Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 10, 2025

Pulse (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect about you when you use the Pulse website (the “Site”), how we use and share that information, and your rights and choices regarding your personal data. By using our Site or providing us with your information, you agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not use the Site.

We operate from offices in Washington, D.C. (USA) and London (UK), and we comply with applicable privacy laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), UK data protection laws, and relevant U.S. privacy laws.

Information We Collect

We collect limited personal information from and about users of our Site in two main ways: (1) information you provide to us voluntarily, and (2) information collected automatically as you interact with our Site.

• Information You Provide Voluntarily: The only personal information we actively collect from you is what you choose to provide. For example, if you subscribe to our newsletter, we will ask for your email address. If you contact us directly (such as via email or a contact form), we will collect any information you include in that communication (for example, your name, email address, and any other contact details or content you provide in your message). We do not require you to create an account to use the Site, and we do not have comment sections or user-generated content features, so you will not be asked to provide usernames, passwords, or public profile information.
• Information Collected Automatically: When you visit our Site, certain information is collected automatically about your device and usage of the Site via cookies and similar tracking technologies. This usage data may include:
  • Your device’s IP address (anonymized where required by law).
  • Browser type and settings, device type, and operating system.
  • The pages you visit on our Site, the time and date of your visits, and the amount of time spent on each page.
  • Referring website details (the link that led you to our Site, if applicable).
  • Other technical information collected by our analytics tools (described below).

We use cookies (small text files stored on your device) and third-party analytics services (specifically, Google Analytics) to gather this automatic information. For more details, see the Cookies and Analytics section of this Policy. This automatically collected data generally does not identify you by name, but it might be considered personal data in some jurisdictions (for example, IP addresses can be personal data under GDPR). We treat it as personal data if it can be used to identify or is otherwise linked to you.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

• To Provide Our Services: We use your information to operate and maintain the Site and to provide you with content. For instance, if you subscribe to our newsletter, we will use your email address to send you our email newsletters with insights, updates, or new content.
• To Communicate with You: If you contact us with a question or request, we will use your contact information to respond to you. We may also send administrative emails (for example, if we update our terms or privacy policy, or to confirm your newsletter subscription) or other communications you request.
• To Analyze and Improve our Site: We use data (particularly aggregated usage data from Google Analytics) to understand how users interact with our Site. This helps us analyze trends, administer and improve the website, and enhance the content and user experience. For example, knowing which articles or videos are most popular can guide us in producing more of the content our audience values.
• To Ensure Security and Prevent Misuse: We may use information (such as IP addresses or activity logs) to protect the security and integrity of our Site, our content, and our users. This includes detecting and preventing fraudulent or malicious activity, debugging and troubleshooting, and enforcing our Terms and Conditions.
• To Comply with Legal Obligations: In certain cases, we may need to process and retain your information to fulfill legal or regulatory requirements. For example, if law enforcement or regulatory authorities lawfully require us to preserve or disclose certain data, or if we need to retain information to resolve disputes or enforce our agreements.

We will not use your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with those listed above without obtaining your consent, unless otherwise permitted or required by law. We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR/UK Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we must have a legal basis to process your personal data under the GDPR or UK data protection law. We rely on the following legal bases:

• Consent: We process your email address for newsletter subscriptions based on your consent. When you enter your email and opt-in to receive our newsletter, you are giving us consent to use your email for that purpose. You have the right to withdraw this consent at any time (for example, by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any newsletter email, or by contacting us – see the Your Rights section below). We also rely on consent for non-essential cookies and analytics where required. When you first visit our Site, you may be presented with a cookies notice; by accepting analytics cookies, you consent to the processing of your usage data via those cookies.
• Legitimate Interests: We may process certain data about your visits to our Site (such as usage data collected by Google Analytics) on the basis of our legitimate interests in understanding how our website is used and in improving the content and services we offer. We have concluded that our legitimate interest in analytics does not override your rights and freedoms because we use this data in a limited manner (primarily aggregated, without identifying you personally, and with privacy safeguards like partial IP anonymization enabled). You can always opt out of or block analytics as described below if you prefer. We may also rely on legitimate interests to communicate with you when you contact us (it’s in our interest and yours to use your info to reply), and to secure our Site and prevent fraud.
• Legal Obligation: In cases where we need to comply with a legal obligation, we will process personal data on that basis. For example, if required to retain certain information for law enforcement, tax, or regulatory purposes, or to comply with a court order, our legal obligation would be the basis for processing.

