Privacy Policies

Apple Customer Privacy Policy

Apple’s Customer Privacy Policy covers the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information that may be collected by Apple anytime you interact with Apple, such as when you visit our website, when you purchase Apple products and services, or when you call our sales or support associates. Please take a moment to read the following to learn more about our information practices, including what type of information is gathered, how the information is used and for what purposes, to whom we disclose the information, and how we safeguard your personal information. Your privacy is a priority at Apple, and we go to great lengths to protect it.
Why we collect personal information

We collect your personal information because it helps us deliver a superior level of customer service. It enables us to give you convenient access to our products and services and focus on categories of greatest interest to you. In addition, your personal information helps us keep you posted on the latest product announcements, software updates, special offers, and events that you might like to hear about.

If you do not want Apple to keep you up to date with Apple news, software updates and the latest information on products and services click www.apple.com/contact/myinfo and update your personal contact information and preferences.
What information we collect and how we may use it

There are a number of situations in which your personal information may help us give you better products. For example:

* We may ask for your personal information when you’re discussing a service issue on the phone with an associate, downloading a software update, registering for a seminar, participating in an online survey, registering your products, or purchasing a product.
* When you interact with Apple, we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; your credit card information and information about the Apple products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.
* We also collect information for market research purposes — such as your occupation and where you use your computer — to gain a better understanding of our customers and thus provide more valuable service.
* We collect information regarding customer activities on our websites, .Mac, and the iTunes Store. This helps us to determine how best to provide useful information to customers and to understand which parts of our websites, products, and Internet services are of most interest to them.
* We may use personal information to provide products that you have requested as well as for auditing, research, and analysis to improve Apple’s products.

Your Apple ID and related information

The Apple website, as well as Apple services such as .Mac and the iTunes Store, allows you to create an “Apple ID” based on your personal information. This convenient service saves you time and allows for easier use of our web services. Here’s how it works: You create a personal profile — providing your name, phone number, email address, and in some cases your mailing address or a credit card number — and choose a password and password hint (such as the month and day of your birth) for security. The system saves your information and assigns you a personal Apple ID — in many cases simply your email address, because it’s unique and easy to remember. The next time you order from the Apple Store or register a new product, all you need to do is enter your Apple ID and password; the system looks up the information it needs to assist you. In addition, if you update the information associated with your Apple ID it will be available for all your transactions with Apple globally.
iCards and gift services

Apple also enables you to send “iCards”, set up allowances on the iTunes Store and purchase and send gift certificates and products, to family members, friends or colleagues. To fulfill your request, Apple may require personal information about the person to whom you are sending the product or service such as their name, physical address, email address, and so on. The personal information you provide about that person is used only for the purpose for which it is collected. Apple will not use the information collected to market directly to that person.
Publicly displayed information is public

If you use a bulletin board or chat room on an Apple website you should be aware that any information you share is visible to other users. Personally identifiable information you submit to one of these forums can be read, collected, or used by other individuals to send you unsolicited messages. Apple is not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit in these forums. For example, if you choose to make information, which was previously non-public, available by enabling certain user features, Apple will collect that information from your interaction and the information will become publicly available.
When we disclose your information

Apple takes your privacy very seriously. Apple does not sell or rent your contact information to other marketers.
Within the Apple Group

To help us provide superior service, your personal information may be shared with legal entities within the Apple group globally who will take steps to safeguard it in accordance with Apple’s privacy policy.
With our service providers, vendors, and strategic partners

There are also times when it may be advantageous for Apple to make certain personal information about you available to companies that Apple has a strategic relationship with or that perform work for Apple to provide products and services to you on our behalf. These companies may help us process information, extend credit, fulfill customer orders, deliver products to you, manage and enhance customer data, provide customer service, assess your interest in our products and services, or conduct customer research or satisfaction surveys. These companies are also obligated to protect your personal information in accordance with Apple’s policies, except if we inform you otherwise at the time of collection. For example, when you purchase and activate your iPhone, you authorize Apple and its carrier to exchange the information that you provide during the activation process to carry out service. If you are approved for service, your account will be governed by Apple and its carrier’s respective privacy policies. Without such information being made available, it would be difficult for you to purchase products, have products delivered to you, receive customer service, provide us feedback to improve our products and services, or access certain services, offers, and content on the Apple website.

At times we may be required by law or litigation to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary.
How we protect your personal information

Apple takes precautions — including administrative, technical, and physical measures — to safeguard your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

The Apple Online Store and iTunes Store use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption on all web pages where personal information is required. To make purchases from the Apple Online Store or iTunes Store, you must use an SSL-enabled browser such as Safari, Netscape Navigator 3.0 or later, or Internet Explorer. Doing so protects the confidentiality of your personal and credit card information while it’s transmitted over the Internet.

