Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 24, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how The Voice of Carbon Valley (“we,” “us,” or “the Site”) collects, uses, shares, and protects information when you visit or use thevoiceofcarbonvalley.com and related services. The Site is a local information service for Frederick, Firestone, Dacono, and nearby Carbon Valley communities.

Operator. The Voice of Carbon Valley is a Colorado-based local information service. To contact the operator about this policy or the handling of personal information, email info@thevoiceofcarbonvalley.com.

Not legal advice. This policy is written for a small local directory and community site. It is not a substitute for advice from a Colorado-licensed attorney. Have counsel review it before you add payments, paid advertising networks, location tracking, or any sale or sharing of personal data for advertising.

1. Our Commitment

We collect only information reasonably needed to operate the directory, community features, business tools, and member services. We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not use personal information for targeted advertising as that term is commonly used under Colorado law.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide

• Account and sign-in information, such as email address, display name, and authentication credentials.
• Resident or member profile information, such as name, town or community, and Voice Card details you choose to add.
• Business listing information, such as business name, address, phone, website, hours, services, ownership or verification details, photos, specials, events, and social links.
• Content you submit, including questions, messages, event or special submissions, photos, links, comments, and similar materials.
• Communications you send us, including support, ownership claims, privacy requests, and correspondence.
• Payment information, if we later accept paid listings or services. Card numbers are processed by a third-party payment processor and are not stored on our servers in full. We would then update this policy before collecting payment data.

Information collected automatically

• Technical and log data, such as IP address, browser type, device type, operating system, referring URL, pages viewed, dates and times of access, and similar diagnostic information needed to operate and secure the Site.
• Cookies and similar technologies used for essential functions: keeping the Site working, maintaining sign-in sessions, remembering basic preferences, preventing abuse, and measuring site performance.

Information we do not intentionally collect

We do not intentionally collect Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers, precise geolocation, biometric identifiers, health information, or other sensitive data as defined under the Colorado Privacy Act. Do not submit that information through the Site. If a form or listing accidentally includes it, contact us so we can delete it.

Public business information

Business information intended for a public listing—such as business name, address, phone number, website, hours, services, specials, events, photos, and social links—may be displayed to any visitor. Treat public listing fields as public.

3. How We Use Information

We use information to:

• Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site.
• Create and manage listings, Voice Cards, offers, submissions, and accounts.
• Confirm business ownership and prevent fraud, spam, impersonation, or misuse.
• Respond to requests and communicate about an account or submitted item.
• Enforce our terms of use and protect the rights, safety, and property of users, businesses, and the Site.
• Comply with law, legal process, and governmental requests.
• Understand basic site performance, using aggregated or de-identified information where practical.

We do not use personal information to build advertising profiles, sell leads, or target ads across other websites.

4. How Information Is Shared

Service providers

We may share information with vendors that host, secure, authenticate, store, email, analyze performance, or otherwise help operate the Site, and only as needed for those services. Those vendors are not authorized to use the information for their own marketing.

Participating businesses and Voice Cards

When someone uses a Voice Card or offer, a participating business may receive limited aggregate or offer-activation reporting. We do not give a business a resident’s email address, private account credentials, or account-recovery information through that reporting.

Public content

Public submissions and public business profile information may be visible to anyone who visits the Site or who later archives or indexes public web pages.

Legal and safety disclosures

We may disclose information when we reasonably believe it is required by law, court order, or legal process; to protect people or the Site; or in connection with investigating fraud, safety concerns, or violations of our terms.

Business transfers

If the Site is sold, merged, or transferred, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy or a successor policy with equivalent protections.

Third-party sites

The Site may link to or display content from third-party sites, including business websites, government resources, maps, social networks, event sources, and ticketing providers. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, not this one. We are not responsible for those sites.

No sale of personal information

We do not sell personal information as that term is used under Colorado law. We also do not “share” personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. If that ever changes, we will update this policy, provide required notices, and honor opt-out rights before doing so.

5. Cookies, Analytics, and Opt-Out Signals

We and our service providers may use cookies or similar technology to keep the Site working, maintain sign-in sessions, remember basic preferences, prevent abuse, and understand site performance. You can usually control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may limit parts of the Site, including sign-in.

If we use analytics tools, they are used to understand aggregate traffic and reliability, not to sell your identity to advertisers.

Universal opt-out / Global Privacy Control. If we ever sell personal data or use it for targeted advertising, we will honor legally recognized universal opt-out signals, including Global Privacy Control (GPC), as an opt-out of sale and targeted advertising. Today we do not sell personal data or use it for targeted advertising.

6. Data Retention and Security

We keep information only as long as reasonably necessary to run the service, resolve disputes, maintain accurate public and operational records, meet legal obligations, and protect the Site. Account and listing data is generally kept while the account or listing is active and for a reasonable period afterward. Server logs are typically kept for a shorter operational period unless needed for security or legal reasons.

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards appropriate to a small community site. No online system can guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a breach of personal information that Colorado law requires us to report, we will provide notice as required by the Colorado data-breach notification statute.

7. Your Choices and Requests

You may request that we:

• Provide access to personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Delete personal information, subject to legitimate recordkeeping, fraud-prevention, safety, and legal requirements.
• Tell you the categories of personal information we collect and the purposes for which we use it.

Public business listings and content you chose to publish may remain public or be archived even after an account request, to the extent we have a legitimate need to keep an accurate community record or the information is independently public.

How to make a request. Email info@thevoiceofcarbonvalley.com with “Privacy Request” in the subject line. Describe what you want us to do. We may need to verify your identity before acting. We will respond within a reasonable time and, if Colorado’s privacy law applies to us, within the time that law requires.

You may also update certain profile or listing information by signing into your account, if you have one. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right.

8. Colorado Residents

Colorado’s Privacy Act generally applies to businesses that process personal data of 100,000 or more Colorado consumers in a year, or 25,000 or more Colorado consumers while also deriving revenue from selling personal data. A small local directory often will not meet those thresholds. Even so, we describe the rights Colorado law grants when it applies:

• Right to access, correct, and delete personal data.
• Right to data portability.
• Right to opt out of targeted advertising, sale of personal data, and certain profiling.
• Right to appeal a denied request.

If the Colorado Privacy Act applies to us and we deny a verifiable request, you may appeal by emailing info@thevoiceofcarbonvalley.com with “Privacy Appeal” in the subject line. If you are not satisfied with the appeal result, you may contact the Colorado Attorney General.

We do not process sensitive data without consent. We do not collect precise geolocation or biometric identifiers.

9. Children

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information, contact us at info@thevoiceofcarbonvalley.com so we can review and delete it.

The Site is intended for a general community audience, including families. Do not submit personal information about a minor unless you are the parent or legal guardian and the information is appropriate for a public community listing. We do not use children’s data for targeted advertising or sale.

10. User-Generated Content and Photos

If you upload photos, event details, or other content, you are responsible for having the right to share that content and for not including other people’s private information without permission. We may remove content that appears to violate this policy, our terms, or the law.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the service changes. We will post the updated version here and revise the effective date. If we make material changes—especially any change that would involve selling personal information, using it for targeted advertising, collecting sensitive data, or accepting payments—we will provide additional notice on the Site or by another reasonable method before those changes take effect.

12. Contact

The Voice of Carbon Valley
Privacy questions and requests: info@thevoiceofcarbonvalley.com
Please put “Privacy Request” or “Privacy Appeal” in the subject line so we can handle it promptly.