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.
___________________________
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.
Online Privacy is a constantly evolving landscape and Sun plans to take all reasonable efforts to maintain up to date and effective online privacy standards and practices. We have linked every page of our web site to this page for your convenience and you may also contact us at privacy@sun.com with any questions or concerns that you may have.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
3. Notice
4. Choice
5. Security
6. Access/Accuracy
7. Third Party Services
8. Children's Privacy
9. Commitment
10. Your Consent
11. Your California Privacy Rights
Introduction
We at Sun Microsystems, Inc. and our affiliated companies worldwide ("Sun") are committed to respecting your online privacy and recognize your need for appropriate protection and management of any personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") you share with us.
Sun has established this Online Privacy Policy so that you can understand the care with which we intend to treat your Personal Information.
Personal Information means any information that may be used to identify an individual, including, but not limited to, a first and last name, a home or other physical address and an email address or other contact information, whether at work or at home. In general, you can visit Sun's Web pages without telling us who you are or revealing any Personal Information about yourself.
If you choose to provide us with your Personal Information on the Web, we may transfer that Information within Sun or to Sun's third-party service providers, across borders, and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world.
Sun strives to comply with all applicable laws around the globe that are designed to protect your privacy. Although legal requirements may vary from country to country, Sun intends to adhere to the principles set forth in this Online Privacy Policy even if, in connection with the above, we transfer your Personal Information from your country to countries that may not require an "adequate" level of protection for your Personal Information. In other words, our goal is to provide protection for your Personal Information no matter where that Personal Information is collected, transferred, or retained.
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Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
Some of our Web pages utilize "cookies" and other tracking technologies. A "cookie" is a small text file that may be used, for example, to collect information about Web site activity. Some cookies and other technologies may serve to recall Personal Information previously indicated by a Web user. Most browsers allow you to control cookies, including whether or not to accept them and how to remove them.
You may set most browsers to notify you if you receive a cookie, or you may choose to block cookies with your browser, but please note that if you choose to erase or block your cookies, you will need to re-enter your original user ID and password to gain access to certain parts of the Web site.
Tracking technologies may record information such as Internet domain and host names; Internet protocol (IP) addresses; browser software and operating system types; clickstream patterns; and dates and times that our site is accessed. Our use of cookies and other tracking technologies allows us to improve our Web site and your Web experience. We may also analyze information that does not contain Personal Information for trends and statistics.
To protect your privacy, we have adopted the following principles:
* Notice
* Choice
* Security
* Access/Accuracy
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Notice
Where Sun collects Personal Information on the web, we intend to post a purpose statement that explains why Personal Information will be collected and whether we plan to share such Personal Information outside of Sun or those working on Sun's behalf. Sun does not intend to transfer Personal Information without your consent to third parties who are not bound to act on Sun's behalf unless such transfer is legally required.
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Choice
You may choose whether or not to provide Personal Information to Sun. The notice we intend to provide where Sun collects Personal Information on the Web should help you to make this choice. If you choose not to provide the Personal Information we request, you can still visit most of Sun's Web sites, but you may be unable to access certain options, offers, and services that involve our interaction with you.
If you chose to have a relationship with Sun, such as a contractual or other business relationship or partnership, we will naturally continue to contact you in connection with that business relationship.
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Security
Wherever your Personal Information may be held within Sun or on its behalf, we intend to take reasonable and appropriate steps to protect the Personal Information that you share with us from unauthorized access or disclosure.
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Access/Accuracy
To the extent that you do provide us with Personal Information, Sun wishes to maintain accurate Personal Information. Where we collect Personal Information from you on the Web, our goal is to provide a means of contacting Sun should you need to update or correct that Information. If for any reason those means are unavailable or inaccessible, you may send updates and corrections about your Personal Information to privacy@sun.com and we will make reasonable efforts to incorporate the changes in your Personal Information that we hold as soon as practicable.
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Third Party Services
Third parties provide certain services available on Sun.com on Sun's behalf. Sun may provide information, including Personal Information, that Sun collects on the Web to third-party service providers to help us deliver programs, products, information, and services. Service providers are also an important means by which Sun maintains its Web site and mailing lists. Sun will take reasonable steps to ensure that these third-party service providers are obligated to protect Personal Information on Sun's behalf.