If you have questions about the legal basis for any specific processing of your personal data, please contact us (see the Contact Us section at the end of this Policy).

Cookies and Analytics

Like many websites, we use cookies and similar technologies to collect usage data and improve our Site’s functionality. When you visit Pulse, we may place a few essential cookies on your device to enable site features (for example, to remember your cookie preferences). We also use analytics cookies provided by Google Analytics to understand how visitors engage with our Site.

What are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that websites send to your device (computer, tablet, smartphone) when you browse. Cookies are stored by your web browser and help remember information about your visit. Some cookies are “session cookies” (they expire when you close your browser), while others are “persistent cookies” (they remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them).

How We Use Cookies:

• Essential Cookies: These are necessary for the Site to function and cannot be switched off. (For instance, if we have a cookie consent tool, it may use a cookie to save your preferences so you’re not repeatedly asked the same question.) We do not use any cookies for advertising or to collect sensitive personal data.
• Analytics Cookies: We use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC, which sets cookies to collect anonymous traffic data. This includes information like how many users visit the Site, which pages they visit, how long they stay, and what site referred them. Google Analytics uses this information to provide us with reports and analysis about how our site is used. We use these insights purely to improve our content and user experience. We have configured Google Analytics to anonymize IP addresses in the data it collects (which means Google truncates your IP address, reducing the ability to identify you).

Google Analytics:
The information generated by Google Analytics cookies about your use of our Site (which may include your truncated IP address and usage details) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States or other countries. Google uses this information on our behalf to evaluate use of the Site and compile reports for us. Google may also use this data for its own purposes according to its privacy policy. You can learn more about how Google collects and processes data by visiting Google’s Privacy Policy and Google Analytics’ data practices.

Your Choices for Cookies:
When you first visit our Site, you may see a banner or notice asking you to consent to the use of cookies (other than strictly necessary cookies). If you choose to opt out of analytics cookies at that time, Google Analytics will not be activated. Even after consenting, you can always manage or disable cookies through your browser settings. Most web browsers allow you to refuse new cookies, delete existing cookies, or notify you when new cookies are set. Please note that blocking certain cookies (like the analytics cookies) will not affect the core functionality of our Site; it will simply make our usage analysis less accurate.

Additionally, Google offers a Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on that you can install to prevent your browser from sending information to Google Analytics. Using this tool will opt you out of analytics on all websites that use Google Analytics, including ours.

Data Sharing and Disclosure

We understand the importance of keeping your personal information private. We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties. We only share your information in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers: We may share information with third-party service providers and partners who help us operate the Site or provide our services. These include, for example:
  • Email Newsletter Services: If we use an email service provider (such as Mailchimp, SendGrid, or similar) to manage and send our newsletters, your email address will be stored and processed by that provider solely for the purpose of sending you the Pulse newsletter. We ensure such providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and only use it for our specified purposes.
  • Website Hosting and Maintenance: Our website might be hosted by a third-party hosting company, and our email or contact form submissions might be handled by email service providers. Those companies may process data (like server logs or email content) on our behalf in the course of providing their services. They are not allowed to use your information for anything other than assisting us with the operation of the Site.
  • Analytics Providers: As noted, we use Google Analytics to collect and process usage data. Google acts as a processor of data on our behalf. We have a data processing agreement with Google to help safeguard the personal data of our users. Google may also use data for its own purposes as described in its privacy policy, but it does not receive directly identifying personal information like your name or email through our use of Analytics.
• Affiliates and Related Entities: Pulse operates from the U.S. and the U.K., and if we have affiliated or parent companies (for example, a media group or nonprofit organization that operates Pulse), we may share information within our family of related entities. Any such entity will honor the terms of this Privacy Policy to protect your information. (Currently, all operations are under “Pulse”, and we simply note our offices in DC and London for transparency.)
• Legal Requirements and Protection of Rights: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or if we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to:
  • Comply with a legal obligation, law enforcement request, or court order.
  • Protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of Pulse, our employees, or our users.
  • Investigate or assist in preventing any violation of law or our Terms and Conditions, including potential fraud or security issues.
• Business Transfers: If Pulse is involved in a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or other business transaction, your information may be transferred to the successor or new owner as part of that deal. If such a transfer occurs, we will ensure that your personal data remains subject to protections consistent with this Privacy Policy, and we will notify you (for example, by posting a prominent notice on the Site or via email) if any significant changes to the Policy will be needed as a result of the business change.

