ADDENDUM: New Opt-out Link in the YWA Privacy Policy

We have recently audited the opt-out links we provide with the Yahoo! Web Analytics privacy policy, and going forwards, we have decided that we will be using only the following Opt-out link:

http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/details.html

Please review your privacy policies and update the Opt-out link to the one included above before the end of the year. From January 2011, we will only support the link above and all other links will be disabled.

With this change, we align ourselves to the Yahoo! standard on opt-outs and we provide you with a unique resource where you can check the details of our comprehensive privacy policies.  In an effort to make our privacy policies relevant to our international customers, we have also created a number of localized opt-out links, which you can now take advantage of:

• US: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• US (en espanol): http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/espanol/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• Canada: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/ca/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• France: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/fr/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• UK: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/uk/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• Germany: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/de/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• Italy: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/it/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• Spain: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/es/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• Brazil: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/br/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• India: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/in/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/
• Australia/NZ: http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/au/yahoo/opt_out/targeting

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Here at Yahoo! we take online privacy seriously, and in regards to Yahoo! Web Analytics we try to satisfy the needs of both our YWA customers and their visitors that we track. With that in mind we provide these visitors the option to opt-out of being tracked and we require all of our YWA customers to include a link to this opt-out in their website’s privacy policy.

This opt-out is not a new feature as we’ve had it since the early days of YWA in 2008 but we decided to write this refresher about the opt-out and our privacy policy requirements. We will also try to answer some of the common privacy questions we get about YWA.

What are YWA’s Privacy Requirements?

YWA’s Privacy Policy requires that all of our YWA customers inform their visitors about the tracking methodology used by Yahoo! Web Analytics and to provide their visitors with the ability to opt-out from being tracked.
You can simply include the following paragraph in your privacy policy:

Third-Party Web Beacons: We use third-party web beacons from Yahoo! to help analyze where visitors go and what they do while visiting our website. Yahoo! may also use anonymous information about your visits to this and other websites in order to improve its products and services and provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by Yahoo!, click here.

You are also required to include a link to the following page, which allows visitors to your website to opt-out from being tracked:

http://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/opt_out/targeting/details.html

How does the YWA opt-out link work?

When the opt-out link is clicked a cookie is set in the user’s browser that prevents YWA from tracking any of their further online actions.  This is a universal setting that applies to all sites that use YWA.  This will be a permanent change in the user’s browser provided that they don’t delete their cookies.

Why do we have the opt-out?

We value transparency and feel that web users are better served by having information and tools available to make an informed choice regarding their online engagement.

What happens if I don’t have a privacy policy and/or a link to the opt-out on my site?

Yahoo! reserves the right to audit the sites of our YWA customers to ensure compliance with our privacy requirements. Failure to comply with our requirements can result in your YWA account being terminated.

Once you have made updated your privacy policy, you will need to provide Yahoo! Web Analytics with the URL to your privacy policy. To do so, go to Settings – Manage Projects, and click on the Edit button next to each of your projects. On the Project Settings page, you need to click again on Edit, input the URL to your privacy policy in the text box allotted to it and click on the Update button. Please note that you need to provide links to your privacy policies for each of the projects you are currently tracking with Yahoo! Web Analytics.

Do you have any other questions on the YWA opt-out or our privacy requirements? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!