The short version. This box is a plain-English summary of a few highlights. It is not a substitute for the full Policy below, and if anything here conflicts with the full Policy, the full Policy controls.
- Who this is from. Featured is operated by Terkel, Inc. d/b/a Featured. This Policy covers Featured.com; Connectively.us and HARO are separate properties with their own policies.
- What we collect. Information you give us (account, profile, payment, and the Inputs and Submissions you put into the Services), information we collect automatically (usage, device, cookies, and AI-consumption metering), and information from third parties (Data Partners, integrations you connect, and public sources).
- We don't train foundation models on your Content, and we require our AI providers not to either. We use AI providers as service providers under terms that don't permit them to train on your Content.
- We don't sell your personal information, and we don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
- What you publish goes out. When you direct us to share a Submission with a journalist, publisher, or the public, it becomes visible to those recipients, and we can't control what they do with it afterward.
- Your choices. Depending on where you live, you can access, correct, delete, or port your information, and opt out of certain processing. You can opt out of marketing anytime.
- Summaries are for convenience only. Any plain-language summary in this Policy — including the highlights above and any "In short" line — is provided solely for convenience. It is not operative, does not modify any provision, and the full text controls if there is a conflict.
This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how Terkel, Inc. d/b/a Featured ("Featured," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects information in connection with Featured.com, the Featured chat interface, Workflows, and our related applications, websites, APIs, MCP connections, and services (collectively, the "Services"). Capitalized terms not defined here have the meaning given in our Terms of Service.
This Policy is part of, and should be read with, our Terms of Service. It does not itself create contractual rights beyond those required by applicable law.
1. Scope and Our Other Properties
This Policy applies to the Services. Connectively.us (operated by Terkel, Inc. d/b/a Connectively) and HARO (Help a Reporter Out) are separate properties governed by their own privacy policies. Information about journalists and media contacts is addressed in Section 14.
If you access the Services under an Enterprise Agreement (or an associated data processing addendum), that agreement and addendum govern how we process personal data on your organization's behalf, and they control over this Policy to the extent of any conflict. In those cases, your organization is the controller and you should consult its privacy notices.
2. Information We Collect
In short: Information you give us, information we collect automatically, and information from third parties.
2.1 Information you provide
- Account and profile. Name, email address, password, organization, role, and similar details. For Experts/Sources, profile information about your expertise and background. For Journalists/Publishers, your outlet and contact details.
- Payment information. When you buy a paid Plan, billing details processed by our payment processor (see Section 5). We do not store full payment-card numbers.
- Inputs, Outputs, and Submissions. The prompts, documents, files, and instructions you submit (Inputs), the material the Services generate for you (Outputs), and any Submission you send, publish, or direct us to transmit to a third party (such as a pitch, expert response, profile, photo, or contact list). These may contain personal information about you or others.
- Contacts you upload. If you upload or connect contact lists (for example, of journalists or media contacts), the information in them.
- Communications. Information you provide when you contact support, respond to surveys, or otherwise communicate with us, including any recordings or transcripts of calls where we tell you in advance and offer a chance to opt out.
2.2 Information we collect automatically
- Usage and log data. How you interact with the Services, including pages and features used, requests, timestamps, referring/exit pages, and similar activity.
- Device and connection data. IP address, browser type, operating system, device identifiers, and language.
- AI-consumption metering. Data about your use of AI features and Workflows used to calculate and display your AI Consumption Budget and to bill usage-based fees.
- Cookies and similar technologies. As described in Section 7.
- General location. We infer your general location (such as city or region) from your IP address for security and to improve the Services.
2.3 Information from third parties
- Data Partners. Content and data from Data Partners (for example, journalist-query, source-request, podcast, awards, and media-data providers).
- Public sources. Information about Journalists/Publishers and media contacts (such as name, outlet, role, and professional contact details) from publicly available sources, used to operate the features described in Section 14.
- Integrations you connect. If you connect a third-party product (for example, email, calendar, storage, or chat), we receive data from it as you direct and subject to that product's terms. If you connect an email account to send messages (Gmail or Outlook), see Section 6, which describes exactly what we access and how we use it.
- Single sign-on / business accounts. If you sign in through an identity provider or your organization's account, we receive identifiers and related information from that provider or organization.
- Payment processor. Transaction confirmations and limited billing details from our payment processor.
2.4 Sensitive data — please don't submit it
Consistent with our Terms, do not submit sensitive or regulated data — for example, government identifiers (such as Social Security numbers), financial-account or payment-card numbers, protected health information, or special-category data under the GDPR — to the Services unless we have agreed in writing to support it. If you submit such data without our agreement, we may delete it.
