Terms of Use and Policies

Ethics Policy

Contributors to The Spruce are independent contractors who create and publish content on The Spruce.com and affiliated sites and email properties (the "Site"). Contributors are compensated in part based on the amount of content that they create and/or the page views of the Site containing the content they create. The Spruce contractually requires that its contributors maintain high ethical standards and all legal requirements, including Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosure requirements. The contributors, and not The Spruce, are responsible for their own compliance with these standards. These contributors and other writers provide advice and information that they intend to be not only practical but trustworthy. These contributors and other writers write and are responsible for their content, and this content is made available on The Spruce "AS IS". Your use of the Site is subject to the Terms of Use (including any disclaimers).

Terms of Use

Updated February 24, 2021

1. Overview

The Spruce.com and its affiliated sites (collectively, the “Site”) are Dotdash brands, owned and operated by About, Inc. and its affiliates ("The Spruce", the "Company", "we", or "us"). Access to and use of the Site is subject to these terms and conditions of use (“Terms of Use”).

  • "Site" or "The Spruce" shall include any information or services made available by The Spruce, regardless of the medium, and shall include, without limitation any affiliated websites, mobile applications, videos, products and applications we make available. We reserve the right at any time, and from time to time, to modify, suspend or discontinue (temporarily or permanently) the Site, or any part of the Site, with or without notice.
  • The Site is not intended for users under 13 years of age. If you are under 13, do not use the Site and do not provide us with any personal information.
  • We make no claims that the Site or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Site may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Site from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws and regulations.

2. Disclaimer

The information available through the Site is provided solely for informational purposes on an “as is” basis at user’s sole risk. The Spruce makes no guarantees as to the accurateness, quality, or completeness of the information and The Spruce shall not be responsible or liable for any errors, omissions, or inaccuracies in the information or for any user’s reliance on the information. User is solely responsible for verifying the information as being appropriate for user’s personal use.

3. Our Right to Modify These Terms of Use

We reserve the right to change these Terms of Use at any time. You should check this page regularly. The changes will appear on the Site and will be effective when we post the changes. Your continued use of the Site means you agree to and accept the changes.

4. Our Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy contains further information about how data is collected, used and made available on or by our Site. We encourage you to read it, here.

5. The Spruce Intellectual Property

Your Limited License to our Intellectual Property

The materials used and displayed on the Site, including but not limited to text, software, photographs, graphics, illustrations and artwork, video, music and sound, and names, logos, trademarks and service marks, are the property of The Spruce, About, Inc., or its affiliates or licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark and other laws. Any such content may be used solely for your personal, non-commercial use. You agree not to modify, reproduce, retransmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish, broadcast or circulate any such material without the prior written permission of The Spruce. The Spruce grants you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Site and any materials on the Site for non-commercial purposes subject to these Terms of Use.

The Spruce Trademarks and Logos

The terms The Spruce, www.The Spruce.com, and other The Spruce trademarks and services marks, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans, are trademarks of The Spruce or its affiliates or licensors. You may not use such marks without the prior written permission of The Spruce. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans on the Site are the trademarks of their respective owners.

6. Reliance on Information on Site

We have no obligation to, and you should not expect us to, review content on our Site, including User Contributions (defined below) or contributions by our independent contributors.

About our Contributors

The Spruce seeks out content providers in particular subject matters as independent contractor contributors to the Site. The Spruce does not represent or guarantee that any contributor has achieved any particular level of expertise or knowledge or has any specific qualifications or credentials as to the subject matter to which their contributions relate. To the extent we refer to each of these contributors as an expert, you must understand that we rely on the information they provide us and we are not obligated to independently verify or attempt to confirm any information they provide, nor their qualifications or credentials. The Spruce is also not obligated to monitor or independently research or verify any content they contribute. Contributors, even if characterized as an expert, are not employees of The Spruce or its affiliates, and The Spruce cannot and does not represent or warrant the accuracy, completeness or truthfulness of the qualifications or credentials of any contributor, nor of any other users of the Site.

Please do not rely on Site content, including User Contributions and content from our independent contractor contributors. Content is provided for general information purposes only and can never take into account your unique, personal circumstances and needs. You acknowledge and agree that any reliance or actions you take in violation of your agreement with us shall be at your sole and exclusive risk and The Spruce shall have no responsibility or liability to you whatsoever. You also acknowledge and agree that communications on or through the Site, whether with content providers or other users, are at your own risk and are not covered by any privilege or confidentiality obligation that might apply if you were to obtain your own professional advice.

7. Prohibited Uses of the Site

You may use the Site only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Site:

  • In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local or international law or regulation.
  • For the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information or otherwise.
  • To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any "junk mail", "chain letter" or "spam" or any other similar solicitation.
  • To impersonate or attempt to impersonate The Spruce, a The Spruce employee, another user or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing).
  • To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Site, or which, as determined by us, may harm The Spruce or users of the Site or expose them to liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:

  • "Scrape" or disaggregate data from the Site (whether by manual or automated means) for any commercial, marketing, or data compiling or enhancing purpose.
  • Introduce any viruses, trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other material or mechanism which is malicious or technologically harmful.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage or disrupt any parts of the Site, the server on which the Site is stored, or any server, computer or database connected to the Site.
  • Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site.

8. Content That You Make Available on the Site

User Contributions

The Site may contain message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, review and ratings sections, bulletin boards and other interactive features (collectively, "Interactive Services") that allow users to post, submit, publish, display or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter, "post") comments, content or other materials (collectively, "User Contributions") on or through the Site.

