NASW.org Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 30, 2026

The National Association of Science Writers, Inc. (“NASW”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes the privacy practices applicable to information collected when you visit our website at www.nasw.org (“Website”) and which we may collect in the normal course of business. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to provide the following information to you:

1. What personally identifiable information is collected from you through the website, how it is used, and with whom it may be shared.
2. What choices or rights are available to you regarding the use of your data.
3. The security procedures in place to protect the misuse of your information.
4. How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

By using our services, by accessing or using our Website, or by providing any personally identifiable information to us via any means (whether through the Website and/or email addresses and/or any other contact mechanisms), you are accepting this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use, and you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

INFORMATION COLLECTION, USE, AND SHARING

Information collected. In the normal course of our relationship with you, we may collect personally identifiable information about you, such as contact information, names, titles, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, countries of residence, financial information, photographs or images, and other personal information (“Personal Information”), as well as business information and website browsing information, from the following sources:

• Information we receive from you in communications, meetings, or in writing, and information provided in discussion lists or comments on the Website;
• Information about your transactions with us;
• Information we may receive from third parties; and
• Cookies and other information from your visits to our Website. Further information regarding cookies is provided below.

Use of information. We may use such information for the following purposes: transactions between NASW and you (e.g. billing and payment for goods or services); fulfilling orders; administration of the Website and improving your experience on the Website; to process your requests and answer your inquiries (or otherwise communicate with you); the administration and organization of conferences; the continuation of NASW’s operations and services; marketing and business development; sending of newsletters and/or advisories; consolidation of information relating to members, customers, and vendors; matters incidental to the purposes of the uses set out above; and other legitimate and lawful purposes, where permitted by applicable local law.

Information collected about your interaction with our Website: We collect information about your interactions with our Website, such as the purchases you make or the dates and times you access our Website. Some web browsers may transmit “do-not-track” (DNT) signals to websites with which the user communicates. Because of differences in how web browsers incorporate and activate this feature, it is not always clear whether users intend for these signals to be transmitted, or whether they are even aware of them. We currently do not change our tracking practices in response to DNT settings in your web browser.

We use "cookies" on this Website. A cookie is a piece of data stored on a website visitor's hard drive to help us improve your access to our Website and identify repeat visitors. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our Website. Our cookies include a unique session identifier that permits you to navigate the Website without interruption once you have logged in. The Website's administrators can use this session identifier to find your IP address and other Personal Information in our database. We do not pass the session identifier or linked Personal Information to third parties or advertising networks. You may disable or refuse to allow cookies or opt out of tracking, but that might limit the accessibility and functionality of the Website. Further information about cookies, including disabling cookies, is available at www.allaboutcookies.org.

We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”), on our Website. Google Analytics uses cookies or other tracking technologies to help us analyze how users interact with and use the Website, compile reports on the Website’s activity, and provide other services related to Websites activity and usage. The technologies used by Google may collect information such as your IP address, time of visit, whether you are a return visitor, and any referring website. The Website does not use Google Analytics to gather Personal Information that personally identifies you.

The information generated by Google Analytics will be transmitted to and stored by Google and will be subject to Google’s privacy policies. To learn more about Google’s partner services and to learn how to opt out of tracking of analytics by Google click here.

Sharing of data. We share aggregated demographic information with our partners and advertisers, but we do not sell, trade, or share Personal Information except the few cases expressly permitted by you (e.g. inclusion in the Member Directory, Find a Writer service, and rental of mailing lists) in your profile. We use a credit card processing company to bill users for goods and services. These companies do not retain, share, store or use Personal Information for any secondary purposes beyond filling your order.

Members may choose to share Personal Information (or change how they share information) with other members, the public, and/or selected partners by updating their online profile. Users may access their profiles by logging into the web site, then following the link for the username at the top of any page.

HOW TO ACCESS, MODIFY, OR LIMIT YOUR INFORMATION

If you have an online profile with us, you can view or update your profile information at any time. Users may access their profiles by logging into the web site, then following the link for the username at the top of any page. Your profile also contains important information sharing choices, such as visibility in the membership directory, that you can update at any time.

Right to access and other rights. Subject to applicable law (e.g. if you are located in the European Union with rights under the General Data Protection Regulation), you may have one or more of the following rights with respect to Personal Information: the right to request access to such information; the right to request correction of such information; the right to request deletion or erasure of such information; the right to request restrictions on our processing or use of such information; the right to object to our use under certain circumstances; the right to withdraw consent under circumstances when consent is required for any use of such information, and the right to obtain such information in portable form. If you have any concerns relating to your data privacy or the use or possession of your Personal Information, please contact us at director@nasw.org in the first instance as we may able to resolve any concerns. In certain circumstances in any European Union member state, you may have the right to lodge a complaint with the applicable data protection authority.

Emails, newsletters, and other communications: When you create an account through our Website, you are required to provide us with an accurate email address through which we may contact you. Such registration or requests through our Website constitute your express acknowledgment that NASW may use your email address to communicate with you about NASW, its selected vendors, and/or partners. While you cannot opt out of receiving notifications and other communications regarding your account or your transactions, you can opt out of receiving newsletters, promotional emails, or other marketing communications from NASW by: (1) using the “unsubscribe” feature in our emails; (2) going to the subscriptions tab of your member profile; or (3) contacting us at director@nasw.org.

If you would like to request access, modification, correction, or deletion of Personal Information that you have provided to us or that you believe we may have collected about you, please contact us at director@nasw.org. We will honor any legal right that you have to access, modify, or erase your Personal Information. To request access and to find out whether any fees may apply, if permitted by applicable state, federal, or national law (outside of the United States), please contact us at director@nasw.org. In order to verify your identity, you may be required to provide us with Personal Information prior to accessing any records containing information about you. Please note that we may not be able to delete your Personal Information without also deleting your user account and NASW membership, if any.

SECURITY

We take security seriously and use reasonable precautions to protect your information.

Wherever we collect sensitive information, that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar and looking for "https" at the beginning of the address of the Web page.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect your information offline.

Only employees and contractors who need the information to perform a specific job (e.g. billing or customer service) are granted access to Personal Information. The computers/servers in which we store personally identifiable information are kept in a secure environment.

However, no transmission of data over the Internet or any other public network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. You should avoid sending via the Website any general electronic communications or inquiries that contain confidential or sensitive Personal Information. You can help protect the privacy of your own information by using encryption and other techniques to prevent unauthorized interception of your Personal Information. You are responsible for the security of any Personal Information that you transmit to us or view, download, or otherwise access when using unencrypted, public, or otherwise unsecured networks.

Some information in old member records, discussion lists, and web comments may be retained indefinitely, while other information may be retained for no longer than is reasonably necessary. If you do not want your information to be retained and/or want such information deleted, please contact us at director@nasw.org.

LINKS

This Website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable information.

CHILDREN'S PRIVACY

This Website is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 13. If we discover that a child under 13 has provided us with Personal Information, we immediately delete such information from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us at director@nasw.org.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Thus, we advise you to review this page on our Website periodically for any revisions to the Privacy Policy. Any revised Privacy Policy will be posted on this page on our Website, with a new “Last Updated” date. These changes are effective immediately after they are posted on this page.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions, suggestions, requests, or need further information about our Privacy Policy, please contact us at director@nasw.org.