Sun does not intend to transfer Personal Information without your consent to third parties who are not bound to act on Sun's behalf unless such transfer is legally required. Similarly, it is against Sun's policy to sell Personal Information collected online without consent.
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Children's Privacy
Sun.com is not structured to attract children. Accordingly, we do not intend to collect Personal Information from anyone we know to be under 13 years of age.
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Commitment
We are committed to privacy and, through our membership in the Online Privacy Alliance, are actively involved in and support current industry initiatives to preserve individual privacy rights on the Internet. Protecting your privacy online is an evolving area, and Sun's Web sites are constantly evolving to meet these demands.
If you have any comments or questions regarding our Online Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@sun.com. While we cannot guarantee privacy perfection, we will address any issue to the best of our abilities as soon as possible.
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Your Consent
By using this Web site, you consent to the terms of our Online Privacy Policy and to Sun's processing of Personal Information for the purposes given above as well as those explained where Sun collects Personal Information on the Web. Should the Online Privacy Policy change, we intend to take every reasonable step to ensure that these changes are brought to your attention by posting all changes prominently on our web site for a reasonable period of time.
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Your California Privacy Rights
For information on Your California Privacy Rights, see California Notice of Information-Sharing Disclosure.
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v.2.5
January 1, 2005
Yahoo! Privacy Policy
Yahoo! takes your privacy seriously. Please read the following to learn more about our privacy policy.
NOTICE: Click here for practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer and protect your personal information.
What This Privacy Policy Covers
* This policy covers how Yahoo! treats personal information that Yahoo! collects and receives, including information related to your past use of Yahoo! products and services. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, email address, or phone number, and that is not otherwise publicly available.
* This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that Yahoo! does not own or control, or to people that Yahoo! does not employ or manage. In addition, some companies that Yahoo! has acquired have their own, preexisting privacy policies which may be viewed on our acquired companies page.
* Yahoo! participates in the Safe Harbor program developed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the European Union. To view our certification, visit the U.S. Department of Commerce's Safe Harbor Web site. For more information about Yahoo!'s participation in the Safe Harbor program, please visit our Safe Harbor details page.
Information Collection and Use
General
* Yahoo! collects personal information when you register with Yahoo!, when you use Yahoo! products or services, when you visit Yahoo! pages or the pages of certain Yahoo! partners, and when you enter promotions or sweepstakes. Yahoo! may combine information about you that we have with information we obtain from business partners or other companies.
* When you register we ask for information such as your name, email address, birth date, gender, ZIP code, occupation, industry, and personal interests. For some financial products and services we might also ask for your address, Social Security number, and information about your assets. When you register with Yahoo! and sign in to our services, you are not anonymous to us.
* Yahoo! collects information about your transactions with us and with some of our business partners, including information about your use of financial products and services that we offer.
* Yahoo! automatically receives and records information from your computer and browser, including your IP address, Yahoo! cookie information, software and hardware attributes, and the page you request.
* Yahoo! uses information for the following general purposes: to customize the advertising and content you see, fulfill your requests for products and services, improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients.
Children
* When a child under age 13 attempts to register with Yahoo!, we ask the child to have a parent or guardian create a Yahoo! Family Account to obtain parental permission.
* Yahoo! does not contact children under age 13 about special offers or for marketing purposes without a parent's permission.
* Yahoo! does not ask a child under age 13 for more personal information, as a condition of participation, than is reasonably necessary to participate in a given activity or promotion.
