Privacy Policy

Effective Date: April 27, 2026

Last Updated: April 27, 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how The Podcast Review, LLC ("we," "us," "our," or "the Company"), a wholly owned subsidiary of QCODE Media, Inc., collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information in connection with podcastreview.org (the "Site") and our email newsletter (together, the "Services").

This Policy applies to all visitors, users, and subscribers of the Services. Certain jurisdictions grant additional or different rights, which are addressed in Section 8. If you are a California resident, please also review our Privacy Notice for California Residents, which contains additional disclosures required by California law.

By using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

We collect information you voluntarily provide when you:

Subscribe to our newsletter — name (if voluntarily provided) and email address;
Contact us by email — your email address, the content of your message, and any information you choose to include; and
Respond to a privacy-rights request — information necessary to verify your identity and fulfill the request.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, we and our service providers automatically collect:

IP address and general geographic location (city/region level) inferred from IP;
Device information (browser type, operating system, device type, screen size);
Cookie and device identifiers;
Browsing activity on the Site (pages viewed, referring URLs, time on page, clicks, navigation patterns); and
For newsletter subscribers: email engagement data such as opens and clicks on links within the newsletter.

We do not collect precise geolocation (GPS-level data) and we do not collect information through microphone, camera, or other sensors.

2.3 Information from Third Parties

We receive information from:

Our advertising partners (Mediavine and its programmatic advertising ecosystem), which may provide aggregated or segment-level audience information used in the course of delivering advertising;
Our analytics provider (Google Analytics), which provides aggregated reports about Site traffic and audience engagement; and
Our newsletter service provider (MailerLite), which reports email delivery and engagement metrics.

2.4 Information We Do Not Collect

We do not knowingly collect Social Security numbers, driver's license or passport numbers, financial account information, credit or debit card numbers, medical or health information, biometric information, precise geolocation data, or other categories of sensitive personal information as defined under applicable privacy laws. We do not require you to create an account to access the Site.

3. How We Use Personal Information

We use the information described above for the following purposes:

Operating the Site and delivering our editorial content, reviews, articles, and lists;
Sending our newsletter to subscribers who have opted in and managing subscription preferences (including unsubscribe requests);
Measuring and analyzing Site traffic, audience engagement, and content performance;
Displaying advertising on the Site, including programmatic advertising delivered through Mediavine, and serving directly-sold advertisements;
Responding to your inquiries, requests, and privacy-rights submissions;
Detecting, investigating, and preventing security incidents, fraud, and misuse of the Services;
Complying with applicable laws and legal process, and exercising or defending our legal rights; and
Supporting corporate transactions involving the Company or its parent, QCODE Media, Inc.

We do not use personal information to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you, and we do not use automated decision-making technology (ADMT) to make such decisions.

4. Cookies and Similar Tracking Technologies

The Site uses cookies, pixels, local storage, and similar technologies. These technologies fall into the following categories:

Essential cookies. Necessary for basic Site functionality. These cannot be disabled through the Site.

Analytics cookies. Set by Google Analytics to help us understand how visitors use the Site. These generate aggregate reports about traffic and performance.

Advertising cookies. Set by Mediavine and its advertising partners to deliver, measure, and report on advertising, including cross-context behavioral advertising.

Third-party embed cookies. When you interact with embedded content such as podcast players from Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or other third-party services, those services may set their own cookies. We do not control those cookies and encourage you to review those services' privacy policies.

You can manage cookies through your browser settings and through any cookie preference mechanism we make available on the Site. Disabling certain cookies may affect Site functionality.

Global Privacy Control. We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals from browsers and extensions as valid opt-out requests for the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, consistent with applicable state privacy laws. We apply the opt-out to the browser or device on which the signal is received, and to any consumer profile we associate with that browser or device. If we can link the browser to a known subscriber, we also apply the opt-out to the subscriber's account.

We share personal information with the categories of recipients described below. We do not share personal information with directly-sold advertisers — those advertisers purchase ad placements only and do not receive information about Site visitors through those placements.

