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PRIVACY FAQ

At Common Sense Media, we value your privacy. And since privacy policies can be very long, here's a summary of the key concepts of the Common Sense Media Privacy Policy.

The Common Sense Media Privacy Policy applies to users of our domains such as Common Sense Media commonsensemedia.org and Common Sense Education commonsense.org/education.

Common Sense Media also maintains other websites and apps, which are governed by their own privacy policies. In addition, surveys are governed by the privacy policies displayed in the survey, which may differ from this privacy policy. If you are using another Common Sense Media website or app or responding to a survey, please be sure to consult the applicable privacy policy, as it may differ from this Policy.

Throughout this Policy we use the term “Personal Information” to refer to information about an identified or identifiable natural person. It includes any information that can be used to identify (directly or indirectly) or contact a specific individual, such as the individual's name, postal address, email address, telephone number, or online identifier.

What do you do with the information I give you when I register?

We register users to protect our community and allow our members to write reviews, save favorites, and gain access to additional resources. Once you register, we use cookies to keep track of your online interaction with our site so we can welcome you back and personalize the services for you. You can control cookie settings by clicking on the "Cookie settings" link at the bottom of our Common Sense sites. Please note that for users in the European Economic Area and the UK (EEA+), only Necessary cookies are enabled by default.

If you opt into any of our newsletters, we also use your information to send you the newsletter.

We will use your information to personalize your experience with our services and within our communications and may recommend Common Sense content, activities, features, and products that may be of interest.

What happens when my kid registers for your site?

We support the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and other frameworks like the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the so-called UK GDPR (together, the GDPR), which endorse the protection of children and their Personal Information. Our goal is to minimize the information gathered from and disseminated about kids while permitting their active participation with the trustworthy information, education, and independent voice for which we are known.

We use the term "Children" in the Common Sense Media Privacy Policy to refer to younger kids for whom collecting parental consent is required under applicable laws. For example, under COPPA in the United States, children for these purposes are considered to be individuals under the age of 13. This age range may vary in other countries and regions. Where consent is required or recommended for a particular purpose or practice, we aim to get parental consent for youth in accordance with the age designated by the country they are in.

We use the term "Teen" in the Common Sense Media Privacy Policy to refer to older kids for whom collecting parental consent is not required under applicable laws. In the US, a Teen would be a kid between the ages of 13 and 18. This age range may vary in other countries and regions but, in all cases, an individual over 18 is not considered a Teen. We take extra steps to limit information collected and protect the privacy of Teens, as described in our Privacy Policy.

For Children, we have especially strict limitations about what Personal Information can be collected and viewed about them and how and when they can be contacted. Please see our Children's Privacy Policy for additional information pertaining to our policies relating to the use of the services by Children.

For logged in Teens and Children non-Necessary cookies are turned off.

What rights do parents have? 

If you are a parent of a younger user, and we need your consent to certain processing of your Child’s Personal Information, if you:

  • believe your Child is participating in an activity on the Site that uses their Personal Information without the parental consent required by law; and/or
  • no longer wish for your Child to participate as a member of the Site,

we will delete your Child’s Profile, and any parental contact information we may hold, on request.

If you are a parent and you wish to exercise the rights described above: please contact us through the Privacy Requests Portal.

What rights do Californians have? 

We offer Californians and all users certain rights to their Personal Information, including the right to access, correct, delete, and port Personal Information. Our Privacy Policy and our Children's Privacy Policy explain how we collect, use, and share information. As discussed further below, we do not sell Personal Information.

What rights do Individuals in the EEA+ have?

Individuals in the EEA+ have certain rights in respect of their Personal Information including the right to certain disclosures about how it is processed, and the right to access, correct and delete it. See our our Privacy Policy for additional details.

How do you get consent from parents of EEA+ Users who are Children?

If parental consent is required in respect of any processing of an EEA+ User Personal Information, that Child must provide their parent’s email address. We use that email address to contact the Child’s parent to ask for their consent to the relevant processing – we also explain to the parent:

  • what Personal Information we collect about their Child;
  • how we use it and why; and
  • how the parent can revoke their consent and/or ask that we delete their Child’s Profile and their Personal Information.

If at this stage, the parent gives us their consent, we will carry out the processing. If not, we won’t.

Do you give anyone my Personal Information?

We do not rent or sell your Personal Information. We do not share or disclose your Personal Information without your prior written consent, except as follows:

  • to provide to our third-party vendors who assist us with operating, maintaining, and improving our services by providing us with services, such as donation processing, email delivery, information technology services, marketing Common Sense content, features, and products, and other similar services, and who receive your Personal Information for the limited purposes of providing us with such services;
  • to third parties in the event of a change of control (e.g., in the context of a merger or acquisition)
  • to provide credit for Digital Literacy Citizenship Training (for educators);
  • to fulfill a request you have made (such as entering a promotion);
  • and to comply with the law, legal process, respond to an emergency, or protect our rights.

Our Privacy Policy gives details on all of our disclosure practices.

What happens when I sign up for your newsletter?

Our newsletters are for our adult members. When you opt in for a newsletter, we will add your email address to the newsletter distribution list.

You can unsubscribe from our email newsletters by clicking the "unsubscribe" or “manage email preferences” links located at the bottom of newsletters, or visiting commonsense.org/contact and sending this request using our online form. 

What is Common Sense’s subscription program?

A: Our subscription program allows you to access unlimited ratings and reviews. You also receive a weekly newsletter featuring personalized entertainment picks based on your preferences.

Other information

For more information on our privacy practices, please go to the Privacy Policy.

Contact us

You can contact us at: Common Sense Media, 699 8th Street, Suite C150, San Francisco, CA 94103 or Contact Support.