Newsela Cookie Policy

Last Revised: January, 2026

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This Cookie Policy (“Cookie Policy”) explains how Newsela, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiaries (including Formative, Newsela Writing, and Generation Genius) (“Newsela,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) use cookies and other similar technologies to recognize you when you access or use our Services. It explains what these technologies are, why we use them, and your rights to control our use of them. Your use of the Services shall be subject to this Cookie Policy. If you do not agree with any part of this Cookie Policy, you must not use our Services. Any capitalized terms that are not defined in this Cookie Policy are defined in our Privacy Policy.

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1. WHAT ARE COOKIES?

Cookies are small data files that are placed on your device that are set by us or by third parties when you visit a website or other online service. Newsela uses cookies for purposes such as to provide content or features on our Services, help us remember you and your preferences, and improve your user experience by making our Services more efficient and relevant to you. In addition to cookies, we use other technologies that are similar in function, including local or web storage, such as pixel tags, also called web beacons or single-pixel tags/gifs.

• Web Beacons: Web beacons, or "clear gifs," and single-pixel tags/gifs, or web tags, are tiny graphics with a unique identifier placed on a website or in an email that gather information about your interaction with that website or email.
• Local or Web Storage: Local or web storage refers to a file that is stored locally on your device and is specifically used with video. It includes both your own device storage and browser cache.

We use the term "cookie" throughout this Cookie Policy to cover all these technologies.

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2. WHY WE USE COOKIES?

Newsela uses first- and third-party cookies for several reasons. Some cookies are required for technical reasons in order for our Services to operate, and we refer to these as "essential" or "strictly necessary" cookies. Other cookies enable us to better understand your use of our Services, to identify your interests, and to enhance your experience of our Services. In addition, third parties may serve cookies through our Services for advertising, analytics and other purposes. For example, we may use Google Analytics to collect anonymized data about how you use our Services so we can improve the way our Services work for you.

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3. TYPES OF COOKIES

• First-party cookies. These cookies are created by Newsela. They are primarily used to allow you to browse our Services and use their features. They may also assist us in our analytics activities. These cookies may use non-personal data (e.g., aggregate or de-identified information about your use of our Services) or information that uniquely identifies the browser or device you are using to access our Services.‍
• Third-party cookies. In addition to the first-party cookies we use, some third-party companies may place cookies on your computer through our Services, access those cookies, and associate web beacons with them. These cookies enable third-party features or functionalities to be provided on or through our Services. The parties that set these third-party cookies (such as Marketo or LinkedIn) can use them to recognise you and your device both when it visits our Services and also when it visits certain other, unaffiliated websites.

Types of first and third party cookies we use

The types of first and third party cookies we use to provide our Services are detailed below. These cookies may use non-personal data (e.g., aggregate or de-identified information about your use of our Services) or information that uniquely identifies the browser or device you are using to access our Services.

• Strictly necessary cookies:These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with access to, and basic use of our Services. These cookies cannot be turned off.
• Performance and functionality cookies:These cookies are used to enhance the performance and functionality of our Services, but are not required for their use. However, without these cookies, certain functionality of our Services may become limited or unavailable.
• Analytics and customization cookies:These cookies help us understand how our Services are being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our Services for you. Thanks to this information, we are able to improve the features offered by our Services.
• Targeting cookies:These cookies may be set to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

For more information on how you can allow or block these various types of cookies, please see “Cookie Management” below.

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4. INFORMATION COOKIES COLLECT

Cookies collect different types of information depending on the type of cookie and its purpose. Some examples of information that may be collected by Cookies when you use our Services include:

• The pages you visit within our Services;
• The buttons you click on our Services;
• The amount of time you spend on our Services;
• Unique identifiers associated with third-party services (such as Rockbox user IDs) to enable personalized functionality and analytics
• The Internet Protocol ("IP") address used to connect your computer/mobile phone to the internet; and
• Your device (such as computer, mobile phone) and connection information such as your browser type and version and operating system.

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5. DURATION OF COOKIES

The duration of storage of cookies on your device may vary, depending on the category to which they belong: temporary or permanent.

• Temporary Cookies. We use temporary cookies on our Services to allow you to browse without interruption. We may also use temporary cookies for internal reporting purposes. After your browsing session ends, this type of cookie does not store any information on your hard drive.‍
• Persistent Cookies. Some of our first-party analytics cookies and certain third-party cookies are persistent cookies. They allow us and third parties to understand your browsing behavior over a longer period of time, to provide you with additional features related to your use of the Services, the content that you have saved or stored through them, as well as for advertising and marketing purposes. Depending on their function, this type of cookie may persist for different lengths of time ranging from several hours, to a week, or even several years. This type of cookie will persist after you end a browsing session and can be used by our Services, or third parties to recognise your device when you begin a new browsing session.

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6. COOKIE MANAGEMENT

If you want to control your cookie preferences on our Services, please follow the instructions below.

• Cookie Settings Tool: You have the option to adjust what cookies you allow us to place on your browser, at any time, through our cookie preference tool available on our Services. For the Newsela and Generation Genius product offerings, access your cookie settings tool by selecting the green cookie icon on the left corner. For the Formative product offerings, access your cookie settings at the footer of our webpage.‍
• Browser Settings: You may also alter the cookie settings in your browser at any time. If you disable certain cookies in your browser settings, however, you may find that certain sections of our Services will not work.

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7. CHANGES TO THE COOKIE POLICY?

We may update this Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect, for example, changes to the cookies we use, or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons. Please revisit this Cookie Policy regularly to stay informed about our use of cookies and related technologies. When we make material changes to the Cookie Policy, we will revise the Last Revised date at the top of this Cookie Policy above. All changes to this Cookie Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

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8. CONTACT INFORMATION

We welcome your comments or questions about this Cookie Policy. Feel free to email us at privacy@newsela.com. You may also contact us at our address: Newsela, Inc., Attn: Legal, 169 Madison Ave., #2770, New York, NY 10016

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