Your Privacy Choices
Last updated: May 26, 2026
Several US states give residents the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. This page explains what those rights look like at VTScout, what “sharing” means in our context, and exactly how to exercise the right.
Does VTScout sell personal information?
No. VTScout does not sell personal information in exchange for money. We do not sell, rent, or trade reader lists.
Does VTScout share personal information for advertising?
Yes, in the limited sense defined by state privacy laws. When we display ads via Google AdSense and similar networks, advertising cookies and identifiers may be transmitted to those networks to personalize ads. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA), this counts as “sharing” — even though no money changes hands and no list is provided. Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, and other US state privacy laws have similar concepts under different names (“targeted advertising,” etc.).
How to opt out
You have three independent ways to exercise this right. Any one of them is sufficient — you don’t need to use all three.
1. Use the consent banner
If you’ve previously accepted advertising cookies and want to withdraw consent, clear the VTScout cookies in your browser and reload any page on the site. The consent banner will reappear and you can decline advertising cookies. Your choice is remembered for as long as the consent cookie persists. The banner is provided by Google’s Funding Choices Consent Management Platform, which integrates with the IAB US Privacy Framework signal honored by major ad networks.
2. Send a privacy request
Email [email protected] with the subject line “Do Not Sell or Share — Opt Out”. We acknowledge requests within five business days and process them within the time frame required by applicable law (45 days for California; varies by state). You do not need to be a resident of any specific state to send this request.
3. Send a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal
If your browser sends the Global Privacy Control header, VTScout treats it as a valid opt-out request consistent with California Attorney General guidance. You don’t need to do anything else — the signal alone is sufficient. Browsers that support GPC natively or via extension include Brave, DuckDuckGo, Firefox (with extension), and several others. Visit globalprivacycontrol.org for details.
What we change when you opt out
- Advertising cookies and identifiers are not transmitted to ad networks for the purposes of building or using a profile about you.
- Non-personalized (“contextual”) ads may still appear based on the page you’re reading, but they’re not targeted to you.
- Strictly necessary cookies (session, security) still operate — opting out does not break the site.
- Analytics cookies may still operate where you’ve separately consented to analytics; you can opt out of analytics through the same channels.
Other privacy rights
State privacy laws give residents additional rights beyond opt-out, including the right to know what we collect, the right to delete, and the right to correct. To exercise those rights, see the Privacy Policy for the request process. For the full list of third parties that process data on our behalf, see the Subprocessors page.
Authorized agents
If you’re submitting a request through an authorized agent acting on your behalf, please include written proof of the authorization with your email so we can verify and process the request promptly.
Non-discrimination
VTScout will not retaliate against you for exercising any of these rights. We will not deny content, charge different prices, or change the quality of service based on whether you’ve opted out.
Questions
For questions about your privacy rights at VTScout, email [email protected].