Welcome to PopTopNews.com (“Pop Top News,” “we,” “our,” “us”). Our mission is to deliver timely news, commentary, and features on Korean actors, K-pop idols, K-dramas, and the wider Hallyu wave. Safeguarding your personal data is central to that mission. This Privacy Policy explains—clearly and in depth—what information we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and the choices and rights available to you.
2. Definitions
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Personal data / personal information | Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. |
| Processing | Any operation performed on personal data (collection, storage, use, disclosure, deletion, etc.). |
| Controller | The entity that determines the purposes and means of processing personal data. Here, that’s PopTopNews.com. |
| GDPR | EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679). |
| CCPA / CPRA | California Consumer Privacy Act / California Privacy Rights Act. |
| TTDPA | German Telecommunications-Telemedia Data Protection Act (§ 25). |
3. Scope
This Policy applies to:
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Web: www.poptopnews.com (including all sub-domains).
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Mobile App: “Pop Top News – K-Celebs & Dramas” for Android.
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Emails & Newsletters we send to subscribers.
It does not cover third-party sites or services we merely link to (e.g., streaming platforms or fan-merch stores). Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.
4. What Data We Collect
4.1. Data Automatically Collected (Server Logs)
When you visit, our servers capture:
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IP address
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Browser, OS, and device type
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ISP or carrier
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Date/time of each request
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Referring & exit pages
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Pages visited, clicks, and scroll depth (aggregated)
These log files are essential for security (e.g., DDoS mitigation), diagnostics, and aggregate analytics. They do notidentify you by name.
4.2. Cookies & Similar Technologies
| Category | Example Purpose | Legal Basis* |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Session cookies that keep you logged in or remember consent choices | Art. 6 (1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest) |
| Preferences | Dark-mode toggle; show Hangul or Romanised names by default | Art. 6 (1)(f) |
| Analytics | Understand which K-drama recaps are most read | Art. 6 (1)(a) (consent) |
| Advertising | Cap ad frequency, measure ad performance | Art. 6 (1)(a) |
* Whenever the GDPR demands consent (e.g., analytics or ad-personalisation cookies), we request it via our cookie banner before setting such cookies (§ 25 (1) TTDPA).
DoubleClick / DART cookies (served by WordPress.com Ads) tailor ads based on your prior visits to PopTopNews.com and other sites. Opt out at https://wordpress.com/privacy_ads.html.
Google ad-personalisation opt-out: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads.
You can also disable cookies any time via your browser settings. Note that essential site functions may break if you block strictly-necessary cookies.
4.3. Information You Provide Voluntarily
| Scenario | Data | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Commenting on an article | Display name, email, optional avatar & URL | Publish your comment, moderate spam |
| Contacting us | Name, email, message contents | Respond to inquiries |
| Newsletter sign-up | Email address | Send K-culture round-ups & breaking alerts |
| Giveaway / poll | Name, email, social handle, postal address (if prizes shipped) | Administer contest, announce winners |
We never request sensitive data (race, health, biometrics, etc.)—please do not post such information in public comment fields.
4.4. Data from Third-Party Sources
If you sign in or comment using a social-login (e.g., Google or Facebook), we receive the public profile information that provider makes available. Exactly what is shared depends on your social-platform settings and permissions you grant during login.
5. How & Why We Use Your Data
| Purpose | Examples | Legal Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Service delivery | Show article pages, remember reading preferences | Art. 6 (1)(b) GDPR (performance of contract) |
| Site analytics | Count unique visitors to a specific idol profile | Art. 6 (1)(a) (consent) |
| Advertising | Display K-beauty ads relevant to your interests | Art. 6 (1)(a) |
| Security & fraud prevention | Block brute-force attacks, detect spam comments | Art. 6 (1)(f) |
| User engagement | Send newsletter you’ve subscribed to | Art. 6 (1)(b) or (a) |
| Legal obligations | Maintain records to comply with tax or consumer laws | Art. 6 (1)(c) |
We do not engage in automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you (GDPR Art. 22).
6. Advertising & Analytics Partners
6.1. WordPress.com Ads / DoubleClick (Automatic Inc.)
Provides display ads and uses DART cookies to personalise them. Opt-out links are in Section 4.2.