Information Sharing and Disclosure
* Yahoo! does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or non-affiliated companies except to provide products or services you've requested, when we have your permission, or under the following circumstances:
o We provide the information to trusted partners who work on behalf of or with Yahoo! under confidentiality agreements. These companies may use your personal information to help Yahoo! communicate with you about offers from Yahoo! and our marketing partners. However, these companies do not have any independent right to share this information.
o We have a parent's permission to share the information if the user is a child under age 13. Parents have the option of allowing Yahoo! to collect and use their child's information without consenting to Yahoo! sharing of this information with people and companies who may use this information for their own purposes.
o We respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims.
o We believe it is necessary to share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations of Yahoo!'s terms of use, or as otherwise required by law.
o We transfer information about you if Yahoo! is acquired by or merged with another company. In this event, Yahoo! will notify you before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
* Yahoo! displays targeted advertisements based on personal information. Advertisers (including ad serving companies) may assume that people who interact with, view, or click targeted ads meet the targeting criteria—for example, women ages 18-24 from a particular geographic area.
o Yahoo! does not provide any personal information to the advertiser when you interact with or view a targeted ad. However, by interacting with or viewing an ad you are consenting to the possibility that the advertiser will make the assumption that you meet the targeting criteria used to display the ad.
o Yahoo! advertisers include financial service providers (such as banks, insurance agents, stock brokers and mortgage lenders) and non-financial companies (such as stores, airlines, and software companies).
* Yahoo! works with vendors, partners, advertisers, and other service providers in different industries and categories of business. For more information regarding providers of products or services that you've requested please read our detailed reference links.
Cookies
* Yahoo! may set and access Yahoo! cookies on your computer.
* Yahoo! lets other companies that show advertisements on some of our pages set and access their cookies on your computer. Other companies' use of their cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, not this one. Advertisers or other companies do not have access to Yahoo!'s cookies.
* Yahoo! uses web beacons to access Yahoo! cookies inside and outside our network of web sites and in connection with Yahoo! products and services.
Your Ability to Edit and Delete Your Account Information and Preferences
General
* You can edit your Yahoo! Account Information, including your marketing preferences, at any time.
* New categories of marketing communications might be added to the Marketing Preferences page from time to time. Users who visit this page can opt out of receiving future marketing communications from these new categories or they can unsubscribe by following instructions contained in the messages they receive.
* We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to the Yahoo! service, such as service announcements, administrative messages and the Yahoo! Newsletter, that are considered part of your Yahoo! account, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them.
* You can delete your Yahoo! account by visiting our Account Deletion page. Please click here to read about information that might possibly remain in our archived records after your account has been deleted.
Children
* Parents can review, edit, and delete information relating to their child's Yahoo! account using tools offered by Yahoo! Family Accounts.
* If a parent chooses not to allow us to further collect or use a child's information, parents enrolled in Yahoo! Family Accounts can delete their child's account by signing into that child's account and then visiting our Account Deletion page. Please click here to read about information that might possibly remain in our archived records after your account has been deleted.
Confidentiality and Security
* We limit access to personal information about you to employees who we believe reasonably need to come into contact with that information to provide products or services to you or in order to do their jobs.
* We have physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to protect personal information about you.
* To learn more about security, including the security steps we have taken and security steps you can take, please read Security at Yahoo!.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
* Yahoo! may update this policy. We will notify you about significant changes in the way we treat personal information by sending a notice to the primary email address specified in your Yahoo! account or by placing a prominent notice on our site.
Questions and Suggestions
* Yahoo! is TRUSTe-certified. This certification applies to all English-language sites under the Yahoo.com domain. If you feel that your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should contact TRUSTe, an independent privacy organization. TRUSTe serves as a liaison with Yahoo! to resolve your concern.
* If you have questions or suggestions, please complete a feedback form or you can contact us at:
Yahoo! Inc.
Customer Care - Privacy Policy Issues
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
(408) 349-5070
Effective Date: November 22, 2006
Google Privacy Policy
October 14, 2005
At Google we recognize that privacy is important. This Policy applies to all of the products, services and websites offered by Google Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliated companies (collectively, Google's "services"). In addition, where more detailed information is needed to explain our privacy practices, we post separate privacy notices to describe how particular services process personal information, which are accessible from the navigation bar to the left of this notice.
Google adheres to the US safe harbor privacy principles of Notice, Choice, Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity, Access and Enforcement, and is registered with the U.S. Department of Commerce's safe harbor program.
If you have any questions about this Policy, please feel free to contact us through our website or write to us at Privacy Matters, c/o Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043 USA.