Aside from the situations above, we will not share your personal information with third parties unless we have your explicit consent to do so. Whenever we share data with service providers or other third parties, we take reasonable steps to ensure they are bound to confidentiality and data protection obligations consistent with this Policy and applicable law.

Data Retention

We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.

• Newsletter Emails: If you subscribe to our newsletter, we will retain your email address and subscription preferences until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete your information. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in any newsletter email or by contacting us directly. If you unsubscribe, we will remove you from the mailing list promptly. (Please note that we may keep a record of your email address on a suppression or “do not contact” list to ensure we honor your request not to receive emails.) We may also retain records of the consent you gave when subscribing, as required to demonstrate compliance with applicable laws.
• Communications: If you contact us or correspond with us (for example, via email), we may retain those communications and our responses for a period of time that is reasonably necessary to handle your request, provide you with support, and for our internal record-keeping. Unless a longer retention period is required by law, emails and contact form submissions are typically retained only as long as needed to address your inquiry and then routinely deleted or archived securely.
• Analytics Data: Data collected via Google Analytics and other cookies is retained as long as necessary for our analysis purposes. We have set our Google Analytics data retention settings to automatically delete user-level and event-level data that is associated with cookies, user identifiers, or advertising identifiers after [14 months]. (This means that information about your site visits is automatically purged on a rolling basis.) We may retain aggregate, non-identifiable data (for example, statistics about overall website traffic) indefinitely, as this data contains no personal information.
• Legal Compliance and Protection: We may need to retain certain information for longer periods if required by law or if necessary to resolve disputes or enforce our agreements. For instance, if we receive a legal order to preserve data or if we are involved in litigation, we will retain relevant information until the matter is resolved. Also, if you exercise your right to deletion under GDPR or other laws, we will keep basic information to record your request and our response for accountability, as required.

Once the retention period expires or the purpose of processing has been fulfilled, we will securely erase, anonymize, or aggregate your personal information so that it can no longer be associated with you. If deletion or anonymization is not immediately possible (for example, because the data is stored in backup archives), we will ensure the data is securely stored and isolated from further use until it can be deleted.

Data Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the security of your personal information. Pulse implements a variety of technical and organizational security measures to help safeguard your data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These measures include:

• Using secure server environments with firewalls and intrusion detection systems to protect our website and any stored data.
• Employing encryption (such as SSL/TLS) to protect data transmissions on sensitive parts of the Site (for example, our newsletter signup form or any contact form is protected via HTTPS encryption to prevent eavesdropping).
• Limiting access to personal data to authorized personnel and service providers who need it to perform their work, and ensuring they are subject to confidentiality obligations.
• Regularly updating and patching software, and monitoring our systems for potential vulnerabilities and attacks.

However, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. You share information with us at your own risk. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us or your data might no longer be secure (for example, if you suspect a security breach), please contact us immediately so we can investigate and address the issue.

Your Rights and Choices

You have rights and choices regarding the personal information we hold about you. We are committed to providing you with access to your data and the ability to exercise your rights in accordance with applicable privacy laws.