6.2. Microsoft Clarity
With your consent (§ 25 (1) TTDPA) we deploy Microsoft Clarity to record anonymised session replays and heat maps showing how far readers scroll, where they pause, and what UI elements they click. Sensitive input fields (e.g., comment text) are automatically masked. Data may be processed on Microsoft servers in the USA. Details: https://clarity.microsoft.com.
6.3. YouTube Embeds
We use a two-click solution: no data is sent to YouTube until you manually activate the embedded player. Once enabled, Google sets cookies that may process data in the USA. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
7. Disclosure of Personal Data
We disclose personal data only:
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To service providers (hosting, content-delivery networks, email automation, analytics, ad networks) strictly as needed to operate the site.
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When required by law (court order, subpoena, or similar legal process).
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If Pop Top News is acquired or merges: personal data would transfer to the successor entity under the same privacy commitments.
We do not sell personal information in the sense defined by the CCPA / CPRA.
8. International Transfers
Our primary servers are located in Germany, but some partners (e.g., Microsoft, Google) may process data in the United States or other non-EU jurisdictions. Where we transfer data out of the EEA/UK, we rely on:
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Adequacy decisions (Art. 45 GDPR), or
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Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46 GDPR) plus supplementary safeguards.
9. Data Retention
| Data Category | Typical Retention Period |
|---|---|
| Server logs | 30 days (unless needed to investigate security incidents) |
| Cookie identifiers | See individual cookie’s expiration (shown in our cookie banner) |
| Newsletter list | Until you unsubscribe or we receive bounce reports |
| Comments | Indefinitely (they are part of the public record of the article) |
| Contest entries | Up to 3 months after winners confirmed (for audit) |
We may retain backups for longer where legally required or for legitimate interests (e.g., fraud prevention).
10. Data Security
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HTTPS with TLS 1.3 across the entire domain
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Firewalls and rate-limiting on origin servers
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Daily malware scans and automated patch management
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Role-based access controls; staff accounts protected by MFA
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Encrypted off-site backups
No method of transmission or storage is 100 % secure, but we follow industry best practices to minimise risks.
11. Your Rights
Under the GDPR (EEA & UK)
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Access – Obtain a copy of personal data we hold.
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Rectification – Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
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Erasure – “Right to be forgotten” in certain circumstances.
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Restriction – Limit processing under specified grounds.
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Portability – Receive data in a machine-readable format.
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Objection – Object to processing based on legitimate interests or direct marketing.
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Withdraw consent – At any time, without affecting prior lawful processing.
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Lodge a complaint – With your local supervisory authority.
Under CCPA / CPRA (California Residents)
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Right to know categories of data collected, sources, purposes, and third-party disclosures.
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Right to delete personal data.
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Right to correct inaccurate personal data.
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Right to opt out of “sharing” for cross-context behavioural advertising.
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Right to non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights.
Exercising Your Rights
Email contact[at]poptopnews.com with the subject line “Privacy Request” and:
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Identify yourself (so we can verify residency and identity).
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Specify which right(s) you wish to exercise.
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Provide any relevant context (e.g., “please delete my newsletter subscription”).
We will acknowledge within 10 days and respond substantively within 30 days (GDPR) or 45 days (CCPA), unless an extension is lawful and necessary.
12. Children’s Privacy
PopTopNews.com is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age defined by local law). We do not knowingly collect personal data from such minors. If you believe we have inadvertently done so, contact us and we will promptly delete the data.
13. External Links
Our pages may link to fan forums, ticket vendors, streaming platforms, and social-media threads. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external sites.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect legal, technical, or business developments (e.g., launching a TikTok integration). When we do, we will:
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Post the new version here with a revised “Last updated” date.
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Where required, seek your renewed consent for material changes.
Continued use of PopTopNews.com after an update signifies acceptance of the revised Policy.
15. Contact Us
PopTopNews.com
Email: contact[at]poptopnews.com
(We typically respond within 48 hours, Monday–Friday, Seoul Standard Time.)
If you are an EU resident, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority. For Germany (our principal place of establishment), that is the Berliner Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit.
Thank you for trusting Pop Top News for your Korean entertainment updates. Your privacy enables us to keep bringing you the latest on comebacks, casting scoops, and K-culture trends.