Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how PoetryContest.com ("we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you visit the Site or participate in our poetry contests. PoetryContest.com is a free contest site — we don't charge fees, sell memberships, or process payments, so we don't collect any payment or financial information from you.

• Information you provide: your name, email address, and any other details you enter on a submission or contact form, plus the text of any poem or other content you submit.
• Information collected automatically: standard technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, and pages visited, typically gathered through cookies or similar technologies (see Section 5).
• Information from communications: if you email us or contact us through the Site, we keep a record of that correspondence.

We do not knowingly collect any sensitive personal information (such as government ID numbers or financial account information) — please don't include this in your Submission or messages to us.

We use the information we collect to:

• Operate the Contest (accepting, reviewing, and judging Submissions);
• Announce and publicize winners and finalists as described in our Terms of Service;
• Communicate with you about the Contest, including confirmations, updates, and results;
• Maintain and improve the Site, including basic analytics on how it's used;
• Protect against fraud, abuse, and violations of our Terms of Service.

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information with:

• Service providers who help us run the Site (for example, hosting or email-delivery providers), who are only permitted to use it to provide services to us;
• The public, when you win or are featured — for example, your name and Submission may be displayed on the Site or our social media, consistent with the license described in our Terms of Service;
• Authorities, if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of PoetryContest.com or others.

The Site may use cookies or similar technologies to remember basic preferences and to understand how visitors use the Site (for example, through a privacy-friendly analytics tool). You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling them may affect some Site features.

We keep your information for as long as needed to run the Contest and for a reasonable period afterward (for example, to maintain a record of past winners), unless you ask us to delete it sooner and we are not required to keep it for a legitimate reason (such as resolving disputes).

The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without parental consent. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, please contact us at support@poetrycontest.com and we will delete it.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete the personal information we hold about you, or to object to certain uses. To make a request, contact us at support@poetrycontest.com. We will respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity first.

We take reasonable measures to protect your information, but no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here with a new "Effective Date." If changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to let you know.

Questions about this Privacy Policy? Contact us at support@poetrycontest.com.