3. How We Use Information
In short: To run and improve the Services (including AI features), bill you, keep things secure, communicate with you, and meet legal obligations.
We use information to:
- provide, operate, and maintain the Services, including running the chat interface, Workflows, and Actions you direct;
- generate Outputs from your Inputs and process your Submissions as you direct;
- measure AI consumption, manage your Account, and bill fees;
- personalize and improve the Services and develop new features;
- secure the Services, prevent and investigate abuse, fraud, and violations of our Terms, and enforce our agreements;
- communicate with you, including service and administrative messages and, where permitted, marketing (see Section 8); and
- comply with law and respond to lawful requests.
How AI features handle your data
This is central to how the Services work, so we state it plainly:
- No foundation-model training on your Content. We do not use your Content to train our foundation or base models, and we use Third-Party Providers (including large-language-model providers) only under terms that do not permit them to train their models on your Content.
- Processing to deliver features. To generate Outputs and run Workflows, your Inputs and related Content may be processed by us and by our Third-Party Providers acting as our service providers.
- Aggregated or de-identified data. We may create and use aggregated or de-identified data derived from use of the Services; this data does not identify you.
- Human review is limited. People generally do not review your Content, except to operate the Services at your request (for example, support), to review for abuse and safety, where you provide Feedback, or where required by law.
- Feedback. If you rate an Output or otherwise give Feedback, we may store the related interaction and use it to improve the Services, as described in our Terms.
4. What Is Visible to Others
In short: Submissions you send into the media ecosystem become visible to their recipients and, in some cases, the public.
When you direct us to share a Submission — for example, by responding to a journalist's query, sending a pitch, or publishing profile or contact details — that Submission becomes visible to the relevant Journalists/Publishers, Data Partners, recipients, or the public. Once a Submission is shared or published, we cannot control how recipients or the public use, copy, or further distribute it. Please do not include in a Submission anything you would not want shared or made public.
5. How We Share Information
In short: With service providers (including AI providers), with the recipients of your Submissions, with integrations you connect, for legal and safety reasons, and in a business transfer. We don't sell your information.
We share information as follows:
- Service providers / sub-processors. With vendors that help us run the Services — including Third-Party Providers (AI/model providers), hosting and infrastructure, analytics, and our payment processor — who are bound to use it only to provide services to us.
- Recipients of your Submissions. With the Journalists/Publishers, Data Partners, recipients, or public to whom you direct a Submission, as described in Section 4.
- Integrations you authorize. With third-party products you connect, as you direct. If you connect an email account to send messages (Gmail or Outlook), see Section 6, which describes exactly what we access and how we use it.
- Affiliates. With our corporate affiliates, who will handle it consistent with this Policy.
- Legal and safety. When we believe in good faith that disclosure is needed to comply with law or legal process, enforce our Terms, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Featured, our Users, or others.
- Business transfer. In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, or sale of assets, with notice where required.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We may share aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify you.
6. Connected Email Accounts (Gmail and Outlook)
In short: If you connect a Gmail or Outlook account, we use send-only permission to send the messages you create in Featured from your own address. We never read your mailbox, and our use of Google data follows Google's Limited Use requirements.
Featured lets you optionally connect an email account from Google (Gmail) or Microsoft (Outlook) so that pitches and other messages you create in the Services are sent from your own email address. This integration is enabled only when you complete the provider's OAuth consent flow, and you can turn it off at any time.
Permissions we request. We request only the minimum permission needed to send email on your behalf:
- Google (Gmail): the send-only scope, https://www.googleapis.com/auth/gmail.send.
- Microsoft (Outlook): the Mail.Send (delegated) permission.
These permissions allow Featured to send a message from your account when you choose to send it. They do not allow Featured to read, search, download, modify, organize, or delete the messages or other content in your mailbox, and we do not request any scope or permission that would.
How we use the access. We use the connection solely to deliver the messages you compose and direct us to send (for example, a pitch to a journalist), so they arrive from your own address with normal reply threading and deliverability. We do not use this access for advertising, we do not sell this information, and — consistent with Section 3 — we do not use it to train foundation models.
What we store. We store the authorization token that maintains your connection until you disconnect, along with the messages you create and send and basic delivery details (such as recipient, subject, timestamp, and send status) as part of your account history, retained as described in Section 11. We do not store any other content from your mailbox, because we never access it.
