Privacy Policy
Last updated: July 29, 2026
The Iowa Cob respects the privacy of its readers. This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected when you visit our website, leave a comment, submit information, subscribe to a newsletter or otherwise interact with the site.
In this policy, “The Iowa Cob,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to this website and its operators.
Who we are
The Iowa Cob is a satirical news and commentary website focused on Iowa.
Our website address is:
Privacy questions or requests may be sent to:
Information you provide to us
We may collect information that you voluntarily provide, including:
- A name, display name or pseudonym
- An email address
- A website address
- Comments and replies
- Letters, tips, corrections or other submissions
- Messages sent through a contact form or email
- Newsletter subscription information, if newsletters are offered
- Any other information you choose to send us
Please do not submit sensitive personal, medical, financial, legally privileged or confidential information through public comments or ordinary website forms.
Submitting a tip or message does not, by itself, establish a confidential-source relationship.
Information collected automatically
When you visit the website, our site, hosting provider, security tools and other service providers may automatically receive technical information such as:
- Your Internet Protocol address
- Browser and device type
- Operating system
- Referring website or page
- Pages requested
- Approximate visit date and time
- General website-interaction information
- Error, diagnostic, security and anti-spam information
We may use this information to operate and secure the website, prevent abuse, diagnose problems and understand how the site is being used.
Comments
When visitors leave comments, we collect the information entered in the comment form. WordPress may also collect the commenter’s IP address and browser user-agent string to assist with moderation, security and spam detection.
Comments may be held for approval before appearing publicly.
Once approved, the following may be visible to other visitors:
- The submitted display name
- The comment
- The date or time of publication
- A profile image, if that feature is enabled
Email addresses and IP addresses are not ordinarily displayed publicly.
We may retain comments and their associated metadata indefinitely. This allows us to maintain discussion records, recognize previously approved commenters, identify repeated abuse and enforce our Comment Policy.
Do not use your real name in a comment unless you want that name publicly associated with what you write.
Avatars and Gravatar
If Gravatar is enabled, an anonymized string created from the email address entered with a comment may be sent to the Gravatar service to determine whether that email address is associated with an avatar.
After a comment is approved, the associated avatar may appear publicly next to the comment.
Letters, tips and other submissions
Information submitted as a letter, tip, correction request or other contribution may be reviewed and retained by site administrators.
We may contact a submitter to seek clarification, verify information or discuss possible publication.
Submitting material does not guarantee publication. Unless otherwise agreed, submissions may be edited for length, clarity, style, accuracy, legal concerns or relevance.
We will not ordinarily publish a private email address or other private contact information without permission.
Do not assume that ordinary email or website forms are encrypted, anonymous or suitable for highly sensitive information.
Cookies and similar technologies
The Iowa Cob uses cookies and similar technologies to:
- Operate essential website functions
- Remember cookie preferences
- Support comments
- Maintain administrator login sessions
- Protect the website from spam and abuse
- Measure general website usage when analytics consent is provided
- Remember certain reader-selected settings, such as a chosen Iowa weather location
Essential cookies or local browser storage may be used when necessary for site functionality.
Optional statistics cookies are controlled through our cookie-consent system. Visitors may accept them, reject them or manage their preferences.
For a current list of cookies used on the website, including their purposes and retention periods, see our separate Cookie Policy.
You may change your preferences using the Cookie Preferences control available on the website.
Consent for nonessential cookies should involve an affirmative choice, and refusing optional cookies should be as straightforward as accepting them.
Analytics
The Iowa Cob may use Google Analytics or another analytics service to understand general website usage.
Depending on the visitor’s consent choice and our analytics configuration, collected information may include:
- Pages and stories viewed
- Approximate session activity
- General device and browser information
- Referring websites or traffic sources
- Broad geographic information
- Interactions with website features
We use analytics to understand what readers find useful or interesting, improve the website and help guide future editorial and product decisions.
We do not use analytics to determine the identity of individual readers.
Analytics services are classified as optional Statistics services in our cookie-consent system. Visitors may reject those cookies or change their choice later.
For current information about analytics cookies used on this site, see our Cookie Policy.
Weather-location information
The Iowa Cob Weather Bureau may allow visitors to select an Iowa city or ZIP code or choose to share their approximate location through their browser.
Browser location access is requested only after the visitor chooses to use that feature.
Location information may be used to:
- Determine whether the visitor is within Iowa
- Display weather information for a selected Iowa location
- Remember the visitor’s selected location in local browser storage
- Request weather data from the National Weather Service or related technical services
The Iowa Cob does not use the Weather Bureau to maintain a permanent history of a visitor’s precise movements.
Visitors outside Iowa will generally be shown weather information for Des Moines.
