Privacy Policy

Black Girl Support Group is an emerging media platform and cultural brand built around the lives, perspectives, and experiences of Black women.

BGSG may operate across social media, written content, podcasts, events, community initiatives, original media, and other creative projects.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected through BGSG.co and other BGSG-controlled digital experiences that link to this Privacy Policy.

Third-party websites and platforms – including social media platforms, podcast platforms, Substack, and other services – may have their own privacy policies and terms. Your interactions with those platforms are governed by their respective policies.

Depending on how you interact with BGSG, we may collect the following categories of information.

Information You Provide Directly

You may provide information when you:

• Become a BGSG member
• Submit a question, topic, story, request for advice, or other community submission
• Submit a podcast topic or potential guest suggestion
• Contact BGSG
• Submit a partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, or other business inquiry
• Submit a press inquiry
• Subscribe to BGSG email communications
• Sign up for future newsletters or other communications
• Participate in BGSG events, programs, surveys, or initiatives
• Communicate with BGSG through email, social media, or other channels

This information may include:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Social media handles
• Subject or inquiry
• Community submissions
• Questions, stories, opinions, experiences, or other information you choose to provide
• Information relating to a potential collaboration, partnership, sponsorship, or press request
• Any other information you voluntarily submit

Some forms may allow you to submit information anonymously. When you choose an anonymous submission option, BGSG will not require identifying information as part of that submission.

However, information submitted through third-party platforms or technical systems may still be subject to those platforms’ own data practices.

BGSG may allow visitors and members to submit:

• Questions
• Requests for advice
• Personal stories
• Topics for discussion
• Podcast ideas
• Podcast guest suggestions
• Other ideas, experiences, or perspectives

As described on the website, submissions may be made anonymously or with your name.

Submitting content does not guarantee that BGSG will publish, discuss, feature, reproduce, or otherwise use the submission.

If you submit information that you choose to have associated with your name, we may use your name and submission in connection with BGSG content if you have provided the appropriate permission or otherwise authorized that use.

Please do not submit confidential information, highly sensitive personal information, or information belonging to another person unless you have the right to do so.

When you visit BGSG.co, certain information may be collected automatically by the website or by services used to operate the website.

This may include:

• IP address
• Browser type
• Device type
• Operating system
• Pages viewed
• Referring website
• Date and time of visits
• General usage information
• Technical information about how you interact with the website

This information may be used to operate, maintain, secure, analyze, and improve the website and its functionality.

BGSG may use cookies, pixels, analytics tools, tags, or similar technologies in the future.

These technologies may be used to:

• Operate website functionality
• Remember preferences
• Understand how visitors use the website
• Measure website performance
• Improve the BGSG website and user experience
• Understand the effectiveness of BGSG content and campaigns
• Support advertising, marketing, or analytics activities where applicable

Third-party services integrated into the website may also use cookies or similar technologies according to their own privacy policies.

Where required by applicable law, BGSG will provide appropriate notice and choices regarding cookies and similar technologies.

BGSG may use information we collect to:

• Operate and maintain BGSG.co
• Process membership registrations
• Maintain BGSG community records
• Respond to questions and inquiries
• Review and manage community submissions
• Consider submissions for future BGSG content
• Communicate with members
• Send requested information
• Send newsletters and editorial communications
• Send updates about BGSG projects, podcasts, events, and initiatives
• Send promotional or marketing communications where permitted and where you have provided the required consent
• Send SMS communications where permitted and where you have provided the required consent
• Respond to partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, and press inquiries
• Operate podcasts, written content, events, and other BGSG projects
• Understand audience interests and engagement
• Improve our content, website, community, and services
• Conduct analytics and research
• Prevent fraud, abuse, and unauthorized activity
• Protect the security of BGSG and its users
• Comply with legal obligations
• Enforce our Terms of Use and other policies

If you choose to receive email communications from BGSG, we may send you:

• Membership-related communications
• Newsletters
• Editorial content
• Podcast updates
• Event announcements
• BGSG project updates
• Promotional or marketing communications
• Other communications relating to BGSG

You may unsubscribe from marketing or promotional emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in the communication or by contacting us at:

contact@bgsg.co

Unsubscribing from marketing communications does not necessarily prevent us from sending administrative, transactional, security-related, or other communications necessary to operate a service you have requested.

If BGSG offers SMS communications in the future, phone numbers may be collected for that purpose.

Where required by law, BGSG will obtain the appropriate consent before sending marketing or other messages through SMS.

SMS communications may include:

• Membership updates
• Event information
• Podcast or content updates
• Promotional communications
• Other BGSG-related messages

Message frequency may vary.

Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier and plan.