If you voluntarily disclose personal information (e.g., user name, email address) on the Site, such as on a forum, chat room or on any other user or member-generated pages, that information can be viewed in search engines, collected and used by others and may result in unsolicited contact from other parties. We strongly advise that you not post any personal or other sensitive information on our Site.

Any User Contribution you post to the Site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Site, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors and assigns the perpetual right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose.

You represent and warrant that:

  • You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors and assigns.
  • All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use.

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not the Company, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy and appropriateness. We are not responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Site.

Monitoring and Enforcement; Termination

We have the right to:

  • Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
  • Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Contribution violates the Terms of Use, including the content standards below, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Site or the public or could create liability for the Company.
  • Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.
  • Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Site.
  • Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Site for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms of Use.

Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information related to anyone posting any materials on or through the Site. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, AGENTS, LICENSEES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING OR AS A RESULT OF ITS INVESTIGATIONS AND FROM ANY ACTIONS TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER THE COMPANY/SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

We cannot and do not undertake to review all material before it is posted on the Site, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

Content Standards

These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:

  • Contain any material which is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable.
  • Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.
  • Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
  • Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
  • Be likely to deceive any person.
  • Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act.
  • Cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, harass, embarrass, alarm or annoy any other person.
  • Impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
  • Promote commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes and other sales promotions, barter or advertising.
  • Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if that is not the case.

9. Your Indemnification of Us

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless The Spruce, and its officers, directors, owners, employees, agents, information providers, affiliates, licensors and licensees (collectively, the "Indemnified Parties") from and against any and all liability and costs, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of (a) any User Contributions, or (b) breach by you or any user of your account or these Terms of Use or any representations, warranties and covenants contained in these Terms of Use. You shall cooperate fully and reasonably in the defense of any such claim. The Spruce reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you.

10. WARRANTY DISCLAIMER

THE SITE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OTHER THAN THOSE WARRANTIES WHICH ARE IMPOSED BY AND INCAPABLE OF EXCLUSION, RESTRICTION OR MODIFICATION UNDER THE LAWS APPLICABLE TO THESE TERMS OF USE. WE DO NOT ENDORSE AND ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE OR STATEMENT ON THE SITE. THE INFORMATION, FACTS, AND OPINIONS PROVIDED ARE NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.

11. LIABILITY DISCLAIMER

YOUR USE OF THE SITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. NEITHER, THE SPRUCE OR ABOUT, INC. NOR ANY OF ITS SUBSIDIARIES, DIVISIONS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES OR LICENSORS (INCLUDING OUR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CONTRIBUTORS) SHALL BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANYONE ELSE FOR ANY LOSS OR INJURY OR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE OR SIMILAR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS OR USE OF, OR YOUR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, THE SITE AND THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE SITE OR ARISING OUT OF ANY ACTION TAKEN IN RESPONSE TO OR AS A RESULT OF ANY INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON THE SITE. YOU HEREBY WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS AGAINST THE SPRUCE, ABOUT, INC. AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES, DIVISIONS, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES AND LICENSORS (INCLUDING OUR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR CONTRIBUTORS) ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SITE AND THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE THEREON.

12. Third Party Links, Advertisements, Websites and Content

We do not review or monitor any websites, advertisements, or other media linked to or available through the Site and are not responsible for the content of any such third-party advertisements or linked websites. Prior to purchasing any third-party products or services described on the Site, you are advised to verify pricing, product quality and other information necessary to make an informed purchase. Neither The Spruce nor its parent or any of its subsidiaries, divisions, affiliates, agents, representatives or licensors shall have any liability arising from your purchases of third- party products or services based upon the information provided on the Site, and we shall not receive or review complaints regarding such purchases.

13. Disputes

These Terms of Use and any disputes arising out of or related to the Site shall be governed by, and construed and enforced in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York (without regard to conflict of law principles). In the event of any such dispute, you irrevocably consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the courts located in the State of New York, County of New York.

ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE SITE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES, OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED AND YOU HEREBY AGREE TO WAIVE SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM AFTER SUCH DATE.

14. Waiver and Severability

No waiver by The Spruce of any term or condition set forth in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of The Spruce to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.

15. Entire Agreement

The Terms of Use constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and The Spruce with respect to the Site and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the Site.

16. DMCA Policy

The Spruce deals with copyright infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). You may not post, upload, or otherwise place any content or information on the Site that belongs to a third party, unless you have the legal right to do so. If you believe in good faith that your copyrighted work has been reproduced on our Site without authorization in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, you may notify our designated copyright agent either by mail to Copyright Agent (Legal), About, Inc., 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005, 212-204-4000. or in an email to SafeHarborAgent@thesprucepets.com. This contact information is only for suspected copyright infringement. Please include the following:

  • Your physical or electronic signature.
  • Identification of the copyrighted work you believe to have been infringed or, if the claim involves multiple works on the Site, a representative list of such works.
  • Identification of the material you believe to be infringing in a sufficiently precise manner to allow us to locate that material, such as the precise URL (web page) that it appeared on, along with any copies you have of that web page.
  • Adequate information by which we can contact you (including your name, postal address, telephone number and email address).
  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law.
  • A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the written notice is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
  • Please be aware that if you knowingly materially misrepresent that material or activity on the Site is infringing your copyright, you may be held liable for damages (including costs and attorneys' fees).

It is the policy of The Spruce to disable the accounts of users who repeatedly post infringing material on the Site.

