Privacy Policy
The previous snapshot of this policy was empty, so this diff shows the whole document being recorded for the first time rather than a genuine rewrite — the policy still carries the same date, "Effective Date: December 24, 2020; Updated November 14, 2023." That means these terms are most likely not new. What is now on record: ScienceDaily collects technical and device data, treats sharing online identifiers with ad, marketing, and analytics companies as a "sale" under California law, works with Mediavine and its ad partners (who receive your email in hashed form and link it to data collected elsewhere), and can pass your data along in a sale, merger, or bankruptcy. California residents get a "Do Not Sell My Information" opt-out, and everyone can use industry opt-out tools.
Your browsing data is "sold" to ad and analytics companies (California definition)
ScienceDaily admits that handing your online identifiers and browsing activity to advertising, marketing, and analytics companies counts as a "sale" under California law. It says it does not sell your name or email address for those companies' own use. Note: this is not a new term — it was almost certainly in the earlier version too; it just shows up now because the previous saved copy was blank.
“Under the CCPA's definition of a "sale," we treat certain disclosures of online identifiers and/or Internet or other electronic network activity information to third-party advertising, marketing, and analytics providers as "sales."”
What you can do — Use the "Do Not Sell My Information" link in the site footer, or email the address in the California section to opt out.
DATA SHARING
Your email is shared with ad partners in scrambled form and linked to other profiles
The Mediavine ad system collects a hashed (scrambled) version of your email along with your IP and device details. Its partners can match that against data they already hold on you from other sites and apps to build advertising profiles. A hashed email still works as a fairly reliable way to recognize the same person across services.
“Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements.”
What you can do — Opt out at https://thenai.org/opt-out/ and http://optout.aboutads.info/, and consider blocking third-party cookies in your browser.
DATA SHARING
Tracking follows you across other sites and can include your location
Ad providers may use information about your visits to other websites, and may pick up location data if your browser or phone settings allow it. They also try to connect your different browsers and devices to one another.
“Information used by Advertising Providers may include location data, if such information is made available based on settings that allow for the collection of such data in your web browser or mobile device.”
What you can do — Turn off location sharing for your browser and turn on "limit ad tracking" on your phone.
DATA COLLECTION
Your data can transfer to another company if ScienceDaily is sold
If the company is bought, merged, or goes bankrupt, your information goes with the business to whoever buys it. The new owner may run under a different privacy policy.
“As part of a corporate sale, merger, or acquisition, or other transfer of all or part of our assets, including as part of a bankruptcy proceeding;”
DATA SHARING
Data may be used for "any lawful purpose"
This wording is very broad. It means the stated uses (running the site, newsletters, stats) are examples, not limits — almost any legal use is permitted.
“ScienceDaily may use the information we collect for any lawful purpose.”
OTHER
No specific time limit on how long data is kept
The policy says data is deleted after the period expires, but that period is set by internal company rules you cannot see. There is no stated number of days or years.
“We will process and store information only for the period necessary to achieve the purpose of the storage, or as permitted by law.”
What you can do — EU/UK and California residents can email the company to request deletion.
DATA RETENTION
Policy can change with only a website posting
Changes take effect by being posted on the site. You are expected to check back on your own — you will not necessarily be told directly, even for major changes.
“We encourage you to visit the Site periodically to learn of any updates.”
UNILATERAL CHANGES
| 1 | **Effective Date: December 24, 2020; Updated November 14, 2023** | |
+ ADDEDFull policy captured for the first time (no real edits detected) The earlier saved copy was blank, so everything shows up as "added." The policy's own update date did not move, so it looks like the same text as before, not a new version. | ||
| 2 | ||
| 3 | ScienceDaily LLC ("ScienceDaily," "we," "us," or "our") provides this Privacy Policy to describe how we collect, use, and share the information about individuals who visit our website at sciencedaily.com (the "Site"). | |
| 4 | ||
| 5 | **Information We Collect** | |
| 6 | ||
| 7 | Like many websites, ScienceDaily collects information about how Site visitors use the Site in order to operate and improve our services. For example, we collect information to gather statistics on how many visitors we our Site receives each month, determine the popularity of pages on the Site, and evaluate where there may be problems in serving certain pages to visitors. | |
| 8 | ||
| 9 | When you visit the Site, we (and/or third-party services that we authorize) collect technical information relating to your device and your interactions with the Site -- if it is available -- including IP address, cookie identifiers, Internet service provider, domain name and country of origin of your computer, your operating system, device type, date and time of visit, pages visited and other activities on the Site, the type of web browser being used, and other information collected through the use of cookies and similar technologies. | |
+ ADDEDDevice and browsing data collected on every visit When you visit the site, ScienceDaily and services it authorizes collect your IP address, cookie IDs, internet provider, country, operating system, device type, browser, and the pages you look at. | ||
