Website Privacy Notice

Last updated: January 1, 2026

Milton Hershey School (“MHS,” “we”, “our”, or “us”) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this notice. This notice describes how we collect, process, retain, and disclose personal data about you when providing services to you through our websites, and services that link to this notice (our “Services”) and our practices for using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

This notice applies only to information we collect:

Through the Services.
In communications, including email, text, chat, and other electronic messages, between you and the Services.

It does not apply to information collected by:

Us offline or through any other means, including on any other website operated by MHS or any third party that does not link to this notice; or
Any third party, including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or through the Services. These third parties have their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to read before providing information on or through them.

We may provide additional or different privacy policies that are specific to certain features, services, or activities.

Please read this notice carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we treat it. By interacting with our Services or providing us with your information, you agree to the collection, use, and sharing of your information as described in this notice. This notice may change from time to time (see How We Retain Your Personal Data). Your continued use of the Services after we make changes as described here is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the notice periodically for updates.

Children’s and Minors’ Data

While our educational services are intended for children under the age of 13, our Services offered on are websites are not intended for, and we do not knowingly collect any personal data directly from, children under the age of 13. If we learn we have collected or received personal data from a child without verification of parental or guardian consent, we will delete that information.

The Personal Data That We Collect or Process

“Personal data” is information that identifies, relates to, or describes, directly or indirectly, you as an individual, such as your name, email address, telephone number, home address, or payment information (for example, account information such as name, postal address, and email address, social security number).

The types and categories of personal data we collect or process include:

Account and contact information, including name, address (such as home address, work address, or other address), email address, phone number, username, and other contact information you provide us, including information you provide to us when filling out forms on our websites. This includes, but is not limited to, information you provide at the time you apply for admission or employment, at the time you register for an event, at the time you update your student or alumni information, at the time you sign up for newsletters, at the time you post or submit any materials, and/or at the time you contact us.
Demographic information, including your age, gender, income level, education, or family or marital status, if you have consented to such information collection.
Location information, including general geographic location such as country, state or province, or city.
Device information, including your IP address, device identifiers, operating system and version, preferred language, hardware identifiers, browser type and settings, and other device information.
Identity document information, such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers, if you have provided us that information (which implies you have consented to such information collection).
Limited details of transactions you carry out through our third party payments system (currently Paypal), in order to process the transaction (e.g., a donation). Our third-party payment processor does not share full credit card numbers or CVV information with us.

If you are a California resident, to access our supplemental California privacy statement, visit: https://www.mhskids.org/ccpa-notice/ .

You also may provide information to be posted on public areas of the websites or transmitted to other users of the websites or third parties (collectively, “User Contributions”). Your User Contributions are posted on the websites and transmitted to others at your own risk. Although we may monitor certain pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of the websites with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.

Some of the information identified above may be considered sensitive data under certain laws. If required under applicable law, we will collect and process sensitive personal data only with your consent. If you choose not to provide or allow us to collect some information, we may not be able to provide you with requested features, services, or information.

We also collect:

Statistics or aggregated information. Statistical or aggregated data does not directly identify a specific person, but we may derive non-personal statistical or aggregated data from personal data. For example, we may aggregate personal data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Services feature.
Technical information. Technical information includes information about your internet connection and usage details about your interactions with the Services, such as clickstream information to, through, and from our Services (including date and time), products that you view or search for; page response times, download errors, length of your visits to certain pages, page interaction information (such as scrolling, clicks, and mouse-overs), or methods used to browse away from a page.

If we combine or connect non-personal statistical or technical data with personal data so that it directly or indirectly identifies an individual, we treat the combined information as personal information.

How We Collect Your Personal and Other Data

You Provide Information to Us

We collect information about you when you interact with our Services, such as when you create or update an account, participate in surveys, sweepstakes, contests, or promotions, or create, upload, or post content to the Services, including reviews, media such as photos, videos, or audio recordings.

Automatically Through Our Services

As you navigate through and interact with our Services, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect information that may include personal data. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, operating system, and browser type, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies including details of your interactions with our Services, such as traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data, and which resources and Services features that you access and use.

We may use these automatic collection technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party sites or other online services (behavioral tracking).

