Privacy Notice | Very Local

Privacy Notice

Last Updated: October 10, 2025

Privacy Notice – Highlights

This Privacy Notice explains how we and third parties obtain certain information about you when you use or interact with a U.S. website, mobile or other digital app, print subscription, digital subscription product, or other digital service (which may include personalized content, features, and ads) (each a “Hearst Service”). The Hearst Services are provided by the Hearst affiliated network of media companies, including Television stations, Newspapers, and Magazines (collectively “Hearst,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). You can learn more about the brands and businesses that make up the Hearst affiliated network of media companies here.

Depending on the specific Hearst Service you interact with, our practices with respect to personal information may vary; certain Hearst Services may have additional notices, which should be read in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. Please note that some of the media companies within the Hearst affiliated network provide other offerings that are subject to different privacy notices. This Privacy Notice does not apply to Hearst offerings that have a different privacy notice.

“Hearst Television Mobile App” includes: WCVB NewsCenter 5; KOCO 5 News and Weather; WGAL News 8 and Weather; WXII 12 News and Weather; WTAE Pittsburgh Action News 4; WLWT News 5 and Weather; KOAT Action 7 News and Weather; WISN 12 News and Weather; WESH 2 News and Weather; 40/29 News and Weather; 16 WAPT Breaking News Leader; KMBC 9 News and Weather; WLKY News and Weather; WPBF 25 News and Weather; WVTM 13 Birmingham News and Weather; WMTW News 8 and Weather, WJCL Savannah News, Weather; My NBC5 News & Weather; WDSU News and Weather; WDSU Parade Tracker; NBC2 Wx; ABC7 WX; NBC2 News; ABC7 News; Albuquerque Fiesta Tracker; WYFF News 4 and Weather; KHTV, KCRA 3 News and Weather; KSBW Action News 8 and Weather, KCCI 8 News and Weather; Gulf Coast News- Fort Myers; KETV 7 News and Weather; WBAL-TV 11 News and Weather; WMUR News 9; Very Local: News and Originals ; WBAL News Radio; 98 Rock Baltimore and; Hurricane Tracking Center.

In this Highlights section, we provide an overview of our privacy practices related to the Hearst Services. Please review our full Privacy Notice below for a detailed explanation of our practices.

What Information We Obtain

Information you provide when you use the Hearst Services, including when you sign up for newsletters, order subscriptions, create an account or register through the Hearst Services. This may include your contact, payment or demographic information.
Information you submit when you choose to participate in a survey, sweepstakes, contest, promotion, event or similar initiative.
Information you provide when you comment on articles, interact with Q&As, blogs and forums, including photos, images, videos, and other use-generated content.
Information you provide when you interact with AI-supported features provided as part of the Hearst Services, including chatbots.
Information you give us about others, such as a friend’s contact information when you share an article or order a gift subscription.
Information collected by automated means such as cookies or pixels. This may include information about your device and browser, including IP address, unique identifiers or mobile device advertising identifiers, as well as information about how you and others use, interact with or respond to the Hearst Services. This collection may take place while you are using a Hearst Service or while the Hearst Service is running in the background of your device.
Precise location information associated with your device when location services are active.
Information we obtain from other sources, such as business partners, data suppliers (some of which may be considered “data brokers” under applicable laws), authentication service partners, and social media platforms.

How We Use Information We Obtain

To process your requests and provide you with the Hearst Services. Note that we use your payment card information (such as your card number and expiration date) for limited purposes such as to process your transaction, (including recurring payments, if applicable), to provide you with the requested products or services and to protect our rights or the rights of others.
To learn about users of the Hearst Services and analyze how you and others interact with and respond to the Hearst Services.
To improve, develop, and personalize the Hearst Services, including to deliver personalized content, features, and ads.
To communicate with you, including to send you marketing and promotional communications.
For advertising and marketing purposes, including to deliver targeted ads, for cross-device linking, and to analyze the performance of advertising and marketing activities.
We may leverage AI, machine learning, and algorithmic tools for any of the above purposes in providing you with the Hearst Services.
To protect our rights and the rights of others.

How We Provide Information to Others

Within the Hearst family of companies, including with the brands and businesses that make up the Hearst affiliated network of media companies.
To service providers that perform services or handle transactions on our behalf.
To advertising-, marketing-, and personalization-related partners as well as companies that help us learn how you and others interact with our content. This includes certain partners, some of whom may be considered "data brokers" under applicable state laws, to whom we provide personal information, including for analysis and advertising purposes.
To content measurement companies, which help us learn about the performance of content across the internet, including on the Hearst Services.
To social media platforms and similar services, including when you interact with the Hearst Services that integrate tools and services provided by social media platforms.
To business partners and others, such as when we partner with a third party to offer products or services on a co-branded basis, or for their own advertising, marketing, or commercial purposes.
To other parties when required by law or as necessary to protect our rights, and in the context of corporate transactions.
With your consent or otherwise at your direction.

Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs

Depending on where you live, and subject to applicable laws, you may make requests to the Hearst Television brands and businesses providing you the Hearst Services to access, delete, correct, or convey your opt-out preferences with respect to your personal information. See section E. Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs.
This Privacy Notice describes the privacy rights you may have with respect to the Hearst Television brands and businesses that have provided the Hearst Services to you. To exercise privacy rights you may have with respect to the Hearst Magazines or Hearst Newspapers brands and businesses, at this time please navigate to the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button or link for the website or app you have interacted with and follow the instructions to submit your request.
You may take steps to limit the use of your information for targeted advertising on your browser or mobile device. See section E Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs.
You may unsubscribe from marketing or promotional emails by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link in emails, or for certain Hearst Services, by logging into your account and adjusting your preferences.

Additional Information

We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure.
The Hearst Services are operated from the United States. Information may be processed and stored in the United States or other countries.
The Hearst Services are not intended for use by children under the age of 18.
This Privacy Notice is part of the Terms of Use which govern your use of the Hearst Services, and any disputes related to your use of the Hearst Services (including our use of your information) will be resolved per the dispute resolution provision in the Terms of Use.
Additional disclosures and rights apply to California Residents. . These are included at the end of this Privacy Notice in section N. Notice at Collection / Additional information for California Residents.
Applicable privacy laws contain certain exemptions that apply when personal information is processed for journalistic purposes. This Privacy Notice does not cover personal information processed in the context of our journalistic activities.

