Privacy Policy (updated December 6, 2012)
Washington Post Social Reader is a Facebook-enhanced reader that lets you instantly share what you are reading, see what your friends are reading, follow the latest news on topics that are important to you and discover stories recommended for you). For those who do not want to instantly share, there is the option to turn instant sharing “On” and “Off.” (See below for more detail). For those who do not wish to sign in with their Facebook account, there is the option to remain anonymous and read articles on a limited basis. Along with Washington Post content, the app features content from over 90 quality sources.
This privacy policy describes what happens within Social Reader (on socialreader.com and within the Social Reader application on Facebook), but not what happens on Facebook outside of socialreader.com.
In order to have the full Social Reader experience, you will still need to sign in via Facebook. For users who do not wish to sign in with their Facebook account, you can remain anonymous and may be able to read articles on a limited basis..
What’s Changed?
With Social Reader now available on its own domain at www.socialreader.com, we have made some changes to our user settings, and we wanted to make you aware of those changes. These changes apply to Social Reader on the desktop and mobile web. For reference, you can view our previous privacy policy.
Please note that our previous privacy policy still applies to our native applications on iPhone, iPad and Android. For instance, on those native applications, we do not yet offer an instant sharing control within the application, but rather look at your initial Facebook privacy setting for our application and apply it for your audience in Social Reader in a manner that is at least as protective of your privacy.
Instant Sharing Control Within Social Reader. We now allow you to turn instant sharing “On” or “Off” directly within Social Reader. For most users – new users and users whose Facebook permission settings for Social Reader were “Friends” or “Public” – the default setting will be to have “Instant Sharing on.” You can see this button near your profile photo at the top of socialreader.com, both on desktop and the mobile web.
For existing users who previously set their Facebook permission settings for Social Reader to “Only Me” or “Custom,” the default setting will be to have “Instant Sharing off.” For all users, if you wish to make any changes to how information about your activity within Social Reader is shared within Social Reader, you must do so via the Instant Sharing button on socialreader.com and not via the Facebook permission box. We no longer will apply a user’s Facebook settings for Social Reader to the audience within Social Reader.
Anonymous Browsing. We have added functionality to allow users to read articles within Social Reader on a limited basis without signing in through Facebook. These users will remain anonymous – i.e., their activity will not be shared with their friends in Social Reader or with Facebook. However, in order to have the full Social Reader experience, you will still need to sign in via Facebook.
Information About Older Activity. We have extended the time during which information about your activity in Social Reader is visible to others beyond the previous limit of 30 days. This applies only to activity where instant sharing is on. However, you can choose at any time to hide the fact that you read a particular article, as explained below.
What happens with “Instant Sharing on”?
With “Instant Sharing on,” we automatically share your Social Reader activity with Facebook and with your friends who are also on Social Reader. Facebook’s policies control how your Social Reader activity may be displayed on Facebook outside of socialreader.com. Outside Facebook and Social Reader, we may present your activity to your Facebook friends on partner websites in widgets branded with Social Reader
What happens with “Instant Sharing off”?
With “Instant Sharing off,” none of your Social Reader activity will be automatically shared with Facebook or visible to your friends who are also on Social Reader. Please note that this will only apply to your activity on Social Reader after you turn off Instant Sharing. That is, if you previously had “Instant Sharing on,” your activity on Social Reader during that time may be still be available on Facebook or within Social Reader. When instant sharing is off, you can still choose to share or recommend stories on an article-by-article basis.
How can I hide the fact that I have read a particular article?
Even with “instant sharing on,” we understand that in some circumstances you may not want others to see what you are reading. At the top of every article, you will be notified of when you’ve read an article and therefore instant shared it; you may delete the fact that you have read an article by clicking on “hide this.”
By clicking the button, the fact that you read the particular article will no longer be visible inside the Social Reader app.
How can I control how Social Reader activity is displayed on Facebook outside of socialreader.com?
When Instant Sharing is “On,” we share your activity with Facebook. The display of Social Reader activity inside Facebook is handled solely by Facebook. If you would like to manage your activity within Facebook, including Social Reader activity, you can learn more about Facebook’s privacy policy. You can read more about Facebook’s privacy practices with respect to apps (e.g., Social Reader) and how apps interact with Facebook Timeline.
When Instant Sharing is “Off,” we do not automatically share your activity in Social Reader with Facebook.
What is Social Reader’s relationship with Facebook?
Because Social Reader is a Facebook-enhanced reader, information that you provide to us or that we collect could also be accessible to Facebook and is subject to Facebook’s privacy policy. Facebook may also collect other information about you in connection with your use of Social Reader when you are signed in through Facebook. If you do not want to share your Social Reader activity with Facebook, you can choose to have “instant sharing off” or to read anonymously.
What happens when I read an article on washingtonpost.com?
Articles you read on washingtonpost.com or on the websites of any of our content partners will not automatically be shared with Facebook. To share articles while on content partner websites, click the Facebook Recommend button on an article-by-article basis.