17. How to Contact Us

This Site is operated by About, Inc., located at 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005.

All other feedback, comments, requests for technical support and other communications relating to the Site should be directed to: contact@TheSpruce.com.

Requests to use and reproduce content published on The Spruce should be directed to: permissions@thesprucepets.com.

Thank you for visiting The Spruce.

Privacy Policy

Updated April 26, 2021

At The Spruce, we take online privacy seriously and we respect the concerns of our community of users. In this policy (the “Privacy Policy”) we describe our privacy practices with regard to information we collect through TheSpruce.com and its affiliated sites, TheSpruceEats.com, TheSprucePets.com, TheSpruceCrafts.com (collectively, the “Site”), to help you make informed decisions about how you share information when you visit or use the site, as well as your rights in determining what we do with the information that we collect or hold about you.

Understanding How Information Is Collected on The Spruce:

Information You May Choose to Provide to Us

We may collect information, including personal data, directly from you if you choose to provide that information. For example, you may provide us with your name and contact information (such as an email address), date of birth, or other details of that nature, when you sign up for our newsletters or participate in promotions or surveys on the Site.

You also may choose to provide personally data about yourself when you participate in forums or discussions on the Site. Please be aware that information you post may be viewed or captured by anyone who visits the Site, therefore you should avoid posting sensitive or personal data that you would not want to be available to the public.

Information That Is Automatically Collected When You Visit The Spruce

When you access the Site, we and our third-party partners may automatically collect certain information about your visit using tools such as cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies. The information collected automatically when you visit the Site may include your IP address, characteristics of your operating system, information about your browser and system settings, data about the computer or mobile device you use to access the Site, unique device identifiers, clickstream data (which shows the page-by-page path you take as you browse the Site). We or our third-party partners may combine information that each of us collects automatically with other information about you, including information you choose to provide.

Cookies are small files that websites and other online services use to store information about users on the users’ own computers. This Site may use cookies (such as HTTP and HTML5 cookies), as well as other types of local storage. For more information about cookies, you may visit  http://www.allaboutcookies.org . See the section below regarding Your choices to learn more about how you may limit or disable cookies on your computer. If you choose to disable cookies, that could affect certain features of the Site that use cookies to enhance their functionality.

To manage our automatic data collection, we may place tags (often referred to as “web beacons”) on pages on the Site or in emails we send to you.  Web beacons are small files that link web pages to particular web servers and their cookies, and they may be used for a variety of purposes, such as counting the number of visitors to the Site, analyzing how users navigate around the Site, assessing how many emails that we send are actually opened and which articles or links are viewed by visitors.

We also use third-party web analytics services, such as Google Analytics, on the Site, to provide us with statistics and other information about visitors to the Site.

“Do Not Track” Signals. Your browser settings may allow you to automatically transmit a “do not track” signal to websites and online services you visit. At this time there is no consensus among industry participants as to the meaning of “do not track” in this context. Like many other websites, TheSpruce.com is not configured to respond to “do not track” signals from browsers.  Click here to learn more about "do not track" signals.

Finally, companies that provide certain third-party apps, tools, widgets, and plug-ins that may appear on the Site (for example, Facebook “Like” buttons), also may use automated means to collect information regarding your interactions with these features. This information collection is subject to the privacy policies or notices of those providers.

Further information regarding our use of cookies and other tracking technologies is described in our Cookie Disclosure.

How We May Use Information We Collect

We may use the information gathered on The Spruce for various purposes, including the purposes listed below. For example, if you were to contact us with a question and provide your email address, we would use the email address you provided to respond to your inquiry. In addition, we use information we collect from you and through the Site to:

  • Provide products and services you request (such as when you sign up to receive our email newsletters);
  • Respond to requests, questions, and comments, and provide other types of user support;
  • Offer you products and services via marketing communications, or direct you to portions of this Site or other websites, that we believe may interest you;
  • To serve advertising, content and offers to you based on your interests and online activities, from us or third parties;
  • Communicate about, and administer your participation in, events, programs, contests, and other offers or promotions;
  • Carry out, evaluate, and improve our business (which may include developing new features for the Site; analyzing and enhancing the user experience on the Site; assessing the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising; and managing our communications);
  • Perform data analytics regarding usage of the Site (including market and customer research, trend analysis, and financial analysis);
  • Guard against, identify, and prevent fraud and other criminal activity, claims, and other liabilities; and
  • Comply with applicable legal requirements, law enforcement requests, and our company policies.

How We May Share Information

Our agents, vendors, consultants, and other service providers may have access to information we collect through the Site to carry out work on our behalf. Those parties are subject to confidentiality obligations and are restricted from using personal data collected through the Site for purposes other than to provide the requested assistance. In addition, we may share information:

  • With our affiliates for internal business purposes;
  • If we are required to do so by law, regulation, or legal process (such as a court order or subpoena);
  • In response to requests from government agencies, such as law enforcement authorities, including to meet national security requirements;
  • If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity;
  • With respect to analytics and statistical information, to inform advertisers about the nature of our user base;
  • In the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets (including a reorganization, dissolution, or liquidation) In such an event, we will seek to provide you with commercially reasonable notice, e.g., via email and/or notice on our website, of any change in ownership, incompatible new uses of your personal information, and choices you may have regarding your personal information; and
  • With your consent or at your discretion.