Recipient	Categories of Information Shared	Purpose
Website hosting and infrastructure providers	IP address, device identifiers, browsing activity, server logs	To host, operate, secure, and maintain podcastreview.org.
MailerLite (newsletter email service provider)	Name, email address, subscription preferences, email engagement data (opens, clicks)	To manage the newsletter subscriber list, deliver newsletters, and measure engagement.
Hey / 37signals (business email service provider)	Name and email address of correspondents, and any personal information you include in the body of an email sent to newsletter@podcastreview.org	To host our business email inbox and receive, store, and respond to consumer inquiries, privacy-rights requests, and other correspondence.
Google Analytics	IP address, device identifiers, browsing activity on the Site, referring URLs, general geographic location	To measure Site traffic, engagement, and performance.
Mediavine and its programmatic advertising partners (ad exchanges, SSPs, DSPs, ad networks)	IP address, device and cookie identifiers, browsing activity, general geographic location, inferences for ad targeting	To deliver interest-based and contextual advertising on the Site (cross-context behavioral advertising). This may constitute a "sale" or "sharing" of personal information under applicable state law.
Professional advisors (legal, accounting, compliance)	As needed	To obtain legal, accounting, and compliance services.
Affiliates (QCODE Media, Inc. and its corporate family)	As needed	For shared administrative, operational, and compliance support.
Directly-sold advertisers	None	Directly-sold advertisers on the Site purchase ad placements only and do not receive personal information about Site visitors.

We may also disclose personal information to comply with applicable law or legal process, respond to lawful requests from public authorities, enforce our terms of service, protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our users, or others, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets.

6. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, as described in this Policy, or as required by applicable law. Specifically:

Newsletter subscriber data (name, email, preferences): retained while your subscription is active and for 6 months after unsubscribe for suppression-list purposes (to honor your unsubscribe choice);
Email engagement data: retained per MailerLite's retention policies and our internal settings;
Website analytics data: per our Google Analytics retention settings (default 14 months, configurable);
Advertising interaction data: per Mediavine and downstream partner retention policies;
Server logs: retained for 12 months for security and troubleshooting purposes;
Privacy-rights request records: retained for at least 24 months as required under applicable law.

When retention is no longer necessary, we delete, anonymize, or aggregate the information.

7. Data Security

We use commercially reasonable administrative, physical, and technical measures designed to protect personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. However, no website or online service is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of personal information transmitted to or through the Services. Any transmission is at your own risk, and you are responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect your personal information, including by safeguarding any credentials you use to access third-party services linked from the Site.

8. Your Privacy Rights

8.1 Rights Available to All Users

Regardless of where you live, you may:

Unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email or by emailing us at newsletter @ podcastreview.org;
Contact us with questions or concerns about this Policy or our privacy practices at newsletter @ podcastreview.org;
Adjust cookie and tracking preferences through your browser settings or any cookie preference mechanism we make available;
Send a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, which we honor as an opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for advertising purposes.

8.2 Rights of U.S. State Residents

If you are a resident of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, or Virginia, your state privacy law may grant you some or all of the following rights:

Right to know / access. Confirm whether we process your personal information and request access to it.
Right to correct. Request correction of inaccurate personal information (available in most states, with certain exceptions).
Right to delete. Request deletion of personal information we have collected from you, subject to legal exceptions.
Right to data portability. Receive your personal information in a portable, machine-readable format.
Right to opt-out of targeted advertising or the sale/sharing of personal information. Direct us to stop selling or sharing your information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We honor GPC signals as valid opt-outs.
Right to opt-out of profiling. Direct us to stop profiling you in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects. We do not engage in this kind of profiling.
Right to appeal. Appeal our denial of a privacy-rights request (available under most state laws other than California). You may submit an appeal by replying to our response or emailing newsletter @ podcastreview.org with the subject line "Privacy Rights Appeal." We will respond to your appeal within the timeframe required by applicable law.
Right to non-discrimination. Exercise your privacy rights without retaliation or adverse treatment.

Sensitive Personal Information

Several state laws require opt-in consent (or a separate opt-out) before processing sensitive personal information — such as racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, health information, sexual orientation, citizenship status, precise geolocation, government identifiers, or children's data. We do not collect sensitive personal information in the ordinary course of operating the Services. If our processing changes in the future, we will update this Policy and implement any required consent or opt-out mechanism.

