Highlights wants to protect your child’s online safety and privacy.

The purpose of this privacy policy is to tell you

1. what kind of information is gathered,
2. how this site will use any such information,
3. whether the information is forwarded to advertisers or third parties, and
4. how parents can contact us regarding our policies.

Information We Collect About Visitors to Our Web Site
When visitors enter our Web site, our Web server recognizes the domain name of their ISP (Internet Service Provider) and the type of computer and browser they have. We cannot recognize individual users, but we do know if visitors are connecting to our Web site from popular ISPs like AOL, Earthlink, and MSN, or if they are connecting from a private company network.

On an aggregated basis, we track various tallies of Web site traffic. For example, we track referring pages. This is where visitors come from before they reach the HighlightsKids Web site, for instance, many select our Web site from a listing in a search engine. We also track the number of visitors to our site every month. We keep a record of which pages visitors see most often. We cannot, however, trace this information to individual visitors. We use the aggregate information we collect to improve the content, navigation, and performance of our Web site. We use information about individual computers and browsers to provide an optimal experience for our users. We do not share this information with third parties.

Like many Web sites, we use “cookies” to maintain information during your visit. "Cookies" are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your hard drive through your Web browser. Your browser allows you to reject cookies, and software is available from third parties that will allow you to visit our Web site anonymously, although certain site functionalities may be impacted.

The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), effective as of April 2000, was established by Congress to protect children’s online privacy. COPPA requires that children’s Web site operators adhere to specific guidelines regarding the collection and handling of personally identifiable information about children. For more information about COPPA and your child’s rights to online privacy, visit the FTC’s Kids Privacy Web site for parents at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/kidzprivacy/adults.htm.

As a commitment to the letter and spirit of COPPA, HighlightsKids.com was the first site to be accepted by the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (operated by the Council of Better Business Bureaus) as a “Safe Harbor” site. Such a designation ensures full compliance with CARU’s Safe Harbor compliance policies and Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children’s Advertising, including the Guidelines for Interactive Electronic Media. For more information about CARU and the Safe Harbor program click here.

COPPA Compliance by Highlights for Children
Highlights for Children has always protected the privacy of children. We do not advertise to children or solicit children for any marketing information. We never knowingly release the names of children to third parties. This policy applies to our off-line and online business practices.

Certain activities such as Dear Highlights ask children to submit an e-mail address. This is done for the sole purpose of responding to a child's request. When a child submits a request to Highlights, he or she receives an automated e-mail response letting them know that we received their request. Within a week, the child receives a personal response from one of our editors. Once the e-mail has been replied to, the child's e-mail address is deleted from our system. We do not keep on file any e-mail addresses of children under the age of 13.

All information posted by users of HighlightsKids.com is moderated. This means that we read all messages before public posting. Any personally identifiable information will be deleted before posting. We may decide not to post a message we deem inappropriate for any reason.

Contact Us
At Highlights for Children, we respect the privacy of children. If you have questions or comments about our Privacy Policy, please contact
Elsa M. Pagliery, Internet Content Manager, Teacher Websites, Highlights for Children, empagliery@highlights-corp.com.

Our telephone number is
(570) 253-1080

Our e-mail address is
editor@highlightskids.com

Effective Date: June 2006