About Our Ads Summary and Privacy Policy 
Updated March 27, 2017

About Our Ads and our Privacy Policy together explain how we and some of the companies we work with collect, use, share and protect information in relation to our Web sites, mobile application services and any software provided on or in connection with Britannica services (collectively, the “Services”) and your choices about the collection and use of your information. The Services are general audience services, intended for Users (visitors and subscribers) of all ages.

Our free Services are supported by advertising.

Our subscription Web sites are paid for by subscription fees, and are ad-free, as are our paid-for mobile applications. If you would like to avoid ads, sign up for a subscription or upgrade your mobile application.

Your use of our Services is governed by our Terms of Use. PLEASE NOTE, OUR TERMS OF USE CONTAIN DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES AND LIABILITY, A BINDING ARBITRATION CLAUSE AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. THESE PROVISIONS AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS ABOUT HOW TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTE WITH BRITANNICA, INCLUDING UNDER THIS PRIVACY POLICY. PLEASE REVIEW. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IS ACCEPTANCE OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND OUR TERMS OF USE.

About Our Ads Summary

We Use Common Tracking Tools

We, or vendors we have hired, use several common tracking technologies. These technologies may include browser and flash cookies, Web beacons and similar technologies, and location based services.

Our Tracking May Be Used to Serve Ads

We use common tracking tools to decide which ads to insert into the pages you visit.

• As part of this customization, we (or companies we work with) observe your behavior on our Services to provide you with ads that are related to the searches you run on our Services.
• We may also get information about your browsing history on other Web sites from our trusted business partners. We use this information to provide you with ads on our Services related to your browsing history outside of our Services, and ads related to our Services on other Web sites.
• Additionally, trusted business partners may use your behavior on our Services to decide which ads to show you on other Web sites.

You Can Control Cookies

You can control cookies. How you do so depends on the type of cookie. To reject browser cookies, you must set your browser to reject browser cookies. To control flash cookies, click here. Why? Because flash cookies do not reside in your browser, and therefore your browser settings will not affect them. If you configure your computer to block cookies, you may not be able to access certain functionality on our sites.

You Can Control Tracking-Based Ads

Many of the ad networks we work with participate in the Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. This program allows consumers to opt out of having their online behavior tracked for advertising purposes. If you want to opt out, click here.

Location Based Data

Some of our mobile application services make use of location based data. When you enable “Location Services” on your device and give your permission, we or our third party service providers, advertisers and/or partners may receive and collect anonymous information from cellular, Wi-Fi, and Global Positioning System (GPS) networks to determine your approximate location. We or our third party service providers, advertisers and/or partners may use this information to provide you with location based services, such as advertising and offers from local businesses and their locations. For information on how to disable these services, please contact your mobile service carrier or your device manufacturer. If you choose to turn off location services, it could affect certain features or services of our mobile applications.

We Also Use Common Tracking Tools for Non-Advertising Purposes

• To understand our subscribers and other visitors to our Services so that we may improve our Services.
• To track new visitors to our Services.
• To recognize past subscribers.
• To store your password if you are registered on our Services.

Privacy Policy

In general, our Users are able to visit many of the pages within our Services without telling us who they are or revealing any information about themselves. We may track IP addresses from which Users visit us and analyze this data in the aggregate to determine usage for trends and statistics. Users remain anonymous unless they voluntarily tell us who they are. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use of data that Users provide directly to advertisers or third party partners; that usage is governed by the advertiser’s or third party partner’s privacy policy.

Personal Information (“PII”) We Collect and How We Use It.

We ask Users to provide certain PII about themselves when they sign up for subscriptions, make purchases in our store, or register for or contribute content to a Britannica Service. PII means, where applicable, your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and/or credit or charge card information. It is up to you whether you provide any PII; however, you must provide some PII to purchase a subscription, submit content or make a store purchase. When you provide your PII within your content submissions, realize we have no control over how other Users will use that information.

Britannica uses PII for: allowing Users to obtain an account and to receive communications; verifying the identities of contributors of content; making ongoing enhancements to the sites; marketing and promotional purposes; and evaluating site usage by analyzing PII and related data in the aggregate. In addition, with respect to Britannica site Users located outside North America, we may share pertinent PII with our local subsidiaries.

We may share PII with:

Authorized service providers. We may share PII with service providers that perform certain services on our behalf, such as processing credit card payments, performing business and sales analysis, and supporting our Services’ functionality.

Business partners. When you make purchases or engage in our promotions, we may share PII with the businesses with which we partner to offer you those products, services, promotions, contests and/or sweepstakes. When you elect to engage in a particular merchant’s offer or program, you authorize us to provide your email address and other information to that merchant.

