Effective Date: October 1, 2026
Babcock News operates BabcockNews.org, an independent community news and information website. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share information when you visit our website, create an account, contact us, or submit content.
1. Information We Collect
Information you provide: We collect information you voluntarily provide through accounts, forms, email, and submissions. This may include your name, email address, telephone number, business details, photographs, and information submitted for community stories, events, jobs, business listings, or property listings.
Information collected automatically: Our website, hosting provider, and analytics services may collect information such as your IP address, browser and device information, pages visited, and access times. Cookies and similar technologies may support website functionality, account access, traffic measurement, and security.
2. How We Use Information
We use information to:
- Operate, maintain, and improve the website.
- Manage accounts and send account notifications and password reset emails.
- Review submissions and communicate with contributors and listing owners.
- Publish approved stories, events, jobs, business listings, and property listings.
- Respond to questions and requests.
- Understand readership and website usage.
- Prevent spam, misuse, and unauthorized access.
3. Public Submissions and Information Sharing
Information included in approved stories or listings may become publicly available. Submit only information and photographs you are authorized to share. Contact information supplied for administrative communication is not automatically intended for publication.
We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information. We may share information with service providers that support website hosting, email delivery, analytics, security, and other website operations.
We may also disclose information when required by law or reasonably necessary to protect rights, investigate misuse, or address security concerns.
4. Website Email Delivery and Google Services
Babcock News uses WP Mail SMTP and Google’s Gmail API to send website emails through our authorized Babcock News Google account. These emails may include account notifications, password resets, submission confirmations, and administrative communications. Visitors do not need to connect their own Google accounts.
The website stores authorization tokens needed to maintain this connection. Recipient email addresses and message contents are transmitted to Google for delivery. Google account information and authorization credentials are used to operate this email connection, rather than for advertising or sale to third parties.
Authorized administrators can revoke the connection through WP Mail SMTP or the connected Google account’s security settings. Stored connection credentials can be removed through the website’s email configuration.
Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.
5. Cookies, Embedded Content, and External Links
You can manage or block cookies through your browser settings. Blocking some cookies may affect website functionality.
Our pages may contain embedded videos, weather tools, or other content provided by third parties. These services may collect information, use cookies, or recognize you if you are signed into their services.
External websites and embedded services operate under their own privacy policies.
6. Data Retention and Security
We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary to operate the website, manage submissions and accounts, maintain editorial records, resolve disputes, and meet applicable obligations.
We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards to protect information. No internet transmission or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure.
7. Your Choices and Requests
You may contact us to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information you provided. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request.
Some information may be retained for security, legal obligations, backups, or legitimate editorial recordkeeping. Requests involving published news coverage are reviewed individually; submitting a request does not automatically require removal of a published story.
8. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as our website and services change. Updates will appear on this page with a revised effective date.
9. Contact Us
For privacy questions or requests, contact:
Babcock News Editorial Team
Email: babcocknewsmedia@gmail.com
Website: https://www.babcocknews.org/
