Privacy Policy

Cookeville Scoop publishes Cookeville Local, a free community directory and local guide for Cookeville, Tennessee and the Upper Cumberland, along with a twice-weekly newsletter.

Questions or privacy requests: email hello@cookevillescoop.com.

We collect information you choose to send us, including:

• Newsletter signups. Your email address, and optional source or campaign tags that tell us where you subscribed.
• Submissions. Community events, business listings, news tips, daily specials, and corrections, plus any name, email, or link you include.
• Advertising inquiries. Your name, business name, email, phone number, website, the channels you are interested in, and your message.
• Job postings. Job details and a contact email so we can follow up before a listing goes live.
• Email and other messages. Anything you send to hello@cookevillescoop.com or through the contact page.

Some forms can be sent without an email address. If you include one, we use it to follow up on your request.

When you visit the site, our hosting, analytics, and advertising tools may collect:

• Your IP address, browser type, device type, and general location derived from IP
• Pages you view, referring URLs, and timestamps
• A town edition preference if you choose one (see Cookies below)

We use a small first-party cookie to remember your town edition:

• scoop-town-edition. Stores the town you selected so search, events, and related pages can show that edition. It is set on this site, lasts about one year, and is not used for advertising. The same preference may also be stored in your browser's local storage.

We also use pixels, web beacons, cookies, and other storage technologies from third parties, including Meta Platforms, Inc. (Facebook and Instagram) and Google, to collect or receive information from this website and elsewhere on the internet. Those third parties, including Meta, use that information to provide measurement services and to target and deliver ads.

Advertising cookies commonly used on this site include Meta's _fbp and _fbc identifiers. You can block or delete cookies in your browser. The site will still work. Your town edition may not persist, and some analytics or advertising measurement will not run. See "How to opt out of ad targeting" below.

We use the information above to:

• Operate, maintain, and improve Cookeville Local
• Send the newsletter if you subscribed
• Review, fact-check, and (when appropriate) publish submissions
• Respond to advertising, listing, and general inquiries
• Measure how the site is used, measure advertising, and target and deliver ads
• Protect against spam, abuse, and technical problems
• Comply with law

We do not sell your personal information for money. We share information in these situations:

• Newsletter delivery. Signups from this site go to Beehiiv, which sends the Cookeville Scoop newsletter.
• Hosting and storage. The site and form submissions are hosted on Google Firebase and related Google Cloud services.
• Analytics and ads. Google Analytics and Meta Platforms, Inc. receive information collected through cookies, pixels, and similar technologies so they can measure traffic and provide measurement services, and so Meta can target and deliver ads, as described below.
• Published submissions. If you send a business, event, job, or similar listing for the public site or newsletter, the public details may appear there. We do not publish your private contact email unless you ask us to.
• Legal and safety. We may disclose information if we believe it is required by law or necessary to protect people or the service.

Under some privacy laws, using advertising and analytics pixels can count as "sharing" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. If that applies to you, you can opt out by blocking those cookies or emailing us.

We use Google Analytics to understand traffic. We use the Meta Pixel (a Meta Business Tool) on this website. When you visit a page, the pixel may collect the page URL and referring URL, your IP address, browser and device information, cookie identifiers such as _fbp and _fbc, and actions you take on the site (for example, viewing a page).

We and Meta use that information to measure whether our Facebook and Instagram ads are working, to build audiences of people who have visited the site, and to target and deliver ads about Cookeville Scoop on Meta products. Meta may also use Event Data as described in the Meta Business Tools Terms. Meta's own practices are explained in the Meta Privacy Policy.

We do not use the pixel to send Meta health information, financial information, government IDs, or other sensitive categories Meta prohibits. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and we do not share information we know is from or about children under 13 with Meta.

If you submit a Facebook or Instagram lead form connected to our ads, we receive the details you choose to share (such as name, email, and phone number) and use them as described in this policy.

We do not currently show a cookie consent banner. If you are in a place that requires consent before advertising cookies are stored on your device (including the European Union and the United Kingdom), use the opt-out tools below and your browser controls.

You can opt out of the collection and use of information for ad targeting in these ways:

• Meta Ad Preferences: facebook.com/adpreferences
• Digital Advertising Alliance (United States): aboutads.info/choices
• European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance: youronlinechoices.eu
• Google ad settings: myadcenter.google.com
• Your browser settings, to block or delete cookies
• Email hello@cookevillescoop.com to ask us not to share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising

The Cookeville Scoop newsletter is sent through Beehiiv. Every issue includes an unsubscribe link. You can also email hello@cookevillescoop.com and ask to be removed. After you unsubscribe, Beehiiv may keep your address on a suppression list so we do not email you again by accident.

• Newsletter emails: until you unsubscribe, plus a short suppression period
• Form submissions: as long as we need them to review, publish, or keep a record of a correction
• Job postings: while the listing is active, and for a reasonable archive period afterward
• Town edition cookie: about 12 months, or until you clear it
• Analytics data: according to Google Analytics and Meta retention settings

You can:

• Unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time
• Ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Ask us to correct or delete that information
• Clear cookies and local storage in your browser

If you are a California resident, you may also request to know, delete, or opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We will not treat you differently for making a request. Email hello@cookevillescoop.com and we will respond within a reasonable time.

Cookeville Local is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you think we have, email us and we will delete it.

We use HTTPS, access-limited databases, and other reasonable measures to protect information. No website or email system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that information will never be accessed, disclosed, or lost.

Business listings, events, resources, and articles often link to other websites. Their privacy practices are their own. This policy only covers Cookeville Scoop properties.

We may update this policy. The "Last updated" date at the top will change. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated policy. If a change is material, we may also note it on the site or in the newsletter.

Use of this site is also covered by our Terms of Service.