Using automatic collection technologies helps us to improve our Services and to deliver a better and more personalized experience.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:

A cookie is a small file placed on your device when you interact with the Services. You may refuse to accept or disable cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser or device. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain features of the Services. For more information see our Cookie Declaration.
Flash Cookies. Certain features of the websites may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from, and on the websites.
Web Beacons and Other Technologies. Some parts of the Services and our emails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit MHS, for example, to count users who have visited those parts or opened an email and for other related statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain content and verifying system and server integrity).
Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics and other provided by Google Inc. It uses cookies to collect, for example, information about the operating system and the browser that you use, your IP address, the website you previously accessed (referrer URL) and the date and time of your visit to the websites. On subsequent repeated visits to the websites, frequently used information is automatically displayed for you. We are able to track your usage patterns with the help of the cookies. The information generated by cookies about the use of the websites is transmitted to a Google server, which may be located within or outside of, the United States, and stored there. Google will use this information to evaluate your use of the websites. Google may transfer these rights to third parties insofar as it is required to do so by law or in order that data may be processed on Google’s behalf. By accepting this notice, you consent to the processing of your data by Google.
Google AdWords. The websites use the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third party websites (including Google) to previous visitors to the websites. It could mean that MHS advertises to previous visitors who haven’t completed a task on the websites, for example, partially completing a houseparent or employment application. This outreach could be in the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page, a site in the Google Display Network or via an email. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the websites. Any data collected will be used in accordance with this Privacy Notice and Google’s privacy policy. You can obtain information on how you can opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting http://www.google.com/settings/ads . Alternatively, you can opt out of a third-party vendor’s use of cookies by visiting http://optout.networkadvertising.org .
Facebook Pixels.We use Facebook pixel, which is an analytics tool that allows us to measure the effectiveness of our advertising by understanding the actions people take on the websites. We use the pixel data to make sure our ads are being shown to the right people and to build advertising audiences. We have a pixel code on the header of the websites. When someone visits the websites and takes an action (like completing a form), the Facebook pixel is triggered and reports this action. By using the websites, you consent to the processing of your data by Facebook.
Other Retargeting/Behavioral Advertising Providers.We use these tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use the websites. The information we collect may be associated with your personal information or we may collect information, including personal information, about your online activities over time and across different websites, apps, and other online services. We may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content, such as sending you an email to compete an application.

To the extent any of these automated technologies are considered a personal data sale, targeted advertising, or profiling, under applicable laws, depending on where you live, you may opt out from use of these automated technologies for such uses as described above or by contacting us directly with your request. Please note that some Services features may be unavailable as a result.

When you interact with the Services, there are third parties that may use automatic collection technologies to collect information about your or your device. These third parties include:

Analytics companies.
Your device manufacturer.
Your internet or mobile service provider.

These third parties may use tracking technologies to collect information about you when you use the Services. The information they collect may be associated with your personal data or they may collect information, including personal data, about your online activities over time and across different websites, apps, platforms, and other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content.

We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.

From Business Partners and Service Providers

We may receive personal data about you from other sources and combine that with information we collect directly from you. For example, we may obtain information about you from service providers that we engage to perform services on our behalf, such as email platform providers, admission enrollment services, employment application services, content delivery services, and analytics, security and anti-fraud services. We also may receive personal data from business partners that we engage to share consumer information with us, including your personal preferences and demographic information such as age, gender, and income level so that we can better provide you with a personalized experience, including personalized content, offers and services.

How We Use Your Information

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal data, to:

Provide you with the Services and any contents, features, information, products, or services that we make available through the Services.
Fulfill and manage other purposes for which you provide the information or express an interest. For example, information submitted on an employment application will be used to process your employment application and evaluate your candidacy.
Provide you with notices about your account, including expiration and renewal notices.
Improve our Services, including by analyzing your information and creating aggregated data derived from your information to develop, maintain, analyze, improve, optimize, measure, and report on our Services and their features and how users interact with them. Our analysis may include the use of technology like machine learning and large language models, which may include training these models or sharing with third parties for model training.
Carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection.
Notify you when Services updates are available and about changes to any products or services we offer or provide though them.
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
To allow you to participate in interactive features of our websites.
To provide advertisements to you.
For any other purpose with your consent.

The usage information we collect, whether connected to your personal data or not, helps us improve our Services and deliver a better and more personalized experience by enabling us to:

Estimate our audience sizes and usage patterns.
Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize the Services according to your individual needs and interests.
Speed up your searches.
Recognize you when you return to our Services.

We may also use your information to contact you about goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you do not want us to use your information in this way, please adjust your user preferences in your account profile. For more information, see Your Rights and Choices About Your Information.

Who We Disclose Your Information To

We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction.

We may also disclose personal data that we collect, or you provide as described in this notice:

To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our organization and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal data confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them.
To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of Milton Hershey School’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal data held by Milton Hershey School is among the assets transferred.
To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it. For example, if you provide us an email address to receive newsletters, we will transmit emails to that email address.
For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
With your consent.

We may also disclose your personal data:

To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
To enforce or apply our other terms or agreements, including for billing and collection purposes.
If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of our organization, our students, employer, or others.

Except as provided herein, personal information collected through the websites will not be sold or otherwise disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes.

