FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
CONTENTS: Community Code of Conduct | Questions about commenting | Questions about the website | Questions about login & membership | Questions about content | Questions about our App
HuffPost Community Code of Conduct
Welcome to the HuffPost Community: HuffPost promotes a receptive, transparent and civil atmosphere for comments and users. We are dedicated to maintaining a respectful community that actively engages in lively discussions about stories in the news. Please keep the following in mind when writing comments:
Respect Others: Be polite to all the members of our community, including other commenters, authors, and the subjects of articles. Real people read your comments. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to voice their opinion, regardless of identity, politics, ideology, religion or agreement with other community members, the author of the post or staff members, as long as those opinions are respectful and constructively add to the conversation. HuffPost does not tolerate direct or indirect attacks, name-calling or insults, nor does it tolerate intentional attempts to derail, hijack, troll or bait others. We reserve the right to remove such comments whenever warranted. Individuals who consistently or intentionally post these types of comments may lose their ability to comment and, if necessary, may be permanently excluded from the platform.
Safe Space: Above all, we strongly believe that the HuffPost community should be a safe and welcoming space for all individuals, groups and their ideas. Using purposefully insulting or hostile language and making personal threats are not welcome. If you directly or indirectly threaten the physical or mental well-being of a member of this community, or an individual or group, you may be removed immediately. If a credible threat is made against an individual or group, it may also be reported to law enforcement, and we will cooperate with them to whatever extent requested. Personally identifiable information should never be posted to HuffPost comments sections, for the privacy and protection of all community members. This includes but is not limited to full names, addresses, phone numbers, or email addresses. Any comments that contain such information will be deleted. (Personally identifiable information excludes your displayed name as it appears on HuffPost comments; HuffPost highly discourages anonymous usernames and pseudonyms.")
Moderation: In order to provide this space, comments are pre-moderated by our content filters before they are posted to a story’s comments thread. Please note that comments that include links to other websites, or embedded images and videos, are not permitted in our comment threads. This is to protect against the possibility of abuse and malware that can come from unrecognized links or media.
Be yourself, only yourself, and just one of yourself. Every person's opinion is valuable and unique. Pretending to be someone else removes that value. Don't misrepresent yourself or others, or spread misinformation. If you do, you make the community less enjoyable and valuable. Misrepresentation will be removed whenever it's found.
Questions about commenting
Q: Do I need a HuffPost account to comment?
- A: No, but you need a Facebook or Twitter account to sign in to our comment partner (spot.im).
Q: What does it mean to comment on a HuffPost article?
- A: When you comment on a HuffPost article, your comment is published via the spot.im network. The spot.im comments plugin is loaded whenever you open the comment thread on a story. People with slower connections may have trouble loading comments on a story with high volume. Please try reloading the page or switching to a faster connection if you are having problems.
Q: I posted a comment. Why can't I see it on the site?
- A: Be aware that not all comments will appear immediately on the site, particularly if they contain filtered words, links or media flagged by our moderation tools. If this happens, you may need to rephrase your comment (removing profanity, links, or media) and submit it again.
Q: Why do my posts never appear in HuffPost comments?
- A: If a user has repeatedly posted comments that violate any of these ground rules, their comments may be blocked from appearing on the site. This includes inappropriate comments that contain, insults, attacks, abuse towards other users or groups.
Questions about the website
Q: Why am I being asked to consent to a cookie policy? What is this?
- A: HuffPost values your privacy and aims to give you control over how your data is used. We partner with advertisers to show you the most relevant ads based the data you agree to share with us.
To see more information about the data we collect, visit your HuffPost Privacy Dashboard.
Q: I am trying to watch a video but it says that it's not available. What’s wrong?
- A: Some videos we post are from partners, and those partner videos may have restrictions as to who can watch them, most often geographical restrictions related to licensing agreements. We try to show content only to users who can access it, but sometimes you may see an error, depending on your location.
Questions about logins and membership
Q: Do I need an account to use HuffPost?
- A: No. You can browse and read/watch any content on HuffPost.com without logging into anything. If you want to comment on an article, you will need to sign into our comment section with your Facebook or Twitter account.
Q: Why should I create a HuffPost login?
