Reading privacy and settings

You can read CATO without enabling optional audience analytics. These settings apply to this browser; set them separately on your other devices.

What optional analytics measure

With your permission, CATO records public pages visited, article topics, approximate active reading time, reading progress, general device type, referring website, and selected interactions. A random browser identifier helps distinguish return visits. Scrolling and time are estimates of engagement, not proof that you read an article.

Audience analytics do not link activity to your account. If you separately allow account-linked analytics, future activity can be associated with your account while signed in. Turning this off stops future linking; it does not automatically erase earlier activity.

Your choices

Optional analytics start off. CATO treats Global Privacy Control as a request to keep them off. You can change your choice or erase analytics associated with this browser above. Clearing cookies can prevent us from recognizing previous browser activity.

Access and retention

Detailed optional analytics collected under these settings are retained for up to 90 days and are accessible to authorized CATO administrators. Advertiser reports should contain aggregate audience information, not named reading histories. CATO does not collect raw search text, URL query strings, or IP addresses through this optional analytics system.

Accounts, payments, creator-payment accounting, security logs, newsletter preferences, and advertising delivery have separate operational records; turning off optional reading analytics does not delete those records. Embedded services may process information under their own policies. See Guide privacy for Google Maps and saved places.

When a signed-in member accesses premium content, a separate accounting record contains the member ID, content ID, and date so CATO can calculate creator earnings. It does not include reading progress or active time and remains separate from optional analytics.

Request help with your data

To request access, correction, or deletion of account-linked data, including earlier records or activity on other devices, contact newsroom@salembusinessjournal.org. We may need to verify your identity before handling the request.