Contact Us

If you have questions about our Privacy Notice or about the privacy rights described in section E. Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs, you can contact us by email at [email protected]. To find the contact information for Hearst Magazines or Hearst Newspapers brands and businesses you may have interacted with, please review the privacy notices linked out from the websites or apps you have used to interact with those brands and businesses.

PRIVACY NOTICE

A. Introduction
B. What Information We Obtain
C. How We Use Information We Obtain
D. How We Provide Information to Others
E. Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs
F. How We Protect Your Information
G. Non-U.S. Visitors
H. Children’s Privacy Rights
I. Links to Third-Party Websites, Mobile Apps or Other Services
J. Careers/Job Opportunities
K. Dispute Resolution/Terms of Use
L. Changes to This Privacy Notice
M. Contact Us
N. Notice at Collection/Additional Information for California Residents

A. INTRODUCTION

This Privacy Notice (the “Privacy Notice”) explains how we and third parties obtain certain information about you when you use or interact with a U.S. website, mobile or other digital app, print subscription, digital subscription product, or other digital service (each a “Hearst Service”). The Hearst Services are provided by the Hearst affiliated network of media companies, including Television stations, Newspapers, and Magazines (collectively “Hearst,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). You can learn more about the brands and businesses that make up the Hearst affiliated network of media companies here.

This Privacy Notice describes the privacy practices of the Hearst affiliated network of media companies and does not cover the practices of other companies, including those that may advertise or sponsor content, products or services on the Hearst Services.

Applicable privacy laws contain certain exemptions that apply when personal information is processed for journalistic purposes. As a publisher, Hearst processes personal information for such journalistic purposes, including to develop and publish our content. Because of these exemptions, privacy laws do not apply to some of the ways in which Hearst processes personal information. This Privacy Notice does not cover personal information processed in the context of our journalistic activities.

B. WHAT INFORMATION WE OBTAIN

When you use a Hearst Service, we may obtain various types of information related to you and your use of the Hearst Service. This may include information that directly identifies you such as your name, address, or contact information (this type of information may be called “personal information,” “personal data,” or “personally identifiable information”). We, our service providers, and third parties may aggregate or anonymize information that we collect in connection with your use of the Hearst Services; this information is not “personal information,” “personal data,” or “personally identifiable information.” Certain pieces of information we obtain (for example, account login, payment card information, race, precise geolocation, or ethnicity) may be considered “sensitive” under privacy laws. The information we obtain generally consists of information (1) you give us about yourself, (2) you give us about others, (3) automatically collected about your interactions with the Hearst Services and our content or ads on third-party websites, apps or other media, and (4) we get from other sources.

1. Information you give us

We may ask you to provide information about yourself when you use the Hearst Services. For example, to sign up for one of our newsletters or news alerts, you will need to give us an email address. You may not be able to use certain features if you choose not to submit the requested information.

The information you give us may include details such as:

Contact information (e.g., name, mailing address, email address or phone number).
Demographic, interests and household information (e.g., age, gender or education).
Payment information for subscriptions or purchases made through the Hearst Services (e.g., payment card number, expiration date and billing information).
Comments, photos, images, videos and other user-generated content or information you choose to publish on the Hearst Services, including content you provide when you comment on articles, interact with Q&As, blogs, and forums, or otherwise share with us.
Information you provide when you interact with AI-supported features provided as part of the Hearst Services, including AI chatbots. Please note that we may transcribe and retain your inquiries and responses when you interact with AI chatbots that are part of the Hearst Services, which may be shared with others and used for training AI models. Please do not provide information in a chat session with these features that you do not want retained and used for these purposes.
Information you provide when you choose to participate in surveys, polls, sweepstakes, contests or promotions (including information about your participation in activities that may generate loyalty or rewards points).
Location information, which may include precise location information when you permit the Hearst Services to access device location. To prevent the collection of precise location information, please refer to instructions provided by your mobile service provider or device manufacturer.
Other information you may allow us to access through your device’s permissions settings, such as your contacts or address book.
Transactional and activity information (e.g., requests, searches or orders).

2. Information you give us about others

You may give us information about other people, such as the name and email of a friend or contact with whom you want to share an article, the name and address of a gift subscription recipient, or if you participate in a survey or research initiative. Do not give us information about others unless you are authorized or have their consent to do so. We will use their information for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.

3. Information automatically collected

The Hearst Services automatically log certain information about visits to the Hearst Services, such as the number and frequency of visitors, technical information about browsers and devices used to access the Hearst Services, and information about crashes or other technical issues. We and our service providers may collect data from your browser or device (including connected apps and devices) for analytics and measurement purposes. In addition, we and third parties may automatically collect certain information through automated means about your activities over time across the Hearst Services as well as across third-party websites, apps or other media. The tools that collect this information vary depending on the Hearst Services and include technologies such as cookies, web beacons, tags, scripts, pixels, and software development kits (“SDKs”). These technologies may be included in our web pages, mobile or other digital apps, emails, and other digital content. The tools may assign or collect unique cookie IDs or other identifiers associated with your browser or device. The tools may collect information while you are using our Hearst Services or while they are running in the background of your device.

The information automatically collected may include:

Information about your computer, device, browser and operating system (e.g., type, model, or version).
Internet protocol (IP) address, which may be used to derive your general geographic area (e.g., city and country).
Device identifiers (e.g., mobile advertising IDs) or unique identifiers (e.g., based on hashed contact information).
Information about your interactions with the Hearst Services, including browsing and search activities and clickstream data that reflect the content (including advertising) and website features you have accessed, clicked on, viewed, watched, or otherwise interacted with.
Information about how you accessed the Hearst Services, including details about websites or apps visited immediately before or after accessing a Hearst Service.
Demographic, interests and household information.
Information about your interactions with email messages and other communications, such as whether you opened or forwarded the email or clicked on links contained in or attachments to the email.

For more information about the use of automated means in the context of targeted advertising and how you can limit tracking for advertising and marketing purposes, see section C.3 For advertising and marketing purposes, including targeted advertising.