| 10 | ||
| 11 | We collect your email address when you sign up for our newsletters through Substack. We will also collect your email address and any information that you provide if you choose to contact us, such as if you submit feedback. | |
| 12 | ||
| 13 | **How We Use Information** | |
| 14 | ||
| 15 | ScienceDaily may use the information we collect for any lawful purpose. We primarily use the information we collect to operate and improve the Site, provide our newsletters, and determine overall statistics about our readership. Cumulative figures that provide a picture of visitor traffic to our Site are vital in our efforts to attract advertisers -- upon whose support the Site depends -- and to monitor how well our web server is keeping up with our readership. Please note, however, that ScienceDaily does not attempt to identify its individual visitors about whom ScienceDaily has collected only technical information as described above. | |
+ ADDEDData can be used for "any lawful purpose" The policy gives itself very wide room to use what it collects, then lists the main uses (running the site, newsletters, readership stats, legal compliance, security). | ||
| 16 | ||
| 17 | We may also use the information we collect to comply with the law and to maintain the security of the Site. Finally, we may use the information we collect with your consent, or as otherwise disclosed at the time information is collected. | |
| 18 | ||
| 19 | **How We Share Information** | |
| 20 | ||
| 21 | We may share the information we collect with other parties, including the following: | |
| 22 | ||
| 23 | - With third-party service providers who process data on our behalf, such as email service providers; | |
| 24 | - With advertising and marketing partners (but we do not share names or email addresses with these partners for their own purposes -- see below for details); | |
| 25 | - As part of a corporate sale, merger, or acquisition, or other transfer of all or part of our assets, including as part of a bankruptcy proceeding; | |
+ ADDEDSharing with ad partners, service providers, and during a company sale Data can go to service providers, advertising and marketing partners, and to a buyer if the company is sold, merged, or goes bankrupt. The company says it does not hand names or email addresses to ad partners for those partners' own use. | ||
| 26 | - Pursuant to a subpoena, court order, governmental inquiry, or other legal process or as otherwise required by law, or to protect our rights or the rights of third parties; and | |
| 27 | - With your consent or as otherwise disclosed at the time of data collection or sharing. | |
| 28 | ||
| 29 | We may share information that has been de-identified or aggregated without limitation. | |
| 30 | ||
| 31 | **Digital Advertising and Analytics** | |
| 32 | ||
| 33 | We may partner with ad networks and other ad serving providers ("Advertising Providers") that serve advertisements on behalf of us and others on non-affiliated platforms. These Advertising Providers may use information about your visits to this Site and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. Information used by Advertising Providers may include location data, if such information is made available based on settings that allow for the collection of such data in your web browser or mobile device. Some of the advertisements served by Advertising Providers may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information Advertising Providers collect about your use of the Site and other sites or apps over time, including information about relationships among different browsers and devices. This type of advertising is known as interest-based advertising. | |
| 34 | ||
| 35 | You may visit the Digital Advertising Alliance ("DAA") Webchoices tool at [https://youradchoices.com](https://youradchoices.com/) or the Network Advertising Initiative at [https://optout.networkadvertising.org](https://optout.networkadvertising.org/) to learn more about this type of advertising and how to opt out of this advertising on websites by companies participating in industry self-regulatory programs. If you delete your cookies or use a different browser or mobile device, you may need to renew your opt-out choices exercised through these tools. Note that electing to opt out will not stop advertising from appearing in your browser or applications. It may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests. Additionally, your browser may offer tools to limit the use of cookies or to delete cookies; however, if you use these tools, the Site may not function as intended. | |
| 36 | ||
| 37 | Finally, ScienceDaily works with third parties that collect data about your use of the Site and other sites or apps over time for non-advertising purposes. ScienceDaily uses certain third-party services, such as Google Analytics, to improve the performance of the Site and for analytics and marketing purposes. For more information about how Google Analytics collects and uses data when you use the Site, visit [https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites](https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites), and you can also opt-out of Google Analytics by using a browser plug-in that Google has developed ([https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout](https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout)). | |
| 38 | ||
| 39 | **Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)** | |
| 40 | ||
| 41 | The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a "device") by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website. | |
| 42 | ||
| 43 | First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, "Tags") may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser's cache. The "help" feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser's cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at [All About Cookies](https://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/). | |
| 44 | ||
| 45 | Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website. | |
| 46 | ||