Quizzes Data Collection. Whenever you play our Quizzes, we collect data about your interactions with each Quiz. This information may be associated with your user name, IP address or device ID for the purpose of providing our Services and improving them. In addition, when you play a Quiz, your user name, related photo and Quiz score may be displayed in our “Quiz Leaderboard” for other players to see. If you do not want your user name and related photo displayed in the Quiz Leaderboard, please refrain from playing our Quizzes.

Logging in using social networking credentials. If you log-in to our Services using a social media (such as Facebook or Twitter) log-in, you are granting permission to the social media service to share your user details with us. This may include your name, email address, date of birth and location, which will then be used to create a Britannica identity. These social media services may use information about your visit to our Services on their pages. If you browse these pages while still logged in to your account with us, information they collect may be connected to your account on their Web site. For more information on how these social media services use information, please review their privacy policies.

Posting from home. You should be aware that if you or your friends post the location of your home and that information is published on a Service it may be available to others and may be published by third parties without our control. To request removal of location data please email us at [email protected].

Metadata. Metadata is technical data associated with User content. For example, Metadata can describe how, when and by whom a piece of User content was collected and how that content is formatted. Users can add Metadata to their User content, including hashtags (to mark keywords), geotags (to mark your location), comments or other data. This makes your User content more searchable by others and more interactive.

Direct mail partners. From time to time we may share our postal mailing list with selected providers of goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive mailings from these providers, you can notify us at any time by following the instructions set forth below in “How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information., which n0tice gathers for us.”

Law enforcement. We also may disclose your information: In response to a subpoena or as otherwise required by law. When we believe disclosure is appropriate in connection with efforts to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding illegal activity, suspected fraud or other wrongdoing; to protect and defend the rights, property or safety of Britannica, our Users, our employees, or others; to comply with applicable law or cooperate with law enforcement; or to enforce our Service Terms and Conditions or other agreements or policies.

Purchasers of our business. In connection with a substantial corporate transaction, such as the sale of our business, a divestiture, merger, consolidation or asset sale. Our privacy policy would continue to cover your PII.

Updating your personal information.You can update your personal information and change your marketing preferences at any time by sending an email to [email protected].

Prospect and Referral Information

If a User visits a Service and submits an e-mail address to Britannica but fails to complete the registration or purchase process, we may use such “prospect” information to contact the prospective User from time to time with Britannica offers and information about new features, new services, and special discounts we think the User may see as valuable. Similarly, if a User forwards a Britannica e-mail to a friend, we may use the “referral” information provided to contact the friend from time to time with Britannica offers and information about new features, new services, and special discounts we think the friend may see as valuable. We do not sell or rent any contact information for such “prospects” or “referrals.”

Non-Personally identifiable Information (“Non-PII”) We Collect and How We Use It

Like other commercial Web sites, we collect information about consumer activities and behaviors to improve our Services, provide standard advertising controls, determine User response to advertisements and promotions, deliver targeted advertisements that we or our partners believe will be of most interest to you, and prepare aggregated reports.

Non-PII collected includes the following: IP address, device identifier, domain, browser type and language, referring Web site addresses, date/time of visits, page view data, and search keywords. If we combine Non-PII with PII the combined information will be treated as PII for as long as it remains combined. Non-PII is collected using the following standard Web technologies:

• “Cookies” are data files, which often include an anonymous unique identifier, sent to your browser from a Web site. Cookies can only be read by the party placing the cookie, they cannot erase or alter any of your data and when used in the context of collecting non-PII, they do not include personal data. For more information about cookies visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org.
• “Log files” track actions occurring on sites and mobile services and collect data including your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, click data and types of advertisements viewed.
• “Web beacons” are electronic files used to track your navigation of a Web site or collection of sites, and browsing behavior.
• When you enable “Location Services” on your device and give your permission, we or our third party service providers, advertisers and/or partners may receive and collect anonymous information from cellular, Wi-Fi, and Global Positioning System (GPS) networks to determine your approximate location. We or our third party service providers, advertisers and/or partners may use this information to provide you with location based services, such as advertising and offers from local businesses and their locations. For information on how to disable these services, please contact your mobile service carrier or your device manufacturer. If you choose to turn off location services, it could affect certain features or services of our mobile applications.

Collectively these technologies enable us to better understand our Users. Cookies do not allow us to gather any PII.

Demographic Information. At times we ask subscribers and other Users who register to use some of our Services to provide us with demographic or profile information regarding their preferences and interests. This demographic information is not required. We use aggregated demographic information to draw conclusions about Users’ wishes and preferences. We also provide demographic User information in the aggregate to third parties in connection with advertising campaigns. You may withdraw your consent at any time by following the instructions provided under the heading “How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information” below.