4. Information we obtain from other sources

We receive information about you from other sources and it may be combined with other information about you. For example, we may obtain data from:

Operators of third-party websites or apps, content distribution channels and platforms (e.g., Roku, Amazon Fire TV), voice-activated assistants (e.g., Amazon Alexa, Google Home) or other devices and technologies when you interact with our content, products, services or ads available on those channels and platforms. The information we receive may include information about the content you view or access as well as your demographic information and information about your interests.
Third-party data suppliers such as data aggregators, data resellers, identity resolution providers, public databases and business partners. Some of these third-party data suppliers may be considered “data brokers” under applicable laws. They may provide us with demographic information, identifiers, hashed emails, information about your purchases, and other information that helps us learn about you and other users of the Hearst Services.
Authentication service partners. Certain Hearst Services allow you to log in through third-party authentication services, such as Facebook, Google, Apple, or Microsoft. When you use one of these partners to log in to the Hearst Services, they share certain information with us including name and email address.
Social Media Platforms and similar services (“Social Media Platforms”). When you engage with our content or ads on Social Media Platforms, or interact with features on the Hearst Services that contain content or features provided by Social Media Platforms (e.g., login or sign in features or tools that allow you to share our content with others on Social Media Platforms), we may obtain information from Social Media Platforms, including your username, user ID, demographic information and other information, subject to the settings and privacy practices of the relevant Social Media Platform. We may obtain this information directly from the Social Media Platform or through plug-ins, integrations or applications. Please keep in mind that the operators of the Social Media Platforms may also gather information about your use of the Hearst Services and their features and tools.

Business partners, including advertisers, joint marketing partners, co-sponsors, and others.

C. HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE OBTAIN

If you make a purchase or place an order through or in connection with a Hearst Service (including for paid content), we use your payment card information (e.g., your card number and expiration date) for limited purposes such as to process your transaction (including recurring payments, if applicable), to provide you with the requested products or services and for the purposes described under the section “To protect our rights or the rights of others” below.

With respect to information other than your payment card information, we use that information:

1. To provide you with the Hearst Services.

This includes:

Processing your requests regarding the Hearst Services and our subscriptions, products or services, or your participation in a survey, sweepstakes, contest, promotion, event or similar initiative.
Providing customer assistance or technical support.
Personalizing content, features, and ads, and enhancing the quality and your overall experience with the Hearst Services. We may retain user preferences to personalize your experience with the Hearst Services and content recommendations based on your reading habits, preferences, interests, and location, including to highlight content you may be interested in and de-emphasize content you may have already read.
Presenting content and features in the most effective manner for the browser or device you use to access the Hearst Services.
Maintaining, operating, improving and developing the Hearst Services and related content, features, products or services, including developing new products and features based on users’ interactions with the Hearst Services.
Learning about users of the Hearst Services and analyzing how you and others interact with and respond to the Hearst Services, including by measuring and optimizing usage, reliability and performance, conducting market research, analyzing trends, and supporting our operations (e.g., for accounting, auditing, financial, legal or other purposes).
Authenticating the account(s) being used to log in to the Hearst Services.

We may leverage AI, machine learning and algorithmic tools in connection with any of the above to provide you with the Hearst Services.

2. To communicate with you.

This includes:

Sending you informational messages about the Hearst Services (e.g., to confirm your subscription or notify you of changes to a Hearst Service).
Delivering marketing or promotional communications, including offers or promotions about our or third parties’ products, services or other initiatives.
Responding to your questions or addressing your requests.
Communicating with you about surveys, sweepstakes, contests, promotions or events.

3. For advertising and marketing purposes, including targeted advertising.

This includes:

Developing, personalizing, managing and conducting advertising and marketing campaigns, promotions and offers, including about our content, products and services or third parties’ products, services and other initiatives, whether on the Hearst Services or elsewhere.
Targeted advertising (also known as online behavioral advertising) is advertising based on your interests in topics and content based on your activities over time on the Hearst Services and online services operated by third parties, as well as information from other sources, including information collected offline or sourced from third-party data suppliers, as further described in section B.4 Information we obtain from other sources. Targeted ads may consist of text ads, images, animations or videos and may be displayed to you based on various factors, including the context of the website or app in which they appear (e.g., sport or travel section), information you provided to the operator of the website or app (e.g., when you created an account), your activities on the website or app (e.g., pages viewed, searches performed or ads clicked), and information such as your demographic, interests and household information.
Cross-device linking. If you access the Hearst Services from multiple browsers or devices, we, our service providers, identity resolution partners, data suppliers, and third parties may try to establish connections among and link the different browsers and devices you use to access the Hearst Services and our content or ads published elsewhere. This helps us provide you with a seamless experience across the browsers and devices you use and serve you with more relevant content and ads on the Hearst Services or elsewhere (e.g., so that we don’t show you the same article twice or to show you personalized or preferred content and ads on the different devices you may use). See section Website (Browser) Opt-Outs for steps you can take to limit browser and mobile app tracking for targeted advertising purposes.
Analyzing and measuring the performance, effectiveness and reach of our advertising (including targeted ads) and marketing efforts on the Hearst Services and elsewhere.

4. To protect our rights or the rights of others.

This includes:

Detecting, preventing and responding to fraud or potentially illegal activities, misuse of the Hearst Services, intellectual property infringement or other violations of law, this Privacy Notice, the applicable Hearst Service’s Terms of Use or other Hearst policies.
Maintaining, monitoring and enhancing the overall brand safety and information security and integrity of the Hearst Services
Performing audits, assessments and testing or troubleshooting activities.
Backing up our systems (including for disaster recovery purposes)
Complying with and enforcing applicable industry and legal requirements (including legal process such as court orders, warrants or subpoenas) and fulfilling contractual obligations.