Data Retention and Access

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes it was retained, such as to enable you to use the Website and your products or to provide services to you. In some instances, we may retain data for longer periods in order to comply with applicable laws (including those regarding document retention), resolve disputes with any parties, and otherwise as necessary to allow us to conduct our business. All personal data we retain will be subject to this Privacy Policy and our internal retention guidelines. We respect your control over your information and, upon request, we will seek to confirm your identity and whether we hold or are processing information that we have collected from you. You also have the right to amend or update inaccurate or incomplete personal information, request deletion of your personal information, or request that we no longer use it. Under certain circumstances we will not be able to fulfill your request, such as if it interferes with our regulatory obligations, affects legal matters, we cannot verify your identity, or it involves disproportionate cost or effort, but in any event we will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe and provide you an explanation. In order to make such a request of us, please email us at privacy@thesprucepets.com.

Your Choices

Unsubscribe from emails. To unsubscribe from a particular newsletter, click the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of that email newsletter. If you would like to globally opt-out from ALL The Spruce email campaigns, please send an email to optout@thesprucepets.com with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line. When we send newsletters to subscribers we may allow advertisers or partners to include messages in those newsletters, or we may send dedicated newsletters on behalf of those advertisers or partners. We may disclose your opt-out choices to third parties so that they can honor your preferences in accordance with applicable laws.

Blocking cookies. Certain browsers may be configured to notify you when you receive cookies, or allow you to restrict or disable certain cookies. If you choose to disable cookies, however, that could affect certain features of the Site that use cookies to enhance their functionality.

Disabling local shared objects. We may use other kinds of local storage that function similarly, but are stored in different parts of your computer from ordinary browser cookies. Your browser may allow you to disable its HTML5 local storage or delete information contained in its HTML5 local storage. Click here for details about deleting information contained in "local shared objects" or adjusting related preferences.

Options concerning third-party ad networks. As described in this Privacy Policy, we and third parties may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information and infer your interests for interest-based advertising purposes. If you would prefer to not receive personalized ads based on your browser or device usage, you may generally opt out of interest-based advertising by clicking here. Please note that you will continue to see advertisements, but such advertisements will no longer be tailored to your interests. For more information about third-party ad networks and services that use these technologies, you can visit www.aboutads.info and click here to opt out or to learn more about your options. You also may visit the NAI's site for additional options on how to opt out of interest-based advertising. To opt out of such use of cookies and similar tracking technologies by LiveRamp Inc., click here.

How We Protect Personal Data.

We maintain appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal data you provide against accidental, unlawful, or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure, or use. That said, it is not possible to guarantee the security of information transmitted online, and you assume some risk with regard to the security of information you provide through any website, including this Site. If you have a data security inquiry, you may contact us by emailing security@thespruce.com. To request an invite to our bug bounty program to submit reports on vulnerabilities found on TheSpruce.com, you may contact us by emailing bugbounty@thespruce.com.

Links From The Spruce to Other Websites

On this Site, we may provide links to other websites that are controlled by third parties. Linked websites may have their own privacy notices or policies, which we strongly suggest you review. We are not responsible for the content, usage terms, privacy policies, or any other aspects of websites that we do not own or control.

Surveys and Quizzes

While you are visiting The Spruce, you may have the opportunity to participate in surveys, quizzes, or other interactive features that request information about you and your opinions and preferences. Your participation in these features is entirely voluntary. If you do choose to participate, please be aware that these features may be operated by a third party that is not controlled by The Spruce, and therefore the information you provide may be collected by the third party and subject to its privacy policy.

Children’s Privacy

This Site is not designed or intended for use by children, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under the age of 16, we will delete any such information.

Information for Users Outside the United States

Your personal data may be stored, transferred and process in and to the United States and in other countries by our affiliates and/or service providers. The data protection laws in these countries may provide a lower standard of protection for your personal data than your country of residence. We take great care in protecting your personal data and have put in place adequate mechanisms to protect it when it is transferred internationally. We will transfer your personal data in compliance with applicable data protection laws and will implement suitable safeguards to ensure that your personal data is adequately secured by any third party that will access your information (for instance, by using the Model Clauses as approved by the European Commission).

By using our Site and providing personal data to us, you consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the collection, use, maintenance, transfer to and processing of your personal data in the United States or other countries or territories, and, unless otherwise stated in this Privacy Policy, we use this consent as the legal basis for that data transfer.

If you have questions or wish to obtain more information about the international transfer of your personal data or the implemented safeguards, please send us an email to privacy@thesprucepets.com.

How We’ll Inform You About Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this online privacy policy periodically to reflect changes to our privacy practices, such as how we collect or use personal data. If we propose to make any material changes, we will post a prominent notice on the TheSpruce.com home page to notify you of significant changes to this policy, and we indicate at the top of the policy the date when it was most recently updated. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.

How to Contact Us

If you have questions about this policy or about our privacy practices, you may contact us by emailing privacy@thesprucepets.com.

If you are a California resident inquiring about your California privacy rights, please include “California privacy rights request” in the subject line of your email. If you are a resident of the European Economic Area inquiring about your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), please include “GDPR privacy rights request” in the subject line of your email.

You may also write to:

The Spruce Privacy
28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10005

If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request.

JURISDICTION SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

California Privacy Notice

This California Consumer Act Privacy Notice (“CCPA Notice”) applies to “Consumers” as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). For the purpose of this CCPA Notice, personal information applies to “Personal Information” as defined by the CCPA (also referred to herein as “PI”). 

We collect and share the following categories of PI from the corresponding sources and for the corresponding purposes set forth in the table below. 