Sharing. We transmit the message you send to your email provider (Google or Microsoft) for delivery to your chosen recipients, and we rely on the service providers described in Section 5 to operate this feature. We do not otherwise share this data.
Disconnecting and revoking access. You can disconnect a connected account at any time in your Featured settings. You can also revoke Featured's access directly from your Google Account (Security › Your connections to third-party apps) or your Microsoft account (My Account › Privacy / App permissions).
Limited Use (Google). Featured's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Microsoft data. Our access to and use of data from your connected Microsoft account is limited to the send-only purpose described above and is handled consistently with this Policy.
7. Cookies and Tracking
In short: We use cookies and similar technologies; you have choices.
We use cookies and similar technologies for sign-in and sessions, to remember preferences, for security, and for analytics. You can manage cookies through your browser, and we honor recognized opt-out signals (such as Global Privacy Control) where required by law. We do not respond to "Do Not Track" signals.
8. Marketing and Your Communication Choices
In short: You can opt out of marketing; you can't opt out of essential service messages.
Where permitted, we may send you marketing emails. You can opt out at any time using the unsubscribe link, by adjusting your settings, or by contacting support@featured.com. We will still send non-marketing service and administrative messages (for example, security, billing, and policy updates), which you cannot opt out of while you use the Services.
9. Your Privacy Rights
In short: Depending on where you live, you can access, correct, delete, or port your information and opt out of certain processing. We won't discriminate against you for exercising these rights.
9.1 U.S. state privacy rights
Depending on your state of residence — including under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended (CCPA/CPRA) and comparable laws in Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, and other states — you may have the right to:
- know and access the personal information we collect, use, and disclose;
- correct inaccurate personal information;
- delete personal information;
- obtain a portable copy of your information;
- opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information and of targeted advertising and certain profiling; and
- not be discriminated against for exercising these rights.
To exercise these rights, contact us at support@featured.com. We will verify your request using information associated with your Account, and you may use an authorized agent where the law allows. If we decline a request, you may appeal as described in our response.
9.2 California specifics
As noted above, we do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not knowingly process the sensitive personal information of California residents for purposes that require an opt-out beyond providing the Services. The categories of personal information we collect, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of recipients are described in Sections 2, 3, and 5.
9.3 EEA, UK, and Switzerland
If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have rights under the GDPR (and UK GDPR), including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and the right to withdraw consent and to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority. Our legal bases for processing are: performance of our contract with you; our legitimate interests (such as operating, securing, and improving the Services and limited marketing); your consent (where requested); and compliance with legal obligations.
10. International Data Transfers
In short: We're a U.S. company; using the Services involves transfer to the U.S.
We are based in the United States, and information we collect is processed and stored in the United States and other jurisdictions where we or our providers operate. These jurisdictions may have different data-protection laws than your own. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) for international transfers. By using the Services, you understand your information will be transferred as described here.
11. Data Retention
In short: We keep information as long as needed to provide the Services and meet legal obligations.
We retain personal information for as long as your Account is active and as needed to provide the Services, and afterward as needed for legitimate business purposes such as security, dispute resolution, recordkeeping, and legal compliance. Retention periods vary by data type and context.
12. Security
In short: We use safeguards, but no system is perfectly secure.
We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Protect your Account by keeping your credentials confidential and notifying us at support@featured.com of any suspected unauthorized access.
13. Children's Privacy
In short: The Services are for adults; we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 18.
The Services are not directed to individuals under 18, consistent with the eligibility requirement in our Terms, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us information, contact support@featured.com and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.
14. Journalists and Media Contacts
In short: We process information about journalists and media to run the marketplace; they have rights too.
To operate the Services and connect Users with the media ecosystem, we process information about Journalists/Publishers and media contacts (such as name, outlet, role, and contact details), including information provided by Users, by Data Partners, or from public sources. If you are a journalist or media contact and want to access, correct, or delete information about you, or object to its processing, contact support@featured.com.
15. Third-Party Services and Links
In short: We're not responsible for third parties' privacy practices.
The Services may link to or integrate with third-party sites and services that we do not control. This Policy does not apply to them, and we are not responsible for their practices. Review their privacy policies before providing information.
16. Changes to This Policy
In short: We may update this Policy and will post changes.
We may update this Policy from time to time. We will post the updated Policy with a new "Last Updated" date and, for material changes, provide additional notice where required by law. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect means you accept the updated Policy.
17. Contact Us
Questions or requests about this Policy:
Terkel, Inc. d/b/a Featured, Attn: Privacy, 7014 E Camelback Road, Suite B100A, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. Email: support@featured.com