D. HOW WE PROVIDE INFORMATION TO OTHERS

We may provide the information we obtain to:

Affiliates and Subsidiaries. We work closely with affiliates and subsidiaries within the Hearst family of companies, including with the brands and businesses that make up the Hearst affiliated network of media companies. We provide your information to affiliates and subsidiaries as necessary or appropriate, including for their own analytics, insights, editorial, personalization, communications, marketing and advertising purposes. You can review the brands and businesses that comprise the Hearst affiliated network of media companies here.
Service Providers. In connection with the operation and provision of the Hearst Services, we engage various vendors to provide services or handle transactions on our behalf. These services include: payment card processing, detecting and preventing fraud and illegal activities, monitoring and maintaining the brand safety and information security, account authentication, email distribution, list processing, postal mailing, cloud computing, analytics, digital content performance measurement and managing sweepstakes, contests, promotions or events. Service providers also facilitate certain advertising and marketing functions, including audience overlap analysis, ad serving, and measurement and auditing of ad performance. These service providers use the information we provide to them as necessary or appropriate for the performance of their services.
Advertising-, Marketing- and Personalization-Related Partners. We may provide your information to advertisers, advertising agencies, ad networks, ad exchanges, marketing businesses, identity resolution partners, ad tech vendors, data suppliers (some of which may be considered “data brokers” under applicable laws) and other entities that support personalization or create, deliver and assess advertising or marketing campaigns, including targeted ads.
Content Measurement Companies. We and third parties seek to measure the performance of content across the internet, including on the Hearst Services. We may include third-party measurement software in the Hearst Services to enable market research or to measure digital and video content consumption.
Social Media Platforms. If you interact with social media widgets, share content using social media share buttons, or access features of the Hearst Services that contain content or features provided by Social Media Platforms, the relevant Social Media Platforms may collect information. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of the Social Media Platforms that you engage with as we are not responsible for their privacy practices.
Business Partners. We may provide your information to business partners including, without limitation, joint marketing partners and content sponsors, for various purposes. For example, we may partner with a third party to offer products on a co-branded, co-sponsored or cross-promotional basis that involves providing your information to others. We may share your contact information and/or email with business partners for their own advertising, marketing, or commercial purposes. These initiatives may be offered on the Hearst Services or on other media.
Other Parties When Required by Law or As Necessary to Protect Our Rights. We may provide your information as we believe is necessary or appropriate to protect, enforce, or defend our legal rights, the privacy or safety of our employees, users of the Hearst Services or other individuals and entities, or to comply with or enforce applicable industry standards, law or legal process, including responding to court orders, warrants, subpoenas and other requests from public and government authorities.
Corporate Transactions. We reserve the right to transfer any of the information we have about you to proceed with the consideration, negotiation, or completion of a sale or transfer of all or a portion of our business or assets to a third party, such as in the event of a merger, acquisition or other disposition, or in connection with a bankruptcy reorganization, dissolution, or liquidation.
With Your Consent or Otherwise at Your Direction. In addition, we may provide your information to others with your consent to or at your request.

E. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS, INCLUDING MARKETING AND TARGETED ADS OPT-OUTS

This section describes the privacy rights you may have with respect to the Hearst Television brands and businesses that have provided the Hearst Services to you. To exercise privacy rights you may have with respect to the Hearst Magazines or Hearst Newspapers brands and businesses, at this time please navigate to the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button or link for the website or app you have interacted with and follow the instructions to submit your request.

Your U.S. State Privacy Rights

Residents of states with applicable privacy laws are afforded certain rights with respect to their personal information. Depending on where you live, and subject to certain exceptions, you may be entitled to the rights described below. Please note that if you submit a request to exercise any of the below privacy rights with respect to the brands or business that provides the Hearst Services to you (a “Privacy Rights Request”), we may request additional information to enable us to process your request. We will use the information you provide to make Privacy Rights Requests to verify your identity, locate your personal information that we may hold about you, and to fulfill your request. When you submit a Privacy Rights Request to access or delete your personal information through the applicable Privacy Rights Request Form, you will be required to verify access to the email address you submitted, and you will receive an email with a verification link to complete your email verification process. You are required to verify your email for us to proceed with such Privacy Rights Request. If you do not see the verification email in your inbox, please check your spam or junk folder. If you have any questions regarding your privacy rights, please contact us at [email protected].

Right to Access Your Personal Information. Under applicable privacy laws, you have the right to know the types and the specific pieces of the personal information we hold about you. To exercise this right, please complete this Privacy Rights Request Form and include the information requested on the Privacy Rights Request form, which may, depending on the Hearst Services you interact with, include your name and email address.. You can also access the form by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and selecting “Privacy Rights Request” from the menu on the left.
Right to Delete Your Personal Information. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. To request that we delete your personal information, please complete the Privacy Rights Request Form with the requested information, which may include your name and email address. You can also access the form by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and selecting “Privacy Rights Request” from the menu on the left.
Right to Correct Your Personal Information. You may request that we modify or update your personal information if it is inaccurate. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. To request that we modify or update your personal information, please email us at [email protected] , provide the requested information to confirm your identity, and specify the personal information you would like to be corrected, and what you would like the change to be. Please note that if you would like to correct the email you use to receive newsletters from us, you must unsubscribe from the newsletters and re-subscribe using your preferred email address.
Right to Opt Out. Applicable privacy laws may provide you with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:

Right to Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising: As part of the Hearst Services, we provide your personal information to third parties for “targeted advertising” purposes or in ways that may constitute “sales” under applicable laws. You may request that we not “sell” or provide your personal information to others for “targeted advertising” purposes on a go-forward basis.
If you would like to submit a request to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” that occurs through cookies and similar technologies on our website, please click on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising)” button in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and follow the instructions to express your preferences for each browser or device you have used to interact with us. Please remember that cookie-level opt-outs are browser and device-specific and applied to the website (domain) with respect to which you complete your opt out request. If you use multiple devices such as your smartphone, laptop or tablet or you visit multiple websites, you will need to submit separate requests from these devices or for these websites to effectuate the opt out at the cookie level for that browser or device.

If you wish to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” practices associated with your email address and/or other contact information we may have about you, please complete the Privacy Rights Request Form which may be found by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and providing the requested information, including your name and email address. Submitting this form will also opt you out of “sales” or “targeted advertising” that occur through cookies and similar technologies on our website for the browser or device that you have used to submit your request.

