Effective Date: August 30, 2026
AtholNews.com is an independent local news website serving Athol, Orange, the North Quabbin region, and surrounding communities.
Our website address is:
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us through email at info@atholnews.com.
We may collect information when you:
The information collected may include:
When visitors leave comments on AtholNews.com, we collect the information shown in the comment form, along with the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent to help detect spam and maintain website security.
An anonymized string (hash) created from your email address may be sent to the Gravatar service to determine whether you use it. The Gravatar Privacy Policy is available at:
Once your comment is approved, your profile picture (if applicable) may appear publicly alongside your comment.
If you upload images to AtholNews.com, avoid uploading images containing embedded location data (EXIF GPS).
Visitors may be able to download images and extract embedded location information.
AtholNews.com uses cookies to improve your browsing experience.
Cookies may be used to:
If you leave a comment, you may choose to save your name, email address, and website in cookies. These cookies last for one year.
A temporary cookie is created when visiting the login page to determine whether your browser accepts cookies.
Login cookies generally remain active for two days unless you select “Remember Me,” in which case they remain active for two weeks.
Editing or publishing articles creates a temporary cookie containing the article ID, which expires after one day.
Most browsers allow you to disable cookies through your browser settings.
AtholNews.com may use website analytics services to better understand how visitors use our website.
These services may collect information including:
Analytics data is used only to improve our website and understand readership trends.
AtholNews.com may display advertisements from third-party advertising partners.
These advertising providers may use cookies or similar technologies to display relevant advertisements and measure advertising performance.
Please refer to the privacy policies of those advertising providers for additional information.
Articles on AtholNews.com may include embedded content from third-party websites such as:
Embedded content behaves as though you visited those websites directly.
Those websites may collect information about you, use cookies, and monitor your interaction according to their own privacy policies.
AtholNews.com does not control the privacy practices of third-party websites.
We do not sell your personal information.
Information may be shared only when necessary with trusted service providers that assist in operating our website, including:
If you request a password reset, your IP address will be included in the password reset email.
We may also disclose information when required by law.
Comments and related metadata are retained indefinitely so that follow-up comments can be recognized and approved automatically.
If user registration is available, we retain profile information until the account is deleted.
Certain information may also be retained as required for legal, administrative, or security purposes.
Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to:
These rights do not apply to information we are legally required to retain.
To submit a request, please contact us.
We take reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect the information we collect.
However, no method of transmitting information over the Internet or storing electronic information is completely secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
AtholNews.com is not directed toward children under the age of 13.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If such information is discovered, it will be removed as promptly as practical.
Our website may contain links to third-party websites.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites.
We encourage visitors to review the privacy policies of any website they visit.
This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically.
When changes are made, the “Effective Date” at the top of this page will be updated.
Continued use of AtholNews.com after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.
Questions regarding this Privacy Policy may be directed to:
AtholNews.com
Website: https://atholnews.com
Email: info@atholnews.com