| 47 | The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads: | |
| 48 | ||
| 49 | - IP Address | |
| 50 | - Operating System type | |
| 51 | - Operating System version | |
| 52 | - Device Type | |
| 53 | - Language of the website | |
| 54 | - Web browser type | |
| 55 | - Email (in hashed form) | |
+ ADDEDMediavine ad system collects data, including a scrambled version of your email A section describes Mediavine placing cookies and tags. The listed data includes your IP address, device and browser details, and your email in hashed (scrambled) form. | ||
| 56 | ||
| 57 | Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor's referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising. | |
+ ADDEDAd partners can combine your data across sites, apps, and devices Mediavine's partners may link this data with information they collected elsewhere, including location data, to build audience profiles and target ads to you across the internet. | ||
| 58 | ||
| 59 | If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit [National Advertising Initiative opt out page](https://thenai.org/opt-out/). You may also visit [Digital Advertising Alliance website](http://optout.aboutads.info/) and [Network Advertising Initiative website](http://optout.networkadvertising.org/) to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at [Digital Advertising Alliance's AppChoices app](https://youradchoices.com/appchoices) to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out. | |
| 60 | ||
| 61 | For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit [Mediavine Partners](https://www.mediavine.com/ad-partners/). | |
| 62 | ||
| 63 | **Third-Party Links and Tools** | |
| 64 | ||
| 65 | The Site may provide links to third-party websites or apps. We do not control the privacy practices of those websites or apps, and they are not covered by this Privacy Policy. You should review the privacy policies of other websites or apps that you use to learn about their data practices. | |
| 66 | ||
| 67 | The Site also includes integrated email newsletter tools and integrated social media tools or "plug-ins" that are offered by third parties. If you use these tools to share personal information or you otherwise interact with these features on the Site, those companies may collect information about you and may use and share such information in accordance with your account settings, including by sharing such information with the general public. Your interactions with third-party companies and your use of their features are governed by the privacy policies of the companies that provide those features. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policies of any accounts you create and use. | |
| 68 | ||
| 69 | **European Visitors** | |
| 70 | ||
| 71 | This section applies to those that visit the Site from the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom. | |
| 72 | ||
| 73 | ScienceDaily is the controller of your personal data collected through the Site, and our legal basis for collecting and using information described in this Privacy Policy depends on the information we collect and the specific context in which we collect it. We may process personal information for the following reasons: | |
| 74 | ||
| 75 | - You have given us permission to do so; | |
| 76 | - To fulfill a contract or where required by law; | |
| 77 | - The processing is in our legitimate interests, such as to respond to your inquiries, and our interests are not overridden by your data protection rights. | |
| 78 | ||
| 79 | Please be aware that the personal information we collect may be transferred to and maintained on servers or databases in the United States or other jurisdictions where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your location. | |
| 80 | ||
| 81 | You have the following rights: | |
| 82 | ||
| 83 | - The right to access, update, or to delete the information we hold about you; | |
+ ADDEDEuropean visitor rights spelled out Visitors from the EU, Switzerland, and the UK are told they can access, correct, delete, object to, restrict, or port their data, withdraw consent, and complain to a regulator. Data may be stored in the US. | ||
| 84 | - The right to have personal information about you rectified if the information is inaccurate or incomplete; | |
| 85 | - The right to object to our processing of personal information about you; | |
| 86 | - The right to request restriction of the processing of personal information about you; | |
| 87 | - Under certain circumstances, the right to be provided with a portable copy of personal information about you in a structured, machine-readable, and commonly used format; and | |
| 88 | - The right to withdraw your consent where we previously relied on your consent to process your personal information. | |
| 89 | ||
| 90 | Please be aware that we may be unable to afford these rights to you under certain circumstances, such as if we are legally prevented from doing so. To exercise these rights, please email [\[email protected\]](https://sciencedaily.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection). In addition, you have the right to complain to the Data Protection Authority in your country of residence about our personal information processing. | |
| 91 | ||
| 92 | **Information Retention** | |
| 93 | ||
| 94 | We will process and store information only for the period necessary to achieve the purpose of the storage, or as permitted by law. The criteria used to determine the period of storage of information is set forth by our internal data retention processes or is the applicable statutory retention period. After expiration of that period, the corresponding information is routinely deleted. | |
+ ADDEDRetention period is described only in general terms Data is kept as long as needed for its purpose or as the law allows. No specific time limits are given — the rules live in internal company processes. | ||
| 95 | ||
| 96 | **California Privacy Notice** | |
| 97 | ||
| 98 | This section contains disclosures required by the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") and applies only to "personal information" that is subject to the CCPA. | |