Please note that if you choose to exercise your opt out rights, you may still see certain ads on our websites and mobile or other digital apps. If you re-engage with us after opting out of “selling” or providing your personal information for “targeted advertising”, such as by signing up for a newsletter and/or entering a sweepstakes or contest you acknowledge that your personal information may be used and shared in accordance with this Privacy Notice, including in ways that may constitute “selling” or providing personal information for “targeted advertising” under applicable laws.
We may participate in the IAB U.S. privacy (“IAB Framework”) for some of our Hearst Services. This means that once you submit a request to opt out of sale /targeted ads by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button in the footer of the applicable Hearst Service you have interacted with and follow the instructions to express your preferences for each browser or device, we will notify relevant participants of the IAB Framework of your opt-out preferences. You can learn more about IAB Framework participants at https://www.iabprivacy.com/optout.html. Please note that the scope of the IAB Framework opt-out may only apply to personal information from the specific browser or device from which you opt out. In addition, exercising your right to opt out of the sale of your personal information does not mean that you will stop seeing ads or that you will stop seeing targeted ads. To learn more about targeted advertising across websites and additional opt-out choices, you should visit one or more of the following industry opt-out links: https://youradchoices.com/control and http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices. Where you exercise a right to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” for the purposes of applicable privacy laws, but do not opt out of targeted advertising more generally, you may continue to receive ads tailored to your interests, including based upon personal information not sold by us or sold by other sources from which you have not opted out. We are not responsible for any downstream participants’ compliance with the IAB Framework or the accuracy of their privacy policies or statements regarding their opt-out options or programs.
Right Regarding Sensitive Personal Information. Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered “sensitive” under applicable laws, such as debit or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, or account username and password. We limit the use of this information to what is reasonably necessary to provide the Hearst Services to you and for purposes permitted by applicable law (e.g., to ensure security and integrity). If you refuse to provide such information, it may affect the delivery of the Hearst Services or make us unable to provide services to you. In addition, if you have participated in journalistic or editorial surveys, polls, or similar initiatives in connection with the Hearst Services, you may have chosen to provide us with some “sensitive” information as part of your input (e.g., race or ethnic origin). Note that certain jurisdictions may provide individuals with the right to opt-in, opt-out, or limit the use and disclosure of “sensitive” personal information; however, personal information that we process to provide you with the requested Hearst Services or for journalistic purposes are not subject to this limitation/consent revocation right.
If you have enabled certain location services as part of your use of the Hearst Services, you may have provided us with sensitive information (e.g., precise geolocation). If you would like to adjust your location preferences, please use the settings provided by your device manufacturer.
Right to be free from discrimination. You may exercise any of the above rights without fear of being discriminated against.

Privacy Rights Appeals Process

Certain U.S. state privacy laws afford eligible residents the right to appeal a denial of a Privacy Rights Request in whole or in part. Please email [email protected] to submit a Privacy Rights Request appeal.

Authorized Agents

You may designate an authorized agent to make a request in relation to the privacy rights listed above. In the request, you or your authorized agent must provide us with sufficient information for us to verify both the identity of your agent and that your agent has been authorized to act on your behalf. This may result in your Privacy Rights Request taking additional time to process. If you are an authorized agent working on behalf of a consumer, you will need to follow the above processes and submit the relevant forms with the consumer’s information for us to process a Privacy Rights Request. Please note that for certain Privacy Rights Requests, the consumer you are working on behalf of will need to verify access to the email account used to submit the Privacy Rights Request in order for us to move forward with processing that request.

Direct Marketing Opt-Outs

Email marketing. You may opt out of receiving marketing or promotional emails from us by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link contained in such emails. Depending on the Hearst Service you use, you also may be able to opt out of marketing or promotional emails by logging into your account and managing your email preferences. Please keep in mind that if you opt out of receiving marketing or promotional emails, we may still send you transactional emails or other communications relating to your use of the Hearst Services (e.g., to confirm your subscription, to inform you of changes to a Hearst Service or in response to your password recovery request).
Text message marketing. If you choose to participate in a text message marketing campaign or promotion offered in connection with a Hearst Service, you may opt out of receiving marketing texts from us by following the instructions contained in those messages (e.g., texting the word STOP) or provided to you when you elected to receive text message marketing.
Direct mail. You may request that we stop sending you postal mail offers through the US post office by notifying us in writing at Office of General Counsel, Attn: Privacy, 300 West 57th Street, New York, NY 10019. Please indicate in your correspondence the name of the Hearst Service or publication to which your request applies.
Co-Branded, Co-Sponsored or Cross-Promotional Offerings. If you choose to participate in a co-branded, co-sponsored or cross-promotional offering, the brand, sponsor or other third party involved in that offering may use your information for its own purposes, including advertising and marketing purposes. You must contact the relevant third party directly to exercise your opt out choices with respect to such party’s use of your information.

Additional Opt-Out Methods

In addition to the rights afforded throughout this Privacy Notice and through the Privacy Rights Request Form and “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button in the footer of the Hearst website you have interacted with, there are industry frameworks and settings made available to you by device manufacturers that enable you to adjust your preferences with respect to the data collected about you and the ads that you may see. The section below provides more information about these settings.

DAA Industry Opt-Out

Some of the ads you see on the Hearst Services are targeted ads (this is also known as online behavioral advertising) described in section C.3 For advertising and marketing purposes, including targeted advertising. We describe below steps you can take to limit tracking of your activities and the delivery of targeted ads in browsers and mobile or other digital apps you use to access the Hearst Services. Please keep in mind that if you opt out of targeted ads, you will still see ads, but these ads will not be based on your inferred interests. In addition, if you take the steps described below, some automated means may still be used to collect information about your interactions with the Hearst Services for the other purposes described in this Privacy Notice (e.g., to remember user preferences or enable specific functionality).

The technologies used to deliver ads on websites and mobile or other digital apps differ. Please also remember that opt- outs are browser and device-specific.