Category of Personal Information Sources of Personal Information Purposes for Collection Categories of Third Parties with whom Personal Information is Shared Purposes of Third Parties Receiving PI
1. Identifiers and Personal Records
(e.g., email address, name, address, IP address, credit card number)		 Directly from you; your devices; Vendors Performing Services;
Processing and managing interactions and transactions; 
Quality Assurance; security; debugging; marketing 		 Vendors which assist us in providing services and running our internal business operations (“Vendors”); Data Analytics Partners; Corporate affiliates Performing Services on our behalf;
Processing and managing interactions and transactions; performing services;
Quality Assurance; security; debugging
2.  Customer Acct. Details/Commercial Information
(e.g., details of your use of our service)		 You; your devices; Vendors Performing Services;
Research and development; quality assurance; security; debugging; and marketing		 Data Analytics Partners; Vendors; Corporate affiliates Performing Services on our behalf; research and development; quality assurance; security; and debugging
3. Internet Usage Information (e.g., information regarding your interaction with our services) You; your devices; Data Analytics Partners; Vendors Research and development; quality assurance; security; and debugging Partners; Vendors; Corporate affiliates Performing Services on our behalf; Research and development; quality assurance; security; and debugging
4. Inferences (e.g., your preferences, likelihood of interest in certain of our services) Data Analytics Partners; Vendors; Advertising Networks Research and development; quality assurance; and marketing Data Analytics Partners; Vendors; Advertising Networks; Corporate affiliates Performing Services on our behalf; research and development; quality assurance; marketing

In addition, we may collect, use and disclose your PI as required or permitted by applicable law, or as directed by you, in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We do not knowingly “sell” personal information that we collect from you, in accordance with the definition of “sell” in the CCPA, and will treat personal information we collect from you as subject to a do not sell request. There is not yet a consensus as to whether third-party cookies and tracking devices associated with our websites and mobile apps may constitute a “sale” of your PI as defined by the CCPA. You can exercise control over browser-based cookies by adjusting the settings on your browser. We also list cookies and provide access to their privacy information and, if available, opt-out programs in our Cookie Policy. Further, you can learn more about your choices regarding certain kinds of online interest-based advertising with the Digital Advertising Alliance or the Network Advertising Initiative. We do not represent that these third-party tools, programs or statements are complete or accurate.

Some browsers have signals that may be characterized as do not track signals, but we do not understand them to operate in that manner or to indicate a do not sell expression by you, so we currently do not recognize these as a do not sell request. We understand that various parties are developing do not sell signals and we may recognize certain such signals if we conclude such a program is appropriate.

California Consumers have the right to exercise the privacy rights under the CCPA. California Consumers may exercise these rights via an authorized agent who meets the agency requirements of the CCPA. Any request you submit to us is subject to an identification and residency verification process (“Verifiable Consumer Request”). We will not fulfill your CCPA request unless you have provided sufficient information for us to reasonably verify you are the Consumer about whom we collected PI. In order to verify your identity, we will send you an email to the email address that you provide to us, and you must take action as described in our email. This will enable us to verify that the person who made the request controls and has access to the email address associated with the request. We will check our systems for the email address that you provide, and any information associated with such email address. If you provide us with an email address that has not been used to interact with us, then we will not be able to verify your identity. In other words, the only reasonable method by which we may verify the identity of individuals is if we have an email address on file that was provided to us in relation to our services. We will be unable to fulfill your request if we cannot verify your identity. Please follow the instructions at our Consumer Rights Request page here and respond to any follow up inquiries we may make. 

Some personal information we maintain about Consumers is not sufficiently associated with enough personal information about the Consumer for us to be able to verify that it is a particular Consumer’s personal information (e.g., clickstream data tied only to a pseudonymous browser ID). As required by the CCPA, we do not include that personal information in response to Verifiable Consumer Requests. If we cannot comply with a request, we will explain the reasons in our response. 

We will make commercially reasonable efforts to identify Consumer PI that we collect, process, store, disclose, and otherwise use and to respond to your California Consumer privacy rights requests. We will typically not charge a fee to fully respond to your requests, but we may charge a reasonable fee, or refuse to act upon a request, if your request is excessive, repetitive, unfounded, or overly burdensome. 

To make a request according to your rights to know or to request deletion of your PI set forth below, please click here, where you will find a description of the process we use to verify your request and any information that we will need to confirm your identity. In order to verify your identity, we will send you an email to the email address that you provide to us, and you must take action as described in our email. This will enable us to verify that the person who made the request controls and has access to the email address associated with the request. We will check our systems for the email address that you provide, and any information associated with such email address. If you provide us with an email address that has not been used to interact with us, then we will not be able to verify your identity. In other words, the only reasonable method by which we may verify the identity of individuals is if we have an email address on file that was provided to us in relation to our services. We will be unable to fulfill your request if we cannot verify your identity.

For your specific pieces of information, as required by the CCPA, we will apply heightened verification standards, which may include a request to provide further information.

You have the right to send us a request, no more than twice in a twelve-month period, for any of the following for the period that is twelve months prior to the request date:

  • The categories of PI we have collected about you.
  • The categories of sources from which we collected your PI.
  • The business or commercial purposes for our collecting or selling your PI.
  • The categories of third parties to whom we have shared your PI.
  • The specific pieces of PI we have collected about you.
  • A list of the categories of PI disclosed for a business purpose in the prior 12 months, or that no disclosure occurred.
  • A list of the categories of PI sold about you in the prior 12 months, or that no sale occurred. If we sold your PI, we will explain:
  • The categories of your PI we have sold.
  • The categories of third parties to which we sold PI, by categories of PI sold for each third party.

