Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This website is Halloweenradio.net, an internet radio service that streams Halloween music and related audio 24 hours a day. In this policy, "we", "us", and "our" mean the operator of Halloweenradio.net.

Questions about privacy: hello@halloweenradio.net. You can also use our Contact page.

2. What this policy covers

This policy applies to:

https://halloweenradio.net and www.halloweenradio.net
the Kids portal at kids.halloweenradio.net
related pages, players, popup/embed players, and forms on those sites

It does not control other websites we link to (for example Patreon, PayPal, or social networks). Those services have their own privacy policies.

3. Information we collect

Information you give us

Accounts: email address, username, password (stored as a hash, not in plain text), age, and optional birth year. You may also upload an avatar and choose whether a public member snapshot is visible.
Newsletter: email address when you subscribe (footer or newsletter page). We may ask you to confirm the address by email.
Contact and submissions: name, email, subject, and message on Contact; music submission details; Halloween card content and recipient details when you send a card.
Community: posts and profile information you publish in Trick or Talk (the forum), The Haunted Crypt, feature votes, Coffin Chart votes and write-in suggestions, Haunt-O-Meter photos you choose to share, and similar community tools.
Support: the amount and method you choose on the Support page, plus the email your payment provider shares with us so we can thank you and, when it matches an account, apply supporter status.

Information collected automatically

Technical data: IP address, browser type, device type, referring URL, pages viewed, and approximate time of the request. Servers and the streaming platform use this to deliver audio, prevent abuse, and keep the service running.
Player preferences: station choice and volume stored in your browser (local storage), so the player can remember your last station.
Session data: a session cookie so login, CSRF protection, and forms work.

We do not require an account to listen on the public site. Listening as a guest still involves the technical data above.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

operate the radio streams, website, games, and member features
create and secure your account, including magic-link and password-reset emails
send newsletters you signed up for, and service emails (for example supporter thank-you or claim links)
answer contact messages and process music submissions
show ads on the website through Google AdSense (see Advertising)
detect spam, fraud, and abuse (including Google reCAPTCHA on some forms)
understand what is popular so we can improve stations and features
comply with law and enforce our rules

We do not sell your personal information.

5. Cookies and similar technologies

We and our partners store or read cookies, local storage, and similar data on your device. That is how logins, security tokens, the player, and advertising work.

Cookies and storage we set

Session cookie (PHPSESSID): keeps you logged in during a visit and protects forms. HttpOnly and Secure where the site is served over HTTPS.
Admin remember-me cookie: only for staff who choose "remember me" on the admin login.
Costume randomizer cookie: may remember a visitor costume pick on that tool.
Local storage: last station and volume for the player; short-lived flags for some UI features.
PWA (when enabled): the browser may cache app files on your device if you install Halloweenradio.

Cookies set by others

Google, payment providers, reCAPTCHA, and (if configured) analytics or font/CDN providers may set their own cookies. See Advertising and Third-party services.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Blocking some cookies will break login, forms, or ads. Where the law requires consent (for example the EEA, UK, and Switzerland), we will request it before non-essential cookies and personalized ads, including through a consent tool when one is active on the site.

6. Advertising (Google AdSense)

The website uses Google AdSense to display ads. Radio streams themselves are not interrupted with commercial breaks; ads may appear on website pages around the player and content.

As required by Google, we disclose the following:

Third party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to your website or other websites.
Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to your users based on their visit to your sites and/or other sites on the Internet.
Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info.

Google and other ad partners may also use web beacons, pixels, and similar technologies. They may collect device information and, where permitted, approximate location derived from IP address, to measure ads, limit how often you see the same ad, detect fraud, and (when allowed) personalize ads.

7. Analytics

We may add analytics (for example Google Analytics) via the site's optional head/analytics settings. If that code is present, the provider may set cookies and collect usage data such as pages viewed, approximate location, and device type. You can block analytics cookies in your browser or, for Google Analytics, use Google's opt-out tools when available.

8. Payments and donations

Optional support may go through Stripe (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay), PayPal, Buy Me a Coffee, and/or Patreon. We do not store full card numbers on our servers. The payment company processes the charge and sends us limited details (for example email, amount, transaction id) so we can record the gift, send a thank-you, and grant supporter access when the email matches a member account.

9. Third-party services

We use service providers who process data on our behalf or as independent controllers, including:

Google: AdSense, reCAPTCHA on Register, Contact, music submission, and send-a-card, and (if enabled) Analytics. Google Privacy Policy
Streaming host: our audio origin (for example AzuraCast) sees connection IPs and stream metadata needed to deliver radio.
Email delivery: SMTP or similar to send newsletters and account mail.
Hosting and DNS: the web host and DNS provider (Cloudflare nameservers) see request IPs as part of delivering the site.
Fonts and icons: some pages load Font Awesome or Google Fonts from a CDN, which may log the request.

We share personal information with these parties only as needed for the purposes above, when you ask us to (for example clicking a PayPal button), or when the law requires it.

10. Legal bases (EEA, UK, Switzerland)

If GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we process personal data on these bases:

Contract: providing the site, account, supporter benefits, and streams you request.
Consent: newsletters, non-essential cookies, and personalized advertising where required. You can withdraw consent at any time without affecting earlier lawful processing.
Legitimate interests: securing the service, preventing spam, understanding aggregate listenership, and answering messages, balanced against your rights.
Legal obligation: tax, accounting, or lawful requests.

11. Children

Member accounts on Halloweenradio.net are for people aged 13 or older. We do not knowingly create accounts for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through account, newsletter, or contact forms.

The Kids portal (kids.halloweenradio.net) is a separate, age-appropriate listening page. It does not ask children for names, emails, or accounts. It may still use technical data (such as IP address) to play the Kids stream and run a simple on-page mini game. Parents or guardians should supervise younger listeners.

We do not intend to serve personalized ads on the Kids portal. If you believe we have collected personal information from a child under 13, email hello@halloweenradio.net and we will delete it.

12. How long we keep data

Accounts: until you ask us to delete the account, or we close an account for abuse or inactivity.
Newsletter: until you unsubscribe or the address bounces repeatedly.
Support payments: as long as needed for accounting, supporter status, and fraud prevention.
Logs: typically a short operational window unless we must keep a record of abuse.
Public posts and shared photos: until you delete them or we remove them under our rules.

13. Security

We use HTTPS, hashed passwords, CSRF tokens, and access limits on admin tools. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure. Please use a unique password and tell us if you think your account was misused.

14. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or export your personal data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

You can:

update profile details in account settings when logged in
unsubscribe from newsletters via the link in those emails or unsubscribe
opt out of personalized Google ads via Ads Settings
email hello@halloweenradio.net to request access or deletion of an account or other personal data we hold

We may need to verify your email before completing a request. We may keep limited records when the law requires it (for example a payment receipt).

15. International visitors

Halloweenradio.net is offered from servers that may be outside your country (including the United States and the European Union). If you visit from another region, your information may be processed in countries that do not have the same data-protection laws as your home. We still apply this policy to that processing.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this page when the site, ads, or the law changes. The "Last updated" date at the top will change. Continued use of the site after an update means you have read the revised policy. For material changes we may also note the update on the site or by email if we have your address.

17. Contact us

Privacy requests and questions:

Halloweenradio.net
Email: hello@halloweenradio.net
Web: halloweenradio.net/contact

This page is provided so you can make an informed choice about using Halloweenradio.net and so we can meet Google AdSense and similar partner requirements. It is not legal advice.

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