Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 21, 2021

Publishers Clearing House ("PCH") respects your privacy. We take seriously our obligation to protect the information or "data" about you that we collect, process or share with others. This Privacy Policy governs all websites and digital properties owned or operated by PCH ("Website") and applies to all registrants, entrants, visitors and other users of such Website ("Users").

The purpose of this Privacy Policy is, among other things, to inform you 1) why we collect consumer data, 2) where we get the consumer data we have, 3) the kinds of consumer data we collect, 4) the kinds of consumer data that we share with third parties, and 5) how that third-party data sharing occurs.

The choices you have regarding collection and use of your data are described in the relevant sections below. Residents of some states have additional rights to access and control the use of their data. Please see the state-specific statements of privacy rights below.

If you choose to register, enter or access our Website, you consent to and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy. If you don't agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy, please do not register, enter or access our Website. We reserve the right in our discretion to change, modify, add or remove portions of this Privacy Policy at any time or from time to time. You should check this page periodically for any changes. If you use or access our Website after such a change is made, you will consent to and agree to be bound by the change.

1. Why does PCH collect consumer data?

2. From whom does PCH collect consumer data?

3. What consumer data does PCH collect?

4. Does PCH share consumer data with third-parties?

5. How does such third-party data-sharing occur?

6. What are cookies, unique identifiers and other tracking technologies?

7. What is Targeted or Behavioral Advertising?

8. Can I opt-out of receiving email from PCH?

9. Can I opt-out of data collection and use by PCH?

10. What about third-party websites?

11. What does PCH do to keep their Website secure?

12. Does PCH collect information from Users outside of the United States?

13. Does PCH collect personal information from children?

14. What about off-line information and privacy practices?

15. What are my California Privacy Rights?

16. What are my Nevada Privacy Rights?

17. Further questions?

1. Why does PCH collect data on consumers?

PCH collects consumer data for the following business and commercial purposes:

Relevancy Purposes , to provide Users with the most relevant experiences on our Website and versions of our mobile applications, including sweepstakes, games and ads, that we think are likely to be of interest to you.
Transactional Purposes , to contact Users with our offers and promotions, to process entries and orders, to award tokens and prizes, to fulfill orders, to facilitate your interaction with the advertisers on whose ads you have clicked and whose surveys you may have taken.
Technical Purposes , to provide notices, updates, security alerts and support information; to analyze usage trends in the aggregate; and to administer our Website. For mobile devices, we use analytics software to allow us to better understand the functionality of our mobile software on your phone or tablet. This software may record information such as how often you use the application, the events that occur within the application, aggregated usage, performance data and where the application was downloaded from.
Customer Service Purposes , to communicate with you via SMS / email / direct mail about your entries, orders, payments and any other questions you may have.
Reporting Purposes, to share consumer data with third-party reporting services, fraud detection services, advertisers, product vendors and (in the case of winners) governmental agencies.

2. From whom does PCH collect consumer data?

PCH collects consumer data from sources in the following categories:

Direct from Consumer , information that you provide to us directly, such as registering on our Website (e.g., name and address), responding to surveys, playing games, claiming prizes, redeeming Tokens and posting messages on the PCH Blog.
Automatic Data Collection , collected automatically when you visit or register on our Website, such as internet protocol (IP) address, device ID, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp and/or click-stream data, and through the use of "cookies", “unique identifiers”, "pixel tags" and similar tracking technologies. For additional information on such tracking technologies, see Section 6 below.
Third-Party Sources , information obtained from third parties, such as data management platforms, advertisers, publishers, the public domain and governmental and other public sources, as well as commercial data aggregators who collect data from businesses and other sources and make that data available to commercial users like PCH for a valuable consideration, or through coops and exchanges in which third-party advertisers and website operators pool their consumer data and make it available to other participants in the coop or exchange.

3. What consumer data does PCH collect?

PCH collects data about consumers in the following categories:

Identifying Data , such as name, postal address, telephone number, e-mail address, cell phone number (for SMS purposes), User name and password.
Technical Data , such as IP address, MAID (Mobile Advertising ID), site traffic data and data on any websites that referred you to us.
Engagement Data , such as the web pages you viewed, the sweepstakes, games, mobile applications and instant win opportunities you played, surveys you may have taken, advertisements you have viewed and/or clicked-on, and other interactions on our Website.
Affinity Data , such as data on your demonstrated interests and hobbies, the games you play and the products you have viewed or purchased and payments made.
Demographic Data , such as age, gender, income level, geographic area and other personal characteristics.
Winner Information , such as contests entered, entry date(s), prize choices and payment preferences for winners of PCH prizes.

