Privacy Policy
Last updated October 6, 2026
This page explains what East Texas Online (easttexas.com) collects when you use the site, how we use it, how long we keep it, and which outside services are involved.
When you browse
Our pages run a small first-party script that records visits so we can see which guides and towns people read. It stores a random visitor ID in your browser's local storage and a session ID for your current visit. With each page view it records:
- the page, the page you came from, and any campaign tags in the link
- your browser type, screen size and language
- how long the page stayed open, how far you scrolled, and page-speed measurements
- links you click that leave the site, such as a business's website or phone number, or a ticket listing
- your approximate location (country, state, city and time zone), which our hosting provider works out from your connection
Visits from the same browser are tied together by the visitor ID, so we can see things like which towns a returning reader is interested in. These visit records are kept indefinitely. Our visitor records don't include your IP address. Our hosting provider (Amazon Web Services) keeps standard server logs that do include IP addresses, and we keep those for 90 days.
You can clear the visitor ID at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser.
Google Analytics
We also use Google Analytics, which sets its own cookies and receives your IP address and the details of your visit. Google's use of that data is covered by Google's privacy policy. You can opt out with Google's Analytics opt-out add-on.
Accounts and the newsletter
If you create an account, we store your email address, name, town (if you give one) and a scrambled (hashed) version of your password; we never store the password itself. Signing in sets a cookie that keeps you logged in. If you subscribe to the newsletter, we store your email address and anything else you enter, such as your first name and town.
When you sign up, log in or subscribe, the visitor ID in that browser is linked to your email address, so your earlier and later visits from that browser become part of your account's history.
Forms you send us
When you use the contact, advertising or event-submission forms, we keep what you enter, such as your name, email, phone number, business details, event details and message. Submissions are emailed to us and stored in our database so we can reply and follow up.
Posts you submit to the community section are reviewed and, once approved, published publicly on the site along with the name you posted under.
Outside services
- Amazon Web Services hosts the site, its database and our email sending.
- Google provides Google Analytics and the fonts used on the site, so your browser connects to Google's servers when pages load.
- Ticketmaster. Concert, game and show listings on our events and things-to-do pages come from Ticketmaster. Clicking one takes you to Ticketmaster's site, where Ticketmaster's privacy policy applies. We record that you clicked the listing (the show, venue and town), but nothing you do on Ticketmaster's site.
- Other websites. Links to businesses, government offices and other sites take you to sites with their own privacy practices.
Advertising and sharing
We may use the email addresses of members and newsletter subscribers to show ads on platforms such as Google or Facebook. Those platforms receive a scrambled (hashed) copy of the address so they can match it to an account you already have with them.
We don't currently sell the information we collect. If that changes, we'll update this page before it happens.
Children
The site is meant for adults. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13.
Changes and questions
If we change what we collect, we'll update this page and the date at the top. Questions about your information can be sent through our contact form.