Privacy Policy

Effective June 19, 2026 (last updated August 19, 2026)

This Privacy Policy describes how TiffinOhio.net and its parent company, NorthStar Civic Media LLC (“we”, “us”, or “our”) collects, uses, and discloses information about you when you use our website (“Site”).

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Table of Contents

1. Information We Collect
2. How We Use Your Information
3. Information Sharing
4. Advertising
5. Your Choices
6. Data Security
7. External Links
8. Accounts, Payments, and Children’s Data
9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
10. Third-Party Tools
11. United States State Privacy Rights
12. Illinois Notice (BIPA)
13. Data Retention
14. Managing Your Membership and Billing Choices
15. Changes to This Policy
16. Contact Us

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Information We Collect

We collect information that you provide directly to us and certain information that is collected automatically when you use our Site.

• Contact information you provide (name and email) on forms or when you subscribe.
• Message content from the contact form.
• Newsletter subscribe/unsubscribe choices (and an optional unsubscribe reason).
• Reader account information if you create a My TiffinOhio.net account. See Reader accounts below.
• Community celebration submissions (celebrant name, type and date, whether the person is a minor, submitter contact, and any notes). If we include a submission in the newsletter, we publish names only—not ages, years, photos, messages, addresses, or submitter contact information.
• Voter lookup addresses you type into the democracy toolkit. We send those to Google to look up polling-place and ballot information.

Information collected automatically may include:

• IP address and approximate location (city/country).
• Browser and device information.
• Pages viewed, referrers, timestamps, and interaction data such as clicks and scroll depth.
• Cookies and identifiers used to show and measure ads.
• Site search queries of at least two characters, recorded after a short pause or when you press Enter, and sent to PostHog.
• Optional device location if you tap to use GPS for weather. Coordinates go from your browser to Open-Meteo. We do not store GPS coordinates on our servers.

See Third-Party Tools for the services that help us run the Site.

How We Use Your Information

We use this information to:

• Operate, secure, and improve the Site.
• Send newsletters and account email, and respond to inquiries.
• Personalize features such as related stories, weather, and signed-in reading history.
• Measure how the Site is used.
• Show, measure, and improve advertising, including local sponsorships and programmatic ads.

Information Sharing

We share information with service providers who help us operate the Site (hosting, email delivery, authentication, payments, security, analytics, and advertising). They may use your information only to provide those services.

Advertising networks and demand partners may receive device and browser information, IP address or approximate location, pages viewed, and cookie or advertising identifiers to select, deliver, and measure ads.

If you use an embedded player or widget (for example Vote.org, ScoreStream, Spotify, or a Facebook video), that provider may collect information according to its own policy.

We may also share your information in the following circumstances:

• With your consent.

• When required by law or to protect our rights or the rights of others.

• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Advertising

CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Raptive (“Raptive”) is a service provider of this Site for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and Raptive will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about Raptive’s data usage, click here: https://raptive.com/creator-advertising-privacy-statement

The Site may also show:

• Direct-sold ads and sponsorships from local or other advertisers. These are labeled as advertising or sponsored.
• Programmatic ads served through Raptive and its advertising partners.

Allowing Raptive to collect data for advertising may be treated as a “sale” or “sharing” of personal information under some state laws. You can opt out as described in Your Choices and in Raptive’s statement linked above.

Local sponsors do not receive your reader-account data from us unless you choose to deal with them directly (for example by clicking through to their site).

Paid memberships support our journalism. Unless we separately offer an ad-free or reduced-ads option at checkout, membership does not remove ads.

Your Choices

You may opt out of promotional emails from us by following the instructions in those emails. We may still send non-promotional messages about your account or orders.

For advertising:

• Use any “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” or similar advertising opt-out control on the Site.
• Use a browser or extension that sends the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal. We honor GPC to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for advertising, as processed through Raptive.
• Use Google’s ad settings.
• Use the industry opt-out at optout.aboutads.info.
• Email [email protected] with the subject line “Privacy Request” to exercise privacy rights we control, including deletion and access.

You may still see ads that are not based on a profile, including direct-sold sponsorships. Clearing cookies in your browser can reset advertising identifiers.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the information we collect from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

External Links

Our Site may contain links to third-party websites and tools. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external sites or tools you use.