General Rights (Applicable to Many Users):

• Access and Correction: You have the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you and to receive an explanation of how we use it. You also have the right to request correction of any inaccurate or incomplete personal data. For example, if you believe we have an incorrect email address for you, you can ask us to update it.
• Deletion (Right to be Forgotten): You can request that we delete your personal information. For instance, if you no longer want us to hold your email address, you can ask us to remove it from our systems. We will honor deletion requests to the extent required by law. (Please note there may be situations where we must retain certain information for legal reasons – we will inform you if any such exception applies.) If you unsubscribe from our newsletter, as noted, your email will be removed from our active mailing list.
• Withdrawal of Consent: If we are processing your personal data based on your consent (e.g., sending newsletters or using analytics cookies), you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal. You can withdraw consent by unsubscribing from emails or adjusting your cookie preferences (see the Cookies and Analytics section above) or by contacting us.
• Objection to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data in certain situations. For example, you can object to the use of your data for direct marketing (though we currently do not use data for marketing beyond sending the requested newsletter). You can also object to processing done under legitimate interests (for instance, you might object to analytics tracking). In some cases, we may have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing (such as security or legal obligations), but we will consider and respond to any objection you raise.
• Restriction of Processing: You can ask us to restrict or pause the processing of your personal information if you contest its accuracy, or if you believe our processing is unlawful or no longer needed, or if you have objected to processing and are awaiting verification of our legitimate grounds. When processing is restricted, your data will just be stored and not otherwise used until the issue is resolved.
• Data Portability: To the extent applicable, you have the right to data portability. This means you can request a copy of certain personal information in a commonly used, machine-readable format (e.g., a CSV file) and have the right to transmit that data to another controller. This right mostly applies to data you provided to us directly (such as your email address) and that we process by automated means based on your consent or a contract. If you request, and it’s technically feasible, we will transmit your data directly to another organization at your direction.

Additional Rights for California Residents:
If you are a resident of California, you are protected by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and other state privacy laws. In addition to the rights listed above (many of which overlap with CCPA rights), you have the right to:

• Know What Personal Information We Collect and Disclose: You can request that we disclose the categories of personal information we have collected about you, the categories of sources of that information, the business or commercial purpose for collecting it, the categories of third parties with whom we share it, and the specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months. (In general, for Pulse, the categories are very limited: identifiers like your email, and internet activity information from cookies.) You also have the right to know if we have disclosed or sold your personal information to any third party. Pulse does not sell personal information to third parties for monetary value or for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we only disclose information to our service providers for business purposes as described in this Policy.
• Deletion (CCPA): You can request that we delete any personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions (such as if the information is needed to complete a transaction, detect security incidents, comply with legal obligations, etc.). As noted above, we will delete the information we hold about you upon verified request, to the extent permitted by law.
• No Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. This means, for example, we will not deny you our services, charge you a different price, or provide a different level of service just because you exercised your privacy rights. Since our Site is free and does not sell anything, there is no difference in service to provide.

If you would like to exercise any of your rights as described above, please contact us using the information in the Contact section. For security, we may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests (for instance, we may ask you to confirm your email address or provide additional information to ensure you are the account holder of the email in question). For California requests, you may also designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf; we will need proof that the agent is authorized and may still require you to verify your identity directly.

Accessing and Updating Your Information: Because we collect minimal personal data, you generally can manage your information directly: for example, you can unsubscribe yourself from the newsletter at any time to remove your email from our list. If you need assistance or wish to exercise any other rights, just reach out to us. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe, and in any case within the timeframes required by law (e.g., within 30 days for GDPR requests, and within 45 days for CCPA requests, with the possibility of an extension under certain circumstances).

Right to Lodge a Complaint: If you believe we have infringed your privacy rights or violated privacy laws, you have the right to complain to a data protection authority.

• For EU/EEA users: You can contact the supervisory authority in the EU member state where you live, work, or where you believe the breach occurred.
• For UK users: You can file a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
• For other regions (including the U.S.): You can contact your state’s Attorney General’s office or relevant consumer protection agency.