How do I log out of socialreader.com?
In order to sign out of Social Reader, simply go to your profile, hover and click to sign out.
Can I disable the Social Reader app?
You can remove the app by following these steps on Facebook.
How do I ask questions or give you feedback?
We want our privacy practices and choices to be as clear and helpful as possible. Tell us what you think by emailing us.
WE WANTED TO COVER HOW WP SOCIAL READER WORKS FIRST; NOW HERE’S THE REST OF OUR PRIVACY POLICY.
Washington Post Social Reader is provided by WP Company LLC (The Washington Post) (“we” or “us”). We value your privacy. This Privacy Policy gives you information about our practices with respect to the personally identifiable information – information that could reasonably identify you – that we collect in connection with this app. Whenever you provide personally identifiable information to us, we will make an effort to link to our privacy policy. I. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
We may ask you to provide personally identifiable information for various reasons and at various times. For example, when you sign up for the app, we may collect your email address, interests, and other information about your friends. We may ask for information about users at other times, too, such as when they contact us with a question. We may combine this information with other information (including personally identifiable information) about users that we may have collected from other sources. We may automatically collect information about you when you use this app. For instance, we may automatically collect certain non-personally identifiable information, such as which articles each user reads, which pages each user visits, where you click on this site, information about your specific interests and channels, the domain name, your IP address, Web browser software (such as Internet Explorer), and referring web site. In addition, we may place a “cookie” (a small, unique identifier text file) on your system to remember who you are. We also may include other information in our cookie files; for example, if you arrived at this site via a link from third-party site, we may include the URL of the linking page. You may opt out of the cookies delivered by us by changing the setting on your browser. Please be aware that this will disable all cookies delivered to your browser, not just the ones delivered by us. We may combine all of this information with other information, including personally identifiable information we have collected about you. II. USE OF INFORMATION
We use the information, including personally identifiable information that we have collected about you in several ways, including: To manage and administer your account, including to process and fulfill the transactions you initiate, to identify you on the app, to send you information related to this app or various service providers, to solicit or respond to your questions or comments, to inform you of material changes or additions to this Privacy Policy or our terms and conditions, or to contact you with legal notices. To send you offers and information from The Washington Post and its affiliates or from other companies whose products and services may be of interest to you. To provide you with a more personalized experience by serving you more relevant content and advertising. To conduct research on our customers' demographics, interests and behavior, to analyze traffic patterns, and generally for business analytics. In other ways as described to you at the point of collection or otherwise. III. SHARING OF INFORMATION
We may share the information, including personally identifiable information that we collect about you in limited circumstances, including: With respect to the articles you read, with your Facebook network, as described at the top of this Privacy Policy. With our parent company (The Washington Post Company) and our corporate affiliates. In aggregate form, with content partners of Washington Post Social Reader. With vendors providing contractual services for The Washington Post (such as hosting vendors, list managers who facilitate or assist with communications on our behalf, companies that provide consulting or analytics services, and service providers who process payment information or transactions). When we have reason to believe that disclosing this information may be necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating our Terms and Conditions or may be causing injury to or interference with the rights or property of The Washington Post or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities; to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; in response to a request for cooperation from law enforcement or other government agency; and when we believe necessary to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, or otherwise required by law. In the event that our ownership changes as a result of a merger, acquisition, or corporate transfer to another company. With a service provider with your permission (e.g., if you sign up as a lead). If you give us permission, with selected third parties for their direct marketing purposes. With other entities for business analytics. In other ways as described to you at the point of collection or otherwise. IV. ACCESS TO INFORMATION
You can access and update personally identifiable information that you have provided to us via Facebook’s privacy settings page. You can access and update any personally identifiable information that you have provided directly to us, or ask us questions, by contacting us here. V. DATA SECURITY
We have in place administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect the information we collect online. However, we cannot guarantee the security of our database, nor can we guarantee that the information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted to us over the Internet. VI. EXTERNAL LINKS
Many parts of this website link you to other news websites. Please note that those websites do not operate under this Privacy Policy. We recommend that you examine the privacy statements posted on those other sites to understand their procedures for collecting, using, disclosing, and protecting personal information. VII. PERSONS UNDER AGE 13
In general, we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from individuals under the age of 13. Please do not send any information about yourself to us if you are under the age of 13. Should we learn that a person under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete that information from our database. VIII. MATERIAL CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
If we need to materially change this Privacy Policy in the future, we will notify you by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your account or by placing a prominent notice on this app. Please note that you are responsible for updating your information so that we have your current email address, and for checking the website and Privacy Policy periodically for notice of changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy may affect our use of personally identifiable information provided to us prior to our notification to you of the changes. Therefore, if you do not wish to permit changes in our use of your information, you must notify us prior to the effective date of the changes that you wish to terminate your account with us. IX. CONTACTING US
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us. For further questions about WP Social Reader, please see our FAQs. Effective date: November 20, 2012