Privacy Policy

Merriam-Webster is committed to respecting the privacy of visitors to its Web sites. The guidelines below explain some of the steps we have taken to protect the privacy of visitors to Merriam-Webster OnLine and its features.

Privacy and Personal Information

Merriam-Webster protects the identity of visitors to Merriam-Webster OnLine by limiting the collection of personal information. For certain promotions and to access certain features, such as to receive a Word of the Day subscription, we may request a voluntary submission of information such as name, e-mail address, city, state, and age.

Merriam-Webster does not knowingly collect or solicit personally identifying information from or about children under 13, except as permitted by law. If we discover we have received any information from a child under 13 in violation of this policy, we will delete that information immediately. If you believe Merriam-Webster has any information from or about anyone under 13, please e-mail us at the Comments and Suggestions address listed on our Contact Us page.

All personally identifying information collected through Merriam-Webster OnLine is used by Merriam-Webster and its staff to process and manage subscriptions, track site usage patterns and statistics, or to deliver services through the site; such information may also be used by the company for market research or for prize or information-request fulfillment unless otherwise indicated. Such information will not be posted or published by us, and, except as specified below in this privacy policy regarding anonymous aggregated data, or to provide services to you on behalf of Merriam-Webster OnLine, it will not be provided to third-party providers without consent.

If you choose to provide personally identifying information to us, you may receive the following types of e-mails from us:

E-mails related to subscription-maintenance activities.
Periodic e-mail newsletters highlighting new features, content, and usage tips for Merriam-Webster OnLine.
Periodic special offers for additional Merriam-Webster and Encyclopædia Britannica (Merriam-Webster's parent company) products and services.
Periodic special offers from Merriam-Webster approved partners if you "opt-in" or give us your permission to send them.

When you provide personally identifying information to us, you can let us know that you do not wish to receive special Merriam-Webster or partner offers. Each offer will also have information available to allow you to "opt out" if you wish to receive no further offers.

Anonymous aggregated data may be provided to other companies we do business with for statistical or market research purposes. For example, we may report to advertisers that a certain percentage of our site's users are adults between the ages of 25 and 35.

This site, Merriam-Webster OnLine, may use the services of an advertising agency for the serving and/or targeting of ads, promotions and other marketing messages. To do this, the agency may collect anonymous data through the use of cookies or by other means.

Merriam-Webster OnLine may also use other third-party providers to facilitate the delivery of the services described above, and these third-party providers may be supplied with or have access to personally identifying information for the sole purpose of providing these services to you on behalf of Merriam-Webster OnLine.

Merriam-Webster may also disclose personally identifying information in special legal circumstances. For instance, such information may be used where it is necessary to protect our copyright or intellectual property rights, or if the law requires us to do so.

Opting Out of Third-Party Ad Servers

If you want to prevent a third-party ad server from sending and reading cookies on your computer, you must visit the ad network's Web site and opt out.

Currently, we have a relationship with the following third-party ad network (click to visit their Web site):

24/7 Real Media, Inc.
http://www.247realmedia.com/privacy.html

Security

Any personally identifying information collected through this site is stored on limited-access servers. We will maintain safeguards to protect these servers and the personal information they store.

Surveys

We may occasionally conduct on-line surveys. All surveys are voluntary and you may decline to participate.

Cookies

We use cookie technology and software logs to monitor the use of Merriam-Webster OnLine and to gather non-personal information about visitors to the site. None of the information we gather in this way can be used to identify any individual who visits the site. These monitoring systems allow us to track general information about our visitors, such as the type of browsers (for example, Netscape or Internet Explorer), the operating systems (for instance, Windows or Macintosh), or the Internet providers (for instance, AOL) they use. This information is used for statistical and market research purposes to tailor content to usage patterns and to provide services requested by our customers.

Copyright

All of the content on Merriam-Webster OnLine is copyrighted by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, 47 Federal Street, P.O. Box 281, Springfield, MA 01102, and it cannot be redistributed or used for commercial purposes. More detailed information about Merriam-Webster's copyrights and trademarks is available on our Copyright Notice page.

Contacting Us

If you have questions about Merriam-Webster or its products, visit our Contact Us page to find e-mail addresses and other contact information for the appropriate department.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy Terms and Conditions

By using this site, you signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Merriam-Webster OnLine Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this site. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check this page periodically for any modifications. Your continued use of Merriam-Webster OnLine following the posting of any changes to these terms shall mean that you have accepted those changes.

If you have any questions or concerns, please send an e-mail to our suggestion box.