As a not-for-profit organization, our goal is to collect only the information about our users and their use of our services that will help us provide the best online experience possible and implement WQPT PBS' mission.

This Privacy Policy describes how we protect, use, and possibly share information that we collect from you online through wqpt.org and any of our other websites, applications or online services that WQPT PBS operates and that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the "Services"). This Privacy Policy applies only to the Services. We encourage you to read it carefully.

 

Collection of Information.

You may be prompted to provide some or all of the following types of information in order to register, access various content or features, submit photos and other content, directly contact us with questions or feedback, or access other features of the Services:

• Contact information, such as name or e-mail address
• User name, password, and geo-location information
• Other demographic details, such as city, state, and zip code
• Communications preferences and search queries
• Comments and information posted through interactive features
• Correspondence you send to us

We also may collect certain information automatically when you use the Services, including:

• Your browser type and operating system
• Your IP address, which may reveal your general geographic area (e.g., zip code)
• Sites visited before and after using the Services
• Pages viewed and links clicked within the Services
• Unique identifiers, such as mobile device IDs that may indicate physical location
• Data collected through cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies
• Interactions with video content, such as viewed types, and email interactions like clicked links or opened/forwarded messages
• Standard server log information

We may collect information about you from third-party sources. For example, we may receive information about you from third-party social media services when you choose to interact or connect with them through the Services. Additional technologies may be used to enhance our online services.

Additionally, if you access third-party services, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, and X (formerly known as Twitter), through the Services to login to the Services or to share information about your experience on the Services with others, these third-party services may be able to collect information about you, including information about your activity on the Services, and they may notify your connections on the third-party services about your use of the Services, in accordance with their own privacy policies.

 

Public Areas.

Some of the Services may allow you to enter text and information in open fields, such as comment sections and message boards. If you choose to participate in these public areas of the Services, please be aware that any information submitted through these areas can be read, collected, or used by other users. Please use caution in disclosing personal information in these areas. Although we may, in some instances, moderate public forums to keep their content appropriate for the forum’s intended audience, we are not responsible for the information you submit in these open forums and public areas or for other users’ actions with respect to that information.

 

Use of Information.

Generally we use the information that we collect about you to:

• Fulfill your requests for services and information
• Process your membership donation or other online purchase
• Enable you to participate in interactive features, such as comment boxes and forums
• Display content, sponsor information, and details about other WQPT PBS services you may be interested in
• Customize the content displayed when you use the Services
• Analyze use of the Services to improve offerings, such as identifying popular pages, browsers, time spent, and referral sites
• Support the internal operations of the Services
• Prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities and enforce the Terms of Use
• For any other purposes disclosed at the time of collection or with your consent

We may aggregate your information with information about other users so that it no longer identifies and cannot reasonably be used to identify an individual person.

 

Disclosure of Information.

We may share information that is collected from you in the following circumstances:

• Authorized third-party service providers: We may share information with our third-party service providers to help us fulfill requests, donations, purchases, ticket fulfillment and perform other various functions necessary to fully provide and improve the Services, including usage analytics, data processing, marketing, and account management.
• Business transfers: We may share information in connection with a substantial business transaction, such as the sale of the Services, a merger, consolidation, asset sale, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.
• Legal purposes: We may disclose information to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process, law enforcement requests, legal claims or government inquiries, and to protect and defend the rights, interests, property, safety, and security of WQPT PBS, our users, or the public, Western Illinois University and the Western Illinois University Foundation. In some circumstances, our Services interact with Western Illinois University (license holder of WQPT PBS) and/or Western Illinois University Foundation. For example, if you use our services and/or third-party service providers to make a donation, or to sign up for services, we may share your information with Western Illinois University and/or Western Illinois University Foundation. We may also share your information with Western Illinois University and/or Western Illinois University Foundation so they can contact you (including by e-mail and mailings) with information about services that might interest you.
• With your consent: We otherwise may share your information with your consent.

We may share aggregated or anonymized information with third parties, including to help us develop content and services that we hope you will find of interest or to help these third parties develop their own products and service offerings.

