Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Wildewood Pulse is an independent neighborhood resource serving Wildewood and the California, Maryland area in St. Mary's County. It is not an official communication channel for any government agency, property manager, or neighborhood organization.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect only the data you voluntarily provide:

• Email address: when you subscribe to the newsletter via the "Get the Digital Brief 24h Early" form.
• Community note submissions: if you choose to submit a note, you may optionally provide your first name or initials and an email address for follow-up. These fields are not required.
• Uploaded photos: if you attach a photo to a community note submission. Photos are stored securely and reviewed by the editor before any publication.

We do not collect IP addresses for identification purposes, run behavioral tracking, use advertising cookies, or build user profiles.

3. How We Use Your Data

• Email address: Used solely to deliver the Wildewood Pulse newsletter. Your address is added to our mailing list managed by Kit (formerly ConvertKit), tagged wildewood-pulse. We do not use your email for any other purpose.
• Submission name and email: Used only for editorial follow-up if clarification is needed before a note is published. Not shared publicly.
• Submitted photos: Reviewed by the editor. Published only with appropriate context and after editorial review. Not used for any other purpose.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For residents of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom, our legal basis for processing your personal data is:

• Consent: You provide your email address voluntarily and can withdraw consent at any time by unsubscribing.
• Legitimate interests: For community note submissions, we process optional contact information to facilitate editorial communication.

5. Data Sharing and Third Parties

We share your email address with one third-party service:

• Kit (ConvertKit): our email delivery platform. Kit processes subscriber data in accordance with their own Privacy Policy. Kit is GDPR-compliant and participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with any other third party, advertiser, or data broker.

6. Data Retention

• Email subscribers: Your email address is retained for as long as you remain subscribed. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email.
• Community note submissions: Retained in our database for editorial purposes. Rejected submissions are deleted within 90 days. Published submissions may be retained as part of the newsletter archive.
• Uploaded photos: Retained only as long as needed for editorial review. Unused photos are deleted within 30 days.

7. Your Rights

Under GDPR and applicable U.S. privacy law, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data.
• Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten").
• Portability: Request your data in a portable format.
• Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Withdraw consent: Unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email.

To exercise any of these rights, use the community note form and write “Privacy request” in the title. A volunteer will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

Wildewood Pulse uses only essential cookies required for the site to function (such as theme preference). We do not use advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies. See our Cookie Policy for details.

9. Children's Privacy

Wildewood Pulse is a general community newsletter. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 13. If you believe a child has submitted personal data to this site, use the community note form and write “Privacy request” in the title.

10. Security

We take reasonable technical measures to protect the data we collect, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and access controls on our database. No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent revision. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or requests, use the community note form and write “Privacy request” in the title.