Privacy Policy

This is our privacy policy in plain language. No legalese, no 47-page documents, no tricks. Here's what we do and don't do with your information.

The short version

• We don't sell your data. Not now, not ever.
• We don't share your personal information with advertisers.
• Obituary content you create belongs to you.
• We use cookies for analytics and limited advertising measurement — to understand how people use the site and to support the free service.
• We collect the minimum information needed to provide the service.

What information we collect

Information you provide

When you use our obituary writer or create a memorial page, you provide information about yourself and the person being memorialized — names, dates, biographical details, and similar content. We store this to create and display the obituary you've written.

If you create an account, we collect your email address and a password. That's it. No phone number, no home address, no social security number.

Information collected automatically

Like virtually every website, we collect basic technical information when you visit:

• Pages you visit and when
• Your browser type and device type
• Your approximate location (country/region level, not street address)
• How you found us (search engine, direct link, etc.)

We use this to understand traffic patterns and improve the site. We don't use it to identify or track individual people.

Cookies

We use cookies for:

• Essential functionality — keeping you logged in, remembering your preferences
• Analytics — understanding which pages are useful and which aren't
• Advertising measurement — if display ads are active, ad partners may use cookies or similar technologies to measure ad delivery and prevent abuse

Display ads, when active, are intended to be limited and respectful. We do not share obituary-submission details, memorial-tree checkout details, guestbook messages, or buyer information with advertisers. Ad partners may receive standard technical signals such as page URL, browser/device information, approximate location, and ad interaction data under their own policies.

If you block cookies, the site will still work — you just might need to log in more often, and ads or analytics may be less personalized or less accurately measured.

How we use your information

We use your information to:

• Create, store, and display the obituaries and memorial pages you write
• Send you emails you've asked for (account notifications, not marketing spam)
• Improve the site based on how people use it
• Measure and operate limited display advertising that helps keep the core obituary service free
• Prevent abuse and spam

That's the complete list. We don't sell your information to data brokers, and we don't share private obituary-creation, checkout, or account details with advertisers.

Who we share information with

Published obituaries are public. When you publish an obituary on our site, the content is visible to anyone who visits the page or finds it through search engines. That's the point — obituaries are meant to be read.

Beyond published content, we share your information with:

• Service providers who help us run the site (hosting, email delivery, analytics). They're bound by contracts not to use your data for their own purposes.
• Advertising partners if display ads are active. They may process standard ad-delivery signals, but they do not receive the private information you submit to create obituaries, sign guestbooks, or buy memorial trees from us.
• Law enforcement if legally required (subpoena, court order). We'd resist overly broad requests.

We don't share your information with anyone else.

Your obituary content

You own what you write. The obituary content you create on OfficialObituary.com belongs to you. You can edit it, delete it, or copy it anywhere you want. By publishing it on our site, you give us permission to display it — but the content is yours.

If you want an obituary removed from our site, contact us and we'll take it down. No argument, no hoops to jump through.

Data security

We use standard security practices to protect your information: encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure data storage, and access controls. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what you've trusted us with.

Children's privacy

Our service is not intended for children under 13. We don't knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we'll remove it.

Changes to this policy

If we make significant changes, we'll update this page and note the date. We won't suddenly start selling your data and bury the change in fine print. If our practices change in any meaningful way, we'll be upfront about it.

Contact us

Questions about privacy? Email us at [email protected].