4. Does PCH share consumer data with third-parties?

PCH shares consumer data with third parties in the following categories:

Targeting Partners , such as data management partners or other third parties who use Engagement, Affinity and Demographic information to align you with others in relevant groups based on common characteristics, interests and propensities in order to create anonymized marketing segments that may be shared with third-parties.
Marketing Partners, such as advertisers or app developers who wish to target and/or retarget our Users with relevant advertisements on other websites or magazine publishers and direct-to-consumer merchants who wish to communicate directly with our customers and Users through name rental or exchange.
Acquisition Partners , such as publishers and other third parties who display PCH ads on their websites to help PCH in attracting and acquiring new customers and Users, or retargeting existing or lapsed Users, for our Websites.
Service Providers , such as optimization and attribution partners, fraud-detection services, lettershop operators, fulfillment houses and other service providers, who need access to consumer data in order to provide such services, and advertisers, product vendors and publishers, who need the data to provide you with the products and services you have ordered.
Media Intermediaries, such as buy-side advertising platforms, media vendors, brokers, agencies or other intermediaries that represent advertisers, publishers or others who may wish to match their audience against our audience to determine if they want to target offers to our Users.
Aggregators , such as data management platforms, advertisers and publishers, as well as commercial data aggregators who collect data from businesses and other sources, and coops and exchanges in which third-party advertisers and website operators pool their consumer data and make it available to other participants in the coop or exchange.
Reporting Partners , such as ad agencies, adtech platforms (demand-side, supply-side and data management platforms), to report on events that occur on our Website, including advertising impressions, clicks and orders. Note: if you win a prize of $600 or more, you will be required to provide your tax identification number for IRS reporting.
Supporting Partners , such as marketing advisors, consultants and other third-party industry participants who work with us on a commercial basis or provide advice or services to us to support our business.

5. How does such third-party data-sharing occur?

We assign a unique generic user ID ("GUID") to each User. GUIDs are anonymized, and contain no personally-identifiable information. We use GUIDs to track and report on Users' engagement with our Website, transactions with us and any prizes, awards or other benefits to which they may be entitled. GUIDs may be shared with third-party advertisers to facilitate and report on a User's engagement with advertisements or offers from such third parties.

We may share a User's Google Advertising ID with application tracking companies so that they can track and report to us whether a User has viewed, clicked on or accepted an advertiser's offer or downloaded an advertiser's app.

We use third-party service providers to verify a User's address, in order to ensure our commercial messages reach the intended User and to process any User orders prior to shipping, We may provide User contact information and data to selected third-party advertisers to present our Users with offers and information geared towards their interests. PCH is not and cannot be responsible for the activities or privacy policies of these third parties.

We may provide User contact information and data to selected third-party advertisers and publishers to present offers directly to our Users that are geared towards their interests.

Our applications may contain tools from third-party service providers that enable those third parties to collect and analyze non-personally identifiable information from Users' devices in accordance with such third parties' own privacy policies and subject to the legal requirements that apply to them.

In the event of a merger, acquisition or change of control of PCH, customer data would be considered a business asset and would pass to the successor. We will disclose information we maintain when required to do so by law, as, for example, when necessary to respond to a subpoena or other court order. We may also disclose consumer data to protect the safety and security of our Users.

We will provide your name and address to the publisher of any magazine you order, or any item you order that is shipped to you directly by the seller, so they can fulfill your order. Such publishers or sellers may exchange or rent their subscriber and customer names, typically to third-parties with offers that align with their offers and User interests. If you do not wish to receive such offers, we suggest that you notify the publisher or seller directly, as PCH is not able to make such requests on your behalf.

We use other third party vendors such as lettershops, e-mail service providers, credit card processors and fulfillment houses, to provide postal and e-mail delivery services, order processing and order fulfillment services. When you order or register on our Website, we may share your consumer data to enable these third parties to provide these services. These third parties are prohibited from using your consumer data for any other purpose (including their own marketing purposes).