Of course, we would appreciate the chance to address your concerns directly first. We encourage you to contact us with any questions or issues, and we will do our best to resolve them.

Distribution via Google News & Apple News

We distribute content on third-party platforms such as Google News and Apple News. When you view our content there, those companies may collect information under their own privacy policies. We receive only aggregate, anonymous engagement reports from these platforms and do not receive your personal identifiers from them. For details, see Google’s and Apple’s privacy notices.

International Data Transfers

Pulse operates from the United States and the United Kingdom, and the infrastructure (such as servers or service providers we use) may be located in various countries. This means that your information may be transferred to, stored, or processed in a country different from your home country. Specifically, if you are outside the United States, be aware that the personal data we collect will likely be transferred to and processed in the United States (where our main operations are) and/or in the United Kingdom. The data may also pass through or be stored by cloud service providers in other jurisdictions (for example, if our website hosting or email service is in another country).

While data protection laws vary by country, we will take steps to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place to protect your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we will rely on appropriate legal transfer mechanisms for any transfer of your personal data to countries which are not deemed by the European Commission (or UK authorities) to provide an adequate level of data protection. Such mechanisms may include:

• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): We may incorporate standard data protection clauses approved by the European Commission (for EU data) or the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement/Addendum (for UK data) into our contracts with third parties who handle EEA/UK personal data, to ensure that your data receives the same protection as it would in Europe.
• Privacy Shield (Historical): While the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield framework was invalidated for EU transfers, a similar framework or successor (such as the forthcoming Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework, if it becomes effective) might apply for transfers to the U.S. We will adhere to any such approved frameworks for data transfer, if applicable.
• Your Consent or Other Bases: In some cases, we may rely on your explicit consent to transfer data (for example, if you initiate a request that inherently requires sending your data to a third country), or other permitted derogations under Article 49 of the GDPR where appropriate.

By using our Site or signing up for our newsletter, you understand that your personal information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Policy, which may be located in countries different from your own. We will strive to ensure any international transfers comply with applicable laws and that your data remains protected.

If you have questions about our international data practices, please contact us. We can provide more information on the specific transfer mechanisms used to secure your personal data in cross-border transfers.

Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of minors is important to us. Our Site and content are not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years old. If you are under 13, please do not use our Site or provide any personal information (such as your name or email address) to us.

If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal data from a child under 13, we will take immediate steps to delete that information from our records. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can investigate and remove the data if necessary.

For teens between 13 and 16 years old: if you are in a jurisdiction (like certain EU countries) that requires parental consent for us to process your data, please ensure that your parent or guardian has reviewed and consented to your use of our Site. We do not specifically target anyone under 16 for any processing of personal data beyond what is necessary to respond to a direct request (and by using the site without providing personal info, no data of a personal nature should be collected aside from possibly IP address via analytics).

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technologies, legal requirements, or other factors. When we update the Policy, we will change the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. If the changes are significant, we will provide a more prominent notice (for example, by posting a notice on our homepage or, if you are a newsletter subscriber, by email notification).

We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of the Site after any changes to this Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated terms of the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the changes, you should stop using the Site and, if applicable, unsubscribe from our communications.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us. We are here to help and will respond to your inquiry as soon as reasonably possible.

Contact Information:
Email: info@pulse.us.com
(For privacy-specific inquiries or to exercise any of your data rights, emailing us is usually the fastest way to reach us.)

Mailing Addresses:

• Pulse – Privacy Office (USA)
  Washington, D.C., USA
• Pulse – Privacy Office (UK)
  London United Kingdom

(The above addresses are provided for written correspondence. You may address any privacy or data protection queries to “Privacy Officer” at the given address.)

We value your privacy and will do our utmost to address any questions or concerns you have. Thank you for reading our Privacy Policy and for trusting Pulse with your information. Your use of our Site is greatly appreciated, and we are committed to keeping your personal data safe and respecting your privacy rights.