Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Velvet ("we", "our", "us") is an independent digital lifestyle magazine for women, founded in 2024 and operated by Velvet Media Inc., 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 4200, New York, NY 10118, USA. Contact: hello@velvetnews.com

2. What Data We Collect

We collect only the data you voluntarily provide:

• Email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter
• Story submissions — name, category, headline, and text when you use the "Submit a Story" form
• Cover image — if you choose to upload one with a story submission

We do not collect payment information, track your browsing across other sites, or use third-party advertising cookies.

3. How We Use Your Data

• Newsletter subscribers: We use your email address to send you our editorial newsletter and occasional promotional updates from Velvet. We do not sell or rent your email to any third party.
• Story submissions: We use submitted information to review and potentially publish stories. Your name may appear as a byline if your story is published, with your consent.

4. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

If you are located in the European Economic Area, we process your data under the following legal bases:

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) — for newsletter subscriptions and marketing communications. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) — for editorial story review purposes.

5. Data Retention

• Newsletter emails are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
• Story submissions are retained for editorial review for up to 90 days, then deleted if not published.

6. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Rectify inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Withdraw consent for marketing at any time via the unsubscribe link in any email
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@velvetnews.com.

7. Cookies

Velvet uses only essential functional cookies necessary to operate the site (e.g., session management). We do not use tracking or advertising cookies. No cookie consent banner is required for functional cookies under ePrivacy regulations.

8. Third-Party Services

• Resend — used to send transactional and newsletter emails. Resend processes your email address on our behalf under a Data Processing Agreement. Resend Privacy Policy
• Pexels — we use stock photography from Pexels.com for editorial images. No user data is shared with Pexels.

9. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Your email is stored encrypted-at-rest on our servers.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to subscribers and noted at the top of this page with a revised "Last updated" date.