Privacy Policy

CougarCorner, LLC ("CougarCorner," "we," "us," or "our") operates the CougarCorner website and community forum. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website or use our services.

1. Information We Collect

Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Username and display name
• Email address
• Password (stored as a secure hash — we never store your plaintext password)
• Avatar image (if provided)

Social Login Information

If you sign in using Google or Facebook, we receive limited profile information from those services (name, email, profile photo). We do not receive or store your social media passwords.

Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you visit our site, including:

• IP address and approximate location
• Browser type and device information
• Pages viewed and time spent on the site
• Referring website

User-Generated Content

Any posts, topics, messages, or other content you submit to CougarCorner is stored on our servers and may be publicly visible to other users and visitors.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the CougarCorner community
• Create and manage your account
• Send you notifications related to your account or forum activity
• Prevent spam, abuse, and unauthorized access
• Improve our website and user experience
• Comply with legal obligations

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

CougarCorner uses cookies and similar technologies for:

• Essential cookies — Session management and authentication
• Preference cookies — Remembering your theme (light/dark mode) preferences
• Analytics cookies — Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our site
• Advertising cookies — Google AdSense to serve relevant advertisements

When you first visit CougarCorner, a cookie consent banner will ask whether you accept analytics and advertising cookies. Essential and preference cookies are always active regardless of your choice. You can also control cookies through your browser settings.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may collect information about you:

• Google Analytics — Web analytics service. Google's Privacy Policy
• Google AdSense — Advertising service that may use cookies to serve ads based on your browsing history. How Google uses information from sites that use its services
• Google OAuth — Authentication service for signing in with your Google account.
• Facebook OAuth — Authentication service for signing in with your Facebook account.
• Cloudflare R2 — Cloud storage service used to store uploaded images and avatars. Cloudflare's Privacy Policy
• Vercel — Hosting platform. Vercel's Privacy Policy
• Turso — Database hosting service. Turso's Privacy Policy

5. Data Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information only in the following situations:

• With service providers who assist in operating our website
• To comply with legal obligations or respond to lawful requests
• To protect the rights, safety, or property of CougarCorner, our users, or the public
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (with prior notice)

6. Data Retention

We retain your account information for as long as your account is active. Forum posts and other public content may remain on the site even after account deletion to preserve the integrity of community discussions. You may request deletion of your personal information by contacting us.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Object to or restrict certain processing of your information
• Opt out of personalized advertising

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at chad@cougarcorner.com.

8. International Data Transfers

Your information may be processed and stored on servers located in the United States. If you are accessing CougarCorner from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in a country where data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. By using the Service, you consent to such transfers.

9. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• The right to know what personal information we collect and how it is used
• The right to request deletion of your personal information
• The right to opt out of the sale of your personal information (we do not sell personal information)
• The right to non-discrimination for exercising your privacy rights

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at chad@cougarcorner.com.

10. Children's Privacy

CougarCorner is not directed to children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately.

11. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including encrypted password storage, secure HTTPS connections, and limited access controls. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on our website. Your continued use of CougarCorner after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

CougarCorner, LLC
Email: chad@cougarcorner.com