Privacy Policy

Last Updated on January 1, 2023

Penguin Random House LLC (“PRH”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your concerns about privacy and values the relationship we have with you. This Privacy Policy describes our privacy practices with respect to information collected through our websites, email newsletters, social media pages, event registration, mobile, and other applications owned and operated by us, our offline contacts, and any other services that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively referred to as the “Services”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to all of our products and services; certain products and services will display a different privacy policy.

Please carefully review this Privacy Policy below before using our Services. By using our Services, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Services.  We reserve the right to modify or amend the terms of our Privacy Policy from time to time without notice.  Your continued use of our Services following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes. 

Please click on the links below to jump to the relevant section:

• What Personal Information We Collect About You
• How We Collect Your Personal Information
• How We Use Your Personal Information
• Our Disclosure of Personal Information
• Cookies, Mobile IDs and Similar Technologies
• Third Party Advertising
• Choice and Control of Personal Information
• Sensitive Information
• Retention of Personal Information
• Security
• Third Party Services
• Use of Services by Minors
• Children’s Privacy Policy
• Jurisdiction and Cross-Border Transfer
• Additional Information Regarding California
• Responding to Individual Rights Requests
• Updates To This Privacy Policy
• Contacting Us

What Personal Information We Collect About You

The Personal Information we collect depends on how you interact with us, the Services you use, and the choices you make. For example, when you use the Services by ordering a book, providing registration details, subscribing to a newsletter, browsing our sites, completing a survey, entering a sweepstakes, requesting information from us or otherwise interacting with our Services, we gather Personal Information. “Personal Information” is information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual. Several different types of Personal Information can be gathered when you interact with the Services. Collection of Personal Information is necessary to provide the Services to you or to enhance your consumer experience.

If you disclose any Personal Information relating to other people to us or to our Service Providers in connection with the Services, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We collect information about you from different sources and in various ways when you use our Services, including information you provide directly, information collected automatically, third-party data sources, and data we infer or generate from other data.

We plan to collect and have collected in the previous twelve (12) months, the following categories of Personal Information:

• Identifiers (Contact Information) such as a real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers;
• Content and files. We collect the photos, documents, or other files you upload to our Services; and if you send us email messages or other communications, we collect and retain those communications;
• Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law;
• Commercial and payment information, including records of personal property, products or Services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies;
• Internet or other electronic network activity information, including, but not limited to browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with an internet website, application, or advertisement;
• Geolocation data;
• Demographic data;
• Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information;
• Professional or employment-related information;
• Education information, including personally identifiable information as defined in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. section 1232(g), 34 C.F.R. Part 99), that is not publicly available;
• Inferences drawn from any of the information identified in this subdivision to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumer’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.

Sensitive Personal Information

Our collection of Sensitive Personal Information is extremely limited, we collect it directly from you, the consumer, and we utilize detailed consent outlining what we use it for at the time we collect it. We also, often, aggregate this information. We have collected the following categories of Sensitive Personal Information from consumers in the last 12 months:

• Government ID. Government identification such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license, state identification card, or passport number.
• Account access information. Information such as account log-in, financial account, debit card, or credit card number in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account.
• Sensitive demographic data. Information such as racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership.

How We Collect Your Personal Information

Through the Services

• Product purchases. When you purchase a book or other product through our Services, we collect Identifiers, Personal Information and Commercial Information such as your name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, credit or debit card information and other billing information.
• Reader Rewards. When you register for our Reader Rewards program, we collect Identifiers, Personal Information and Commercial Information such as your name, email address and proof of purchase documentation you provide to us. For more information, please refer to the Reader Rewards Program Terms and Conditions.
• Newsletter subscriptions. When you subscribe to our newsletters, we collect Identifiers such as your email address. For certain newsletters, we collect additional Personal Information that may be relevant including your name, job title, interests and similar information.
• Sweepstakes, contests and other promotions. When you participate in sweepstakes, contests, or similar promotions, we collect Identifiers such as your name, email address and mailing address and Commercial Information such as proof of purchase.
• Registration for programs and events. When you register for our programs, events or conferences, we collect Identifiers such as your name and email address.
• Reading preferences and market research. When you provide information through voluntary surveys or feedback conducted through the Services, through our service providers’ platforms, by phone or during in-person interviews and focus groups, we collect Identifiers, Sensitive Demographic Information, Internet Activity Information from you including your reading preferences (e.g., author, genre).
• Divisional Influencer programs. When you participate in divisional Influencer programs, we may collect Identifiers and Sensitive Demographic Information.
• User-generated content. When you submit user-generated content through online communities and other publicly available sections of the Services, including comments, reviews, or any other material that you submit, we collect Personal Information. Any Personal Information you submit through these public forums may be viewed by other users of these Services. We are not responsible for the Personal Information you choose to submit and we have no responsibility to publish, take down, remove or edit any of your submissions (except as required by applicable laws). For more information, please refer to the User Submissions section of our Terms of Use.
• Job applications. We collect Identifiers, Personal Information, Professional Information, and Education Information in connection with your application for a job at PRH.
• Contact with our Customer Service. We collect Identifiers and Personal Information for you in both online and offline contexts, including, for example, when you place an order over the phone or contact customer service.