Information we collect and how we use it:
We offer a number of services that do not require you to register for an account or provide any personal information to us, such as Google Search. In order to provide our full range of services, we may collect the following types of information:
* Information you provide - When you sign up for a Google Account or other Google service or promotion that requires registration, we ask you for personal information (such as your name, email address and an account password). For certain services, such as our advertising programs, we also request credit card or other payment account information which we maintain in encrypted form on secure servers. We may combine the information you submit under your account with information from other Google services or third parties in order to provide you with a better experience and to improve the quality of our services. For certain services, we may give you the opportunity to opt out of combining such information.
* Google cookies - When you visit Google, we send one or more cookies - a small file containing a string of characters - to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends, such as how people search. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some Google features and services may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.
* Log information - When you use Google services, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser.
* User communications - When you send email or other communication to Google, we may retain those communications in order to process your inquiries, respond to your requests and improve our services.
* Affiliated sites - We offer some of our services in connection with other web sites. Personal information that you provide to those sites may be sent to Google in order to deliver the service. We process such information in accordance with this Policy. The affiliated sites may have different privacy practices and we encourage you to read their privacy policies.
* Links - Google may present links in a format that enables us to keep track of whether these links have been followed. We use this information to improve the quality of our search technology, customized content and advertising. For more information about links and redirected URLs, please see our FAQs.
* Other sites - This Privacy Policy applies to web sites and services that are owned and operated by Google. We do not exercise control over the sites displayed as search results or links from within our various services. These other sites may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information from you.
Google only processes personal information for the purposes described in the applicable Privacy Policy and/or privacy notice for specific services. In addition to the above, such purposes include:
* Providing our products and services to users, including the display of customized content and advertising;
* Auditing, research and analysis in order to maintain, protect and improve our services;
* Ensuring the technical functioning of our network; and
* Developing new services.
You can find more information about how we process personal information by referring to the privacy notices for particular services.
Google processes personal information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we process personal information on a server outside your own country. We may process personal information to provide our own services. In some cases, we may process personal information on behalf of and according to the instructions of a third party, such as our advertising partners.
Choices for personal information
When you sign up for a particular service that requires registration, we ask you to provide personal information. If we use this information in a manner different than the purpose for which it was collected, then we will ask for your consent prior to such use.
If we propose to use personal information for any purposes other than those described in this Policy and/or in the specific service notices, we will offer you an effective way to opt out of the use of personal information for those other purposes. We will not collect or use sensitive information for purposes other than those described in this Policy and/or in the specific service notices, unless we have obtained your prior consent.
You can decline to submit personal information to any of our services, in which case Google may not be able to provide those services to you.
Information sharing
Google only shares personal information with other companies or individuals outside of Google in the following limited circumstances:
* We have your consent. We require opt-in consent for the sharing of any sensitive personal information.
* We provide such information to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies or other trusted businesses or persons for the purpose of processing personal information on our behalf. We require that these parties agree to process such information based on our instructions and in compliance with this Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
* We have a good faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to (a) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request, (b) enforce applicable Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations thereof, (c) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or (d) protect against imminent harm to the rights, property or safety of Google, its users or the public as required or permitted by law.
If Google becomes involved in a merger, acquisition, or any form of sale of some or all of its assets, we will provide notice before personal information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
We may share with third parties certain pieces of aggregated, non-personal information, such as the number of users who searched for a particular term, for example, or how many users clicked on a particular advertisement. Such information does not identify you individually.
Please contact us at the address below for any additional questions about the management or use of personal data.
Information security
We take appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data. These include internal reviews of our data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures, as well as physical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to systems where we store personal data.
We restrict access to personal information to Google employees, contractors and agents who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our services. These individuals are bound by confidentiality obligations and may be subject to discipline, including termination and criminal prosecution, if they fail to meet these obligations.
Data integrity
Google processes personal information only for the purposes for which it was collected and in accordance with this Policy or any applicable service-specific privacy notice. We review our data collection, storage and processing practices to ensure that we only collect, store and process the personal information needed to provide or improve our services. We take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information we process is accurate, complete, and current, but we depend on our users to update or correct their personal information whenever necessary.