In addition, we have implemented Google Analytics Demographics and Interest reporting, which is a Google Analytics Advertiser feature. This tool uses cookies (see “Cookie and Beacons – Use by Britannica” below) to collect and store standard Internet log and visitor information on our behalf, including information about what pages you visit, how long you are on our Web sites, how you got here, and what you click on during your visit. This Google Analytics data is not tied to PII, so this information cannot be used to identify who you are. We use the data provided by Google Analytics Demographics and Interest reports to develop our Services and content around our User demographics, interests, and behavior on our Services. You can opt out of this Google Analytics Advertiser feature using the Ads Settings located at https://www.google.com/settings/ads. In addition, you can use the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on to disable tracking by Google Analytics.

Device Identifiers.  When you use a mobile device like a tablet or cell phone to access our Services, we may access and monitor one or more “device identifiers.” Device identifiers are small data files associated with your mobile device that uniquely identify your mobile device. A device identifier may deliver information to us or a third party partner about how you browse and use the Services and may help us or others provide reports or personalized ads. Some features of the Services may not function properly if use or availability of device identifiers is impaired or disabled.

Cookies and Beacons – Use by Britannica. To help you personalize your online experience, Britannica uses “Cookies.” “Cookies” are small files that Britannica transfers to Users’ browsers or, in the case of mobile sites, to Users’ devices, for record-keeping purposes. One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, cookies allow us to recognize you when you re-enter a Britannica Service so that you will not have to log in each time you visit. Cookies also allow us to collect anonymous traffic data, such as the number of unique and return visitors who use the Britannica Services. In addition, Britannica places cookies with Users visiting from advertising banners and hyperlinks on other Web sites to track the success of a particular advertising campaign or marketing program. We also use Google Analytics Demographics and Interest reporting to collect information using cookies about our User demographics and interests (see“Demographic Information” above for more information about how we use this data and how to opt out). Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can reset your browser to notify you when you’ve received a cookie or, alternatively, to refuse to accept cookies. It is important to note that you may not be able to use certain features on a Britannica site if you choose not to accept cookies. The use of cookies is an industry standard and occurs at most major Web sites. To manage browser cookies, please see your browser’s privacy settings. To manage Flash cookies, please use the Adobe Flash Player Settings Manager.

We use Web beacons to monitor the traffic patterns of users from one Britannica page to another and to improve Service performance.

Cookies and Beacons – Use by Third Parties. Advertisers, advertising networks, and other companies in the online advertising industry use cookies and beacons to target ads served to our Services. What does it mean to “serve ads?” When you visit a Web site, your Internet browser transmits a “request” to the computer that hosts the Web site (the “host server”) requesting that server to send you (or “serve”) the Web page that you are seeking. Most Web pages contain components that are pulled from different sources, for example, a Web page at a news site may get its weather section from one provider, its sports results from a different source, and advertisements from other servers. Our Web pages contain coding that directs your browser to fill the ad spaces on the Web pages with content served by advertisers and networks of advertisers to whom we have sold the ad spaces. The advertisers and networks use cookies and beacons to help manage ad delivery and frequency, and to identify audience segment(s) for customized advertising (“targeting”). These cookies are used to identify your IP address, so that when you visit another Web site using the same advertising network, the network will recognize the cookie as one of its own, read the information on the cookie (the record of which sites in the network you have visited) and serve you an ad that you might be interested in, based on your past visits to other sites in the network. Advertising targeted based on past Web surfing is known as “behavioral advertising.”

Our Privacy Policy does not cover the use of information that advertisers and other third parties may have collected from you on other sites. If you would like to learn more about behavioral advertising, or to opt out of having this information used by companies that are part of the Network Advertising Initiative to deliver targeted ads, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org. Many of the same companies are members of the Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. You can learn more and opt out of receiving targeted ads from them at http://www.aboutads.info/choices.

Some advertising networks require that we specifically list their opt-out links below. When you opt-out of a network, you may receive an “opt-out” cookie so that the network will know not to assign you new cookies in the future. You will continue to receive ads from that network, but not behaviorally targeted ads. If you erase your browser’s cookies, you may need to perform this process again.

AdTech: http://www.adtechus.com/privacy/

Collective Media: http://www.networkadvertising.org

DoubleClick: http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/faq.aspx

Google: http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

SpotXChange: http://www.spotxchange.com/spx_privacypolicy.html. When you select this option, SpotXchange sets a persistent “opt-out cookie” to prevent information from being uniquely associated with your browser.

Conversant: http://www.conversantmedia.com/legal/privacy. We have contracted with Conversant to monitor certain pages of our site for the purpose of reporting traffic, statistics, advertisement ‘click-throughs,’ and/or other activities on our Services. Where authorized by us, Conversant and its business partners may use cookies, Web beacons, and/or other monitoring technologies to compile anonymous statistics about our visitors. No PII is collected by or transferred to any party other than the advertiser. For more information about how the information is collected and used by Conversant, please see Conversant’s privacy policy at http://www.conversantmedia.com/legal/privacy.

