New York Times Digital (NYTD), including its subsidiary, Abuzz, is committed to protecting the privacy of Abuzz users and the overall integrity of the Internet. To that end, NYTD is disclosing here any issues related to privacy in our collection of personally identifiable information.

NYTD has adopted a set of information management guidelines that serve as the basis for our customer and advertiser relationships. These guidelines have been developed with the recognition that Internet technologies are rapidly evolving, and that underlying business models are still not established. Accordingly, guidelines are subject to change. Any such changes will be posted on this page.

Questions regarding this statement should be directed to the Abuzz site coordinator at support@abuzz.com.

*What personally identifiable information does NYTD and Abuzz collect about you?

Abuzz requires only an email address in order to register for the site.

Abuzz also asks for certain voluntary demographic information from subscribers, including zip code, age, and income range. Abuzz also allows subscribers to write a brief statement about themselves, post a favorite Web site, and describe their knowledge in certain areas. All of this information is collected and stored by Abuzz.

Following registration Abuzz employs "cookies" to recognize a subscriber and his or her access privileges on Abuzz, as well as to track site usage. For detailed information about our use of cookies see the questions below.

Abuzz also logs IP addresses, or the location of your computer on the Internet, for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes. We do not log IP addresses to track a user's session, nor do we link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable.

*What information is visible to other Abuzz users?

By looking at the user profiles of other subscribers, an Abuzz user can see the questions a person has asked and answered, and the people that he or she has helped and who've helped him or her. Users can also view a subscriber's average response time and the amount of "applause" received for good answers. Abuzz makes this information public so that users can learn about the people that are giving answers, and thus make a more informed decision about the quality of an answer. It is also there to encourage networking and community building around common interests.

An Abuzz subscriber can also post a personal statement, favorite Web page, and email address on his or her profile page for other users to see.

No Abuzz user can change any information or preferences about another user.

When a new user uses Express Subscribe, the first half of his or her email address (before the "@" sign) defaults as his or her username, until that user updates his or her preferences. Please note that this is not the full email address, and thus cannot be used to identify you outside of Abuzz.

*What do NYTD and Abuzz do with the information collected?

Abuzz uses data on your answer history to route future questions to you.

NYTD may perform statistical analyses of user behavior in order to measure relative consumer interest in the various areas of our site (for product development purposes) and to inform advertisers as to how many consumers have seen or "clicked" their advertising banners. In performance of these statistical analyses, we will disclose information to third parties only in aggregate form. Personal information on individual subscribers will not be provided to any third party.

Using the email addresses provided at registration, Abuzz will send subscribers updates to discussions of which they are a part, error messages, and reminders about Abuzz usage and tools. NYTD periodically may send promotional email to its subscribers about services offered by Abuzz and its advertisers. NYTD may contact a subscriber regarding account status or changes to the subscriber agreement.

*With whom does NYTD share the information it collects?

NYTD may share the information it tracks, in aggregate form, with advertisers and other partners. We do not release personal information about any individual subscriber to third parties. Abuzz will provide a subscriber a summary of his or her personal information provided at registration upon request. This information will only be sent to the email address on file for the subscriber name associated with it. To obtain an information summary or request a change of information, send email to support@abuzz.com.

NYTD is not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of Web sites to which it may link.

*What is a cookie?

A cookie is a file that a Web server stores on your computer. Cookies are used to identify you when you return to a Web site. Web sites often store cookies on your computer so that their Web server can recognize you and return information to you that you have previously customized, like the questions on your My Abuzz Page. Unless you voluntarily provide information about yourself, a cookie can only confirm and contain the following information: that you visited the site, the time that you visited the site, the pages on which you visited, and the member name that you last used to access the site.

*Why does Abuzz use cookies?

Abuzz requires that your browser accepts cookies so that we can verify your member name and password before permitting access to Abuzz services. This ensures that others cannot access your Abuzz account and your Abuzz Circles or send messages using your member name and password. We also use cookies to verify your identity before serving you your My Abuzz Page.

*Can I stop the cookies from being set?
*How do I make sure my browser isn't rejecting cookies?

As explained above, our system requires that you accept the Abuzz cookies to use the Web site fully. You can tell a cookie comes from us by checking the cookie notification. However, since our Web site might attempt to set this cookie several times during your visit, you might want to stop notification.

If you are using Netscape Navigator version 3, you can set your browser to stop warning you every time a cookie is set by modifying "Options | Network Preferences | Protocols".

In Netscape Communicator version 4, choose "Edit | Preferences | Advanced", and be sure the box next to "Accept All Cookies" is checked and the one next to "Warn Me Before Accepting a Cookie" is blank.

In Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3 or 4, you can stop the warnings by going to "View | Internet Options | Advanced" and check the button next to "Always accept cookies".

*Will a Web site outside of NYTD be able to steal my ID and password?

No. Only Abuzz can read the information about your ID and password. No Web site outside NYTD has access to it through your browser. That is how Web browsers are designed.

*Can I look at my cookie or delete it?

You can find your own cookie file or files on your hard disk and see what kind of information is being stored in it or them, and by which sites. You can also delete the files, if you wish (which can effectively delete all the cookies that were stored there).

Send questions, comments and suggestions to: support@abuzz.com