Herald Web Privacy Policy Detailed

WEST CAPE MAY — In light of recent activity on the Herald’s website that’s caused trouble for some local officials, this newspaper will reiterate the level of privacy site users can expect.
According to the Herald website visitor agreement and privacy policy, users have control of personal information they disclose to other users and the general public. The visitor agreement and privacy policy are linked at the bottom of every page.
Below is an excerpt from the “membership and access” section of the visitor agreement:
“In the event that you wish to post content to our Site, you will have to register as a “Member” and create a username and password…During registration, you will create a user name and password (your “Account”), which may permit you access to certain secure areas of the Site only available to our Members. You are responsible for safeguarding and maintaining the confidentiality of your Account.”
The “members” section of the Herald’s privacy policy states that “we will display your personal information in your profile page and elsewhere on the Site according to the preferences you set in your account. Any information you choose to provide should reflect how much you want all other Members to know about you.”
“We recommend that you guard your anonymity and sensitive information and we encourage Members to think carefully about what information about themselves they disclose in their profile pages,” the privacy policy continues. “You can review and revise your profile information at any time.”
Things that a user can control include: hiding email addresses; hiding recent comments; hiding recent page visits; and changing first and last names.
While a legitimate email address is needed to create a user account on the Herald’s website, there is nothing to prevent a user from registering with an alias should anonymity be preferred.