You may opt out of SMS communications at any time by following the instructions provided in the messages, including replying with an applicable opt-out keyword such as “STOP,” where supported.

Consent to receive marketing text messages is not a condition of purchasing goods or services.

If you provide your phone number but do not affirmatively opt in to SMS marketing or other optional text communications, BGSG will not treat the mere submission of a phone number as consent to receive marketing text messages.

BGSG may offer membership or community registration through BGSG.co.

Membership information may include:

• First name
• Last name
• Email address
• Phone number, if provided
• Social media handles, if requested
• Communication preferences
• Other information voluntarily provided through the membership form

Membership information may be used to maintain the BGSG community, communicate with members, provide updates, and develop future BGSG initiatives.

Membership does not necessarily create an individual user account or password-based account unless BGSG introduces such functionality in the future.

BGSG may use third-party companies and service providers to help operate the website, communications, community, marketing, analytics, and other aspects of the business.

These providers may include services used for:

• Website hosting
• Website management
• Data storage
• Customer relationship management
• Email marketing
• Newsletter distribution
• SMS communications
• Analytics
• Event registration
• Payment processing
• Advertising
• Social media management
• Form processing
• Security
• Other business and technical functions

These third parties may process information on BGSG’s behalf as necessary to provide their services.

We may update the third-party services we use as BGSG grows.

Third-party providers may have their own privacy policies governing their handling of information.

BGSG maintains accounts and may publish content on third-party platforms including, but not limited to, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook, Pinterest, Snapchat, Bluesky, Substack, and other platforms.

If you interact with BGSG through these platforms, information may be collected directly by the applicable platform.

BGSG does not control the privacy practices of third-party platforms.

Your interactions with those platforms are governed by their respective privacy policies and terms of use.

BGSG may operate a Substack publication, podcast, YouTube channel, and other media properties.

If you subscribe to or interact with these services, the applicable third-party platform may collect and process information according to its own privacy policy.

If BGSG receives information from those services, we may use that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

If you contact BGSG regarding a partnership, sponsorship, collaboration, or other business opportunity, we may collect information such as:

• Name
• Email address
• Phone number
• Company or organization
• Subject
• Inquiry details
• Other information voluntarily provided

This information may be stored within BGSG’s website or backend systems and used to evaluate and respond to the inquiry.

Press inquiries may be submitted through BGSG.co and may be routed to BGSG’s public relations representative, Forte PR.

Press inquiries may be stored within BGSG’s website or backend systems for internal records and may also be transmitted to Forte PR for purposes of responding to the inquiry.

BGSG may share information:

• With service providers that help us operate BGSG
• With email, SMS, CRM, analytics, hosting, payment, or other technology providers
• With professional advisors where reasonably necessary
• With public relations representatives or other authorized representatives
• With business partners where necessary to facilitate a requested collaboration or initiative
• When required by law
• In response to valid legal process
• To protect the rights, property, safety, or security of BGSG, our users, or others
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, sale of assets, or other business transaction

BGSG does not intend to sell personal information as a standalone mailing list.

Information you voluntarily submit for public use may be published or shared through BGSG platforms.

For example, a community submission may be selected for discussion in a podcast, social media post, written piece, event, or other BGSG content if appropriate authorization has been provided.

Please consider carefully what information you choose to submit.

Anonymous submissions may be shared without identifying you, but BGSG cannot guarantee that information contained within an anonymous submission could never be used by another person to infer your identity.

BGSG may retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide services
• Maintain membership records
• Manage community submissions
• Communicate with users
• Maintain business and legal records
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce agreements
• Comply with legal obligations
• Protect the security and integrity of BGSG

Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the reason it was collected.

BGSG takes reasonable measures designed to protect information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

However, no website, database, electronic transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

You provide information to BGSG at your own risk.

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights regarding your personal information, including the ability to:

• Request access to certain personal information we maintain about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of certain information
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Opt out of marketing email communications
• Opt out of SMS marketing communications
• Exercise other rights available under applicable law

To make a privacy-related request, contact:

contact@bgsg.co

We may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests.

BGSG.co is not directed to children under the age of 13, and BGSG does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take reasonable steps to delete that information.

If you believe that a child under 13 has provided personal information to BGSG, please contact us at contact@bgsg.co.

BGSG may be accessed by individuals around the world.

If you access BGSG from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored in, or processed in the United States or other locations where BGSG or its service providers operate.

Privacy protections in those locations may differ from those in your country.

BGSG may update this Privacy Policy from time to time as the organization, website, technology, and services develop.

When we make changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.

Your continued use of BGSG.co after an updated Privacy Policy is posted means that you acknowledge the updated policy.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how BGSG handles personal information, please contact:

Black Girl Support Group
contact@bgsg.co