We may share your personally identifiable information with our affiliates, technical consultants, auditors, attorneys and other third parties who work with us to make our Website and services available.

6. What are cookies, unique identifiers and other tracking technologies?

PCH and its partners use cookies, unique identifiers or similar technologies to recognize User access privileges to the Website, analyze trends, administer the Website, track Users’ movements around the Website, add advertisements for goods or services we think may interest you, estimate our audience size and to gather demographic information about our User base as a whole.

A cookie is a small data file that a website can send to the browser on your computer when you link to that website. A cookie can hold information deposited in the file by the website, which can then be read by other sites. A cookie is not a computer program; it does not extract personal information about you or from your computer; and it does not read data on your hard drive or instruct your computer to perform any function. You may be able to use your browser to give you the option of accepting or rejecting a cookie whenever you visit a website. You may also be able to use your browser or other software to clear cookies from your browser any time you wish. However, deleting a website's cookie may mean that some features of our Website will not operate correctly.

A unique identifier is an anonymous token or User ID that is unique to you and can be used to identify you when you return to our Website or visit other websites. When you register for our Website, we may create such a unique identifier, which may be an encoded or “hashed” version of your email address. We may share such unique identifiers with our trusted advertising partners and service providers to deliver advertising to you and enable access to content across the internet. Advertising partners and service providers with whom we work have committed to using unique identifiers to deliver relevant advertising that also respects consumer choices and preferences.

Besides cookies and unique identifiers, we may use web beacons, tracking pixels or similar tracking mechanisms to track your usage patterns on our Website. Like cookies and unique identifiers, these small files do not store, record or share any personal information about you.

We utilize third-party internet service providers to collect site traffic data through the use of such tracking technologies that can be embedded in our Website. These service providers can then provide us with aggregate and anonymous usage data to allow us to improve our Website. This usage data cannot be associated with any personal information we have about you.

7. Targeted or Behavioral Advertising:

Targeted (also known as Behavioral) Advertising uses information collected on a person's web browsing behavior (such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made) to select relevant digital experiences and advertisements for display to that person on third-party websites. For example, if you have shown an interest in cooking while visiting PCH, you may be served an advertisement from PCH or a third-party advertiser for cooking-related products when you visit a website other than our Website. The information collected is linked by PCH only to an anonymous GUID; it does not include any information that could be linked back to a particular person, such as their name, address or credit card number.

Advertising may be targeted based on cookies or unique identifiers or other technologies that allow anonymous tracking across websites. You may opt-out of Targeted Advertising by any or all of the following means:

If you would like to opt-out of cookie-based Targeted Advertising, please click here .
If you are accessing our promotions and content through our mobile apps, you may opt-out of Targeted Advertising by opening the menu options on our apps, clicking on “Ad Preferences” and completing your opt-out preferences as indicated.
If you would like to opt-out of Targeted Advertising based on unique identifiers, please click here .

Your choice to opt-out will indicate to advertising partners and service providers that you no longer wish to receive targeted advertising based on your cookies, unique identifier or other technology. Opting out may limit your ability to access advertising-supported content; if you wish to access such content in the future, you may be asked to opt-in again.

Please note that these methods will opt you out of targeted ads from PCH and from other participating advertisers. If you opt-out, you will continue to receive online advertising from PCH or such other advertisers; however, these ads will not be targeted to your interests and therefore may not be as relevant to you or directed to subjects in which you are interested.

Moreover, if you prefer that PCH not sell your data to third parties, please click here .

8. Can I opt-out of receiving email from PCH?

Yes. Receiving email from PCH is always optional. You may opt-in to all, some or none of our email programs. If you are already receiving PCH promotional emails for one or more of our email programs, and no longer wish to receive such communications, simply follow the "unsubscribe" instructions that appear in every PCH e-mail. If you prefer, or have other questions, you can contact us through the "Ask Us" page found in the Info Center on our Website at click here, or by writing directly to Christopher L. Irving, Consumer & Privacy Affairs, Publishers Clearing House, 300 Jericho Quadrangle, #300, Jericho, New York, 11753.

If you have provided consumer data directly to our third-party marketing partners, and are receiving email communications directly from these third parties, PCH cannot in most instances unsubscribe you from these third party email programs. If you wish to unsubscribe from one of our marketing partners, please follow the unsubscribe procedures within their e-mails or in their privacy policy.

