Privacy policy

We at The Christian Science Monitor respect and protect the privacy of our users.

What information do we collect from our users and how do we collect it?

First: this site does not collect personally identifiable information about individuals except when specifically and knowingly provided by such individuals, for instance, when purchasing a subscription to our Monitor Extra service.

In particular, when purchasing a subscription, you must provide contact information (like name, e-mail and shipping address) and may provide financial information (like credit card number, expiration date) to be used for billing purposes and to fill customers' orders. If the site has trouble processing an order, this contact information is used to get in touch with you.

We do collect anonymous, aggregated data and provide it to our advertisers and other companies that we do business with for market research and statistical purposes. The Christian Science Monitor may use such information to help determine ways to improve our site. The Christian Science Monitor reserves the right to publish non-personally identifiable, summary information regarding its website visitors for promotional purposes and as a representative audience for advertisers. Please note that this is not personal information, only general summaries of the activities of our visitors and customers.

The Christian Science Monitor supplies some of its subscriptions and content, such as the Treeless Edition and Historic Archive 1901 - 1980, through third parties. These services and purchases are processed by third-parties on behalf of The Christian Science Monitor, and such third-parties collect and store billing and credit card information solely to process these purchases. This information will not be used for any other reason except as instructed by the Monitor.

Generally, we do not provide, sell or lease personally identifiable information to any third parties. However, if you provide us with your postal address when subscribing to the print edition we may include that address in postal address lists that we sell or rent to third parties. If you would like us to stop including your postal address in such lists, please send us a letter addressed to The Christian Science Monitor, P.O. Box 98, Boston, MA 02117-0098, or please e-mail us, requesting that we remove your postal address from these lists. Also, to protect site visitors and the general welfare, the site will release personal information when necessary in order to comply with the law or regulatory authorities.

You will receive advertising information from the Monitor when you sign up to receive such information on the Monitor E-mail Services page.

If you submit your email address to the site in other ways, such as submitting a comment or question, we may contact you about receiving occasional offers from advertisers.

We do not provide users' personally identifiable information to our advertising partners. Advertisers will only receive your personally identifiable information if you provide it to them directly. If you have any questions or concerns regarding what is done with your information on any part of csmonitor.com, or would like such information deleted from our records (with the exception of postal addresses) please e-mail us.

What are cookies? How do you use them?

"Cookies" are text files that are used to collect information about visits that helps us create an overall profile of how visitors use our site, and how often they come. Cookies cannot be used to collect data from any user's computer - cookies can only be used in conjunction with the site being visited.

See http://www.howstuffworks.com/cookie.htm for more information about cookies.

Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you prefer, you can set your browser to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, it is possible that some portions of The Christian Science Monitor will not function properly if you do so.

For further information on cookies and their use, see the help instructions delivered with your browser or contact the browser's manufacturer.

You also may occasionally get cookies (web beacons, clear gifs, or similar technologies) from our advertisers. The Christian Science Monitor does not control those cookies and those cookies are not subject to this policy. Please note that the use of advertising cookies sent by third-party servers is common in the Internet industry.

Is the information you collect about me secure?

We take every precaution to protect users' information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline from unauthorized access, improper use or disclosure, unauthorized modification, and unlawful destruction or accidental loss.

When the site asks you to enter sensitive information (such as your credit card number), that information is encrypted and is protected with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption software. All of the site's employees and data processors, who have access to and are associated with the processing of personal information, are obliged to respect the confidentiality of your personal information.

What about children using your site - is their privacy protected?

Yes.

In accordance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), The Christian Science Monitor does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent. If it is learned that such information has been collected without parental consent, that information will be deleted from the site's database as quickly as practical or the child's parent(s) will be contacted to obtain consent for the collection of the information.

And we encourage parents to get involved with their children's online usage and to be aware of activities in which they are participating.

Finally, parents should be aware that if a child voluntarily discloses his or her name, e-mail address, etc. on various forums, or chat areas, such disclosure may result in unsolicited messages from other parties. Accordingly, you should discourage your child from doing so.

What about my privacy on linked sites?

This website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that The Christian Science Monitor is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected by this website.

By using this website, you consent to the collection of information as described in this policy.

This privacy policy is subject to change without notice.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding our privacy policy please e-mail us.

You may also send a letter to: