Privacy Policy

Effective Date: October 29, 2025

Last Updated: October 29, 2025

1. Who We Are

   88.9 KETR (“KETR,” “we,” “us,” “our”) is a public radio service licensed to East Texas A&M University (“ETAMU”), a member of The Texas A&M University System (“A&M System”).

   This Privacy Policy applies to ketr.org and any page that links to this policy (the “Site”). It explains what information we collect when you use the Site, how we use it, when we may share it, and the choices you have. This policy does not apply to third-party sites we link to (for example, external donation processors, social media platforms, podcast hosts, etc.). 
   

Unless otherwise noted, ETAMU / The Texas A&M University System is the data controller for information collected on this Site.

2. Information We Collect

A. Information you voluntarily provide

We may collect personal information you choose to give us, including:

• Your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, and/or comments when you fill out a contact form, submit a tip or question, sign up for newsletters, request station information, enter a contest, or communicate with us.
• Donation / membership information you submit through embedded pledge or donation forms. (These forms may be hosted by approved third-party vendors who process gifts on our behalf. Those vendors have their own privacy policies. We receive the information necessary to process and acknowledge your gift.)

When you provide this information, we use it to respond to you, operate membership and donor services, acknowledge contributions, and improve our service.

B. Information collected automatically

When you browse the Site — even if you don’t actively submit anything — our systems and our content management platform (Grove, operated in partnership with NPR Digital Services) automatically collect and log certain technical information so we can keep the Site secure, functional, and useful. This includes:

• IP address or hostname
• Browser and device type (“user-agent”), operating system, and version
• The page you came from (“referrer”)
• Pages you visit and actions you take on our Site
• Date and time of each request
• The file or resource requested (URL / URI, including any query string)
• Response status code and size of the response sent by our server

We use this information to maintain and improve the Site, monitor performance, understand which content is most useful to our audience, diagnose service issues, and generate anonymous usage statistics.

We do not use this automatically collected technical data by itself to identify you by name, and we do not release it to outside parties except:

• when required by law, subpoena, or other legal process; or
• when needed to maintain the security of our systems, investigate abuse, or protect our rights and the rights of our users. 

C. Location / general geography

Our analytics tools may estimate general geographic information (for example, city- or region-level audience data) so we can understand which areas we are serving and report station reach. This is standard for web analytics and audience reporting across A&M System web properties and public media sites.

We do not attempt to use this information to precisely locate you as an individual.

3. Cookies and Similar Technologies

   “Cookies” are small text files stored in your browser. Grove (our content management system), our streaming player, our underwriting/sponsorship ad slots, and our analytics tools may place cookies or similar technologies in your browser to do things like:
   

• keep basic Site functions running (for example, remembering audio player state)
• measure audience size and page performance
• limit how often you see the same underwriting message / sponsorship banner
• support pledge / donation forms and confirm that a form submission was completed

These are sometimes called “essential” (strictly necessary) and “performance/analytics” cookies.

At this time, KETR does not sell personal information for targeted advertising. If we ever begin using marketing/retargeting cookies that would qualify as “selling” or “sharing” personal information under certain state privacy laws, we will update this policy and provide a clear opt-out mechanism.

You can choose to refuse or delete cookies by adjusting your browser settings. Blocking cookies may affect some features, including the streaming player and donation forms.

4. How We Use Your Information

   We use the information we collect to:
   

• Operate and maintain the Site and streaming services
• Respond to listener questions, story tips, and other direct messages from you
• Process and acknowledge contributions and sponsorship support
• Measure and report on Site performance, audience reach, and service to our region
• Improve navigation, layout, accessibility, and content
• Comply with A&M System policies, with ETAMU policies, and with applicable law
• Protect the security and integrity of our systems and content

We may also use non-personally identifiable, aggregated analytics data to help demonstrate audience value to potential underwriters/sponsors. (Example: “X pageviews in Hunt County last month.”) We do not provide your name, email, phone, or address for that purpose.

5. When and How We Share Information

   We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information for commercial purposes outside the A&M System. 
   

We may share information in these limited situations:

• With service providers and vendors who perform services for us (for example: donation processing, email newsletter delivery, streaming infrastructure, content hosting, analytics). These partners are permitted to use personal information only to provide services to us and must protect it.
• Within ETAMU and the Texas A&M University System for administrative, legal, audit, security, or compliance purposes. 
• If required by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process; or to investigate, prevent, or address suspected fraud, security issues, unlawful activity, or threats to safety. 

If you submit a question/comment that is best answered by another A&M System office or appropriate university department, we may forward that message — including the contact information you provided — to help get you an answer.

6. Retention

   We keep personal information only as long as needed to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected (for example, donor acknowledgement, customer service follow-up, or required recordkeeping), to comply with applicable law, and to meet A&M System retention schedules. After that, we delete it or de-identify it.
   

Server logs and analytics data may be retained longer in aggregate/anonymized form to track Site performance and historical audience trends.

7. Your Rights and Choices

   Subject to applicable law, you have the right to:
   

• Request access to personal information you have provided to us
• Request correction of that information if it is inaccurate
• Request deletion of personal information we maintain about you, where legally permissible
• Request that we not share your information for certain types of marketing

Texas law already requires (with few exceptions) that you be allowed to request, receive, review, and correct information about yourself that we collect via electronic forms. That remains true here.

To exercise these rights, contact us using the information in Section 12 below. We may need to verify your identity before we can fulfill certain requests.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without your consent, contact us immediately (see Section 8); we will work to delete that information consistent with applicable law.

8. Children’s Privacy

   Our Site is primarily intended for a general audience, including adults in our Northeast Texas listening area. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under the age of 13 without verifiable parental consent, consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without consent, we will delete it as soon as reasonably possible. 
   

9. Security

   We take reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect the information we collect against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or alteration. This includes standard security practices required of A&M System member websites, as well as vendor safeguards for hosted services (for example, Grove CMS hosting and donor transaction processors). 
   

No website, network, or transmission is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to limit risk.

10. External Links, Embedded Players, and Third-Party Tools

    Our Site includes:
    

• Embedded audio players and streaming tools
• Embedded underwriting / sponsorship messages and banners (for example, 728x90, 300x250, 320x50 units) 
• Links to external sites (for example, social media platforms, partner news sources, podcast providers, underwriting sponsors, community events)
• Embedded pledge/donation forms or links to a third-party donation portal

When you interact with those embedded services or leave ketr.org, those third parties may collect information about you under their own privacy policies (for example, via their own cookies, analytics, or payment processing systems). KETR does not control and is not responsible for the privacy practices of those third parties. You should review their privacy policies before submitting information to them or completing a donation or purchase.

11. Changes to This Policy

    We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in law, Texas A&M University System requirements, ETAMU policy, Site functionality, analytics/advertising tools (including Grove CMS changes), or our practices. When we update the Policy, we will revise the “Effective Date / Last Updated” at the top of this page. Continued use of the Site after an update means you accept the revised Policy. 
    

If we ever make a material change in how we collect, use, or share personal information, we will make reasonable efforts to provide a more prominent notice.

12. How To Contact Us

    Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, your personal information, or your privacy rights can be directed to:
    

KETR Public Radio

Attn: Privacy / Compliance

East Texas A&M University

1500 Education Drive
Commerce, TX 75428

903-886-5848

ketr@ketr.org

You may also contact The Texas A&M University System regarding privacy questions for member institutions at:

The Texas A&M University System Communications Office

301 Tarrow Street

College Station, TX 77840

Phone: (979) 458-6023