Website (Browser) Opt-Out

Disabling Cookies. Most browsers accept cookies by default. You may be able to change the settings to have your browser refuse certain cookies or notify you before accepting cookies.
- If you choose to disable the use of cookies in your web browser, some features of the Hearst Services may become difficult to use or unavailable.
Opt-out Cookies. You can follow the instructions provided by the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) to place an opt-out cookie on your browser. If you are in the EU/UK and accessing the relevant Hearst Service from the EU/UK, you can opt-out via EDAA’s industry website at http://youronlinechoices.eu/. These opt-out cookies enable you to block participating companies from installing future cookies on your computer or browser.
- If you place opt-out cookies but subsequently clear or delete cookies on your computer or device browser, your opt-out cookies may be deleted and you may have to renew your opt-out choices for that specific browser.
- The opt-out mechanisms offered by the DAA is provided by a third party. Hearst does not control or operate these mechanisms or the choices provided through these mechanisms.
Analytics Provider Opt-Out. To disable analytics cookies, you can use the browser opt-out cookies controls discussed above or, for some of our providers, you can use their individual opt-out mechanisms:
- Opt Out of Google Analytics: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Mobile App Opt-Out

Device Settings. To limit targeted advertising on your mobile device, you can review and adjust the settings provided by your device manufacturer, such as guidance published for iOS or guidance published for Android.
AppChoices Application. You can download the “AppChoices” application provided by the DAA from your app store. AppChoices offers a mechanism to limit the collection of app data used for targeted ads by participating companies. See the AppChoices provided by the DAA for more.

Please keep in mind that as the mobile environment continues to evolve, additional opt-out mechanisms or privacy settings may become available to you. We encourage you to review the information on opt-outs and settings that device manufacturers, technology companies and industry associations make available to you.

Measurement Opt-Out

Some of the Hearst Services may include Nielsen proprietary measurement software, which contributes to market research (e.g., Nielsen TV Ratings). To learn more about the information that Nielsen software may collect and the choices you may have, please see the Nielsen Digital Measurement Privacy Statement.

Smart TVs, Streaming & Other Connected Devices

For connected devices, such as smart TVs or streaming devices, please review the device’s settings and select the option that allows you to disable automatic content recognition or ad tracking. Typically, to opt out, such devices require you to select options like “limit ad tracking” or to disable options such as “targeted advertising,” “interactive TV,” or “smart interactivity.” These settings vary by device type.

Additional Choices

User account. If you have created an account on a Hearst Service, you may be able to review some of your information for that account by logging in and updating your information or user preferences.
Device Settings. For relevant Hearst Services, you may be able to review and adjust your preferences by updating the settings on your device (e.g., permitting us to collect precise location information).

Push Notifications. If a Hearst Service enables push notifications on your device, you may review and update your push notification preferences by adjusting the settings on your device. For example, you can select the relevant app from “Notifications” (for iOS devices) or “App notifications” (for Android devices) and turn off alerts accordingly.

Do Not Track/Global Privacy Control

Hearst does not currently take steps to respond to browser "Do Not Track" signals as no uniform standard to respond to such signals has been developed at this time. We do, however, respond to the Global Privacy Control ("GPC") to the extent required by applicable law, and allow eligible individuals to convey opt-out preferences when we detect the signal. You can learn more about the GPC on the Global Privacy Control website.

F. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we make reasonable efforts to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

G. NON-U.S. VISITORS

We operate the Hearst Services from the United States. Any information we obtain about you in connection with your use of the Hearst Services may be processed and stored in the United States or other countries.

H. CHILDREN'S PRIVACY RIGHTS

The Hearst Services are not intended for use by children, especially those under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18.

I. LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES, MOBILE APPS OR OTHER SERVICES

The Hearst Services may contain links to websites, mobile apps or other services operated by companies not affiliated with Hearst. In addition, the Hearst Services may be made available to you through third-party platforms (such as app stores or Social Media Platforms) or other channels. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any non-Hearst operated websites, mobile apps or other services and channels, and we encourage you to review the privacy policies or notices published by relevant third parties.

J. CAREERS/JOB OPPORTUNITIES

This Privacy Notice does not apply to web pages hosting our careers or job opportunities. Any information obtained through such pages is governed by the privacy notice published thereon.

K. DISPUTE RESOLUTION/TERMS OF USE

Any dispute concerning the Hearst Services (including our use of your personal information) will be resolved per the dispute resolution provision in the Terms of Use.
Please take a few minutes to read the Terms of Use for the applicable Hearst Service before using the Hearst Services.

L. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time to reflect changes in our privacy practices or applicable laws. In accordance with applicable law, we may make such changes without prior notice. We will publish the updated version on the relevant Hearst Services and indicate at the top of the Privacy Notice when it was most recently updated. Your use of the Hearst Services will be governed by the then- current version of the Privacy Notice.

M. CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or Privacy Rights Requests, please contact at [email protected]. Please note that we do not accept Privacy Rights Requests through that mailbox and we ask you to submit your Privacy Rights Requests using the methods listed in section E Your Privacy Rights, Including Marketing and Targeted Ads Opt-Outs for more information.

If you have interacted with and have questions about Hearst Magazines or Hearst Newspapers brands and businesses, please contact them as follows:

For Hearst Magazines: [email protected]
For Hearst Newspapers: [email protected]

N. NOTICE AT COLLECTION / ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

Your California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) Rights

When you use or interact with a Hearst Service that is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, and you are a California resident, specific additional disclosures are required and you have additional rights regarding your personal information. If you are a California Resident, please review this section to learn more.

Categories of Personal Information We Collect

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CCPA”), requires specific disclosures for each category of personal information that we collect and may provide to others. Some of the ways in which we provide personal information to others may constitute “selling” or “sharing” for targeted advertising. The table below summarizes our general personal information handling practices which are more fully described in Sections B, C and D of this Privacy Notice.

Notes about the information in the table below:

Not all the listed categories of information below will necessarily be collected or received about every individual.
Not all examples of a particular “category of personal information” will necessarily be collected or received about every individual.
Personal Information handling practices may differ depending on which of the brands and businesses you engage with when interacting with the Hearst Services.