You have the right to make or obtain a transportable copy, no more than twice in a twelve-month period, of your PI that we have collected in the period that is 12 months prior to the request date and are maintaining. 

Please note that PI is retained by us for various time periods, so we may not be able to fully respond to what might be relevant going back 12 months prior to the request.

Except to the extent we have a basis for retention under CCPA, you may request that we delete your PI that we have collected directly from you and are maintaining. Note also that we are not required to delete your PI that we did not collect directly from you. 

You may alternatively exercise more limited control of your PI by instead exercising one of the following more limited opt-outs, including unsubscribing from email newsletters.

We will not discriminate against you in a manner prohibited by the CCPA because you exercise your CCPA rights. However, we may charge a different price or rate, or offer a different level or quality of good or service, to the extent that doing so is reasonably related to the value of the applicable data.  In addition, we may offer you financial incentives for the collection, sale and retention and use of your PI as permitted by the CCPA that can, without limitation, result in reasonably different prices, rates, or quality levels. The material aspects of any financial incentive will be explained and described in its program terms. Please note that participating in incentive programs is entirely optional, you will have to affirmatively opt-in to the program and you can opt-out of each program (i.e., terminate participation and forgo the ongoing incentives) prospectively by following the instructions in the applicable program description and terms. We may add or change incentive programs and/or their terms by posting notice on the program descriptions and terms linked to above so check them regularly.

Our Notice to Nevada Residents

Under Nevada law, Nevada residents may opt out of the sale of certain “covered information” collected by operators of websites or online services. We currently do not sell covered information, as “sale” is defined by such law, and we don’t have plans to sell this information. However, if you would like to be notified if we decide in the future to sell personal information covered by the Act, please go to NevadaPrivacy@thespruce.com to provide your name and email address. We may share your data as explained in this privacy policy, such as to enhance your experiences and our services, and those activities will be unaffected by a Nevada do not sell request. You may also have other choices regarding our data practices as set forth elsewhere in this privacy policy.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA):

1. Controller of your Personal Data

The controller of your personal data under this Privacy Policy is About, Inc., with an address of 28 Liberty Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Our local representative with respect to the GDPR can be contacted at privacy@thesprucepets.com.

2. Legal Bases for Using Personal Data

We process your personal data only if we have a legal basis to do so, including:

  • to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
  • for the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract;
  • for our legitimate interests or those of a third party;
  • where you have given consent to our specific use.

The purpose for which we use and process your information and the legal basis on which we carry out each type of processing is further explained below.

Purposes for which we will process the information Legal Basis for the processing
To provide products and services you request. It is necessary for us to process your personal data in order to deliver the services and process transactions according to the applicable contract between us.
To respond to requests, questions, and comments, and provide other types of user support. It is necessary for us to respond to requests, questions, and comments, and provide other types of user support in order to take steps at your request or according to the applicable contract between us.
To offer you products and services in marketing communications, or direct you to portions of this Site or other websites, that we believe may interest you. We may send electronic marketing communications to you if you have consented to these communications. It is in our legitimate interest to market out products and services to you by other means and to direct you to portions of this Site or other websites that we believe may interest you. We consider this use to be proportionate and will not be prejudicial or detrimental to you.
To communicate about, and administer your participation in, events, programs, contests, and other offers or promotions We will send electronic communications to you if you have consented to these communications. With respect to other communications, it is in our legitimate interest to communicate to you and administer your participation in, our events, programs, contests, and other offers or promotions. We consider this use to be proportionate and will not be prejudicial or detrimental to you.
To carry out, evaluate, and improve our business (which may include developing new features for the Site; analyzing and enhancing the user experience on the Site; assessing the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising; and managing our communications. It is in our legitimate interests to process your personal data to carry out these activities. We consider this use to be proportionate and will not be prejudicial or detrimental to you.
To perform data analytics regarding usage of the Site (including market and customer research, trend analysis, financial analysis, and anonymization of personal data). It is in our legitimate interests to process your personal data to carry out these activities. We consider this use to be proportionate and will not be prejudicial or detrimental to you.
To serve advertising, content and offers to you based on your interests and online activities, from us or third parties. We will serve you advertising, content and offers to you based on your interests and online activities if you have consented to this processing.
To enable our affiliates or service providers to perform certain activities on our behalf; It is necessary for us to process your personal data in this manner in order to deliver the services and process transactions according to the applicable contract between us. It is also in our legitimate interest to enable our service providers and affiliates to perform certain activities on our behalf. We consider this use to be proportionate and will not be prejudicial or detrimental to you.
To notify you of any changes to the Website that may affect you. It is necessary for us to process your personal data in order to deliver the services and process transactions according to the applicable contract between us.
If we are required to do so by law, regulation, or legal process (such as a court order or subpoena);
In response to requests from government agencies, such as law enforcement authorities;
If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual illegal activity; and
In the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets (including a reorganization, dissolution, or liquidation)		 We conduct this processing to comply with our legal obligations and to protect the public interest.
Guard against, identify, and prevent fraud and other criminal activity, claims, and other liabilities; and
Comply with applicable legal requirements, law enforcement requests, and our company policies.		 We conduct this processing to comply with our legal obligations and to protect the public interest. 

3. International Transfers

Some of our processing of your data will involve transferring your data outside the European Economic Area ("EEA"). Some of our external third-party service providers are also based outside of the EEA, and their processing of your personal data will involve a transfer of data outside the EEA. This includes the United States. Where personal data is transferred to and stored in a country not determined by the European Commission as providing adequate levels of protection for personal data, we take steps to provide appropriate safeguards to protect your personal data, including when appropriate entering into standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission, obliging recipients to protect your personal data.