You can help us by also taking precautions to protect your personal data when you are on the Internet. Change your passwords often using a combination of letters and numbers, and make sure you use a secure web browser like Safari.
Integrity of your personal information

Apple has safeguards in place to keep your personal information accurate, complete, and up to date for the purposes for which it is used. Naturally, you always have the right to access and correct the personal information you have provided. You can help us ensure that your contact information and preferences are accurate, complete, and up to date by checking at www.apple.com/contact/myinfo. And you can request a copy of your personal information, your product registration history, and your interactions with our sales and support agents by contacting us at the email address below.
Kids

Apple recognizes that parents, guardians, or other adults often purchase our products for family use, including use by minors. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 for marketing purposes, but because some information is collected electronically, it can appear to be the personal information of the Apple purchaser of the product, and will be treated as such by this privacy policy. If a child under 13 submits personal information to Apple and we learn that that personal information is the information of a child under 13, we will attempt to delete the information as soon as possible.
Cookies and other technologies

As is standard practice on many corporate websites, Apple’s website uses “cookies” and other technologies to help us understand which parts of our websites are the most popular, where our visitors are going, and how much time they spend there. We also use cookies and other technologies to make sure that our online advertising is bringing customers to our products and services, such as iTunes. We use cookies and other technologies to study traffic patterns on our website, to make it even more rewarding as well as to study the effectiveness of our customer communications. And we use cookies to customize your experience and provide greater convenience each time you interact with us.

For example, knowing your first name lets us welcome you with a greeting the next time you visit the Apple Store. Information such as your country and language — and if you’re an educator, your school — helps us provide a more useful online shopping experience. And your contact information, product serial numbers, and information about your computer helps us register your products, personalize Mac OS X, and set up your Internet service and .Mac accounts and provide you with customer service.

If, however, you prefer not to enable cookies, please go to www.apple.com/legal/privacy/aboutcookies.html, which explains step by step how you can disable cookies. Please note that certain features of the Apple website will not be available once cookies are disabled.

As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data.

We use this information, which does not identify individual users, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to track users’ movements around the site and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. Apple will not use the information collected to market directly to that person.

In some of our email messages we use a “click-through URL” linked to content on the Apple website. When customers click one of these URLs, they pass through our web server before arriving at the destination web page. We track this click-through data to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked simply avoid clicking text or graphic links in the email.

In addition we use pixel tags — tiny graphic images — to tell us what parts of our website customers have visited or to measure the effectiveness of searches customers perform on our site.

Pixel tags also enable us to send email messages in a format customers can read. And they tell us whether emails have been opened to ensure that we’re sending only messages that are of interest to our customers. We store all of this information in a secure database located in Cupertino, California, in the United States.
Our companywide commitment to your privacy

As we said, Apple takes protecting your privacy very seriously. To make sure your personal information is secure, we communicate these guidelines to Apple employees and strictly enforce privacy safeguards within the company. In addition, Apple supports industry initiatives, such as TRUSTe, to preserve privacy rights on the Internet and in all aspects of electronic commerce.
International users

Apple abides by the safe harbor framework set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information collected from the European Union. The following link provides more information about the U.S. Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Program. Note that personal information regarding individuals who reside in the EU is jointly controlled by Apple Sales International in Cork, Ireland, and by Apple UK Limited in Uxbridge, United Kingdom.

Apple’s website has links to the sites of other companies. Apple is not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to learn about the privacy policies of those companies.
Privacy questions

If you have questions or concerns about Apple’s Customer Privacy Policy or data processing, please use the appropriate regional email addresses (see list below) to contact us. The Apple Data Controller in your region will respond to your inquiry within 30 days.
Country or Region: Contact Information:
United States privacy@apple.com
Canada privacy-ca@apple.com
Latin America privacy-la@apple.com
Europe privacyeurope@apple.com
Japan privacy-japan@apple.com
Australia privacy@apple.com.au
Asia/Pacific privacy@asia.apple.com

If you do not want Apple to keep you up to date with Apple news, software updates and the latest information on products and services click www.apple.com/contact/myinfo and update your personal contact information and preferences. Naturally, if you notify us that you do not want us to use your information for a particular purpose, we will not do so.

Apple may update its privacy policy from time to time. When we change the policy in a material way a notice will be posted on our website along with the updated privacy policy.

Apple Inc. 1 Infinite Loop, MS60-DR, Cupertino, California, USA, 95014

Last updated June 29, 2007

© 2007 Apple Inc. All rights reserved.

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Apple is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, nonprofit organization whose mission is to build users’ trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because Apple wants to demonstrate our commitment to your privacy, we have agreed to disclose our information privacy practices for compliance review by TRUSTe.

The TRUSTe trustmark reflects our promise to tell you what personal information we collect; the types of companies we may share your information with; the choices available to you regarding the collection, use, and distribution of the information; the security procedures in place to protect the loss or misuse of information under our control; and how you can correct inaccuracies in the information. The TRUSTe program covers only information that is collected through this Web site, and does not cover information that may be collected through software downloaded from the site.

If you have questions or concerns about Apple’s collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information, please email us at privacy@apple.com. If Apple doesn’t respond or your inquiry hasn’t been addressed to your satisfaction, please visit the TRUSTe website for contact information. This certification applies to all sites under the apple.com domain.