Category of Personal Information	Categories of Sources from Which Personal Information Was Collected (See Section B of this Privacy Notice for additional information)	Business or Commercial Purpose for Collecting and Providing the Category of Personal Information (See Sections C and D of this Privacy Notice for additional information)	Categories of Third Parties and Other Entities to Which We Provide Personal Information (See Section D of this Privacy Notice for additional information)
Identifiers (§1798.140 (v)(1)(A) and (B)) which include elements such as: (i) contact information (e.g., name, mailing address, email address, phone number); and (ii) online identifiers (e.g., Internet protocol (IP) address, account numbers, device identifiers such as mobile advertising IDs)	Directly from you From your friends or contacts (for example, if they forward you one of our articles) From cookies and similar technologies From third-party websites or apps, content distribution channels and platforms From third-party data suppliers and business partners From Social Media Platforms and similar services	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners With content measurement companies With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Demographics (§1798.140 (v)(1)(C)) which include elements such as age and gender	Directly from you From cookies and similar technologies From third-party websites or apps, content distribution channels and platforms From third-party data suppliers and business partners From Social Media Platforms and similar services	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners With content measurement companies With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Personal Information under subdivision (e) of Section 1798.80 of the California Civil Code (§1798.140 (v)(1)(B)) which includes payment information (e.g., payment card number, expiration date and billing information)	Directly from you	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Commercial Information (§1798.140 (o)(1)(D)) which includes elements such as transactional information (e.g., activity, subscriptions, requests, purchases, items in your cart but not completed purchases)	Directly from you From cookies and similar technologies	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, and personalization marketing partners With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Internet or other electronic network activity (§1798.140 (v)(1)(F)) which includes elements such as information about how you use, access, or interact with the Hearst Services such as comments, photos, videos and other content you choose to publish on the Hearst Services, information about your device, browser or operating system	From cookies and similar technologies From third-party websites and apps, content distribution channels and platforms From third-party data suppliers and business partners From Social Media Platforms and similar services	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners With content measurement companies With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Geolocation Data (§1798.140 (v)(1)(G)) which includes elements such as location information (e.g., city and state, or precise location information if location services are active on your device)	Directly from you From cookies and similar technologies	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners With content measurement companies With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Audio, Electronic, Visual, Thermal, Olfactory or Similar Information (§1798.140 (v)(1)(H)) which includes elements such as recordings of your calls with our call center	Directly from you	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Professional or Employment-Related Information (§1798.140 (v)(1)(I)) which includes elements such as your professional email address, phone number or other contact information if you have used such professional or employment related personal information to order a subscription, register for an account or to receive communications	Directly from you From third-party data suppliers and business partners From Social Media Platforms and similar services	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners With content measurement companies With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Inferences (§1798.140 (v)(1)(K)) which include elements such as inferences regarding your preferences or other characteristics (e.g., cooking enthusiast, travel, food and dining)	Directly from you From cookies and similar technologies From third-party websites and apps, content distribution channels and platforms From third-party data suppliers and business partners From Social Media Platforms and similar services	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services To communicate with you For advertising and marketing purposes for us or third parties, including targeted advertising To protect our or others' rights	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners With content measurement companies With Social Media Platforms With business partners With government authorities as required by law or as necessary to protect our rights
Sensitive Personal Information (§1798.140 (ae)(1),(2)) which include elements such as your race or precise geolocation when you enable geolocation on your device.	Directly from you From third-party data suppliers and business partners From surveys and consumer research	To provide you with and to improve the Hearst Services For advertising and marketing purposes	With affiliates and subsidiaries With service providers With advertising, marketing, and personalization partners

For each of the categories listed above, we will retain your personal information for as long as needed or permitted, depending on the purpose for obtaining that personal information and consistent with applicable laws. We will keep your personal information for as long as we have a relationship with you (e.g., to provide you with the Hearst Services or to complete transactions that you request). Once our relationship with you has come to an end, we will retain your personal information for a period of time that enables us to:

Maintain business records for analysis, understanding market trends, and/or audit purposes and to improve the Hearst Services.
Comply with record retention requirements under applicable laws or other relevant legal or regulatory requirements.
Defend, establish, exercise, or bring any existing or potential legal claims.
Carry out fraud detection and prevention.
Deal with any complaints regarding the Hearst Services, our products, and services.

California Privacy Rights

This section describes the privacy rights California residents may have with respect to the Hearst Television brands and businesses that have provided the Hearst Services to you. To exercise privacy rights you may have with respect to the Hearst Magazines or Hearst Newspaper brands and businesses, at this time please navigate to the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button or link for the website or app you have interacted with and follow the instructions to submit your request.

Residents of California may have the following rights:

1. Right to know and access your personal information. Under CCPA, you have the right to:

Know the categories of personal information, including sensitive personal information, that we collect and the categories of sources from which we got the information;
Know the business or commercial purposes for which we collect and provide personal information to others;
Know the categories of third parties and other entities to whom we provide personal information; and
Access the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

To do so, please complete the Privacy Rights Request Form and include the requested information, which may include your name and email address. You can also access the form by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and selecting “Privacy Rights Request” from the menu on the left. In addition, depending on where you live and the Hearst Service you have interacted with, you may exercise your right by calling 1-844-920-3260.

2. Right to deletion. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. To do so, please complete the Privacy Rights Request Form and include your name and email address. You can also access the form by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” link in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and selecting “Privacy Rights Request” from the menu on the left. In addition, depending on where you live and the Hearst Service you have interacted with, you may exercise your right by calling 1-844-920-3260.

3. Right to Correct Your Personal Information. You may request that we modify or update your personal information if it is inaccurate. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. To request that we modify or update your personal information, please email [email protected], provide the requested information to confirm your identity, and specify the personal information that you would like to be corrected, and what you would like the change to be. Please note that if you would like to correct the email you use to receive newsletters from us, you must unsubscribe from the newsletters and re-subscribe using your preferred email address.

4. Right to Opt Out. The CCPA provides California residents with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:

Right to Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising: As part of the Hearst Services, we “share” your personal information with third parties for targeted advertising purposes or in ways that may constitute “sales” under the CCPA. You may request that we not “sell” or “share” your personal information on a going forward basis for these purposes.

If you would like to submit a request to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” that occurs through cookies and similar technologies on our website, please click on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising)” button in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and follow the instructions to express your preferences for each browser or device you have used to interact with us. Please remember that cookie-level opt-outs are browser and device-specific and applied to the website (domain) with respect to which you complete your opt out request. If you use multiple devices such as your smartphone, laptop or tablet or you visit multiple websites, you will need to submit separate requests from these devices or for these websites.