Information We Collect Automatically

When you use our Services, we collect some information automatically. For example:

• Identifiers and device information. When you visit our websites, our web servers automatically log your Internet Protocol (IP) address and information about your device, including device identifiers (such as MAC address); device type; and your device’s operating system, browser, and other software including type, version, language, settings, and configuration. As further described in the Cookies, Mobile IDs, and Similar Technologies section below, our websites and online services store and retrieve cookie identifiers, mobile IDs, and other data.
• Geolocation data. Depending on your device and app settings, we collect geolocation data when you use our apps or online services.
• Internet and network activity data. We automatically log your activity on our websites, apps and connected products, including the URL of the website from which you came to our sites, pages you viewed, how long you spent on a page, access times, and other details about your use of and actions on our website.
• Information we create, infer, or generate. We may create Inferences from other data we collect, including using automated means to generate information about your likely preferences or other characteristics. For example, we infer your general geographic location (such as city, state, and country) based on your IP address.

 

We and our service providers collect Personal Information in a variety of ways, including:

From Other Sources

• Publicly available databases, including marketing and data analytics resources. For example, we may receive Identifiers and Demographic Information (e.g., age, sex, household income) from these sources.
• We may collect Identifiers from authors and joint marketing third parties, when they share the information with us.
• We may collect Identifiers from social media platforms and other third-party service platforms.
• Third party business customers, clients, and partners, when they share the information with us (e.g., sales data).

How We Use Your Personal Information

We and our providers use Personal Information we collect for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or otherwise disclosed to you. For example, we use Personal Information for the following purposes:

Purposes of Use	Categories of Personal Information
Product and service delivery. To provide the Service’s functionality such as arranging access to your registered account, and deliver our services, including troubleshooting, improving, and personalizing those services.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences. Sensitive Information: government ID, account access information, and sensitive demographic data
Business operations. To operate our business, such as billing, accounting, completing your transactions, verifying your information, fulfilling your orders, improving our internal operations, securing our systems and taking other quality and safety assurance measures, detecting fraudulent or illegal activity and meeting our legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files,  identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences Sensitive Information: government ID and account access information
Product improvement, development, and research. To conduct research and other data analysis and measurement via surveys, panels, public forms, and other means to maintain, improve, repair, modify, and enhance existing services, develop new products, services and features, identify usage trends, and determine the effectiveness of promotional campaigns.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences   Sensitive Information: sensitive demographic data
Personalization. To understand you, your interests, and your preferences to deliver relevant and tailored content via our services and other interactions with you. To enhance your experience and enjoyment using our services.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences   Sensitive Information: account access information and sensitive demographic data
Customer support. To provide customer support and respond to your inquiries, when you contact us via one of our online contact forms or otherwise, for example, when you send us questions, suggestions, compliments, or complaints, or when you request a quote for or other information about our services.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences   Sensitive Information: government ID and account access information,
Communications. To send you information, including newsletters, confirmations, invoices, technical notices, updates, security alerts, support messages, and administrative messages such as changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences   Sensitive Information: government ID, account access information and sensitive demographic data
Marketing. To communicate with you about new services, offers, promotions, rewards, sweepstakes, contests, upcoming events, and other information about our services and those of our selected partners (see the Choice and Control section of this privacy statement for how to change your preferences for promotional communications). To facilitate social sharing functionality that you choose to use. To offer you the opportunity to participate in sweepstakes, contests or other promotions. Some of these promotions have additional rules or terms containing information about how we will use and disclose your Personal Information. Please read those additional rules and/or terms before choosing to participate.	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences   Sensitive Information: government ID
Advertising. To display advertising to you (see the Cookies section of this privacy statement for information about personalized advertising and your advertising choices).	Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information geolocation data, usage data, and inferences

Aggregating and/or Anonymizing Personal Information

We may aggregate and/or anonymize Personal Information so that it will no longer be considered Personal Information. We do so to generate other data for our use, which we may use and disclose for any purpose, as it no longer identifies you or any other individual.

