi.
The Feren OS Start Page that is used in the default Vivaldi Browser configuration for Feren OS stores a cookie to determine which search engine was selected last by the visitor by default. This cookie is never sent to anyone, but is rather just put on the machine to, as stated, recall which search engine the user went for last time. If you do not want this behaviour, most browsers allow you to block cookie storing for certain websites, including Vivaldi, as well as blocking cookie storing full-stop. Just note that if you do this, the chosen search engine on the start page will default to StartPage Search every time the Start Page loads. Otherwise, you can also configure Vivaldi to change the home page, and also change the New Tab page back to 'Speed Dial', so you don't then use Feren OS Start Page.
As well as this, the Feren OS Start Page uses a widget from 'Feedwind', meaning you will have to agree to their Terms of Service and Privacy Policy to have quick access to the latest posts on the Feren OS Blog.
Furthermore, on the Main Feren OS Website, the website provider (Weebly) has the ability to collect information as per the Weebly Privacy Policy and Weebly Terms of Service. As well as this, the Feren OS Website uses AddThis widgets to add easy ways to share Feren OS with others, as well as providing a means of analytics, meaning you may have to agree to the AddThis's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Furthermore, there is also a piece of Website Verification Code in the website's header meaning there is also a small piece of Google Analytics on the website, so you will need to agree to Google's Privacy Policies and Terms of Service surrounding the use of Google Analytics code. If you do not agree to these, either get an extension such as uBlock Origin on your browser to block most of these requests, or do not use the Feren OS Website at all, and remove it from your Web Panels in Vivaldi.
Changes to this policy, and complaints:
Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be put on this webpage, so be sure to check this page back frequently in case of any changes made to this Privacy Policy.
Any questions, issues, and more about this privacy policy can be made via the Contact Form, or via ferenosdev@outlook.com.
Feren OS isn't backed by an organisation, so it's better to make complaints about the sources of the data collection of other potential breaches of your privacy towards the third-party organisations themselves that perform these operations, to have a better chance of resolution of these.
Any questions, issues, and more about this privacy policy can be made via the Contact Form, or via ferenosdev@outlook.com.
Feren OS isn't backed by an organisation, so it's better to make complaints about the sources of the data collection of other potential breaches of your privacy towards the third-party organisations themselves that perform these operations, to have a better chance of resolution of these.