4. Retention of Personal Data

We will retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes it was retained, such as to enable you to use the Website and your products or to provide services to you. In some instances, we may retain data for longer periods in order to comply with applicable laws (including those regarding document retention), resolve disputes with any parties, and otherwise as necessary to allow us to conduct our business. All personal data we retain will be subject to this Privacy Policy and our internal retention guidelines.

5. Data Subject Access Rights

You have the following rights:

  • Right of access to your personal data: You have the right to ask us for confirmation on whether we are processing your personal data, and access to the personal data and related information.
  • Right to correction: You have the right to have your personal data corrected, as permitted by law.
  • Right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to delete your personal data, as permitted by law.
  • Right to withdraw consent: You have the right to withdraw consent that you have provided.
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in the member state of your habitual residence.
  • Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to request the limiting of our processing under limited circumstances.
  • Right to data portability: You have the right to receive the personal data that you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and you have the right to transmit that information to another controller, including to have it transmitted directly, where technically feasible.
  • Right to object: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, as permitted by law, under limited circumstances.

In order to exercise any of these rights, please contact us according to the “How to Contact Us” section herein. Please note that the above rights are not absolute and we may be entitled to refuse requests, wholly or partly, where exceptions under the applicable law apply.

The Spruce Cookie Disclosure

Provider Name of cookie Purpose Type Duration
Google Analytics _ga Used to distinguish users. Persistent 2 Years
Google Analytics _gid Used to distinguish users. Persistent 24 Hours
Google Analytics _gat_ Used to throttle request rate. Persistent 1 Minute
Dotdash TMog Dotdash client id - Used to identify unique browsers Persistent 68 Years
Dotdash Mint Dotdash session id - Used to identify all activity within a session Persistent 30 Minutes
Dotdash pc pagecount Persistent 30 Minutes
Dotdash ds_ab AB Testing segmentation information Session  
Google (GTM/GA) _dc_gtm_ Used to throttle request rate. Persistent 1 Minute
SailThru sailthru_pageviews Page view count by user on site Persistent 30 Minutes
SailThru sailthru_content Tracks recent pageviews for visitor Persistent 1 Hour
SailThru sailthru_visitor Client Id Persistent 1 Hour
Google DFP __gads Ad targeting Persistent 2 Years
Google gsScrollPos- Scroll position tracker Session  
Bounce Exchange bounceClientVisitv Client tracking information Persistent 30 Minutes
Google AMP_TOKEN Contains a token that can be used to retrieve a Client ID from AMP Client ID service. Other possible values indicate opt-out, inflight request or an error retrieving a Client ID from AMP Client ID service. Persistent 1 Hour
Lotame crwdcntrl.net Maintain ads and personalization profile Persistent 9 Months

Advertising Policy

To help us maintain the resources needed to create the quality content you deserve, we accept advertisements on our Site. We greatly value transparency and hope that this policy leaves you feeling even more confident about the content and service we provide.

The Spruce maintains a distinct separation between advertising and editorial content.

  • All advertising or sponsored content on The Spruce is clearly and unambiguously distinguished from editorial content through borders or other distinguishing elements and/or identified as an "Ad," "Advertisement," "Sponsored" or a similar designation indicating that the content is being provided by or on behalf of an advertiser or sponsor.
  • All "native" ads or paid content are identified as an "Ad," "Advertisement," "Sponsored" or a similar designation indicating that the content is being provided by or on behalf of an advertiser or sponsor.
  • Editorial content on The Spruce is not influenced by advertisements unless the content is sponsored content, in which case, the content will be clearly demarcated and/or identified with the title "Ad," "Advertisement," or "Sponsored", or a similar designation, indicating that the content is being provided by or on behalf of an advertiser or sponsor.
  • All advertisements and sponsored content appearing on The Spruce are subject to the Guidelines found here.

Ecommerce and Affiliate Links Disclosure.

Contributors and/or The Spruce may receive compensation for participation in third-party affiliate marketing programs, including purchases made through links to The Spruce’s e-commerce partners, if any. Pages on the Site containing affiliate marketing links, including product reviews, will be demarcated and/or identified with a disclaimer.

Advertising Guidelines

These advertising guidelines (“Guidelines”) set forth standards that govern the placement and display of advertisements and sponsored content (collectively, “Ads”) by any advertiser, agency, or advertising technology platform (collectively, “Advertisers”). Advertisers must adhere to these Guidelines when placing Ads, including Ads purchased under the AAAA/IAB Standard Terms and Conditions, on websites or mobile properties owned or controlled by About, Inc., including The Spruce.com (collectively, “The Spruce”).

These Guidelines are intended to provide general parameters for Advertisers in connection with Ad creative and content served on The Spruce. They are not exhaustive and do not address every situation or issue that may arise in the course of business. Accordingly, these Guidelines are subject to change from time to time in The Spruce’s sole and absolute discretion.

Advertisers are responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable laws and regulations, including FTC guidelines regarding advertising, native advertising disclosures, endorsements, privacy, and data security. All Ad’s must be fair, truthful, and clearly distinguishable from editorial content. Advertisers are responsible for ensuring all Ads and related claims are adequately substantiated. Further, Advertisers must adhere to The Spruce’s Prohibited Content Guidelines and Additional Standards set forth below, which are incorporated into and made a part of these Guidelines.