Our Disclosure of Personal Information

By using the Services, you may elect to disclose Personal Information. We disclose Personal Information:

• To our parent company and among our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. You can learn more about our parent company and consult the list and location of our affiliates here.
• To our service providers and third parties, to facilitate services they provide to us. These can include providers of services such as website design and hosting, data analysis, payment processing, order fulfillment, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, ad serving, research survey/interview/focus group management and analysis, marketing, auditing, and other services.
• To our authors. In some cases, we manage our authors’ websites and related services on their behalf. In those cases, we may transfer Personal Information collected from those services to the authors if they take over management of the services (in which case, such services are no longer controlled by us). Under such circumstances we will use reasonable efforts to direct the author to use Personal Information you have previously provided to us in a manner that is consistent with our Privacy Policy. Nevertheless, we cannot ensure that the author will have the same privacy practices as described in this Privacy Policy and you should refer to the author’s Privacy Policy for more information regarding the author’s treatment of your Personal Information.
• To our joint marketing partners. We may ask for your consent to provide your Personal Information to our joint marketing partners, for example, to provide you with special offers or promotions that may be of interest to you. Although our treatment of your Personal Information would be governed by this Privacy Policy in those cases, the third party’s treatment of your Personal Information would be governed by its privacy policy. You may withdraw your consent to our sharing of your Personal Information with such third parties at any time by sending us an email at privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com.
• With other parties. Please note that any information you post or disclose via message boards, chats, profile pages, blogs, and other services to which you can post information and content will become public and may be available to other users and the general public.
• In connection with a sale or business transaction. We have a legitimate interest in disclosing or transferring your Personal Information to a third party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
• To Third Party Analytics Providers. Analytics and advertising companies also collect Personal Information through our website and apps including identifiers and device information (such as cookie IDs, device IDs, and IP address), geolocation data, usage data, and inferences based on and associated with that data, as described in the “Cookies” section of this statement. These companies may combine this data across multiple sites to improve analytics for their own purpose and others. Please note that some of our services include integrations, references, or links to services provided by other companies whose privacy practices differ from ours. If you provide Personal Information to any of those companies, or allow us to share Personal Information with them, that data is governed by their privacy statements. Some of these relationships may be treated as a “sale” or “sharing” under California law as described in our California “Do Not Sell or Share my Personal Information” section.

Security, Safety, and Protecting Rights

We will disclose Personal Information if we believe it is necessary to protect our customers and others, for example to prevent spam or attempts to commit fraud, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone, operate and maintain the security of our services, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks, or protect the rights or property of ourselves or others, including enforcing our agreements, terms, and policies.

We may also disclose your Personal Information for the other uses described above (e.g., to comply with applicable laws, respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agency, and in connection with corporate transactions, including a merger, acquisition, dissolution, bankruptcy, or a transfer, divestiture or sale of all or a portion of our business or assets or other business transaction).

Cookies, Mobile IDs and Similar Technologies

We use cookies, web beacons, mobile analytics and advertising IDs, and similar technologies to operate our websites and online services and to help collect data, including usage data, identifiers and device information.

What are cookies and similar technologies?

Cookies are small text files placed by a website and stored by your browser on your device.  A cookie can later be read when your browser connects to a web server in the same domain that placed the cookie. The text in a cookie contains a string of numbers and letters that may uniquely identify your device and can contain other information as well. This allows the web server to recognize your browser over time, each time it connects to that web server. Cookies allow us to collect information such as browser type, time spent on the Services, pages visited, language preferences, and other traffic data.

Pixel tags (also known as web beacons and clear GIFs) may be used to, among other things, track the actions of users of the Services (including email recipients), measure the success of our marketing campaigns, compile statistics about usage of the Services and response rates, and identify similar audiences to whom we can market our Services.

How do we and our partners use cookies and similar technologies?

We, and our analytics and advertising partners, use these technologies in our websites, apps, and online services to collect Personal Information (such as the pages you visit, the links you click on and similar usage information, as well as identifiers and device information) when you use our Services, including Personal information about your online activities over time and across different websites or online services.

