Privacy Policy

Somerset Now is local news built for our community, and we treat your information the way we'd want ours treated. This policy explains, plainly, what we collect and why.

What we collect

Here is everything we collect. The sections below explain each part.

• Newsletter: your email address, so we can send you Thursday SET, Sunday SET and other issues.
• Basic technical details recorded automatically when you sign up: the date and time, and the general country of your request.
• Tips, photos, calls and forms: what you choose to send us by text, phone or the event and story forms, described below.
• Sponsors: the contact details a business gives us so we can invoice it, described below.
• Page views: anonymous daily counts of how often each article is read.

How we use it

Your email is used to send you Somerset Now, local news, events and deals, a few times a week, and nothing else. Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe.

Text messages: the tip line and photo line

If you text a tip or a photo to our number, we receive your phone number, your message, and any attachments. Here is exactly what happens to them:

• Your phone number is used only so a person at Somerset Now can text you back with a question, and so we can stop abuse. It is never published, sold, shared with advertisers, or used for marketing. We do not add you to any list.
• Your message and photos are screened first by software, then read by a person. Nothing is published automatically. Tips are checked against official sources before anything appears on the site.
• Photos you send may be published on somersetnow.com and our social pages with credit by your first name, unless you tell us not to credit you or not to publish. By sending a photo you confirm you took it or have the right to share it.
• Consent and opting out. Texting us is the only way to opt in; we never text first. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP at any time to stop replies, or HELP for help. We send at most one reply per message you send, and never promotions.
• Retention. Messages and photos are kept while they are being reviewed and for 90 days after, then deleted unless they were published or are part of a correction record. Ask us to delete yours sooner and we will.

Our texting provider (Twilio) carries the messages between the phone networks and us and keeps its own delivery records under its privacy policy.

Phone calls and voicemail

When you call (606) 535-2002 we receive your phone number and the time of the call. If you leave a voicemail, we keep the recording and an automatic transcript. Voicemails are treated like tips: a person reads them, nothing is published as it was left, and your number is never published. We delete them 90 days after review unless they become part of a published story or a correction record.

Event RSVPs

On the Events calendar and on each event's page you can mark yourself Going, Interested or Not going. Here is exactly what that keeps:

• A visitor id. The page makes a random string once and keeps it in your browser's local storage. It is not a cookie, and it is not tied to a name, an email address or an account. Clear your browser's site data and it is gone.
• One answer per event under that id (going, interested or not going), so you can change your mind. That is the only per-visitor record.
• A rate-limit marker keyed by your internet address and the day, used for RSVPs and for the event and story forms so one person cannot flood them. It expires after 24 hours and is never joined to an answer.
• What is published is totals only: how many are going and how many are interested. Nobody can see who answered.
• Facebook numbers shown with an event are typed in by a Somerset Now reviewer from the organizer's own public Facebook event page. Nothing is pulled from Facebook automatically, and nothing is about individual people.

The event and story forms

When you add an event or share an Our Town story, your name and email address stay on our internal record so a person can check details with you. They are never published. Photos you send are published only with your permission and credited the way the form says.

Recipes and traffic reports

Pass the Plate (recipes). When you share a recipe we receive the recipe, the name you want it credited to, your email address, and any photo you attach. Your email is used only so a person at Somerset Now can ask you a question about the recipe. It is never published, sold or shared. If we publish the recipe, it stays on the site until you ask us to take it down. Recipes we do not publish, and the email that came with them, are deleted 120 days after we receive them.

Road Watch (traffic reports). When you report a trouble spot we receive the road and cross street, the kind of problem, the date and time of day, what you wrote, any photo you attach, and your email address if you give one. We publish places and counts only: the road or intersection, the kinds of problems reported there, and how many reports we reviewed. We never publish what you wrote, your email, or anything that points at a particular driver or vehicle. Photos are checked by a person, and we do not use any photo that shows people or a readable license plate. We remove location data stored inside photo files before any photo is kept.

Each month we send Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Highway District 8 a summary of the reports: counts by place and kind of problem, with short descriptions of each spot written by Somerset Now. The summary never includes your name, your email, or any license plate. Trouble on city or county roads may be summarized for the City of Somerset or Pulaski County the same way.

Reports, photos and emails are deleted 120 days after we receive them. The monthly counts (place, kind of problem, number of reports) are kept so we can show how a spot changes over time; they contain nothing about you.

Sponsors and payments

Businesses that sponsor or advertise give us a contact name, business name, email and phone so we can invoice them. Card payments are made on a payment page run by Stripe. Somerset Now never sees or stores card numbers. We keep invoice records as tax law requires.

Page views

We count how many times each article is read each day, to choose the Top Story and the print edition. The counts carry no names, internet addresses or cookies.

Who we share it with, and how

We never sell or rent personal information. We share it only with the companies that run Somerset Now, and only what each needs:

• Cloudflare: hosting, storage, and the software that screens tips.
• Twilio: phone calls and text messages.
• Stripe: card payments from sponsors.
• Microsoft: our somersetnow.com email.

We post approved stories to our Facebook Page; no reader information goes to Meta. Information reaches these providers over encrypted connections as part of running the service. We disclose information to anyone else only when the law requires it, such as a valid court order.

Where it's stored

Your information is stored with Cloudflare, our hosting provider, on servers in the United States. Access is limited to running the newsletter, the tip and phone lines, the event and story forms, the RSVP counts and sponsor billing.

How we protect it

• Every page and form is served over encrypted HTTPS.
• Our review desk and records are open only to Somerset Now's editor, behind a private access key.
• Messages from our phone provider are checked with a cryptographic signature, so a tip can't be faked into our system.
• Passwords and keys are kept out of our code and stored as encrypted settings.
• We keep only what we need, and delete tips, photos and voicemails 90 days after review unless they're published.

Cookies and tracking

This site does not use advertising cookies or third-party ad tracking. We don't follow you around the web.

SomerMap's optional map loads only when you tap the map button: its map images come from OpenStreetMap and its map code from cdnjs, and those services then see your IP address.

SomerMap counts how many times each light is opened, by day, without recording who you are.

Embedded posts and videos from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X and Vimeo are covered under Embedded posts and videos below.

Embedded posts and videos

Some stories show an original video or post from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, X or Vimeo. By default each one loads only after you click "Show this post" or "Show this video"; until then your browser makes no request to those companies.

If you tick "Always show embedded posts on this device", your browser saves that choice on this device (in its local storage, under the name sn_embeds). It is not sent to us. While it is on, embedded posts and videos on story pages, and the live player in the Weather voices box, load when the page opens; videos still do not play until you press play. You can turn it off below at any time, and clearing your browser's data for this site also removes it.

The featured video on the home page is an exception: it loads a YouTube player when the page opens, in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode, whatever this setting is, and YouTube may receive your IP address and device details when it does. It does not play until you press play.

When an embedded post or video loads, that company may receive information about your visit, such as your IP address and device details, and its own privacy policy applies to what it receives.

Advertising

Somerset Now carries local advertising and sponsorships. Ads and sponsored content are clearly labeled as such. We'll always tell you what's news and what's paid. Advertisers do not receive your email address.

Your choices

• Unsubscribe anytime with the link in any email, or by replying.
• Access or delete your information on request.

Children

Somerset Now is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed at children under 13.

Changes

If this policy changes, we'll update the date above and keep it in plain English.

Contact

Questions or a request to remove your information? Email news@somersetnow.com or write to Somerset Now, P.O. Box 26, Somerset, KY 42502. Somerset Now is based in Somerset, Kentucky, USA, and this policy is governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.