Ads served through networks or exchanges are reviewed on a regular basis and, in addition to any other remedies The Spruce may have, The Spruce reserves the right to remove, without notice, any Ads that do not meet these Guidelines, regardless of whether the Ad was previously accepted by The Spruce.

PROHIBITED CONTENT

Ads may not contain or promote the following:

  • Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco. Ads may not promote illegal drugs, illegal substances, abuse of prescription drugs, use of Alcohol (except for beer and wine), or tobacco products, or any related paraphernalia thereto. Lawful products and services which promote quitting tobacco related products are permitted.
  • Weapons/Violence. Ads may not promote the use, distribution, or making of firearms, ammunition, explosives, pyrotechnics or other weapons. Ads may not promote violence, cruelty, or physical or emotional harm to any person or animal.
  • Illegal Activities/Gambling. Ads may not promote any illegal or other questionable activities which may be illegal in one or more jurisdictions, including without limitation hacking, counterfeiting, or other activities that may violate the intellectual property, privacy, publicity, or contractual rights of others. Ads may not contain or promote content related to scams, financial schemes, pyramid schemes or other fraudulent or illegal financial or investment opportunities. Ads may not promote casinos, gambling, betting, numbers games, sports or financial betting. Ads promoting state lotteries are permitted.
  • Hate/Intolerance/Discrimination. Ads may not contain or promote hate speech, personal attacks, or discrimination toward any individual, group, country or organization.
  • Obscenity/Indecency/Profanity. Ads may not contain or promote any obscene, indecent, profane or offensive words, images, sounds, videos or other content.
  • Political/Religious. Ads may not contain hostile, offensive, inflammatory or hateful speech related to political or religious topics or groups. Ads may not exploit controversial political, social, or religious issues for commercial purposes.
  • Sexual/Adult Content. Ads may not include full or partial nudity, depictions of people in explicit positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative. Ads will not contain text or images exposing anyone or anything involved in explicit sexual acts or lewd and lascivious behavior. Ads may not promote escort, dating, erotic massage, pornography, or other sexual products or services.
  • Disparagement/Defamation. Ads may not contain disparaging or defamatory information or content which tends to harm the reputation of The Spruce or any other individual, group, or organization.
  • Gross Depictions. Ads may not contain or promote content that is crude, vulgar, degrading or likely to shock or disgust.
  • Militant/Extremism. Ads may not contain or promote extremely aggressive and combative behaviors or unlawful political measures, including individuals or groups advocating violence as a means to achieve their goals.
  • Sensitive Content. Ads may not target sensitive categories such as financial status, medical conditions, mental health, criminal record, political affiliation, age, racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical affiliation or beliefs, sexual behavior or orientation, or trade union membership.
  • Free Goods/Services. Ads may not distribute or promise to distribute any free goods and services.
  • Targeted at Children. Ads may not specifically target children, including through cartoons or other similar content.
  • UnverifiableClaims. Ad’s may not make confusing claims that reasonable consumers cannot readily understand and evaluate.
  • Before/After Images. Ad may not depict “before and after” images or images that contain unexpected or unlikely results.
  • Health/Safety Claims. Ads may not promote actions likely to harm one’s health, such as bulimia, anorexia, binge drinking, or drug use. Ads may not make health claims that are not clearly substantiated. Advertisers may be required to submit supporting documentation to substantiate their products’ claims.
  • Misleading/False/Deceptive: Ads may not contain any information or content that is potentially misleading, false, or deceptive, including content which is meant to deceptively generate clicks such as fake “close” buttons.
  • Competitive to The Spruce /Affiliates. Ads may not promote direct competitors of The Spruce or any of its parent, affiliate, subsidiary or other related entity.

ADDITIONAL STANDARDS

Advertisers and Ads must adhere to the following:

  • Audio/Animation. Ads may not include overly disruptive audio or animation that plays automatically.
  • Popups/Downloads. Ads may not include lead ads, floating layers, pop-ups, surveys, or any digital downloads.
  • Malicious Software. Ads may not contain malicious code, software or viruses, including malware, spyware, adware, stealware, or Trojan horses.
  • Separation. Ads must contain clear boarders and be displayed so they are unmistakably not part of The Spruce’s editorial site content.
  • Phishing. Ads may not trap or trick a user into providing money or any account, personal or other sensitive information.
  • Compatibility. Ads must function uniformly on both Apple and PC formats, as well as all major Internet browsers.
  • Independence. Ads may not appear to compromise or influence The Spruce’s editorial independence from Advertisers.
  • Endorsements. Ads may not create or imply the existence of any endorsement by The Spruce of any product, service or organization.
  • Landing Pages. Landing pages associated with Ads must correspond to the Ad's "call to action" and not engage in “bait and switch”.
  • Proprietary Rights. Ads may not violate any copyright, trademark, trade-secret, patent, publicity, privacy, or other proprietary rights of The Spruce or any third party. Advertisers may not alter or interfere with the readability or display of any The Spruce trademarks, service marks, logos, designs or slogans.
  • Data Collection/Use. Ads may not include open-box forms to register users or collect any data. Ads may not collect and sell or license any data or mailing lists regarding The Spruce users without The Spruce's express permission. Advertisers may not collect any personally identifiable information from The Spruce users or place any cookies, applets or other similar files, if those files transmit any personally identifiable information to Advertisers, on desktop computers or mobile devices of The Spruce users. Advertisers must handle data with appropriate care, not misuse any data which they are permitted to collect, nor collect any data for unclear purposes or without appropriate security measures.