If you wish to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” practices associated with your email address and/or other contact information we may have about you, please complete the Privacy Rights Request Form with the requested information, which may include your name and email address. Submitting this form will also opt you out of “sales” or “targeted advertising” that occur through cookies and similar technologies on our website for the browser or device that you have used to submit your request to effectuate the opt out at the cookie-level for that browser or device. In addition, depending on where you live and the Hearst Service you have interacted with, you may exercise your right by calling 1-844-920-3260.

Please note that if you choose to exercise your opt out rights, you may still see certain ads on our websites and mobile or other digital apps. If you re-engage with us after opting out of “selling” or “sharing” of your personal information, such as by ordering a new subscription, buying a product, signing up for a newsletter, and/or entering a sweepstakes or contest, you acknowledge that your personal information may be used in accordance with this Privacy Notice, including in ways that may constitute “selling” or “sharing” under CCPA.

We may participate in the IAB U.S. privacy (“IAB Framework”) for some of our Hearst Services. This means that once you submit a request to opt out of sale /targeted ads by clicking on the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button in the footer of the Hearst Service you have interacted with and follow the instructions to express your preferences for each browser or device, we will notify relevant participants of the IAB Framework of your opt-out preferences. You can learn more about IAB Framework participants at https://www.iabprivacy.com/optout.html. Please note that the scope of the IAB Framework opt-out may only apply to personal information from the specific browser or device from which you opt out. In addition, exercising your right to opt out of the sale of your personal information does not mean that you will stop seeing ads or that you will stop seeing targeted ads. To learn more about targeted advertising across websites and additional opt-out choices, you should visit one or more of the following industry opt-out links: https://youradchoices.com/control and http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices . Where you exercise a right to opt out of “sale” or “targeted advertising” for the purposes of applicable privacy laws, but do not opt out of targeted advertising more generally, you may continue to receive ads tailored to your interests, including based upon personal information not sold by us or sold by other sources from which you have not opted out. We are not responsible for any downstream participants’ compliance with the IAB Framework or the accuracy of their privacy policies or statements regarding their opt-out options or programs.

5. Right To Limit Processing of Sensitive Personal Information. Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered "sensitive" under CCPA, such as debit or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, or account username and password. We limit the use of this information to what is reasonably necessary to provide the Hearst Services to you and for purposes permitted in Section 7027(m) of the CCPA Regulations (e.g., to ensure security and integrity). If you refuse to provide such information, it may affect the delivery of the Hearst Services or make us unable to provide services to you. In addition, if you have participated in journalistic or editorial surveys, polls, or similar initiatives in connection with the Hearst Services, you may have chosen to provide us with some “sensitive” information as part of your input (e.g., race or ethnic origin). If you have enabled certain location services as part of your use of the Hearst Services, you may have provided us with sensitive information (e.g., precise geolocation). Note that certain jurisdictions may provide individuals with the right to opt-in, opt-out, or limit the use and disclosure of “sensitive” personal information; however, personal information that we process to provide you with the requested Hearst Services or for journalistic purposes are not subject to this limitation right.

If you have enabled certain location services as part of your use of the Hearst Services, you may have provided us with sensitive information (e.g., precise geolocation). If you would like to adjust your location preferences, please use the settings provided by your device manufacturer.

6. Right to Be Free From Discrimination. You may exercise any of the above rights without fear of being discriminated against.

Authorized Agents

For any CCPA rights, you may designate an authorized agent to make a request in relation to the privacy rights listed above. In the request, you or your authorized agent must provide us with sufficient information for us to verify both the identity of your agent and that your agent has been authorized to act on your behalf. This may result in your Privacy Rights Request taking additional time to process. If you are an authorized agent working on behalf of a consumer, you will need to follow the above processes and submit the relevant forms with the consumer’s information for us to process a Privacy Rights Request. Please note that for certain Privacy Rights Requests the consumer you are working on behalf of will need to verify access to the email account used to submit the Privacy Rights Request in order for us to move forward with processing that request.

Minors

We do not knowingly collect or provide the personal information of minors under the age of 18 to others, without affirmative authorization.

How We Use Your CCPA Rights Request Information

We use the information you provide to make your CCPA rights requests to verify your identity, locate the personal information we may hold about you and act upon your request. We strongly recommend that you submit the email and postal address that you used when you created accounts, ordered subscriptions or signed up for a newsletter. You will be required to verify access to the email address you submitted for certain Privacy Rights Requests. In such cases, you will receive an email with a verification link to complete your email verification process. You are required to verify your email in order for us to proceed with your access and deletion CCPA rights requests. Please check your spam or junk folder in case you can't see the verification email in your inbox. If you are a California resident and have any questions regarding your CCPA rights under this Privacy Notice, please contact us at tvprivacy@hearst.com.

To view our California Privacy Rights Request statistics for California-based Hearst Television stations, please visit our CCPA Statistics page at https://www.hearst.com/californiatv-ccpa-statistics.

Financial Incentives

When you interact with the Hearst Services, you may be offered opportunities to create an account with us or provide your personal information (e.g., email address) to receive certain services or benefits (such as access to free or exclusive content or features) (each a “Program”). Under California law, a Program may be considered a “financial incentive.” Personal information you provide to us in connection with a Program may be used as set out in this Privacy Notice, including for marketing and targeted advertising purposes.

When you participate in a Program, you agree to any terms that apply to that Program. Although your information collected in connection with the Program, when aggregated with information collected about others, may be of value to us, we are not aware of and so do not determine the value of that information at the individual level. You may elect to revoke your participation in a Program (e.g., by opting out of emails or deleting your account with us).

Your Shine the Light California Rights (CA Civil Code § 1798.83)

California law allows residents to request a list of all the third parties to which we have disclosed certain personal information (as defined by California’s Shine the Light law) during the preceding year for those third parties’ direct marketing purposes. We do not disclose personal information of a consumer to third parties for third parties’ direct marketing purposes if the consumer has exercised an option that prevents that information from being disclosed. If you are a California resident and would like to submit a request under California’s Shine the Light law, please navigate to the “Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads)” button or link for the Hearst Services website or app you have interacted with and complete the Privacy Rights Request Form to Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Advertising. We will not accept requests by telephone, email, or facsimile, and we are not responsible for notices that are not labeled or sent properly, or that do not have complete information.