Effective Date: April 23, 2025
Introduction
This Privacy Policy outlines how the Smoky Mountain News Network collects, uses, and protects information gathered from visitors to our website. We are committed to providing hyper-local news coverage for Cocke County, Greene County, Hamblen County, Jefferson County, and Sevier County, Tennessee, while respecting the privacy of our audience.
Who We Are
Our website address is http://smokymountain.news. We are dedicated to delivering timely and relevant news about the Smoky Mountain region of East Tennessee.
Information We Collect
- Comments: When visitors leave comments on the site, we collect the data shown in the comments form. To help with spam detection and maintain the integrity of community discussion, we also collect the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string. An anonymized string created from your email address (a hash) may be sent to the Gravatar service to check if you use it; their privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/. If your comment is approved, your Gravatar profile picture may be publicly visible alongside your comment.
- Media: If users upload images to the website (e.g., via comments or user profiles, if applicable), they should avoid uploading images containing embedded location data (EXIF GPS). Other visitors can download these images and extract any location data included in them.
- Cookies: Cookies are small data files stored on your browser by the website. We use them to enhance user experience and site functionality.
- Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment, you may opt in to saving your name, email address, and website in cookies. This option lasts one year and prevents you from re-entering your details for future comments.
- Login Cookies: If you visit our login page (for registered users/staff), a temporary cookie checks if your browser accepts cookies. It contains no personal data and is deleted when you close your browser. Upon logging in, cookies save your login information and screen display preferences. Login cookies last two days, and screen options cookies last a year. Selecting “Remember Me” extends the login duration to two weeks. Logging out removes these cookies.
- Article Editing Cookies: If you edit or publish an article (relevant for site administrators/contributors), an additional cookie identifying the post ID is saved in your browser for 1 day. It contains no personal data.
- Contact Forms/Email Signups (If Applicable): If you use contact forms or sign up for email newsletters, we collect the information you provide (e.g., name, email address) to respond to your inquiries or deliver the requested content.
Embedded Content from Other Websites
Articles on this site may feature embedded content like videos, images, articles, maps, or social media feeds from other websites. Interacting with this embedded content behaves exactly as if you visited the originating website directly.
These external websites may collect data about you, utilize their cookies, embed additional third-party tracking technologies, and monitor your interaction with their embedded content. This tracking might occur particularly if you have an account and are logged into that external website while browsing the Smoky Mountain News Network.
How We Use Your Data
We use the collected information primarily to:
- Operate and maintain the website.
- Improve user experience.
- Facilitate user comments and interaction.
- Prevent spam and ensure website security.
- Respond to user inquiries or requests (if applicable).
- Analyze website traffic and usage patterns (typically using aggregated or anonymized data).
Who We Share Your Data With
The Smoky Mountain News Network does not sell your data. We share data only in limited circumstances:
- Service Providers: We may share information with third-party service providers who assist in operating our website, such as spam detection services (like Akismet for comments), web hosting providers, and analytics platforms. These providers are obligated to protect your data.
- Password Resets: If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security purposes.
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law or in response to valid legal requests by public authorities.
How Long Do We Retain Your Data
- Comments: Comments and their associated metadata (such as name, email, and IP address) are retained indefinitely. This allows us to automatically recognize and approve follow-up comments, improving the discussion flow.
- User Registrations (If Applicable): Registered users’ personal information is stored in their user profiles. Users can typically view, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (username changes may be restricted). Website administrators also have access to view and edit this information for site management purposes.
- Other Data: Data collected via contact forms or temporary cookies is retained only as long as necessary for its intended purpose or as required by law.
What Rights You Have Over Your Data
If you have an account on this site or have left comments, you have certain rights regarding your data:
- Access: You can request to receive an exported file containing the personal data we hold about you, including any data you have directly provided.
- Erasure: You can request that we erase any personal data we hold about you.
- Limitations: Please note that the right to erasure does not override data we are legally obligated to keep for administrative, legal, or security purposes (e.g., records required for compliance or security logs).
To exercise these rights, please contact us via the information provided on our website.
Where Your Data Is Sent
Visitor comments are typically processed through an automated spam detection service, which may be located outside of your country of residence. Website data is stored on servers managed by our hosting provider.
Data Security
We implement reasonable security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no internet transmission or electronic storage method is 100% secure.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage visitors to frequently check this page for any changes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us through the methods provided on the Smoky Mountain News Network website.