How to Exercise Your Rights

To submit a privacy-rights request, email us at newsletter @ podcastreview.org. For California residents, see also Section 7 of the Privacy Notice for California Residents for additional submission methods.

We will:

Confirm receipt of your request within a reasonable time (generally 10 business days where required by state law);
Verify your identity before responding to requests for access, correction, or deletion. For newsletter subscribers, we typically verify by confirming the email address associated with your subscription. For other requests, we may ask for additional information to match against records we hold. We do not use information provided in the course of a request for any purpose other than fulfilling the request;
Respond substantively within the timeframe required by applicable law (generally 45 calendar days, with a possible 45-day extension);
Notify our service providers and third parties of your request as required.

You may designate an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf. We may require written, signed authorization from you and may also require you to verify your identity directly with us.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights.

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK GDPR, or the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) may apply to our processing of your personal data. In that case, you have the following rights:

Right of access. Obtain confirmation of whether we process your data and a copy of the data.
Right to rectification. Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
Right to erasure. Request deletion of your data in certain circumstances (the "right to be forgotten").
Right to restriction of processing. Limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability. Receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to object. Object to processing based on our legitimate interests and to processing for direct marketing purposes.
Right to withdraw consent. Withdraw consent at any time for processing that is based on consent (without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal).
Right to lodge a complaint. Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority in your country of residence, place of work, or place of the alleged infringement. In the UK, this is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

We rely on the following legal bases under Article 6 of the GDPR and UK GDPR:

Consent — for the newsletter subscription and for non-essential cookies and tracking technologies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
Legitimate interests — for operating and securing the Site, understanding audience engagement through basic analytics, detecting and preventing fraud, and defending legal claims, where those interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Legal obligation — for complying with applicable laws and responding to lawful requests from authorities.

International Data Transfers

Because the Company is based in the United States and several of our service providers (including Google and Mediavine) are located in or transfer data to the United States, personal data originating in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland may be transferred to and processed in countries that do not provide the same level of data protection as your home jurisdiction. For such transfers, we rely on appropriate safeguards, including the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework where applicable, or other lawful transfer mechanisms.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at newsletter@podcastreview.org. We will respond within one month, extendable by up to two additional months where necessary given the complexity and number of requests.

9. International Data Transfers

The Podcast Review is based in the United States. If you access the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, processed, and stored in the United States and in other countries where our service providers are located. Privacy protections in these countries may differ from those in your country. By using the Services, you understand that your information may be processed in jurisdictions other than your own.

Additional protections for EEA, UK, and Swiss residents are described in Section 8.3.

10. Children's Privacy

The Services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Although some of our articles, reviews, and lists may cover podcasts or other content intended for children, the Site itself is designed for and directed to adult readers.

Consistent with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Consistent with the California Consumer Privacy Act and several other state laws, we do not knowingly sell or share personal information of consumers under 16 years of age. Consistent with the GDPR and UK GDPR, we do not knowingly offer our Services to or collect personal data from children under 16 (or, in jurisdictions that have set a lower digital-consent age under GDPR Article 8, under that age).

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child without appropriate parental or guardian consent, we will take steps to delete that information. Parents or guardians who believe a child has provided us with personal information may contact us at newsletter@podcastreview.org.

11. Third-Party Links and Services

The Site contains links to third-party websites, podcasts, and services (including embedded podcast players from Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and similar platforms). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties, and this Policy does not cover their processing of your information. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services before interacting with them.

12. California Residents

If you are a resident of California, please review our Privacy Notice for California Residents, which provides additional disclosures and rights required by the California Consumer Privacy Act, including:

The categories of personal information we collect, sell, share, and disclose;
The right to know, delete, correct, and obtain a copy of your personal information;
The right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, including through the Global Privacy Control;
The right not to be discriminated against for exercising your CCPA rights; and
Information about how to submit a request and how we verify requests.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes to our practices or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date above and, where required by law, provide additional notice (such as by email to newsletter subscribers or a prominent notice on the Site). We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, or if you would like to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact us at:

The Podcast Review, LLC

Email: newsletter @ podcastreview.org

Mail: 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600, Santa Monica, CA 90403

If you need to access this Privacy Policy in an alternative format due to a disability, please contact newsletter @ podcastreview.org.