Interest-Based Ads
Effective Date: [Insert Date]
Last Updated: [Insert Date]
VarsIQ uses advertising, analytics, cookies, pixels, tags, embedded content, and similar technologies to support our website, improve our services, understand audience engagement, measure content performance, and deliver relevant advertising.
This Advertising Choices and Interest-Based Ads Policy explains how VarsIQ and certain third-party partners may collect and use information for advertising and analytics purposes, including interest-based advertising, and how visitors can manage certain advertising choices.
This policy supplements our Privacy Policy and Children’s Privacy Policy. If there is a conflict between this policy and our Children’s Privacy Policy regarding children under 13, the Children’s Privacy Policy controls.
For purposes of this policy, “VarsIQ,” “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to VarsIQ and its website, digital services, published content, media coverage, galleries, forms, advertising placements, and related online services.
1. What Is Interest-Based Advertising?
Interest-based advertising, sometimes called personalized advertising, targeted advertising, behavioral advertising, or online behavioral advertising, refers to ads that may be selected based on information about a user’s activity over time and across websites, apps, platforms, devices, or online services.
For example, advertising partners may use cookies, pixels, browser identifiers, device identifiers, approximate location, page views, referral data, or other online activity information to help determine which ads may be more relevant to a visitor.
Interest-based advertising does not mean that VarsIQ knows exactly who every visitor is. In many cases, advertising partners use browser, cookie, device, or advertising identifiers rather than a person’s direct name.
2. Why VarsIQ Uses Advertising
VarsIQ may display advertising to help support local sports coverage, photography, videography, editorial content, website operations, and related media services.
Advertising helps VarsIQ keep content accessible while continuing to cover teams, athletes, schools, events, communities, and sports stories.
3. Information That May Be Collected for Ads and Analytics
VarsIQ and third-party partners may collect or receive certain information when users visit or interact with our website or digital services.
This information may include:
- IP address
- Browser type
- Device type
- Operating system
- Referring website or page
- Pages viewed
- Links clicked
- Search terms used to reach VarsIQ
- Approximate location based on IP address
- Date and time of visit
- Cookie identifiers
- Pixel or tag interactions
- Advertising identifiers
- Session information
- General engagement data
- Interactions with embedded content, ads, videos, galleries, or social media features
VarsIQ does not intentionally collect sensitive personal information for interest-based advertising.
4. Cookies, Pixels, Tags, and Similar Technologies
VarsIQ and third-party partners may use cookies, pixels, tags, scripts, local storage, software development kits, embedded tools, and similar technologies.
These technologies may help us:
- Operate the website
- Remember user preferences
- Measure website traffic
- Understand which articles, galleries, and pages perform well
- Improve website design and content
- Detect fraud, spam, abuse, or security issues
- Measure ad performance
- Limit repeated ads
- Deliver more relevant advertising
- Understand whether visitors interact with ads or sponsored content
Cookies and similar technologies may be set directly by VarsIQ or by third-party partners.
5. Third-Party Advertising Partners
VarsIQ may work with third-party advertising companies, ad networks, ad exchanges, analytics providers, social media platforms, sponsored content partners, affiliate partners, or other service providers.
These companies may use cookies, pixels, device identifiers, or similar technologies to collect or receive information from VarsIQ and elsewhere on the internet.
These partners may use that information to:
- Serve ads
- Personalize ads
- Measure ad performance
- Prevent fraud
- Analyze traffic
- Cap ad frequency
- Understand audience engagement
- Provide reporting to VarsIQ or advertisers
- Improve advertising systems
Third-party partners process information according to their own privacy policies, terms, and opt-out mechanisms.
6. Google Advertising and Analytics Tools
VarsIQ may use Google services, such as Google Analytics, Google AdSense, Google Ad Manager, Google Ads, or related Google advertising tools.
Google may use cookies, device identifiers, or similar technologies to provide measurement, analytics, advertising, fraud prevention, and personalization services.
Visitors may manage certain Google ad preferences through Google’s ad controls. Google states that users can turn off personalized ads, although they may still see ads that are less relevant to their interests.
7. Advertising Choices and Opt-Out Options
Visitors can manage certain advertising choices through industry tools, browser settings, device settings, and platform-specific controls.
A. Digital Advertising Alliance Tools
The Digital Advertising Alliance offers tools that allow users to request choices regarding certain interest-based advertising practices from participating companies. These include WebChoices for desktop and mobile web environments, AppChoices for mobile app environments, and YourAdChoices for certain token-based identifiers.
These tools generally apply only to participating companies and may not stop all advertising.
B. Browser Settings
Most browsers allow users to manage cookies through browser settings. Depending on the browser, users may be able to:
- Block cookies
- Delete cookies
- Limit third-party cookies
- Clear browsing history
- Use private or incognito browsing modes
- Send certain privacy preference signals
- Manage site-specific permissions
Blocking or deleting cookies may affect website functionality, login features, embedded content, preferences, analytics, and advertising choices.