Hosting and service providers
Our hosting provider may process technical information needed to:
- Deliver website pages
- Maintain server security
- Detect malicious activity
- Create backups
- Diagnose errors
- Provide website infrastructure
We may also use WordPress plugins and service providers for:
- Cookie-consent management
- Analytics
- Spam detection
- Security
- Backups
- Email delivery
- Website performance
- Comment moderation
- Newsletter delivery
- Weather and location-related website functions
These providers may process information only as necessary to provide their respective services and according to their own terms and privacy practices.
Embedded content from other websites
Articles may include embedded content such as:
- Videos
- Images
- Social-media posts
- Maps
- Audio
- Documents
- Other externally hosted material
Embedded content may behave as though you visited the external provider’s website directly.
Those providers may collect technical information, use cookies, monitor interactions or associate activity with an account you hold with them.
We do not control the privacy or data practices of outside websites and services.
External links
The site may link to websites operated by other organizations.
We are not responsible for the privacy, security, availability or content of external websites. Review their policies before providing personal information.
Media and image metadata
Images can contain embedded metadata, including camera information and GPS location data.
Visitors should avoid uploading images containing sensitive location metadata. People who download an image from the website may be able to extract metadata that remains embedded in the file.
The Iowa Cob may remove or modify image metadata before publication, but we cannot guarantee that every file will be stripped of all metadata.
How we use information
We may use collected information to:
- Operate and maintain the website
- Publish and moderate comments
- Review letters, tips and submissions
- Respond to messages and requests
- Deliver newsletters or other requested communications
- Remember reader preferences
- Prevent spam, fraud, abuse and security incidents
- Diagnose technical problems
- Understand website usage
- Improve editorial coverage and website features
- Enforce our policies
- Maintain publication and moderation records
- Comply with legal obligations
- Protect the rights and safety of the site, its readers and others
How information may be shared
We may share information with service providers that help us operate, host, secure, measure or maintain the website.
We may also disclose information when reasonably necessary to:
- Comply with applicable law
- Respond to valid legal process
- Investigate fraud, threats or abuse
- Enforce our policies
- Protect the security of the website
- Protect legal rights or personal safety
- Defend against legal claims
We do not sell reader-submitted personal information.
We do not provide individual reader identities or private comment information to advertisers for their independent use.
How long we retain information
Retention periods vary depending on the type of information and why it was collected.
Examples include:
- Comments and associated moderation metadata may be retained indefinitely.
- Letters, tips and editorial submissions may be retained while they remain editorially, administratively or legally relevant.
- Contact messages may be retained as needed to respond and maintain records.
- Technical and security logs may be retained according to our hosting and security settings.
- Analytics information is retained according to the settings of our analytics account.
- Cookie-consent choices may be retained for the period listed in our Cookie Policy.
- Administrator account information may be retained while the account remains active and as needed for security or recordkeeping.
- Newsletter subscription information may be retained until the subscriber unsubscribes or requests deletion.
- Reader-selected preferences stored in a browser may remain until the visitor changes them, clears browser data or removes site storage.
Your choices and privacy rights
Depending on the information involved and the law that applies, you may ask us to:
- Explain whether we hold personal information about you
- Provide a copy of information you submitted
- Correct inaccurate information
- Delete information that is no longer needed
- Remove an unpublished submission
- Unsubscribe you from email communications
- Review or delete a comment
- Change your cookie preferences
Some information may be retained when reasonably necessary for security, moderation, legal compliance, recordkeeping or the defense of legal claims.
To make a request, contact:
Please provide enough information for us to locate the relevant record. We may need to verify that the request concerns your information.
Do not send a government-issued identification document unless we specifically determine that it is necessary.
Children’s privacy
The Iowa Cob is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13.
Children under 13 should not submit comments, letters, tips, contact forms, newsletter registrations or other personal information.
If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without appropriate authorization, we may delete it.
Data security
We use reasonable administrative and technical measures intended to protect information associated with the website.
However, no website, email service, server or Internet transmission method can be guaranteed completely secure.
Do not submit information through the website that could cause serious harm if intercepted, exposed or published.
Data transfers
Our service providers may operate servers or process information in locations outside Iowa or outside the United States.
By using the website, information may be processed in locations where our hosting, analytics, security or technical providers operate.
Automated decision-making
The Iowa Cob does not use reader information to make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
Website analytics may be used to identify broad readership patterns and help guide editorial or product decisions.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We may update this policy when our website, plugins, service providers or data practices change.
The effective date at the top of the page will identify the most recent revision.
Material changes may also be announced on the website when appropriate.
Contact
Questions, requests or concerns about this policy may be sent to:
The Iowa Cob
privacy@theiowacob.com