This information is used to store your preferences and settings, enable you to sign-in, analyze how our websites and apps perform, track your interaction with the site or app, develop inferences, deliver and tailor interest-based advertising, combat fraud, and fulfill other legitimate purposes. Additionally, the information is used for security purposes, to facilitate navigation, to display information more effectively, and to personalize your experience.  We also gather statistical information about use of the Services to continually improve their design and functionality, understand how they are used, and assist us with resolving questions regarding them.  Cookies further allow us to select which of our advertisements or offers are most likely to appeal to you and display them while you are on the Services.  We may also use cookies or other technologies in online advertising to track responses to our ads.  If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, most browsers allow you to automatically decline cookies or be given the choice of declining or accepting a particular cookie (or cookies) from a particular website (including using the options described below in the section titled “What Controls are Available”).  You may also wish to refer to http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/index.html. If, however, you do not accept cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of the Services.

We and/or our analytics and advertising partners also share the information we collect or infer with other companies for these purposes.

Analytics

We use analytics providers including but not limited to Google Analytics, Lytics and Adobe Analytics, which use cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of the Services and report on activities and trends.  We also use Localytics to track analytics on our mobile apps. These analytics services may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps and online resources.  You can learn about Google’s practices by going to www.google.com/policies/privacy/‌partners/, and exercise the opt-out provided by Google by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. To opt out of Adobe Analytics, you can implement the opt-out cookies at https://scode.randomhouse.com/optout.html.

Physical Location

We may collect the physical location of your device by, for example, using satellite, cell phone tower or WiFi signals.  We may use your device’s physical location to provide you with personalized location-based services and content.

We may also share your device’s physical location, combined with information about what advertisements you viewed and other information we collect, with our marketing partners to enable them to provide you with more personalized content and to study the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.  In some instances, you may be permitted to allow or deny such uses and/or sharing of your device’s location, but if you do, we and/or our marketing partners may not be able to provide you with the applicable personalized services and content.

What controls are available?

• Advertising controls. Our advertising partners may participate in associations that provide simple ways to opt out of ad targeting, which you can access at:
• • United States: NAI (http://optout.networkadvertising.org) and DAA (http://optout.aboutads.info/)

• • Canada: Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada (https://youradchoices.ca/)

• • Europe: European Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.youronlinechoices.com/)
• These choices are specific to the browser you are using. If you access our online services from other devices or browsers, take these actions from those systems to ensure your choices apply to the data collected when you use those systems.
• Browser cookie controls. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can go to your browser settings to learn how to delete or reject cookies. If you choose to delete or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our website. If you choose to delete cookies, settings and preferences controlled by those cookies — including advertising preferences — may be deleted and may need to be recreated.
• Mobile advertising ID controls. iOS and Android operating systems provide options to limit tracking and/or reset the advertising IDs.
• Email web beacons. Most email clients have settings which allow you to prevent the automatic downloading of images — including web beacons — which prevents the automatic connection to the web servers that host those images.
• Do Not Track.  Some browsers have incorporated “Do Not Track” (DNT) features that can send a signal to the websites you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is not a common understanding of how to interpret the DNT signal our websites do not currently respond to browser DNT signals. Instead, you can use the range of other tools to control data collection and use, including the cookie controls and advertising controls described above.
• Global Privacy Control. Global Privacy Control (GPC) is a browser setting that notifies websites of a user’s privacy preferences — such as not to share or sell Personal Information without their consent — by sending a signal to each website a user visits. When we detect such a signal, we will make reasonable efforts to respect your choices indicated by a GPC setting or similar control that is recognized by regulation or otherwise widely acknowledged as a valid opt-out preference signal.

Third Party Advertising

We may use third-party advertising companies to serve advertisements regarding goods and services that may be of interest to you when you access and use the Services and other websites or online services.

You may receive advertisements based on information relating to your access to and use of the Services and other websites or online services on any of your devices, as well as on information received from third parties.  These companies place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser (including through the use of pixel tags).  They also use these technologies, along with information they collect about your online use, to recognize you across the devices you use, such as a mobile phone and a laptop.  If you would like more information about this practice, and to learn how to opt out of it in desktop and mobile browsers on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Policy, please visit http://optout.aboutads.info/#/ and http://optout.networkadvertising.org/#/.