Yahoo: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/details.html

Our ad server, Google’s Doubleclick for Publishers (“DFP”), uses cookies to prevent you from seeing the same ad too many times. You can opt out of DFP cookies by following this link: https://www.google.com/settings/ads.

To manage or delete browser cookies, please see your browser’s privacy settings.

To manage or delete Flash cookies, please use the Adobe Flash Player Settings Manager here: (http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html)

To disable location based services, please contact your mobile service carrier or your device manufacturer. If you choose to turn off location services, it could affect certain features or services of our mobile applications.

Subscriber Communications.

As a benefit of membership, Britannica site subscribers may receive the following communications from us:

Communications related to subscription maintenance activities. These communications may include, without limitation, notices regarding material changes to Britannica Service policies, service updates, service enhancements, and account management procedures. Since these communications are necessary to ensure Britannica provides its subscribers with the highest quality of services, our subscribers are not permitted to opt out from receipt of these communications.

Newsletter Communications. As a benefit of a Britannica subscription, we may send Britannica subscribers our exclusive Britannica newsletters. To unsubscribe to a newsletter, a User can either (i) follow the instructions at the bottom of any newsletter or (ii) follow the instructions set forth below in “How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information.”

Communications containing information about Britannica products and services. We may send promotional e-mails and other outbound communications to Britannica site subscribers regarding products and services from Britannica. Any Britannica site subscriber that does not wish to receive such product and service communications can choose to remove his or her contact information from our contact list at any time by (i) following the instructions at the bottom of any promotional e-mail or (ii) following the instructions set forth below in “How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information.”

Protection for Children.

Children should always ask parents for permission before providing any Personal Information to Britannica or purchasing any products or services from Britannica. Britannica does not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from or about children under 16, except as permitted by law. If we discover we have received any Personal Information from a child under 16 in violation of this policy, we will delete that information immediately. If you believe Britannica has any Personal Information from or about anyone under 16, please contact us at [email protected].

Security.

We aim to safeguard User information to ensure that User account information is kept private. However, we cannot guarantee the security of User account information. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors, may compromise the security of User information at any time. We use appropriate measures to ensure the security of all information you provide to us, including the use of passwords, firewalls, and encryption. No transmission of information is guaranteed to be completely secure. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors may compromise data security.

How to Opt Out, Correct, Update, or Remove Personal Information.

Users may opt out of certain Services or correct, update, or remove Personal Information that Britannica has collected about them through any of the means listed below. Please be sure to include the following information in your correspondence:

Your e-mail address

Your first and last name

Your mailing address (street, city, state, zip code, and country)

The name of the Britannica Service to which the request applies

Call us at:

(800) 323-1229 (within the United States), or
(312) 347-7159 (outside the United States)
Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (U.S. Central Time).

Send a fax to: (312) 294-2104

Write us at: 
Britannica Customer Service, Attn: Removal from Mailing List
325 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200
Chicago, IL 60654-2682
Please allow up to six (6) weeks for mailed-in or faxed opt-out requests to be processed.

Links to Other Web Sites. The Britannica Services each contain links to other Web sites. Britannica is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these third-party Web sites. When linking to another Web site, you should read the privacy policy stated on that Web site. We urge all Britannica site Users to follow safe Internet practices: Do not supply Personal Information to these sites unless you have verified their security and privacy policies. This Privacy Policy only governs information collected on the Britannica Services by Britannica.

Data Retention. We retain your information for as long as necessary to permit us to use it for the purposes that we have communicated to you and comply with applicable law or regulations.

Account Deletion. If you no longer wish to have a registered account, you may terminate your account by sending an email to [email protected]. Because of the way we maintain the Britannica Services, such deletion may not be immediate, and residual copies of your profile information or posts may remain on backup media for up to ninety (90) days.

Your Consent and Changes to Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy was last updated February, 2015. By using any one of the Britannica Services, you consent to the collection and use of your information by Britannica in the manner specified in this Privacy Policy. We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here or on with a notice on our home page. Where required by law, we will obtain your consent to make these changes.

Your California Privacy Rights. If you are a California resident, you are entitled to prevent sharing of your personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes through a cost-free means. If you send a request to the address above, Britannica will provide you with a California Customer Choice Notice that you may use to opt-out of such information sharing. To receive this notice, submit a written request to the address above under the “How to Opt Out” section, specifying that you seek your “California Customer Choice Notice.” Please allow at least thirty (30) days for a response.

Contact Us. For more information, please contact us at:  Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Attn: Legal – Privacy Practices, 325 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200, Chicago, IL 60654, or [email protected].