| 99 | ||
| 100 | _Personal Information We Collect._ In the preceding 12 months, we collected the following categories of personal information about California consumers: | |
| 101 | ||
| 102 | - Internet or other electronic network activity information (such as interactions with a website, email, application, or advertisement); and | |
| 103 | - Personal and online identifiers (such as first and last name, email address, or unique online identifiers). | |
| 104 | ||
| 105 | _Categories of Personal Information We Sell._ Under the CCPA's definition of a "sale," we treat certain disclosures of online identifiers and/or Internet or other electronic network activity information to third-party advertising, marketing, and analytics providers as "sales." We do not sell names or email addresses we collect to third parties for their own purposes. Finally, we do not have actual knowledge that we sell information about minors under 16 years of age. | |
+ ADDEDCalifornia "sale" disclosure and opt-out Under California's definition, sharing online identifiers and browsing activity with ad, marketing, and analytics companies counts as selling. There is a "Do Not Sell My Information" link in the site footer. | ||
| 106 | ||
| 107 | _Categories of Personal Information We Disclose for a Business Purpose._ We disclose each category of personal information we collect to our service providers and to government agencies (as described above). | |
| 108 | ||
| 109 | _Categories of Sources._ We collect personal information from the following categories of sources: | |
| 110 | ||
| 111 | - Consumers like you; | |
| 112 | - Data analytics providers; and | |
| 113 | - Service providers, such as those providing web feed management services. | |
| 114 | ||
| 115 | _Why We Collect, Use, and Share California Information._ We use and disclose the personal information we collect for our commercial and business purposes, as further described in this Privacy Policy. These commercial and business purposes include, without limitation: | |
| 116 | ||
| 117 | - Our commercial purposes, including marketing and advertising. | |
| 118 | - Our business purposes as identified in the CCPA, which can include: | |
| 119 | ||
| 120 | - Auditing related to our interactions with you; | |
| 121 | - Legal compliance; | |
| 122 | - Detecting and protecting against security incidents, fraud, and illegal activity; | |
| 123 | - Debugging; | |
| 124 | - Performing services (for us or our service provider) such as analytics; | |
| 125 | - Internal research for technological improvement; | |
| 126 | - Internal operations; | |
| 127 | - Activities to maintain and improve our services; and | |
| 128 | - Other one-time uses. | |
| 129 | ||
| 130 | _Your Rights Regarding Personal Information._ California residents have certain rights with respect to the personal information collected by businesses. If you are a California resident, you may exercise the following rights regarding your personal information, subject to certain exceptions and limitations: | |
| 131 | ||
| 132 | - The right to know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you; the categories of sources from which we collected personal information about you; our purposes for collecting or selling personal information about you; the categories of personal information about you that we have either sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and the categories of third parties with which we have shared personal information. | |
| 133 | - The right to request that we delete the personal information we have collected from you. | |
| 134 | - The right to opt out of our sale(s) of your personal information. Please note that if you opt out of certain types of sales, we will be unable to provide you with the services that rely on such sales. | |
| 135 | - The right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of the privacy rights conferred by the CCPA. | |
| 136 | ||
| 137 | You can exercise the above rights as follows: | |
| 138 | ||
| 139 | - By emailing us at [\[email protected\]](https://sciencedaily.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection); | |
| 140 | - By postal mail using the address below; or | |
| 141 | - To opt out of sales, use the online tool at sciencedaily.com through the "Do Not Sell My Information" link in our website footer. | |
| 142 | ||
| 143 | _Verification Process and Required Information._ Note that we may need to request additional information from you to verify your identity or understand the scope of your request. We will require you to provide, at a minimum, your full name, email address, and state of residence to verify your identity. | |
| 144 | ||
| 145 | _Authorized Agent._ You may designate an authorized agent to make a CCPA request on your behalf by providing written authorization to the agent and verifying your identity with ScienceDaily. | |
| 146 | ||
| 147 | **Your Choices** | |
| 148 | ||
| 149 | To opt out of our receiving our newsletters, you can use the link provided at the bottom of each message. For choices with respect to third-party interest-based advertising activities, please see the "Digital Advertising & Analytics" section above. | |
| 150 | ||
| 151 | **Changes to Our Privacy Policy** | |
| 152 | ||
| 153 | If our information practices change materially, we will post an updated privacy policy on the Site. We encourage you to visit the Site periodically to learn of any updates. | |
+ ADDEDPolicy changes are announced only by posting If practices change in a big way, the company posts an updated policy and expects you to check the site yourself. There is no promise of email or direct notice. | ||
| 154 | ||
| 155 | **Contact Us** | |
| 156 | ||
| 157 | If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, please contact us at [\[email protected\]](https://sciencedaily.com/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#fe8e8c97889f9d87be8d9d979b909d9b9a9f979287d09d9193). | |
| 158 | ||
| 159 | You can also contact ScienceDaily at: | |
| 160 | ||
| 161 | > Science_Daily_ | |
| 162 | > 1042 N. El Camino Real Ste B-395 | |
| 163 | > Encinitas, CA 92024 | |