Choice and Control of Personal Information

Your Choices Regarding Our Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Information

Choices for Cookies, Mobile IDs and Similar Technologies. See the Cookies section for choices about cookies and other analytics and advertising controls or to opt-out from or otherwise manage targeted advertising preferences.

Communication Preferences. We give you choices regarding our use and disclosure of your Personal Information for marketing purposes.  You may opt out from:

• Email newsletters.  If you no longer want to receive marketing related emails from us going forward, you may opt out by clicking the email footer link to unsubscribe or by emailing unsubscribe@penguinrandomhouse.com. You may not be able to unsubscribe from communications that are not related to marketing; otherwise, you might miss important information about your account, the Services, or transactions you engage in on the Website.
• Joint marketing promotions. As described above (see section labeled With Whom We Disclose Your Personal Information), you may withdraw your consent to (or opt out from) our sharing of your Personal Information with our joint marketing partners at any time by sending us an email at privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com.
• Mail promotions. We do not currently send direct mail solicitations (e.g., catalogs) without your consent. If, at any time, you prefer not to receive mail solicitations from us, please email us at privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com.

We will comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable.  Please note that if you opt out of receiving marketing related emails from us, we may still send you important administrative messages, from which you cannot opt out.

How You Can Access, Change, or Delete Your Personal Information Consistent with State Laws

If you would like to request to access, correct, update, suppress, restrict, or delete, object to or opt out of the sale, sharing, or processing of Personal Information, or if you would like to request to receive a copy of your Personal Information for purposes of transmitting it to another company (to the extent these rights are provided to you by applicable law), you may contact us. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law.  If you are a California resident, please refer to the “Additional Information Regarding California” section at the end of this Policy for more information about the requests you may make under applicable law.

In your request, please make clear what Personal Information you would like to have changed or whether you would like to have your Personal Information suppressed from our database.  For your protection, we may only implement requests with respect to the Personal Information associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request.  We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable.

Some privacy laws provide a right to opt-out from profiling — including targeted advertising and appeal a decision regarding a request to exercise your rights.  We process Personal Information by sharing your information with third parties who serve targeted advertising. To opt-out from such processing, please review our Cookies Mobile IDs and Similar Technologies  Section.

Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions that you began prior to requesting a change or deletion as further described in the Retention of Personal Information section below.

Sensitive Information

Unless we request it, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive Personal Information (e.g., Social Security numbers, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, biometrics or genetic characteristics or criminal background) on or through the Services or otherwise to us.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain Personal Information for as long as needed or permitted in accordance with the purpose(s) for which it was obtained and consistent with applicable law.  The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

• The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you and provide the Services to you (for example, for as long as you have an account with us or keep using the Services);
• Whether we are subject to a legal obligation (for example, certain laws that require us to keep records of your transactions for a certain period of time before we can delete them); or
• Whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation or regulatory investigations).

Security

We seek to use reasonable organizational, technical and administrative measures to protect Personal Information within our organization.  Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure.  If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us in accordance with the “Contacting Us” section below.

Third Party Services

This Privacy Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any website or service to which the Services link.  The inclusion of a link on the Services does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or by our affiliates.

In addition, we are not responsible for the information collection, use, disclosure, or security policies or practices of other organizations, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, or any other social media platform provider.

Use of Services by Minors

Except for a few of our specific child- and teen-directed services, the Services are not directed to individuals under the age of eighteen (18), and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from individuals under the age of eighteen (18).

For more information on PRH’s privacy practices for child-directed services please refer to the Children’s Privacy Policy below. The Privacy Policy on our child-directed services will automatically link to this section.

Children’s Privacy Policy

PRH respects the privacy of children and we are committed to complying with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This Children’s Privacy Policy describes our practices with respect to the collection of Personal Information and Other Information (as defined above, see section labeled What Personal Information We Collect About You) from children under the age of thirteen (13). This Site does not knowingly collect, use, or disclose Personal Information from children under the age of thirteen (13) without prior parental consent, except as permitted by COPPA.

