Legal & Privacy

Last updated: October 6, 2026 · Terms of Use version phase1 · Privacy & Data version phase1

This Legal & Privacy page explains the principal terms that apply when you use NIPNews, contribute photographs or information, create an account, or interact with NIPNews services.

NIPNews is a crowdsourced local news and historical photo archive. Because contributors provide photographs and information that may become part of a long-term historical record, contributors should understand both the rights they retain and the permissions they give NIPNews.

This page is written in plain language. Additional or revised legal terms may be adopted as NIPNews develops.

Terms of Use

By using NIPNews, you agree to use the service lawfully and consistently with NIPNews Policies & Guidelines and the rules applicable to the particular feature you are using.

You may not use NIPNews to submit material that you do not have the right to submit, impersonate another person or organization, interfere with the operation of the service, abuse other users, or intentionally provide unlawful or materially deceptive content.

NIPNews may restrict or remove content or accounts when reasonably necessary to enforce its rules, protect users, comply with law or maintain the integrity of the service and historical archive.

Age Requirements

You must be at least 13 years old to create a NIPNews account.

NIPNews may apply additional requirements to particular account types or activities.

Contributor Responsibility

Contributors are responsible for the photographs and information they submit.

You should submit only photographs that you have the right to contribute and should provide information that you reasonably believe to be accurate.

Publication by NIPNews does not necessarily mean that every contributor-supplied statement has been independently verified.

Copyright

For an ordinary contribution, the photographer or other copyright owner retains copyright.

Leaving the Photo Credit blank does not, by itself, transfer copyright.

A contributor may separately choose Anonymous contribution. Anonymous contribution is an explicit and irreversible choice and includes the applicable assignment of copyright to NIPNews.

The Anonymous choice is presented separately from ordinary contribution so that a contributor must affirmatively choose it.

License Granted to NIPNews for Ordinary Contributions

When you make an ordinary contribution, you grant NIPNews a non-exclusive license to host, display, reproduce, resize, crop, archive and promote the photograph in connection with NIPNews.

Because the license is non-exclusive, the copyright owner continues to own the photograph and may use or license it elsewhere.

This permission allows NIPNews to operate the site, display the contribution in different layouts and sizes, preserve it as part of the archive, and use it in connection with NIPNews.

Anonymous Contributions

Anonymous contribution is different from leaving a Photo Credit blank.

When a contributor explicitly chooses Anonymous, the choice is irreversible for that photograph and includes the applicable copyright assignment to NIPNews.

Rights to Submit

By submitting a photograph, you confirm that you have the right to submit it and to grant the permissions required for the type of contribution you select.

Do not knowingly submit photographs that infringe another person’s copyright or other legal rights.

Information You Provide

NIPNews may receive information you provide directly, including account information, profile information, photographs, descriptions, subjects, dates, locations, tags, Event information, Organization information, reports, feedback and other information submitted through the service.

The exact information collected depends on the features you use.

Photograph Metadata

Uploaded image files may contain metadata, including information recorded by a camera or device.

NIPNews may use metadata to assist with features such as capture-date or location suggestions.

Publicly displayed versions of photographs are processed so metadata is stripped from the public image.

The private archival/original upload may still contain metadata present in the original file, including location information such as GPS data.

Location Information

NIPNews may process location information supplied by contributors, contained in photograph metadata, or derived from geocoding and other location tools.

Location information may be used to organize photographs by place and help contributors identify the place a photograph documents.

Automated location suggestions do not necessarily determine the final Primary Place.

Artificial Intelligence

NIPNews may use artificial intelligence services, including OpenAI services, to assist with functions such as photograph analysis, suggested descriptions or subjects, moderation, Event screening and search.

Depending on the feature, NIPNews may send relevant content to an AI service so the requested analysis can be performed.

For photograph-analysis features, this may include a processed image and relevant information supplied with the contribution.

Service Providers

NIPNews relies on service providers to operate portions of the service.

These may include providers for hosting, object storage, email delivery, geocoding and location services, bot or abuse protection, and artificial intelligence.

Privacy

NIPNews uses personal information to operate, secure and improve the service; manage accounts; process contributions; provide requested features; communicate with users; prevent abuse; and maintain the NIPNews archive.

NIPNews should collect and retain information in a manner appropriate to those purposes.

Sale of Personal Information

NIPNews does not sell users’ personal information.

Public Information

Information intentionally published through NIPNews may be visible to the public.

This may include published photographs, Photo Credits, descriptions, subjects, dates, places, tags, Event information, Organization information and other information intended for public display.

Users should consider the public nature of the archive before submitting information for publication.

Retention

NIPNews keeps information as needed to operate the service, protect it, meet legal obligations and maintain the historical archive. Most categories of information do not have a fixed public retention period.

Two practices are currently in place:

When you delete one of your published photographs, it is removed from public view immediately and permanently deleted after about 24 hours, subject to legal-hold and backup rules. A withdrawn unpublished photograph is handled the same way.
Individual page-view statistics records are deleted after they have been combined into daily totals.

Account and Content Changes

Users may have tools to edit, withdraw or delete certain content depending on the type and status of the contribution.

Some information may need to be retained where appropriate for system integrity, security, legal obligations or preservation of the historical record.

Reports, Copyright Concerns and Requests for Review

NIPNews provides on-site mechanisms for reporting content and requesting review: Report / Request Review on a photograph, place, Event or contributor page.

Users may use those mechanisms for concerns involving accuracy, privacy, copyright or policy violations.

Where email verification is required for a report, the report must be verified before it enters the review process.

Security and Abuse Prevention

NIPNews may use technical and operational measures to protect accounts, prevent automated abuse, moderate content and protect the service.

These measures may include authentication controls, rate limits, automated screening and services such as bot-detection or challenge systems.

Changes to These Terms and Privacy Information

NIPNews may update its Terms, Privacy information and related policies as the service develops.

A routine editorial clarification to this public explanatory page does not by itself change the separately tracked Terms or Privacy version accepted by contributors.

Material changes to the actual Terms or Privacy terms must follow the applicable NIPNews versioning, approval and re-acceptance process.

Questions and Review

For practical contribution and content rules, see Policies & Guidelines.

For NIPNews’s mission and editorial approach, see About NIPNews.

For concerns about particular content, use the applicable NIPNews Report / Request Review mechanism.