The FTC explains that clearing cookies, deleting browsing history, resetting mobile identifiers, adjusting privacy settings, and using ad blockers may help limit certain forms of tracking and personalized advertising.
C. Device Settings
Mobile devices may provide advertising privacy settings that allow users to reset or limit advertising identifiers.
Depending on the device and operating system, users may be able to:
- Reset advertising identifiers
- Limit ad tracking
- Manage app tracking permissions
- Control location permissions
- Adjust privacy and advertising settings
D. Platform-Specific Controls
Social media platforms, search engines, video platforms, and advertising networks may provide their own advertising preference settings.
For example, users may be able to manage ad preferences through Google, Meta, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, or other platforms, depending on the services they use and their account settings.
8. Opting Out Does Not Remove All Ads
Opting out of interest-based advertising does not mean visitors will no longer see ads.
Visitors may still see:
- Contextual ads based on page content
- General ads
- Local ads
- Sponsored placements
- Non-personalized ads
- Ads based on broad location
- Ads based on basic website activity
- Ads from companies that do not participate in opt-out tools
- Ads delivered by platforms where the visitor has not changed account settings
Opting out generally means that participating companies should not use certain information to personalize ads based on online activity.
9. Children and Interest-Based Advertising
VarsIQ may cover youth sports, schools, teams, events, and student-athletes. However, VarsIQ does not knowingly use personal information collected directly from children under 13 for interest-based advertising without required parental consent.
VarsIQ does not knowingly target interest-based advertising to children under 13.
If VarsIQ becomes aware that personal information has been collected directly from a child under 13 in a manner requiring parental consent, VarsIQ will take reasonable steps to delete the information or obtain appropriate consent, as described in our Children’s Privacy Policy.
Parents and legal guardians may contact VarsIQ with questions or concerns about children’s privacy, advertising, cookies, or data collection.
10. Sensitive Information
VarsIQ does not intentionally use sensitive personal information for interest-based advertising.
Sensitive information may include information such as precise health information, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, government identification numbers, precise geolocation, or information about children under 13 collected without required consent.
Users should not submit sensitive personal information through general website forms, comments, emails, or public-facing features unless specifically requested through a secure and appropriate method.
11. Sponsored Content, Affiliate Links, and Paid Promotions
VarsIQ may publish sponsored content, paid promotions, affiliate links, advertising placements, or partner content.
When required or appropriate, VarsIQ will identify sponsored content, paid promotions, affiliate relationships, or advertising relationships in a clear manner.
Sponsored content and advertising do not necessarily reflect the editorial opinion of VarsIQ unless clearly stated.
VarsIQ may receive compensation when visitors click certain links, view certain ads, purchase products or services, book services, or interact with sponsored content.
12. Editorial Independence
VarsIQ may use advertising to support its website and operations, but advertising relationships do not control VarsIQ’s editorial coverage, opinions, reporting, photography, or publication decisions unless clearly disclosed as sponsored or paid content.
VarsIQ strives to keep editorial content, opinion content, sponsored content, and advertising reasonably distinguishable.
13. Do Not Track and Privacy Signals
Some browsers or tools may send “Do Not Track” signals or other privacy preference signals.
Because there is not always a uniform industry standard for responding to every type of browser-based privacy signal, VarsIQ may not respond to all such signals in the same way.
Where required by applicable law, VarsIQ will honor legally recognized opt-out preference signals or privacy choices.
14. Data Sharing With Advertising Partners
VarsIQ may share or allow collection of certain information by advertising and analytics partners, such as cookie identifiers, device identifiers, IP address, page view data, referral data, and general interaction information.
VarsIQ does not knowingly provide advertising partners with children’s personal information collected directly from children under 13 for interest-based advertising without required parental consent.
VarsIQ does not provide advertisers with private payment information, private account passwords, or private messages for interest-based advertising.
15. Data Retention
Advertising and analytics information may be retained by VarsIQ or third-party partners for varying periods depending on the purpose of collection, legal requirements, reporting needs, fraud prevention, service settings, and each provider’s own policies.
VarsIQ will retain information only as long as reasonably necessary for business, legal, analytics, advertising, security, or operational purposes.
Third-party partners may maintain their own retention schedules.
16. Changes to This Policy
VarsIQ may update this Advertising Choices and Interest-Based Ads Policy from time to time.
When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date above. If changes materially affect how VarsIQ uses advertising technologies, we may provide additional notice where appropriate.
17. Contact VarsIQ
Visitors, parents, guardians, advertisers, schools, coaches, and community members may contact VarsIQ with questions about this policy, advertising choices, cookies, analytics, or children’s privacy via the Contact Us page.
Please include enough information for VarsIQ to understand and respond to your request.