What Information We Collect and How We Use It

We do not require children to share any Personal Information to participate on this Site.  On occasion, however, we may collect Personal Information, such as an email address from a child as part of an activity, in accordance with COPPA.  For example:

• Email address: We may collect a child’s email address to respond to a one-time request from the child, such as if the child asks us or one of our authors a question.  In such case, we promptly delete the child’s email address from our system once we have responded, and we do not use the child’s email address for any other purpose.
• Send-a-friend: In the case of send-a-friend email or card, we only collect a child’s first name and the friend’s email address to send the friend the email or card.  We do not store the friend’s email address for any longer than reasonably necessary to send the email or card to the friend.
• Contests or Sweepstakes: We may collect a child’s email address to enter the child in a sweepstakes or contest or to notify the child that he or she has won or lost a contest or sweepstakes or contest.  We will not keep the child’s email address after the promotion or use the child’s email address for any other purpose other than for the promotion.  For certain promotions, we may ask that a child give us his/her parent’s email address so we can obtain more personalized information for prize fulfillment purposes if the child wins the promotion or to notify the parent if we need more than the child’s email address to enter the child in the promotion. In the latter event, parents will be sent a notice along with instructions on how they may provide their consent for their child to participate in such promotion.

We may also collect Other Information automatically from your child’s computer or device, such as the frequency with which the child visits our Site and the pages visited, to support the internal operations of the Site.  We collect this information so we can understand and monitor usage of the Site, customize content on the Site and improve the performance of the Site. This information is collected using technologies such as cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies.  This information is not used to behaviorally target children and we do not permit behavioral targeting on any of our services that are directed to children.

Special Circumstances for Information Sharing and Security

We may share children’s Personal Information with “Third Party Service Providers” and “Other Third Parties When Required by Law” as disclosed above (see “With Whom We Share Your Personal Information”).

Parent’s Rights

Under COPPA, you have the right to review any of your child’s information and also have it deleted from our records.  You also have the right to tell us to stop collecting or using your child’s Personal Information. If you have questions concerning our information practices with respect to children, or if you would like to review, have deleted, or stop the further collection of your child’s Personal Information in connection with the transaction for which it was originally collected, you may email us at privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com. For tips on protecting your child’s privacy online, please see the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s brochure on this topic: www.onguardonline.gov.

Jurisdiction and Cross-Border Transfer

These Services are published in the United States. We attempt to protect the Personal Information of all users of our Services and we attempt to comply with local data protection and consumer rights laws to the extent they may apply to PRH’s services, but our family of Services are located and targeted to United States citizens and our policies are directed at compliance with those laws. If you are uncertain whether this Privacy Policy conflicts with the applicable local privacy laws where you are located, you should not submit your Personal Information to PRH.

If you are located outside the United States, you should be aware that your Personal Information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, the laws of which may have different levels of privacy protection from your country. By using our Services, you thereby consent to the general use of your information as provided in this Privacy Policy and to the transfer of that information to, and processing and storage of that information in, the United States. In certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies or security authorities in the United States may be entitled to access your Personal Information.

Additional Information Regarding California

If you are a resident of California, we have certain obligations, and you have certain rights with respect to your Personal Information.

Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended, including by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2023 (“CCPA”), we are providing the following additional details regarding the categories of Personal Information about California residents that we collect, use, disclose or sell.  We are providing this Privacy Policy in addition to the information contained in our general Privacy Policy.

Disclosure, Sale, and Sharing of Personal Information

We disclose, sell or share Personal Information with the following categories of service providers and third parties:

1. “Affiliates.”  We share with our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
2. “Book Authors.” We share with book authors for marketing purposes.
3. “Service Providers.” We share with our trusted third-party service providers, to facilitate services they provide to us, such as internet services, website hosting, data analytics, payment processing, order fulfillment, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, marketing, auditing, background checks, and other services.
4. “Ad Networks.” We share with third-party ad networks and online advertising partners to permit them to send you marketing communications.
5. “Marketing Partners.” We share with our marketing partners to permit them to send you marketing communications, consistent with your choices.
6. “Social Networks” We share with social network platforms, who use the data we share in accordance with their own privacy policies.
7. “Business Partners.” We share with our trusted business partners.
8. “Contest Sponsors.”  With your consent, we share with third-party sponsors of sweepstakes, contests, and similar promotions.
9. “Legal Authorities.”  We share with public and government authorities, including regulators and law enforcement, to respond to requests, as well as to protect and defend legal rights.
10. “Other Parties in Litigation” We share information in the context of litigation discovery and in response to subpoenas and court orders.