- A: By creating a login account on the apps or our website, you will be able to save and sync your bookmarks anywhere you are logged in. That will allow you create a reading list for when you have more time, or to finish an article on your phone that you started reading on our website. When logged in, you will also be able to manage your newsletter subscriptions.
We will be adding other personalizations in the future that will enhance your experience across HuffPost products by syncing settings anywhere you have logged in.
Q: Do I need to pay for a HuffPost account?
- A: No. Anyone can create a free account to sync their preferences across devices.
Q: Can I use someone else’s HuffPost account?
- A: We encourage people to create their own accounts to avoid mixing bookmarks and other settings, but there is no restriction on how many devices are logged in with the same account.
Q: I’m logged in but can’t see my bookmarks. What’s wrong?
- A: If you are logged in and see an empty bookmarks page, it could be because you saved those bookmarks on a device that you were not logged in on. Ensure that you are logged in both when saving and viewing bookmarks.
Q: I’m logged in but can’t see all of my newsletters. What’s wrong?
- A: When logged in, we can only show you newsletters associated with the email you used to create your account. Any newsletters you are receiving at other email addresses can be unsubscribed by following the link in the email itself.
If you want to manage all of your newsletter subscriptions in one place, you can unsubscribe from the emails associated with other addresses and sign up again from the Newsletters section when logged into HuffPost.
Q: How do I change the email address associated with my HuffPost account?
- A: To change the email on your account, click the icon in the top-right corner of the website to open your user profile page. From there, choose “Account Details” to change your settings.
Q: How do I delete my HuffPost account?
- A: You can delete your HuffPost account by visiting your user profile page from the icon on the top-right corner of the website. Click the “delete account” link.
Q: I created a HuffPost account but I’m not logged in. What’s wrong?
- A: When creating a HuffPost account, you must verify the email address you used to sign up before your account is active. Check your email inbox for a verification code you would have received after entering your details.
If you never got an email, or if your connection was interrupted when the verification step happened, you will need to follow the registration process again. Please ensure you have a consistent wifi or cellular connection while creating your account or logging in and look for the verification email in your inbox.
Questions about content
Q: Where is a section I used to see? (e.g., Opinion, Comedy, Crime, Weird News, Good News)
- A: HuffPost covers a diverse range of topics, and occasionally we revise the sections that we present in the menu. In most cases, even when we remove a section from the list, the content is still available in another section. For example, while we have removed the “Comedy” section from the navigation list, Comedy articles can still be found in the Entertainment section.
You can find links to other sections at the bottom of every content section in the app where you see the “You’re all caught up” message.
Any section can be added to your “My Sections” list by tapping the “add” button at the top of the screen, which will make it easier to find that section on future visits.
Q: What do the labels "paid for by" and "supported by" mean?
- A: HuffPost believes it's important for readers to understand how our site makes its money and to see into the financial arrangements that enable us to bring our journalism to readers. We accomplish this by clearly labeling the two types of partner content as either "paid for by" or "supported by." There are two different labels because there are important differences between the two.
When you see the label "paid for by," this usually means that Ryot Studio — the global creative studio that specializes in branded content here at Verizon Media — has worked with an advertiser to co-create the content. All of those articles are labeled as "paid for," with Ryot Studio on the byline and more information about the advertiser at the bottom. HuffPost includes this labeling prominently wherever such content is featured, on our own site and on social media.
HuffPost also works with philanthropic and commercial partners to enable and enrich editorially independent projects that expand our coverage of topics aligned with our editorial mission. “Supported by” labeling indicates that a partner has given us money to execute an editorial project. Partners also often have ads that run alongside these “supported” articles, but partners do not review nor do they have direct input into “supported by” articles or the series beyond an agreement on the broader themes. Each article produced for a supported series includes labeling and a disclosure that explains the relationship.
Questions about our App
CONTENTS: How to use the app | Questions about login & membership on our app | Questions about app content | Getting Help
How to use the HuffPost app
Q: Why should I use the HuffPost app instead of the website?
- A: The HuffPost app offers the same great HuffPost website content plus several features that are not present on the website. With the iOS and Android app you can: read articles offline, sign up for push notifications to get updates on important news and feature stories, and personalize your "sections" list to find what you are interested in more quickly. We hope you will try the app and let us know what you think by sending us a note at ios@huffpost.com or android@huffpost.com
Q: Can I download content to read offline?