Accounts, Payments, and Children’s Data

Reader accounts (My TiffinOhio.net)

• We offer optional reader accounts at https://tiffinohio.net/account so you can sign in across devices, save articles for later, sync reading history, and manage newsletter and membership settings.
• Authentication is provided by Stytch (email magic links, passkeys, Google sign-in, and Facebook sign-in). Google and Meta process those sign-in requests under their own policies (Google, Meta). Stytch processes your email, session data, and sign-in events under Stytch’s privacy policy. We do not collect or store biometric data for passkeys.
• Session cookies. After you sign in, Stytch sets cookies on our domain so you stay signed in for up to 30 days unless you sign out or delete your account. You can clear these cookies in your browser settings.
• Creating an account automatically subscribes your verified email to the TiffinOhio.net newsletter. You can unsubscribe anytime using the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email. You may resubscribe from account settings.
• We store account data: email, optional display name, linked sign-in methods, newsletter status, read history, saved articles, theme and weather preferences, game progress, For You filters, favorite topics, privacy-request records, and account activity (sign-in, export, deletion). Some security events may include IP address and browser information.
• Cross-device sync. When signed in, your theme, weather location, game progress, and read history sync to your account so they follow you across devices. You can download these preferences and game data along with the rest of your account data via Export my data in Account settings.
• Reading history is collected when you read most of an article (about 50% scroll). Before you sign in, that list may be stored locally in your browser; when you sign in, we may merge it into your account. You can clear synced history in account settings.
• Step-up verification. Exporting your data or deleting your account requires a one-time code emailed by Stytch.
• Terms acceptance. When you create an account, we log email, TOS version, timestamp, IP address, and user agent.
• Analytics when signed in. We may associate your signed-in account with PostHog events such as sign-in and read-history sync. We do not send your email to PostHog for that.
• You may export a copy of your reader data or request account deletion from account settings after verifying with the email code described above. Deletion removes reader data we control, signs you out, deletes your Stytch login, and attempts to unsubscribe your email from our newsletter. If automated unsubscribe fails, you may still use the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email.
• Membership billing. Reader accounts are separate from Stripe billing records, but signed-in users may open the Stripe Customer Portal from account settings to manage a membership tied to the same email. See Managing Your Membership and Billing Choices.

Data deletion instructions (including Facebook / Meta)

If you signed in with Facebook (when enabled), you may also remove our app from your Facebook settings at Facebook Apps and Websites. Removing the app at Facebook does not automatically delete your TiffinOhio.net reader account or sign you out of our Site.

To delete your reader account and the personal data we control, sign in and use Delete account in Account settings, or email [email protected] with the subject line “Privacy Request.”

Payments and memberships

• If you become a paying member or make a one-time contribution, a customer record is created and managed by our payment processors, Stripe and AutoBooks. Reader accounts are separate from billing accounts; you do not need a reader account to support us.
• We accept payments for monthly memberships and one-time contributions. Payments are processed securely by Stripe and AutoBooks; your payment card information is transmitted directly to these payment processors and does not pass through or get stored on our servers.
• From our payment processors, we receive limited billing details needed for receipts and support (for example: name, email, billing address, the last four digits of a card, card brand and expiration month/year, and transaction identifiers). We use this information to issue receipts, manage recurring billing, assist with customer support, and comply with accounting and legal requirements.
• You can manage your Stripe-based membership (update card, change plan, cancel) through our self-service customer portal operated by Stripe. A link to the portal is available on /support-us/.
• Our services are intended for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. Individuals must be 18 or older to purchase a membership or make a contribution. If you believe we have collected personal information from a child under 13, please contact us and we will delete it.

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar storage for analytics, advertising, and essential Site functions:

• HarborByte Analytics (Matomo) (https://analytics.harborbyte.net/) records page views and selected events. It may set cookies on that host. A noscript image is used if JavaScript is off.
• Google Analytics records page views and related usage (pages viewed, device and browser information, approximate location, and a client identifier). Google may set cookies. See How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and Google’s privacy policy. You can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Advertising partners, including Raptive, may set cookies or use similar storage to select, deliver, and measure ads, as described in Advertising.
• PostHog measures traffic, approximate location, and selected events (search, listen player, republish tool, related-story clicks, and account activity). Automatic click capture and session recording are off. If you are signed in, PostHog may tie events to your account, not your email.
• Cloudflare may collect limited technical data such as IP address for security, performance, and form spam checks.
• Stytch session cookies keep you signed in for up to 30 days.
• Newsletter cookie. After you subscribe, we may set a cookie so the Site can skip newsletter prompts.
• Related stories (signed out). We may set a first-party cookie with a random ID and keep a short list of articles you recently viewed for about 30 days, only to suggest other stories. That ID is not used as your identity in analytics. Signed-in readers use account reading history instead; we do not merge the signed-out list into an account.