The CCPA requires us to describe the categories of Personal Information we sell to or share with third parties and how to opt out of future sales or sharing. The CCPA defines Personal Information to include online identifiers, including IP addresses, cookies IDs, and mobile IDs. The law also defines a “sale” or “share” broadly to include simply making data available to third parties in some cases. In the preceding twelve (12) months, we disclosed for our operational business purposes or sold the following categories of Personal Information to the following categories of service providers and third parties:

 

Categories of Personal Information	Disclosed to Which Categories of Third Parties for Operational Business Purposes	Purpose for Disclosure
Identifiers	Service Providers, Book Authors, Affiliates, Ad Networks, Social Networks, Authors, Business Partners, Contest Sponsors (in accordance with your choices), Marketing Partners and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Customer Records Information	Service Providers, Affiliates and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Protected Class Information	Service Providers, Affiliates and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Transaction Information	Service Providers, Affiliates, and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Online Use Information	Service Providers, Ad Networks, Social Networks, Marketing Partners and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Geolocation Data	Service Providers, and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Audio/Video Data	Service Providers, and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Employment Information	Service Providers, and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose
Inferences	Service Providers, Marketing Partners and Legal Authorities and Other Parties in Litigation.	Commercial or Business Purpose

 

Categories of Personal Information	Disclosed to Which Categories of Third Parties for Operational Business Purposes	Purpose for Disclosure
Online Use Information	Ad Networks, Social Networks and Marketing Partners	Sale and Sharing (as disclosed under the section on Disclosure and Sale above)

 

We let advertising and analytics providers collect IP addresses, cookie IDs, and mobile IDs, along with associated device and usage data, when you access our online services, but we do not “sell” or “share” any other Personal Information. We generally do not “sell” or “share” your Personal Information, as defined by the CCPA, except in a few limited cases to support our business operations (e.g., email addresses to correct and enhance our contact lists). If you do not wish for us or our partners to “sell” or “share” Personal Information relating to your visits to our sites for advertising purposes, you can make your Do Not Sell or Share Request by emailing us, or using the choices below. If you opt out using these choices, we will not disclose or make available such Personal Information in ways that are considered a “sale” or “sharing” under the CCPA.  However, we will continue to make available to our partners (acting as our service providers) some Personal Information to help us perform advertising-related functions. Further, using these choices will not opt you out of the use of previously “sold” or “shared” Personal Information or stop all interest-based advertising.

We do not knowingly sell the Personal Information of minors under sixteen (16) years of age.

Your CCPA Rights: Requests to Know, Requests to Correct, Requests to Delete, Requests to Opt-Out of Sale and Requests to Opt-Out of Sharing with Third parties.

If you are a California resident, you have certain rights with respect to Personal Information that we collect and process about you, including:

(1) Right to Know.  You have a right to request that we disclose to you the Personal Information we have collected about you (“Request to Know”). You also have a right to request additional information about our collection, use, disclosure, sale, or sharing of such Personal Information.  Note that we have provided much of this information in this Privacy Policy:

• The categories of Personal Information we collected about you and the categories of sources from which we collected such Personal Information;
• The specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you;
• The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling (if applicable) Personal Information about you;
• The categories of Personal Information about you that we sold and, for each, the categories of third parties to whom we sold such Personal Information (if applicable); and
• The categories of Personal Information about you that we otherwise shared or disclosed, and, for each, the categories of third parties with whom we shared or to whom we disclosed such Personal Information (if applicable).

To make a Right to Know request or a request for additional information, please click here.

(2) Right to Request Deletion. You also have a right to request that we delete Personal Information under certain circumstances, subject to a number of exceptions (“Request to Delete”). To make a request for deletion, please click here.

(3) Right to Correct Inaccurate Personal Information we collected from you (“Request to Correct”). To make a request to correct please click here.

(4) Right to Opt-Out. You have a right to opt-out from future “sales” or “sharing” of Personal Information about you (“Request to Opt-out”) by clicking here.

(5)  Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information. Under the CCPA California Residents have the right to request that we limit the use and disclosure of their Sensitive Information for any purposes other than to provide the services or goods you request or as otherwise permitted by law. Note that we do not use sensitive personal information for any such additional purposes.

(6) Right to Designate an Authorized Agent. You may designate, in writing or through a power of attorney, an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights under the CCPA. Before accepting such a request from an agent, we will require the agent to provide proof you have authorized it to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us (as further described below in the section titled “Responding to Individual Rights Requests”).

(7) Right to Non-Discrimination. You have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination for exercising your rights under the CCPA.

(8) Right to Notice of Privacy Practices. You have a right to receive notice of our practices at or before collection of Personal Information.