- A: Yes, the HuffPost app supports offline reading. To enable offline reading, visit the "My Settings" section and scroll down to “Offline Reading” to customize your offline reading preferences.
Q: Is the app available in other countries and languages?
- A: The HuffPost app has 15 regional editions with content specific to those areas, representing eight languages in addition to English. In the "My Settings" section, you can change your edition to read HuffPost content in French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
Q: Can I save articles to read later?
- A: Yes! Tap the ribbon icon on any article (located on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen or below the headline on section fronts) to add it to your "Bookmarks" section. If you are logged in, the list will be synced with your user account and available on the website as well. Your bookmarks will be preserved when you upgrade to a new version of the app and will only be removed if you delete them manually, or if you delete the app.
Q: Can I read my bookmarked articles in other places?
- A: Yes, by creating a HuffPost account, your bookmarks list will be synced anywhere you are logged in. Any bookmarks you add in the app will be visible on the web, and any bookmarks you add on the website will be visible on the apps.
Q: How do I increase the size of the text in the app?
- A: The default font size in the HuffPost app is linked to your device’s settings. To change the size of the text in the HuffPost app, go to the "My Settings" page from the tab bar and choose a larger size.
Q: How do I limit the amount of space the HuffPost app uses on my device?
- A: Some content downloaded in the HuffPost app, like your bookmarks, will increase the amount of space our app takes up on your device. To minimize this, you have two options: Clear the contents of your recently viewed list by going to the "Settings" page in the HuffPost app and tapping the “Clear Recently Viewed” option to reset that section. Remove some of your bookmarks by going to your "Bookmarks" page within the app. You can un-bookmark an item by tapping the ribbon icon, or by swiping left on the article in the list to show the “Delete” button.
Q: How do I comment on an article in the app?
- A: You can submit a comment on any article you are reading in the app by tapping the message-bubble icon on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. This will load our comments section.
Q: What do I do if I can’t see the comments section at all?
- A: Most often, when the comments fail to load, it is because of a slow cellular or Wifi connection. While the page will appear blank, waiting a bit longer can be enough to give the comments time to appear.
You can submit a comment on any article you are reading in the app by tapping the message-bubble icon on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. This will load our comments section.
Q: Can I control what notifications I get from the HuffPost app?
- A: The HuffPost app currently offers Breaking News as well as category-specific notifications for you to stay on top of the things that matter to you. You can sign up or change the categories you receive by visiting the app’s “Alerts” tab and tapping the icon in the top-right corner of the screen. If you have blocked notifications on the system level, you can enable them by visiting your iOS or Android Settings app, scrolling down to the notifications section and switching notifications on for HuffPost.
Q: Does the HuffPost app have a widget for the iOS Today screen?
- A: Yes! Our Today screen widget (which appears when you swipe right on your iPhone or iPad home screen) allows you to see the top story from each of the first four sections in your “My Sections” list.
Q: Does the HuffPost app have an Android homescreen widget?
- A: Yes, you can install HuffPost’s homescreen widget, which will show you a selection of trending stories without having to launch the app, by long-pressing an empty space on one of your home screens and selecting “widgets”.
Questions about logins and membership on our app
Q: Do I need an account to use the HuffPost app?
- A: No. You can browse and read/watch any content in the HuffPost app without logging into anything. If you want to comment on an article, you will need to sign into our comment section with your Facebook or Twitter account.
Q: Why should I create a HuffPost login?
- A: By creating a login account on the apps or our website, you will be able to save and sync your bookmarks anywhere you are logged in. That will allow you create a reading list for when you have more time, or to finish an article on your phone that you started reading on our website.
We will add other personalizations in the future that will enhance your experience across HuffPost products by syncing settings anywhere you have logged in.
Q: Do I need to pay for a HuffPost account?
- A: No. Anyone can create a free account to sync their preferences across devices.
Q: Can I use someone else’s HuffPost account?
- A: We encourage people to create their own accounts to avoid mixing bookmarks and other settings, but there is no restriction on how many devices are logged in with the same account.
Q: I’m logged in but can’t see my bookmarks. What’s wrong?
- A: If you are logged in and see an empty bookmarks page, it could be because you saved those bookmarks on a device that you were not logged in on. Ensure that you are logged in both when saving and viewing bookmarks.