 

Use of Cookies, Web Beacons, and Other Technologies.

We may use cookies, web beacons, local shared objects, and other similar technologies to collect information about your use of the Services. Cookies are small bits of information that are stored by a computer’s web browser. Web beacons are very small images or small pieces of data embedded in images, also known as “pixel tags,” “GIFs,” or “clear GIFs,” that can recognize cookies, the time and date a page is viewed, a description of the page where the pixel tag is placed, and similar information from a computer or device. Local shared objects (sometimes referred to as “Flash Cookies”) are similar to standard cookies except that they can be larger and are downloaded to a computer or mobile device by the Adobe Flash media player.

We use these technologies, for example, to help us recognize your browser as a previous user and save and remember any preferences that may have been set; to help us customize the content shown while you use the Services; to provide you with content customized to your interests and to understand whether users read e-mail messages and click on links contained within those messages so that we can deliver relevant content and offers; and to help measure and research the effectiveness of our Services, interactive online content, features, and other communications.

We may allow third parties to place and read their own cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information through the Services. These third parties may collect information about a user’s online activities over time and across sites, services, and devices to, for example, help us with traffic measurement, research, and analytics and serve you more relevant advertising on third party sites and services. These third parties may participate in programs that allow you to opt out of targeted advertising. To learn more and opt out, visit the Network Advertising Initiative and Digital Advertising Alliance. We do not control cookies which are set by advertising networks.

You may be able to refuse or disable cookies by adjusting your web browser settings. Because each web browser is different, please consult the instructions provided by your web browser (typically in the “help” section). Please note that you may need to take additional steps to refuse or disable some technologies including local shared objects. For example, local shared objects may be controlled through the instructions on Adobe’s Setting Manager page. If you choose to refuse, disable, or delete these technologies, some of the functionality of our Services may no longer be available to you.

Some web browsers may transmit “do-not-track” signals to websites the user visits, although web browsers incorporate and activate this functionality in different ways, and it is not always clear whether users intend for these signals to be transmitted. Consequently, we currently do not take action in response to these signals.

By using the Services, you consent to our use of cookies and similar technologies.

 

Protection of Information.

We have adopted reasonable technical, administrative, and physical procedures to help protect your information from loss, misuse, and alteration. Please note that no data transmission or storage can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. We want you to feel confident using the Services but we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us.

 

Third-Party Services, Content, and External Links.

You may access third-party content through the Services and navigate to third-party sites and services from links on the Services. Whether the third-party content appears within our Services (such as in an embedded video player), or you leave our Services to view the content on another website, the third party is in control of and independently produces, maintains, and monitors the content and third-party sites. When you watch third-party content that is made available through the Services or navigate to such third-party sites, you become subject to the third party’s terms of use and privacy policies. You should review the privacy policies of these third-party sites for their policies and practices regarding the collection and use of your information as their policies may differ from ours. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the privacy practices of third parties.

 

California Residents.

Residents of the State of California may request a list of all third parties to whom we have disclosed certain information during the preceding year for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and want such a list, please contact us. For all requests, you must put the statement “Your California Privacy Rights” in the subject matter of your request and include the name of the website or online service with respect to which you are requesting the information, as well as your name, street address, city, state, and zip code including e-mail and contact phone number.

 

International Transfers.

Information collected through the Services may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which we or our service providers maintain facilities. We may transfer information that we collect about you, including personal information, across borders and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions, some of which may not have the same data protection laws as your jurisdiction. By using the Services and providing us with information directly or indirectly, you consent to the transfer of information to the U.S. or to any other country in which our service providers maintain facilities for processing by us in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

 

Changes to this Privacy Policy.

We may revise this Privacy Policy, for example, to reflect changes in the law, our practices, or the features of the Services. These changes will be effective immediately upon posting. As a result, you should periodically review the Privacy Policy so that you are up to date on our most current policies and practices. By using the Services, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy, and, by continuing to use the Services after changes have been made, you agree to the changes.

 

Contact Us.

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact us.

Revised January 2023.