Additional California Disclosures

Additionally, under California Civil Code section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine the Light” law, California residents who have provided Personal Information to a business with which the individual has established a business relationship for personal, family, or household purposes (“California Customers”) may request information about whether the business has disclosed Personal Information to any third parties for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes.

We comply with this law by offering our customers a choice about the disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes, and you can make or change such choice by emailing us at privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com or submitting a request to opt out of sharing of your Personal Information.

California Customers may request further information about our compliance with this law by e-mailing privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com. Please note that businesses are required to respond to one request per California Customer each year and may not be required to respond to requests made by means other than through the designated e-mail address.

California residents under the age of eighteen (18) who are registered users of online sites, services, or applications have a right under California Business and Professions Code Section 22581 to remove, or request and obtain removal of, content or information they have publicly posted. To remove content or information you have publicly posted, contact us at privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com. Alternatively, to request that we remove such content or information, please send a detailed description of the specific content or information you wish to have removed to privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com. Please be aware that your request does not guarantee complete or comprehensive removal of content or information posted online and that the law may not permit or require removal in certain circumstances.

Notice of Financial Incentive

We may, at times, offer discount codes or other incentives, such as downloadable content, when you sign up for marketing content such as newsletters. When you sign up for one of these programs, we typically collect your first and last name and email address so that we may provide you with the offers you requested as well as other offers that we think may be of interest to you. We have not assigned a specific monetary value to the Personal Information we collect via these incentives as the value varies from consumer to consumer, based on the discounts and incentives each customer redeems, and the purchases they make. But we do receive value in the form of consumer engagement and purchases, which we estimate by comparing the total amount spent by our customers who redeem such discounts and incentives, less our expenses to provide the offering to those customers who do not redeem such discounts and incentives within the same timeframe less the costs of the discount and of administering the newsletter program. You can unsubscribe from these newsletters and related communications as described in the communications, which will opt you out from related discounts or other incentive offers and retain any incentive received prior to opting out.

Responding to Individual Rights Requests

We will verify and respond to requests from individuals to exercise their privacy rights consistent with applicable laws, taking into account the type and sensitivity of the Personal Information subject to the request.  If you maintain a password-protected account with us, we may verify your identity through our existing authentication practices for your account and require you to re-authenticate yourself before disclosing, correcting or deleting your Personal Information.  Alternatively, we may send our response to your request to the contact point in our records that is associated with the Personal Information that is requested.  If you make a Request to Delete, we may ask you to confirm your request before we delete your Personal Information.

If you are the authorized agent of a consumer, making a Request to Know (or access), Correct, Port, or a Delete on behalf of the consumer, we will ask you for:

1. Proof of your registration with the relevant Secretary of State to conduct business in the relevant State.
2. Proof that the consumer has authorized you to make a request to Know (or access), correct, port, or delete on the consumer’s behalf. This must be an authorization signed by the consumer. “Signed” means that the permission has either been physically signed or provided electronically in accordance with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Civil Code 1633.7 et seq.

If an authorized agent has not provided us with a power of attorney from the consumer pursuant to Probate Code sections 4000-4465, we may also:

1. Require the consumer to provide you with a written authorization signed by the consumer to make the request on the consumer’s behalf.
2. Verify the identity of the consumer as we would if the consumer were making the request personally.
3. Obtain verification from the consumer that they provided the authorized agent authorization to make the request.

If you are the authorized agent of a consumer, making a Request to Opt-Out on behalf of the consumer, we may ask you for:

1. Proof of your registration with the relevant Secretary of State to conduct business in the relevant State.
2. Proof that the consumer has authorized you to make a Request to Opt-Out on the consumer’s behalf. This must be a permission signed by the consumer. “Signed” means that the permission has either been physically signed or provided electronically in accordance with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Civil Code 1633.7 et seq.

Updates to This Privacy Policy

The “Last Updated” legend at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised.  Any changes will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on the Services.

Contacting Us

Penguin Random House LLC, located at 1745 Broadway, New York, NY, is the company responsible for collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information under this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us as follows:

By email:

• US: privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com
• International: dataprotection@penguinrandomhouse.com
• Newsletter Unsubscribe Requests: unsubscribe@penguinrandomhouse.com

By phone: (800) 793-2665

By mail:

Online Privacy
Attn: Customer Service
Penguin Random House
1745 Broadway
New York, NY 10019

Because electronic communications are not always secure, please do not include credit card or other sensitive information in your communications with us.