Accessing and updating personal information
When you use Google services, we make good faith efforts to provide you with access to your personal information and either to correct this data if it is inaccurate or to delete such data at your request if it is not otherwise required to be retained by law or for legitimate business purposes. We ask individual users to identify themselves and the information requested to be accessed, corrected or removed before processing such requests, and we may decline to process requests that are unreasonably repetitive or systematic, require disproportionate technical effort, jeopardize the privacy of others, or would be extremely impractical (for instance, requests concerning information residing on backup tapes), or for which access is not otherwise required. In any case where we provide information access and correction, we perform this service free of charge, except if doing so would require a disproportionate effort. Some of our services have different procedures to access, correct or delete users' personal information. We provide the details for these procedures in the specific privacy notices or FAQs for these services.
Enforcement
Google regularly reviews its compliance with this Policy. Please feel free to direct any questions or concerns regarding this Policy or Google's treatment of personal information by contacting us through this web site or by writing to us at Privacy Matters, c/o Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043, USA. When we receive formal written complaints at this address, it is Google's policy to contact the complaining user regarding his or her concerns. We will cooperate with the appropriate regulatory authorities, including local data protection authorities, to resolve any complaints regarding the transfer of personal data that cannot be resolved between Google and an individual.
Changes to this policy
Please note that this Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We will not reduce your rights under this Policy without your explicit consent, and we expect most such changes will be minor. Regardless, we will post any Policy changes on this page and, if the changes are significant, we will provide a more prominent notice (including, for certain services, email notification of Policy changes). Each version of this Policy will be identified at the top of the page by its effective date, and we will also keep prior versions of this Privacy Policy in an archive for your review.
If you have any additional questions or concerns about this Policy, please feel free to contact us any time through this web site or at Privacy Matters, c/o Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, California, 94043, USA.
Google Privacy Policy Highlights
October 14, 2005
At Google we recognize that privacy is important. This document outlines the types of personal information we receive and collect when you use Google's services, as well as some of the steps we take to safeguard information. We hope this will help you make an informed decision about sharing personal information with us.
Scope
This notice offers highlights of the full Google Privacy Policy, which describes in detail the privacy practices that apply to Google's products, services and websites worldwide (collectively, Google's "services"). You can also get more information about the privacy practices for specific Google services in the navigation bar to the left of this notice.
Personal information and other data we collect
* Google collects personal information when you register for a Google service or otherwise voluntarily provide such information. We may combine personal information collected from you with information from other Google services or third parties to provide a better user experience, including customizing content for you.
* Google uses cookies and other technologies to enhance your online experience and to learn about how you use Google services in order to improve the quality of our services.
* Google's servers automatically record information when you visit our website or use some of our products, including the URL, IP address, browser type and language, and the date and time of your request.
* Read more in the full privacy policy.
Uses
* We may use personal information to provide the services you've requested, including services that display customized content and advertising.
* We may also use personal information for auditing, research and analysis to operate and improve Google technologies and services.
* We may share aggregated non-personal information with third parties outside of Google.
* When we use third parties to assist us in processing your personal information, we require that they comply with our Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
* We may also share information with third parties in limited circumstances, including when complying with legal process, preventing fraud or imminent harm, and ensuring the security of our network and services.
* Google processes personal information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we process personal information on a server outside your own country.
* Read more in the full privacy policy.
Your choices
* We offer you choices when we ask for personal information, whenever reasonably possible. You can find more information about your choices in the privacy notices or FAQs for specific services.
* You may decline to provide personal information to us and/or refuse cookies in your browser, although some of our features or services may not function properly as a result.
* We make good faith efforts to provide you access to your personal information upon request and to let you correct such data if it is inaccurate and delete it, when reasonably possible.
* Read more in the full privacy policy.
More information
For information about specific Google services, please check the relevant privacy notice in the navigation bar to the left, or check out the Google Help page. Google is a member of the EU/US Safe Harbor Program.
For more information about our privacy practices, go to the full privacy policy. If you have additional questions regarding your privacy and Google, please contact us here. Please note that we will not respond to inquiries not related to Google's Privacy Policy.
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