No mobile information will be shared by us with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties unless required by law. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

Your Rights and Choices About Your Information

This section describes mechanisms you can use to control certain uses and disclosures of your information and rights you may have under state law, depending on where you live.

Advertising, marketing, cookies, and other tracking technologies choices:

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies or other tracking technology files, or to alert you when these files are being sent. You can choose whether or not to allow the Services to collect information through other tracking technologies by Cookie declaration. If you disable or refuse cookies or similar tracking files, some Services features may be inaccessible or not function properly. Some browsers include a “Do Not Track” (DNT) setting that can send a signal to the online services you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is not a common understanding of how to interpret the DNT signal, our Services may not respond to all browser DNT signals. Instead, you can use the range of other tools to control data collection and use, including the cookie controls and advertising controls described in this notice.
Email and Solicitations. When you contact us through certain forms on the websites, you may thereafter be added to our email list(s) to receive email messages. For example, if you contact us about employment, we may email you to provide you with information about MHS or current employment opportunities. At any time, you can choose to no longer receive such emails by using the “unsubscribe” method found at the bottom of each email or by sending us a return email stating your request.

You may also send us an email, give us a call, or write us a letter via the contact information of this privacy notice to specifically request to correct or delete any personal information that you have provided to us. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.

If you delete your User Contributions from the 3ebsites, copies of your User Contributions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or might have been copied or stored by other websites users.

Your State Privacy Rights

Depending on your state of residency, you may have certain rights related to your personal data, including:

Access and Data Portability. You may confirm whether we process your personal data and access a copy of the personal data we process. To the extent feasible and required by state law, depending on your state, data will be provided in a portable format. Depending on your state, you may have the right to receive additional information and it will be included in the response to your access request.
You may request that we correct inaccuracies in your personal data that we maintain, taking into account the information’s nature and processing purpose.
You may request that we delete personal data about you that we maintain, subject to certain exception under applicable law.
Opt Out of Using Personal Data for Targeted Advertising, Profiling, and Sales. You may request that we do not use your personal data for these purposes.

Important: The exact scope of these rights vary by state. There are also several exceptions where we may not have an obligation to fulfill your request.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using our contact information below.

Some browsers and browser extensions support the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) that can send a signal to process your request to opt out from certain types of data processing, including data “sales” as defined under certain laws. When we detect such a signal, we will make reasonable efforts to respect your choices indicated by a GPC setting as required by applicable law.

Nevada provides its residents with a limited right to opt out of certain personal data sales. Residents who wish to exercise their sale opt-out rights may submit a request at our contact information below. However, please know we do not currently sell data triggering that statute’s opt-out requirements.

If you are a California resident, additional information applies to you. To access our supplemental California privacy statement and learn more about California residents’ privacy rights, visit https://www.mhskids.org/ccpa-notice/ .

This policy is intended to cover collection of information on or via the websites from residents of the United States. If you are visiting the websites from outside the United States, please be aware that the data protection laws of other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using the websites, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Notice.

How We Protect Your Personal Data

We use commercially reasonable administrative, physical, and technical measures designed to protect your personal data from accidental loss or destruction and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. However, no website, mobile application, system, electronic storage, or online service is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee the security of your personal data transmitted to, through, using, or in connection with the Services. In particular, email, texts, and chats sent to or from the Services may not be secure, and you should carefully decide what information you send to us via such communications channels. Any transmission of personal data is at your own risk.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. You are responsible for taking steps to protect your personal data against unauthorized use, disclosure, and access.

How We Retain Your Personal Data

We keep the categories of personal data described in this notice for as long as reasonably necessary to fulfill the purposes described or for as otherwise legally permitted or required, such as maintaining the Services, operating our organization, complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and for safety, security, and fraud prevention. This means that we consider our legal and business obligations, potential risks of harm, and nature of the information when deciding how long to retain personal data. At the end of the retention period, personal data will be deleted, destroyed, or deidentified.

If you are a California resident, visit https://www.mhskids.org/ccpa-notice/ for more information about the retention periods that apply to the personal data categories we collect.

Changes to Our Privacy Notice

We may update this notice from time to time, and we will provide notice of any such changes to the notice as required by law. The date the privacy notice was last updated is identified at the top of the page. We will notify you of changes to this notice by updating the “last updated” date and posting the updated notice on the Services. We may email or otherwise communicate reminders about this notice, but you should check our Services periodically to see the current notice and any changes we have made to it.

Contact Information

To exercise your rights or ask questions or comment about this privacy notice or our privacy practices, contact us at:

c/o MHS Office of General Counsel
P.O. Box 830
Hershey, PA 17033-0830

[email protected]

or via our telephone number:

717-520-2200