The News & Observer has a firm commitment to privacy. We take your privacy concerns seriously and want to make every effort to address them. That is why we have adopted the following policy, which explains our position on information-gathering and disclosure.

Your Personal Information
From time to time, we will ask for information that personally identifies you, as in our user surveys or registration for The News & Observer services such as e-mail, forums, or promotions. We use this information to operate The News & Observer's services, provide you with the highest quality services and offer you opportunities we think will be of interest.

We will not disclose any personal information without your advance permission except when we believe the law requires us to do so or the disclosure is necessary to protect the rights or property of The News & Observer, or as explained below or in our User Agreement.

In order to describe our services to prospective partners, advertisers and others, we may disclose user information but only in a form that does not identify individual users. For example, we might disclose that a certain percentage of our users are male or within a certain age range.

Occasionally, we may disclose personal information in other circumstances, but we will only do this if we have explained at the time we collect the information the purpose for which it will be disclosed.

Kids' Privacy
The News & Observer is particularly concerned with providing a safe online environment for kids. Therefore, in areas operated by The News & Observer that are directed to kids or when we learn that a user is under the age of 13, we will ask for parental consent before collecting additional personal information about the child or allowing the child to use the The News & Observer services to provide additional personal information. Parental consent can be provided in two ways:

1. Send a fax copy of a completed Parental Consent Form, including your signature, to the facsimile number provided on the Parental Consent Form (which will be provided in applicable areas on our site) or
2. Call our toll-free number at the telephone number provided on the Parental Consent Form.

The News & Observer will not knowingly disclose personal information about users under the age of 13 without prior parental consent, except as required by law. If for any reason you wish to access, update or remove information about your child or terminate your child's account, you may fax or call The News & Observer at the numbers listed above or send us feedback.

The News & Observer strongly recommends parental supervision when a child uses the Internet, and particularly when a child enters a forum or uses e-mail. We also encourage parents to instruct their children not to give out personal information in these areas.

E-Commerce
The News & Observer hosts a number of online stores that sell a variety of goods and services. These stores may collect information from you such as your name, credit card number and other contact information. The News & Observer does not collect, use or disclose this information nor does it own or control the stores or have responsibility for transactions made by those merchants. If you would like to know more about the information collected when you participate in e-commerce on or through this site, please contact the store merchants directly.

Cookies
A "cookie" is a small data text file that is placed in your browser and allows The News & Observer to recognize you each time you visit this site. Cookies themselves do not contain any personal information, and The News & Observer does not use cookies to collect personal information. Instead, they allow us to see which parts of our site you have used so that we can better serve you when you return to our site. Cookies may be used to provide you with information and special opportunities tailored to your interests.

Direct Mailings and "Opting Out"
We may send you information about various products and services. If you don't want to receive this information, you can "opt out" by changing your member preferences within the Member Center.

You Can Change Your Private Information at any Time
Information you provide to The News & Observer may be stored by us for an indefinite time. However, please feel free to change, update or delete this information at any time within the Member Center.

Remember The Risks Whenever You Use The Internet
You should know that when you voluntarily disclose personal information on the The News & Observer system (for example, in forums), that information can be collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited messages from other people. While we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information that you transmit to The News & Observer and you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any passwords or other account information. In addition, our partners and other Internet sites or services that may be accessible through The News & Observer have separate data and privacy practices independent of us, and therefore we disclaim any responsibility or liability for their policies or actions. Please contact those vendors and others directly if you have any questions about their privacy policies.

Tell Us How We're Doing
If you have any questions or comments about our policies, please contact us by sending us feedback.