You can clear cookies in your browser, including analytics and advertising cookies. We do not treat the older Do Not Track (DNT) header as an opt-out. We do honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) for advertising sale/share opt-out, as described in Your Choices.

Third-Party Tools

These services have their own policies:

1. HarborByte Analytics / Matomo (analytics) – https://www.harborbyte.com/privacy/#harborbyte-analytics
2. PostHog (analytics) – https://posthog.com/privacy
3. Cloudflare (hosting, security, analytics, and form spam checks) – https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/
4. Vote.org (embedded voter tools) – https://www.vote.org/privacy/
5. Stripe (monthly memberships) – https://stripe.com/privacy
6. AutoBooks (one-time contributions) – https://www.autobooks.co/privacy-policy
7. Spotify (embedded podcasts) – https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/privacy-policy/
8. Meta/Facebook (Facebook sign-in and embedded videos) – https://www.facebook.com/privacy/policy/
9. Open-Meteo (weather; requests from your browser include your IP) – https://open-meteo.com/en/terms
10. Stytch (sign-in, sessions, passkeys, and email codes) – https://stytch.com/legal/privacy-policy
11. Google (Google Analytics, advertising, Google sign-in, and voter address lookup) – https://policies.google.com/privacy and https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites
12. ScoreStream (sports score widgets) – https://scorestream.com/misc/privacyPolicy

Raptive’s advertising practices are described in the required statement linked in Advertising. Other networks that serve ads through Raptive have their own policies.

Articles may also embed other players (for example X, Instagram, TikTok, or charts). If you use those embeds, their policies apply.

United States State Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights over your personal information under U.S. state privacy laws (for example, in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia, and other states with similar laws). Subject to verification and applicable exceptions, these may include the right to:

• Access/know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Delete personal information.
• Obtain a portable copy of your personal information.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising. Advertising on the Site may involve a “sale” or “share” under some state laws. To opt out, use the tools in Your Choices, including GPC and any advertising opt-out control on the Site, or email [email protected] with the subject line “Privacy Request.”
• Limit the use of certain sensitive personal information. We do not collect health or biometric data. We do not store precise GPS. If you allow location for weather, your device may send coordinates to Open-Meteo as described above.

How to exercise your rights:

• Reader accounts: Sign in and use Export my data or Delete account in Account settings (email verification code required for export and deletion).
• Email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Privacy Request,” and tell us which right(s) you wish to exercise and the state in which you reside.
• We will verify your request using reasonable methods based on the information available to us. You may use an authorized agent where permitted by law.
• If we deny your request, you may appeal by replying to our response with “Appeal.” If your appeal is denied, you may contact your state attorney general.

Non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

Ohio and Illinois:

• Ohio: We provide the rights and disclosures above to Ohio residents to the extent required by applicable law.
• Illinois: We comply with Illinois law. See the Illinois notice below regarding biometric information.

Illinois Notice (BIPA)

We do not collect, use, or store biometric identifiers or biometric information as defined by the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). If that changes, we will first provide written notice, obtain informed written consent, disclose the purpose and retention schedule, and implement a publicly available retention and destruction policy consistent with BIPA.

Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy, including for security, legal, tax, or accounting requirements. Membership and transaction records may be retained for the period required by applicable law and our financial recordkeeping obligations.

Reader account data: Kept while your account is active. When you delete your account, we remove the reader data we control and delete your Stytch login. Some security and privacy-request logs may be kept for a limited time. Newsletter records are removed or suppressed when deletion succeeds; you can also unsubscribe from any email.

When we no longer need personal information, we take reasonable steps to delete, de-identify, or anonymize it.

Managing Your Membership and Billing Choices

• For monthly memberships processed through Stripe: Access the customer portal to update payment methods, view invoices, change plans, or cancel your membership. You can find the portal link on /support-us/ and, when signed in, on /account/membership/ (Membership & Billing).
• For one-time contributions processed through AutoBooks: Transaction receipts and records are managed by AutoBooks according to their policies.
• You may also contact us at [email protected] for billing support. For your security, we may direct you to complete sensitive updates through the appropriate payment processor’s portal.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated policy on this page.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at [email protected].

You can also reach us via the contact form on our Site at /contact-us/.