If you are only seeing part of your bookmarks list, that’s because we currently only display the 30 most recently bookmarked items. You can delete some newer bookmarks to view older ones. We will be increasing the number of bookmarks we display in the apps in a future update.
Q: I’m logged in but can’t see all of my newsletters. What’s wrong?
- A: When logged in, we can only show you newsletters associated with the email you used to create your account. Any newsletters you are receiving at other email addresses can be unsubscribed by following the link in the email itself.
If you want to manage all of your newsletter subscriptions in one place, you can unsubscribe from the emails associated with other addresses and sign up again from the "Newsletters" section when you're logged into HuffPost.
Q: How do I change the email address associated with my HuffPost account?
- A: To change the email on your account, open the My Settings section of the app and tap on the “View Account Info” link at the top of the screen. From there, choose “Edit Profile”.
Q: How do I delete my HuffPost account?
- A: You can remove your HuffPost from your device account by visiting the My Settings section of the app and tapping on the “View Account Info” link at the top of the screen. From there, choose “Manage Accounts” and tap the “Edit” button to remove an account.
If you’d like to delete your HuffPost account completely from our systems, please send us a request at support@huffpost.com
Q: I created a HuffPost account but I’m not logged in. What’s wrong?
- A: When you create a HuffPost account, you must verify the email address you used to sign up before your account is "active". Check your email inbox for the verification code you should have received after entering your details.
If you did not receive an email, or if your device was offline when the verification step happened, you will need to follow the registration process again. Please ensure you have a consistent wifi or cellular connection while creating your account or logging in and look for the verification email in your inbox.
Questions about app content
Q: How often is content refreshed on the app?
- A: Content is constantly refreshed throughout the HuffPost app 24 hours a day and seven days a week - both the content of articles and the mix of articles on section pages. Some sections are updated more frequently than others, but our main News section will always give you the most up-to-date content that our editors think you should know about.
To ensure your app is always fresh, make sure your device allows Cellular Data usage for HuffPost (in your device’s Settings app), and make sure you are always using the latest version available in the App Store or Play Store.
Q: Can I personalize what content I see in the app?
- A: Yes, you can. In the “Sections” tab, you can add preferred topics to your My Sections list, which will set the order of sections available when you swipe right or left in the “News” tab on the bottom tab bar in the app. The first four sections in your list also determine what stories appear in the iOS Today widget when you swipe left from your phone’s home screen.
Q: Where is a section I used to see? (e.g. Opinion, Comedy, Crime, Weird News, Good News)
- A: HuffPost covers a diverse range of topics, and occasionally we revise the sections that we present in the menu. In most cases, even when we remove a section from the list, the content is still available in another section. For example, while we have removed the Comedy section from the navigation list, Comedy articles can still be found in the Entertainment section.
You can find links to other sections at the bottom of every content section in the app where you see the “You’re all caught up” message.
Any section can be added to your “My Sections” list by tapping the “add” button at the top of the screen, which will make it easier to find that section on future visits.
Getting help
Q: My app is crashing. How do I fix it?
- A: If your app is crashing, the first thing to do is to make sure you are on the latest version installed. To do that, visit the HuffPost app in the App Store or Google Play Store and tap the “Update” button if you see one.
If you are already on the latest version and are still experiencing crashes, it may mean there is a problem with a piece of content that has already been downloaded into the app’s memory. Try deleting the app (tap and hold the icon until it starts wiggling, and then tap the “X”) and reinstalling it from the App Store. Note that this will delete your bookmarks and favorite sections.
If you would prefer not to reinstall, please let us know to the best of your recollection what you were doing last before the crashing started by sending a note to ios@huffpost.com or android@huffpost.com, and we will try to resolve the issue without losing your bookmarks and favorite sections.
Q: How do I let HuffPost editors know that there is a mistake in an article?
- A: If you see an error in an article on the HuffPost app, please go to the "My Settings" section of the app and tap the “Contact our editors” button.
Q: Why does the HuffPost app have so many ads?
- A: HuffPost partners with advertisers and sponsors to help fund our journalism. We work with them to ensure a positive ad experience for our readers, and we are constantly reevaluating the mix and placement of these ads with that goal in mind.
Q: What do I do if my question is not addressed in this FAQ?
- A: If you are having a problem that is not answered here, please email us at support@huffpost.com