9. Can I opt-out of data collection and use by PCH?

We will retain your data for as long as necessary for contest processing, to provide you the goods and services that you may have ordered and to service your account.

If you wish to request that we no longer use your information to provide you services contact us at privacychoices@cc.pch.com. We must still retain and use your information for regulatory, record retention or archival purposes, to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements, and for similar purposes. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

Residents of some states have additional rights to control access to and use of their data. Please see the state-specific statements of privacy rights below.

10. What about third-party websites?

By clicking on hyperlinks or banner advertisements on our Website, you may be redirected to websites owned and operated by advertisers and other third parties. PCH does not control such websites or their owners and operators, and such websites are not subject to this Privacy Policy. Any data submitted on or collected by such a third party website will be governed by the privacy policy on that website. We recommend that Users check the privacy policies of such third-party websites to see how their consumer data will be collected, processed and shared.

We sometimes partner with third parties to present co-branded promotions, offers and experiences, so you may occasionally find yourself on a third-party website that displays our branding. Please be sure to pay attention to the URL displayed on your browser, so that you will know whose privacy policy governs the collection, processing and sharing of your consumer data. It may not always be this Privacy Policy.

11. What does PCH do to keep the Website secure?

We follow generally accepted standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once it is received, including appropriate organizational, technological and physical safeguards commensurate with the sensitivity of the personal information in question. Although we believe that the measures we take to safeguard your data are appropriate, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. To further protect your data, we recommend that you use complex passwords for your accounts with us and for accounts with third parties that you link to any of your accounts with us. Please do not use the same passwords you use for PCH for other services or share your password with unauthorized people.

12. Does PCH collect information from Users outside of the United States?

Our Website is not intended to be used by visitors residing outside of the United States and such Users are not eligible to register or submit online sweepstakes entries or to order products through PCH. Accordingly, PCH does not intentionally collect information from persons outside of the United States or obtain information concerning such persons from third parties..

13. Does PCH collect personal information from children?

Our Website is not intended for or directed to persons under the age of sixteen, and PCH does not intend to collect personal information from individuals in this age group. If PCH receives actual notice that a person under the age of sixteen has provided personal information to PCH, PCH will promptly (immediately, in the case of persons under the age of thirteen) remove such information from its files.

14. What about off-line information and privacy practices?

PCH collects certain consumer data from our direct mail customers and entrants primarily to process sweepstakes entries and fulfill orders for the products and services we offer. For example, we need your full name and address to enter you in major sweepstakes, to send you any magazine subscription or product you may purchase or to notify you if you've won a prize. We use information on your product purchases to infer your areas of interest so we can provide you with the most relevant offers and products. We may also use the personal data we collect for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes, and to report aggregate information to our marketing partners and other third parties.

PCH shares or exchanges mailing lists and other offline marketing information about the offline consumers who respond to our offers with publishers, list brokers and direct marketers, so they may contact you about products and services that may interest you.

If you do not want your name passed to other companies for the purpose of receiving marketing offers, just tell us by contacting us at privacychoices@cc.pch.com or by writing to Christopher L. Irving, Consumer & Privacy Affairs, Publishers Clearing House, 300 Jericho Quadrangle #300 Jericho, NY 11753. and we will be pleased to respect your wishes. Please make sure to provide your full name, address, city, state and zip code information if you wish your request to apply to both on-line and off-line marketing information sharing.

15. Your California Privacy Rights:

California consumers have rights and options relating to privacy and information sharing practices for both on-line (internet) and off-line (direct mail) information. For information about these rights and options, please click on the links below.

For California Consumers, please click here for information on your rights under the California Consumer Protection Act to access and control the use your data.

For California Consumers, please click here - Do Not Sell My Data to opt-out of the sale of your data.

We do not currently respond to Do Not Track signals. Please consider your options above to make consumer requests concerning your online privacy

16. Your Nevada Privacy Rights:

For Nevada Consumers, please click here for information about your rights under SB 220, Nevada's consumer privacy law.

17. Further questions?

We welcome any questions or comments you may have regarding this Privacy Policy or the use of your data. To contact us, please visit the Info Center of the Website or write directly to Christopher L. Irving, Consumer & Privacy Affairs, PCH, 300 Jericho Quadrangle #300 Jericho, NY 11753.

If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S. based third-party dispute resolution provider at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request .