← Back to the site
Privacy & Advertising
Last updated: August 12, 2026 · This is a plain-English summary template. Have it reviewed by a qualified attorney before launch.
The short version: This site uses cookies and analytics (including approximate location from your IP address) to operate and to support the site with advertising. Free help is always available whether or not you interact with anything here. We never sell your information, and we never share the fact that you visited an addiction-related page for anyone else's advertising. You can opt out at any time — see “Your choices” below.
Who we are
This website is an advertising-supported information and community resource about substance use and recovery. We are not a treatment provider, and we do not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. For free, confidential help any time, call SAMHSA at 1-800-662-4357 or dial 988.
Information we collect
- Analytics data: a first-party session cookie, a visitor identifier, your approximate location derived from your IP address (city/region/country and network/ISP), and technical details your browser provides — device type, operating system, browser, screen size, language, time zone, and the pages you view. This first-party analytics data stays with us; it is not sold or handed to third parties for their advertising.
- Your IP address, used to derive approximate location and to protect the site from abuse. You can ask us to store it in anonymized form.
- Things you type only when you choose to send them (for example, subscribing to the newsletter). The self-check tool is scored entirely in your browser and its answers are never transmitted to us.
How we use it
To understand how many people we help and where they come from, to improve the site, and to support the site with advertising. We do not use your information to make decisions about your health or eligibility for anything.
Your choices
- When you first visit, we show a notice that this site uses cookies and analytics. Continuing to use the site indicates your agreement, consistent with how most websites operate.
- To opt out: email privacy@sober.talk and we will stop analytics processing for you, or block cookies for this site in your browser settings. You can also clear this site's cookies at any time.
- Depending on where you live (for example California, Washington, Colorado, or the EU/UK), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your data, or to opt out of its sale or sharing. We do not sell or share your data for cross-context behavioral advertising. To exercise any right, email privacy@sober.talk.
- For ad personalization specifically, you can also use Google My Ad Center.
Sensitive health information
We understand that visiting a page about addiction is sensitive. We treat information suggesting you may be seeking help for substance use as consumer health data and do not disclose it to third parties for their own advertising, and we do not sell it. This is our commitment regardless of where you live, and reflects laws such as Washington's My Health My Data Act.
Advertising
We display ads from Google AdSense and sell clearly labeled sponsorships directly to licensed treatment providers and recovery-friendly brands. Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits; you can review and control this at myadcenter.google.com and Google Ads Settings. Sponsored placements are always labeled “Ad” or “Featured Partner,” and payment is a flat advertising fee — never a per-patient, per-call, or per-admission referral fee.
Data retention & security
Analytics events are retained for a limited period for reporting and then aged out. Data is stored in Microsoft Azure with encryption in transit and at rest. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.
Contact
Questions or requests: privacy@sober.talk.