Privacy Policy

Treasure Coast Today is an independent local news website and iPhone app owned and operated by Andrew Dobrow. This policy explains what information is collected when you use the website or app, how it is used, and your choices.

Information we collect

We collect information needed to operate the website and app, provide memberships and news alerts, understand readership, and respond to messages:

• Analytics data. We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the site, such as which pages are viewed and general, aggregated information about our audience. This helps us improve our coverage.
• Membership account information. If you purchase or use a Treasure Coast Today membership, we use your email address to create or link your membership identity, send secure sign-in links and verify access.
• Payment information. Membership payments are processed by Stripe. Treasure Coast Today does not receive or store your full card number. We receive identifiers and subscription status needed to provide and manage membership access.
• Information you send us. If you email us a news tip, correction, or question, we receive whatever information you choose to include in that message.

Information used by our iPhone app

Public headlines, stories and event listings can be read in the iPhone app without creating a membership account. The app retrieves content from Treasure Coast Today services over an internet connection. As with ordinary website and API requests, service providers may process technical connection details such as IP address, request times and device/network information.

• Optional news alerts. If you turn on push notifications, our app receives an Apple Push Notification service (APNs) device token and uses a randomly generated app-installation identifier to register your phone. Our systems store the token, installation identifier, enabled or disabled status, your selected county and breaking-news preferences, the APNs environment, and relevant registration timestamps. This information is used to deliver and manage the alerts you request. You can turn off notifications in the app or through iOS Settings.
• App authentication and membership access. If you sign in, we process your email address and authentication/session credentials to verify access to subscriber content. The app stores session credentials in iOS Keychain. Membership status is verified by our services; your payment card is handled by Stripe, not by the iPhone app.
• App preferences and reading access. The app locally stores certain settings, notification-topic preferences and information needed to recognize its monthly free-article allowance. These settings help the app remember your choices and enforce article access rules.

Advertising in our iPhone app

The Treasure Coast Today iPhone app uses Google AdMob, powered by the Google Mobile Ads SDK, to display advertising to eligible readers. Google and its advertising partners may process data including IP addresses (which can indicate approximate location), device identifiers, advertisements viewed or interacted with, usage information, and performance or diagnostic data. This information may be used to deliver and measure advertisements, perform analytics, prevent fraud, and improve advertising services.

Advertising consent and tracking. Where required, the app presents advertising consent choices through Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP). The app uses Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) permission request before allowing tracking that requires that permission. You can decline tracking permission and manage it in iOS Settings under Privacy & Security > Tracking. Depending on applicable consent choices, non-personalized advertising may still appear. Where required, additional advertising privacy options are available in the app.

Paid subscribers. Readers with an active paid membership receive an ad-free experience in the iPhone app. The app does not request advertising or display AdMob ads while their paid access is active.

For more information about Google's handling of advertising data, see Google's Privacy Policy and Google's advertising information.

How we use information

We use the information described above to operate and improve the website and app, deliver requested push notifications, provide membership access, process and manage subscriptions, send secure authentication messages, understand readership, and respond to messages you send us. We share information with the service providers and advertising partners described in this policy. Sharing information with advertising partners may be considered a sale or sharing of personal information under applicable privacy laws, even when we do not receive payment specifically for that information. For questions about your privacy rights and available choices, contact hello@treasurecoast.today.

News content and sources

Treasure Coast Today uses automated tools to assist in gathering and organizing information from public sources. Published coverage is produced under the editorial oversight of the publisher. For more on how our coverage is produced, see our Editorial Standards.

Third-party services

Treasure Coast Today relies on the following third-party services, each governed by its own privacy policy:

• Google Analytics for website analytics. See Google's Privacy Policy.
• Stripe for membership checkout, recurring billing and billing-account management.
• Supabase for membership authentication, account records, subscription entitlement and protected article delivery.
• Resend as an email-delivery provider for secure membership sign-in messages.
• Apple Push Notification service (APNs) to deliver optional iPhone news alerts. The Apple-issued device token is used for this purpose.

Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)

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.

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.

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.

The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads:

• IP Address
• Operating System type
• Operating System version
• Device Type
• Language of the website
• Web browser type
• Email (in hashed form)

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.

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. You may also visit Digital Advertising Alliance website and Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at Digital Advertising Alliance’s AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.

For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.

Your choices, retention and requests

You can decline or disable news alerts and change your selected notification topics through the app and iOS Settings. You can sign out of the app, and you can access your billing and cancellation options through the Treasure Coast Today membership website.

We retain information for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes described above, including to maintain memberships and comply with applicable legal, accounting, and security obligations. For questions about personal information, or to request access to or deletion of account information, contact hello@treasurecoast.today. Some records may need to be retained when required by law.

Children's privacy

Treasure Coast Today is a general-audience local news website and iPhone app, and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised date.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email hello@treasurecoast.today.