Why does pch.com collect personal information? We need to collect certain personal information from our visitors primarily to process and fulfill online sweepstakes entries and online orders for products and services. For example, we need your full name and address to enter you in the sweepstakes and notify you if you've won a prize, and to send you any magazine subscription or product you may purchase. To provide our users with a more personalized and relevant web service, we also collect and use personal data to identify users' specific interests and needs. On occasion, with their permission, we notify our users through e-mail of new features or information we feel may be of interest to them available from pch.com and our marketing partners. Finally, we may also use the personal data we collect for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes, and to report aggregate information to our marketing partners and others.

How and what information does pch.com gather or track? We collect personal data from our users mainly during the initial registration process for sweepstakes entry, game play, or order processing. Although some of the personal identifying information is necessary to deliver these services (e.g., an address and credit card number is required to buy goods and services from pch.com), in some cases some of the information is optional. Users can determine to some extent what information they wish to submit. In addition to the initial registration process, we may, from time to time, ask users to answer optional questions about products and services. We gather this data in order to better understand our users' interests and provide them with relevant offers and information.

Through the use of "cookies"(as described below) and online survey and registration forms, we may collect personal data on, among other things, the following information:

What are Cookies? "Cookies" are small pieces of information that are stored by your web browser software on your computer's hard drive or temporarily in your computer's memory. The use of cookies is now an industry standard, and users will find them on most major web sites. Pch.com may place and store Internet cookies on a user's hard drive. Cookies can save any of the types of information noted above. Cookies enable us to recognize you and personalize your viewing experience on the pch.com Site. For example, we use cookies to recognize user access privileges to pch.com, track site usage and traffic patterns, add advertisements for goods or services that we think may interest you, and estimate our audience size. We also use cookies to store user names and passwords (with the users' permission) that are supplied at registration. Although most web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, if you prefer, you can decline the placement of a cookie on your hard drive by using the appropriate feature(s) of your web browser software (if available) to delete the cookie. Please note, however, that certain areas on the Site will not function properly if your web browser does not accept cookies.

Does pch.com disclose user information to third parties? Except as otherwise noted in this policy, pch.com only discloses user information in aggregate form to marketing partners. For example, we might tell a marketing partner how many users visited pch.com over a period of time, but will never tell them who it was that saw or clicked on their offer, unless that user has given us permission to do so. We may present users with relevant offers from our marketing partners on the pch.com site and within pch.com e-mails; however, it is our policy to only send pch.com e-mail to users who give us permission to do so, and users may notify us at any time if they no longer wish to receive these communications. If you agree to receive e-mail from our marketing partners, we will share with them your name, land address and e-mail address so that they can send you offers for products and services that may be of interest to you. PCH.com believes that consumers should be able to control the use of their data. We will not share such information with marketing partners if you follow the simple opt-out procedure displayed on our site. Additionally, each e-mail our partners send you will include a description of the simple opt-out process that will enable you to stop receiving promotional e-mail from them in the future. The personal information our users provide to us may be combined with other personally identifiable information (such as demographic information and past purchase information) available from our records and other sources. This allows us and our marketing partners to present our users with offers and information that is geared towards their interests. We do not rent, license, or sell personal data to third parties without users' permission, except in the event of a merger, acquisition, or change of control of pch.com, in which case customer data would be considered a business asset and would be transferred. Our users will always have the opportunity to choose whether or not they want to receive further information and offers from our marketing partners. In some cases, where users are offered the opportunity to sign up for a marketing partner's service, we may disclose the advertiser's privacy policy during the sign-up process. We will not disclose individual personal data records without permission, unless compelled to do so by applicable law or valid legal process. We will only deal with marketing partners who offer products or services that we believe may be of interest to our users. Nevertheless, pch.com is not and cannot be responsible for the activities or privacy policies of these third parties.

You should also know that when you order a magazine subscription from pch.com, we need to provide your name and address to the magazine publisher so they can start your service. Publishers may exchange or rent their subscriber names, typically to third party companies that match reader interests. If you do not wish to receive such offers, we suggest that you notify the publisher directly (the contact information is usually found in each magazine issue).

What about external web sites? To the extent hyperlinks or banner advertisements incorporating hyperlinks are utilized on this Site to access third party sites, users should be aware that these third party web sites are not controlled by pch.com and, therefore, are not subject to this privacy policy. We recommend that users check the privacy policies of these individual sites to see how their personal information will be utilized.

Does pch.com allow users access to their information for review and updating? Users can access the personal information they have provided to pch.com for the purposes of reviewing and updating such information by following instructions in the "Your Account" section of the Site.

What does pch.com do to keep their site secure? We have implemented a number of security features throughout the pch.com Site that are intended to prevent the unauthorized release of or access to user information. For example, database information is kept separate from our live servers and is firewall protected. Also, only authorized pch.com personnel have access to any stored personal information we collect from our users. When you make a purchase and submit your credit card information, or provide any other personal information on the pch.com Site, these transactions occur on secure servers. Moreover, personal information you submit to pch.com is encrypted prior to transmission. Users should be aware that e-mail is not encrypted and is not considered a secure means of transmitting credit card numbers.

While we strive to create a secure and reliable site for our users, the confidentiality of any communication or material transmitted over the Internet cannot be 100% guaranteed. Users should keep in mind that any information submitted through an Internet transaction is potentially accessible to the public, and consequently, can be collected and used by others without their consent. Pch.com is not responsible or liable for illegal interception of personal data via any Internet transaction.

Can I opt-out of pch.com's data collection and/or distribution? As noted earlier, the collection, use, and distribution of personal data helps us create a more personalized, relevant, and intelligent web service to our users. While some basic data is necessary to provide certain services, such as entry into the sweepstakes and fulfillment of products and services ordered through pch.com, there are some cases where the provision of information is optional. If you no longer wish to receive pch.com e-mail, simply follow the "unsubscribe" instructions that appear in every pch.com e-mail, or contact us through our "Ask Us" page found in our Help section. If you wish to unsubscribe from one of our marketing partner's e-mail program, please follow their unsubscribe procedures which will most likely be found within their e-mails or in their privacy policy. If you wish to remove your account from the pch.com database, please contact us through our "Ask Us" page in the Help section. Please note, however, that the deletion of all personal data from pch.com's database will prevent you from continuing to use some of the features and services on the site (for example, sweepstakes entry and game play) until you re-register your information.

Does pch.com collect information from users outside of the United States? The pch.com Site is not directed to visitors residing outside of the United States and such users are not eligible to submit online sweepstakes entries. However, as indicated in the Official Rules on the Site, some sweepstakes promoted on the pch.com Site are open to residents of the U.K. and Canada. Residents from these countries can participate in these sweepstakes by sending a write-in entry to the address provided in the Official Rules. Furthermore, non-U.S. residents may not order products through pch.com. If pch.com becomes aware that a user who does not reside in the United States has registered with the pch.com Site, pch.com will use reasonable efforts to remove such information from its files.

Does pch.com collect personal information from children? The pch.com Site is not targeted nor directed to children under the age of thirteen. Pch.com does not intend to collect personally identifiable information from individuals in this age group. If pch.com receives actual notice that a child under the age of thirteen has provided personal information to pch.com, pch.com will use reasonable efforts to remove such information from its files.

Further Questions? We welcome any questions or comments you may have regarding this privacy policy or the use of personal data. To contact us, please visit the ASK US area of the Site.