Effective Date: August 22, 2025
Last Updated: August 22, 2025
Introduction
Welcome to nEtowah, your comprehensive family-friendly directory for discovering what’s happening in Etowah County, Alabama. We are committed to protecting your privacy and being transparent about how we collect, use, and protect your personal information.
This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information when you use our website and services.
Information We Collect
Information You Provide to Us
When Submitting Business Listings:
- Your name and email address (required)
- Personal phone number (optional)
- Complete business address (required)
- Business contact numbers (required)
- Business email addresses (required)
- Website URLs
- Social media links (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.)
- Business descriptions
- Google Maps links
- Photos of your business
- Additional notes or special requests
When Using Our Services:
- Newsletter subscription email addresses
- Contact information when reporting issues or requesting support
- Communication preferences
- Feedback and suggestions you provide
When Reporting Listings:
- Information provided when using our “report this listing” feature
- Details about incorrect or inappropriate content
Information We Collect Automatically
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect:
- IP address and general location information
- Browser type and version
- Device information
- Pages visited and time spent on our site
- Referring website information
- Usage patterns and preferences
We use standard web technologies like cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect this information.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
Provide Our Services:
- Create and maintain business listings
- Process and review submissions
- Communicate with listing owners
- Respond to inquiries and provide customer support
- Send newsletters and service updates (with your consent)
Improve Our Services:
- Analyze website usage to improve functionality
- Develop new features (events, job postings, obituaries, news)
- Monitor and maintain site security
- Fix technical issues and bugs
Communication:
- Send approval notifications for listings
- Provide instructions for photo submissions
- Respond to support requests and feedback
- Send newsletter updates (only if you’ve subscribed)
How We Share Your Information
We are committed to protecting your privacy. We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for their marketing purposes.
We may share information in the following limited circumstances:
Public Directory Information:
- Business names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, and descriptions are displayed publicly on our directory as intended
- Photos and business information you submit for listings become part of our public directory
Service Providers:
- We may work with trusted third-party service providers who help us operate our website and provide our services
- These providers are contractually required to protect your information and use it only for providing services to us
Legal Requirements:
- We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government regulation
- We may disclose information to protect our rights, property, or safety, or that of our users
Business Transfers:
- In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction
Your Rights and Choices
Access and Updates:
- You can request access to the personal information we have about you
- You can request corrections to inaccurate information by emailing netowah@gmail.com
Listing Management:
- You can request edits to your business listings by contacting us
- You can request removal of your listings at any time
- You can opt for real-time editing access for a small monthly fee
Newsletter:
- You can subscribe or unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time
- Unsubscribe links are included in all newsletter communications
Cookies:
- Most web browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings
- Disabling cookies may limit some functionality of our website
Data Security
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Data Retention
We retain your personal information only as long as necessary to provide our services and fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy. Business listing information may be retained as long as the listing remains active on our directory.
Children’s Privacy
Our services are intended for general audiences and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information.
Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites (such as Google Maps, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify users of material changes by:
- Posting the updated policy on our website
- Updating the “Last Updated” date
- Sending notifications to newsletter subscribers for significant changes
About nEtowah
nEtowah is founded by someone born and raised in Gadsden with an idea to create a comprehensive directory for Etowah County, including Gadsden, Attalla, Rainbow City, Southside, Glencoe, Hokes Bluff, and Sardis City. We are self-funded and operated by a small dedicated team committed to serving our local community.
Contact Information
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us:
Email: netowah [at] gmail [dot] com
Subject Line: Privacy Policy Inquiry
We will respond to your inquiry within a reasonable timeframe.
This privacy policy is designed to comply with applicable privacy laws and regulations. As nEtowah grows and adds new features, this policy may be updated to reflect our evolving practices.