Privacy Policy

Cookie Connection's privacy policy was developed to demonstrate our commitment to quality service and support of our Cookie Connection members. The policy is also designed to assist you in understanding how we collect, use, and protect the personal information you provide to us, and to help you make informed decisions when using our site.

We reserve the right to revise this policy at our discretion, and will make reasonable efforts to advise members of significant policy changes. However, please check back here from time to time, as this policy may be revised without notice.

In order to gain access to the site (become a member), Cookie Connection requires you to submit your email address, birthday, gender, location, country and postal code, and a brief bio, among other optional information, during the registration process.

• Email Address: Please note that the email address you used to sign up for the site will not display publicly, unless you choose to enter it again in the public field in your member profile. Your email address will be used strictly for Cookie Connection administrative purposes, i.e., for notifications related to any posts or clips you are following or to send periodic Cookie Connection updates and newsletters. Your email address may also be used to notify you in the event of site upgrades, changes to or concerns regarding terms of use, featured content on the site, or outcomes of contests or challenges. At any time, you can opt to suspend notifications by modifying "Notifications" in your member profile area in the upper right of the site. Similarly, you can opt out of newsletters and other emailings at any time by unsubscribing to them on the emailing itself or by not following the blog or other areas of the site to which Cookie Connection posts content.
  
  Cookie Connection will never share or sell email or other contact information obtained via this site to any other party.


• Birthday: Your birthday (without the year) will display on your member profile and also on the community calendar unless you opt to keep it private by modifying "Personal Settings" in your member profile area. Because Cookie Connection strictly enforces the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, we require birthdate information to prevent those under the age of 13 from posting here. It is our policy that no person under 13 should disclose information on this site. You can learn more about protecting children's privacy online by visiting the Federal Trade Commission website, here.


• Gender: Though required, gender is never publicly displayed and is used strictly in an aggregate form by Cookie Connection administrators to understand the demographics of the site's member base.


• Geographic Information: Your country and postal code, as well as any information entered into the "Location" field in your member profile, will display publicly on that page. Your country and postal code will also be used to locate you on a member map in the member directory area and in geographical searches of the member database, so please only enter information into these areas that you are comfortable sharing online.


• Bio and Other Registration Info: Whatever you enter into the "Bitesize Bio" field and any optional fields will also publicly display on your member profile. Again, please only enter information that you are comfortable sharing online.

Hoop.la, the platform/host for Cookie Connection, uses Google Analytics and other methods for tracking page views, visits, traffic sources, and other metrics related to activity on this site. This information is used to determine how well we are serving you with our content, and is shared in aggregate to potential advertisers. We do not connect any of this information to your personal information or email address.

You can integrate other website content into our site should you elect to do so in "Social Networks" in your member profile area. You may also click through to other sites from time to time in various areas on this site. Please note that when you provide content to linked sites, you are subject to those sites' policies regarding privacy and data collection. You should always read those policies to make sure you agree to them before sharing information there.

Cookie Connection at all times cooperates with law enforcement inquiries, as well as other third parties, to enforce laws, such as intellectual property rights, fraud, and so forth. By agreeing to our Terms of Use, you have authorized us to disclose any information about you to law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate, in connection with an investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringements, or other activity that is illegal or may expose us or you to legal liability.

We protect your personal information by using reasonable efforts to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, or accidental loss or destruction. Your postings on this site and other communications you may have with us via email may not be secure. Therefore, if you choose to communicate with us through these channels, you are assuming the risk of doing so, and we request that you do not send or post sensitive information through them.

In response to the GDPR, which went into effect in the EU on May 25, 2018, we added several features to ensure your control over the data you post on Cookie Connection. All members, anywhere, can now deactivate or delete their accounts at any time, and/or elect to revoke our Terms of Use (which deactivates those revoking the terms). Members can also download all of their content from the site into a portable format. Options for doing all of these things can be found under the "Update Your Profile" link in your member profile area.

Contact Julia M. Usher

Revision: May 25, 2018