Privacy Policies

Effective Date: December 1, 2006

The following Privacy Policy governs the online information collection practices of USATODAY.com ("we" or "us"). Specifically, it outlines the types of information that we gather about you while you are using the USATODAY.com website (the "Site"), and the ways in which we use and don't use this information. This Privacy Policy, including our children's privacy statement, does not apply to any information you may provide to us or that we may collect offline and/or through other means (for example, at a live event, via telephone, or through the mail). In addition, this Privacy Policy does not apply to any activities (online or otherwise) of the USA TODAY print newspaper.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By visiting and using the Site, you agree that your use of our Site, and any dispute over privacy, is governed by this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Service. Because the Web is an evolving medium, we may need to change our Privacy Policy at some point in the future, in which case we'll post the changes to this Privacy Policy on this website and update the Effective Date of the policy to reflect the date of the changes. By continuing to use the Site after we post any such changes, you accept the Privacy Policy as modified.

Your California Privacy Rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the "Shine The Light" law, permits our customers who are California residents to request and obtain from us once a year, free of charge, information about the personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year. If applicable, this information would include a list of the categories of personal information that was shared and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to:

Online Privacy Coordinator
USATODAY.com
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107

What Information is Collected About Visitors?

The information that we collect about you while you are using the Site falls into two general categories:

1. Information You Provide to Us.

We may collect and store information, personal or otherwise, that you voluntarily supply either while on the Site or in responding via email in connection with a feature provided on the Site. Some examples of this type of information include demographic information that you electronically submit when you sign up for access to certain features on the Site, information (such as your name or email address) that you electronically submit when you register for surveys, sweepstakes or contests on the Site, information that you post on message boards on the Site, and information contained in search requests or questions that you submit to the Site. If you decline to supply or provide us with certain information while using the Site, you may not be able to use or participate in some or all of the features offered through the Site.

2. Information that is Automatically Collected.

We also collect and store information that is generated automatically as you navigate through the Site. For example, to enhance your experience on the Site, we use a standard feature found in browser software called a "cookie." Cookies are small files that your web browser places on your hard drive for record-keeping purposes. By showing how and when visitors use the Site, cookies help us track user trends and patterns. They also prevent you from having to re-enter your preferences on certain areas of the Site where you have entered preference information before. USATODAY.com also uses web beacons (single-pixel graphic files also known as "transparent GIFs") to access cookies and to count users who visit the Site or open our HTML-formatted email messages. Another example of information that we automatically collect as you navigate the Site is information about your computer's connection to the Internet. This information allows us, among other things, to improve the delivery of our web pages to you and to measure traffic on the Site.

In addition, third party advertisers or third party ad servers that place and present advertising on the Site also may collect information from you via cookies, web beacons, clear .gifs or similar technologies. These third party advertisers and ad servers may use the information they collect to help present their advertisements, to help measure and research the advertisements' effectiveness, or for other uses. The use and collection of your information by these third party advertisers and ad servers is governed by the relevant third party's privacy policy and is not covered by our privacy policy. Indeed, the privacy policy of these third party advertisers and ad servers may be different from our privacy policy. If you want more information about the privacy policies of these third party advertisers and ad servers or want more information on how to opt-out of the cookies or web beacons that some advertisers and ad servers may use, click here.

How is this Information Used?

We use the information we collect from you while you are using the Site in a variety of ways, including using the information to customize features and advertising that appear on the Site. We also may provide your information to third parties, such as service providers, contractors, and advertisers, for a variety of purposes. For example, we may provide our advertisers with information about you and other visitors that will enable our advertisers to better target ads to specific types of visitors.

We reserve the right to use and to disclose to third parties all of the information that we collect online about you and other visitors in any way and for any purpose, with one important exception. We will not use the information that we collect online from you while you are using the Site, nor will we authorize third parties to use such information, to mail or email promotional offers directly to you unless you have specifically informed us that you would like to receive promotional offers from us and/or from third parties. If you choose to receive these promotional offers, then your information may be used for direct mail or email marketing. You may view or update your preference to receive these promotional offers by visiting registration.usatoday.com.

Please also keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily make your personal information available for viewing by third parties online – for example on message boards, through email or web logs, or in chat areas – that information can be seen, collected and used by others besides us. We cannot be responsible for any unauthorized third party use of such information.

The Site includes links to other websites and provides access to products and services offered by third parties, whose privacy policies we do not control. When you access another website or purchase third party products or services through the Site, use of any information you provide is governed by the privacy policy of the operator of the site you are visiting or the provider of such products or services.

We also make some content, products and services available through our Site through cooperative relationships with third party providers, where the brands of our provider partner appear on the Site in connection with such content, products and/or services. We may share with our provider partner any information you provide, or that is collected, in the course of visiting any pages that are made available in cooperation with our provider partner. In some cases, the provider partner may collect information from you directly; in which cases the privacy policy of the provider partner may apply to the provider partner's use of your information. The privacy policy of our provider partners may differ from ours. If you have any questions regarding the privacy policy of one of our provider partners, you should contact the provider partner directly for more information. In addition, certain affiliated USA TODAY divisions, such as the USA TODAY print newspaper, provide online services that are separate from our Site and may be subject to privacy policies that are different from ours. If you have any question about the privacy policy that applies to the online service you are using, you should click on the relevant link on the page of the service that you are using.

We are an affiliate of the CareerBuilder online careers service. Through our cooperative relationship with CareerBuilder, we are able to provide you with access to the CareerBuilder products and services through a co-branded CareerBuilder site. When you provide information through the co-branded CareerBuilder site, CareerBuilder may share your information with us and we may use that information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

Likewise, we are an affiliate of the Topix.net online news service, which enables us to provide you with access to Topix.net products and services through a co-branded Topix.net site. When you provide information through the co-branded Topix.net site, Topix.net may share your information with us and we may use that information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy.

Be aware that we may occasionally release information about visitors when release is appropriate to comply with law, to enforce our Terms of Service agreement, or to protect the rights, property or safety of users of the Site, the public, or USATODAY.com.

Please also note that as our business grows, we may buy or sell various assets. In the unlikely event that we sell some or all of our assets, or our site is acquired by another company, information about our visitors may be among the transferred assets.

Children's Privacy Statement

This children's privacy statement explains USATODAY.com's practices with respect to the online collection and use of personal information from children under the age of thirteen, and provides important information regarding their rights under federal law with respect to such information.

* This Site is not directed to children under the age of thirteen and we do NOT knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen as part of the Site. We screen users who wish to provide personal information in order to prevent users under the age of thirteen from providing such information. If we become aware that we have inadvertently received personally identifiable information from a user under the age of thirteen as part of the Site, we will delete such information from our records. If we change our practices in the future, we will obtain prior, verifiable parental consent before collecting any personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen as part of the Site.
* Because we do not collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen as part of the Site, we also do NOT knowingly distribute such information to third parties.
* We do NOT knowingly allow children under the age of thirteen to publicly post or otherwise distribute personally identifiable contact information through the Site.
* Because we do not collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of thirteen as part of the Site, we do NOT condition the participation of a child under thirteen in the Site's online activities on providing personally identifiable information.

How To Make Changes to Your Information

you have subscribed to one or more of our email newsletters, you may change your subscriber information, modify your subscriptions, and/or unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time by visiting registration.usatoday.com.

Questions Regarding Privacy

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or your dealings with us, please contact us by writing to:

Kimberly Jaske
Online Privacy Coordinator
Newspaper Division
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107