PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated August 29, 2023

This privacy notice for W.D. Simmons LLC (doing business as Accounting Sprout) (“we,” “us,” or”our“), describes how and why we might collect, store, use, and/or share (“process“) your information when you use our services (“Services“), such as when you:

    • Visit our website at http://www.accountingsprout.com, , or any website of ours that links to this privacy notice
    • Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events
Questions or concerns? Reading this privacy notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at

SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS

This summary provides key points from our privacy notice, but you can find out more details about any of these topics by clicking the link following each key point or by using our table of contents below to find the section you are looking for.

What personal information do we process? When you visit, use, or navigate our Services, we may process personal information depending on how you interact with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. Learn more about personal information you disclose to us.

Do we process any sensitive personal information? We do not process sensitive personal information.

Do we receive any information from third parties? We do not receive any information from third parties.

How do we process your information? We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent. We process your information only when we have a valid legal reason to do so. Learn more about how we process your information.

In what situations and with which parties do we share personal information? We may share information in specific situations and with specific third parties. Learn more about when and with whom we share your personal information.
How do we keep your information safe? organizational and technical processes and procedures in place to protect your personal information. However, no electronic transmission over the internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Learn more about how we keep your information safe.
What are your rights? Depending on where you are located geographically, the applicable privacy law may mean you have certain rights regarding your personal information. Learn more about your privacy rights.
How do you exercise your rights? The easiest way to exercise your rights is by data subject access request, or by contacting us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Want to learn more about what we do with any information we collect? Review the privacy notice in full.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Personal information you disclose to us
In Short: We collect personal information that you provide to us.

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you register on the Services, express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.

Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the products and features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following:

    • names
    • email addresses
    • usernames
    • passwords
    • mailing addresses
    • job titles
    • phone numbers
    • contact preferences
    • billing addresses
    • debit/credit card numbers
    • contact or authentication data
Sensitive Information. We do not process sensitive information.
Payment Data. We may collect data necessary to process your payment if you make purchases, such as your payment instrument number, and the security code associated with your payment instrument. All payment data is stored by Woocommerce. You may find their privacy notice link(s) here: https://automattic.com/privacy/.
Social Media Login Data. We may provide you with the option to register with us using your existing social media account details, like your Facebook, Twitter, or other social media account. If you choose to register in this way, we will collect the information described in the section called “HOW DO WE HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL LOGINS?” below.

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.

Information automatically collected 
In Short:: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our Services.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

Like many businesses, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.

The information we collect includes:

    • Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings and information about your activity in the Services
    • Device Data. We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model, Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration information.
    • Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device’s location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.

2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:

    • To facilitate account creation and authentication and otherwise manage user accounts.We may process your information so you can create and log in to your account, as well as keep your account in working order.
    • To save or protect an individual’s vital interest. We may process your information when necessary to save or protect an individual’s vital interest, such as to prevent harm.

3. WHAT LEGAL BASES DO WE RELY ON TO PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We only process your personal information when we believe it is necessary and we have a valid legal reason (i.e., legal basis) to do so under applicable law, like with your consent, to comply with laws, to provide you with services to enter into or fulfill our contractual obligations, to protect your rights, or to fulfill our legitimate business interests.

If you are located in the EU or UK, this section applies to you.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR require us to explain the valid legal bases we rely on in order to process your personal information. As such, we may rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:

    • Consent. We may process your information if you have given us permission (i.e., consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose. You can withdraw your consent at any time. Learn more about withdrawing your consent withdrawing your consent
    • Legal Obligations. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations, such as to cooperate with a law enforcement body or regulatory agency, exercise or defend our legal rights, or disclose your information as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.
    • Vital Interests. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of a third party, such as situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person.

If you are located in Canada, this section applies to you.

We may process your information if you have given us specific permission (i.e., express consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose, or in situations where your permission can be inferred (i.e., implied consent). You can withdrawing your consent at any time.

In some exceptional cases, we may be legally permitted under applicable law to process your information without your consent, including, for example:

    • If collection is clearly in the interests of an individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way
    • For investigations and fraud detection and prevention
    • For business transactions provided certain conditions are met
    • If it is contained in a witness statement and the collection is necessary to assess, process, or settle an insurance claim
    • For identifying injured, ill, or deceased persons and communicating with next of kin
    • If we have reasonable grounds to believe an individual has been, is, or may be victim of financial abuse
    • If it is reasonable to expect collection and use with consent would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province
    • If disclosure is required to comply with a subpoena, warrant, court order, or rules of the court relating to the production of records
    • If it was produced by an individual in the course of their employment, business, or profession and the collection is consistent with the purposes for which the information was produced
    • If the collection is solely for journalistic, artistic, or literary purposes
    • If the information is publicly available and is specified by the regulations

4. WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?

In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section and/or with the following third parties.

We may need to share your personal information in the following situations:

    • Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
    • When we use Google Maps Platform APIs. We may share your information with certain Google Maps Platform APIs (e.g., Google Maps API, Places API).

5. WHAT IS OUR STANCE ON THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES?

In Short: We are not responsible for the safety of any information that you share with third parties that we may link to or who advertise on our Services, but are not affiliated with, our Services.

The Services may link to third-party websites, online services, or mobile applications and/or contain advertisements from third parties that are not affiliated with us and which may link to other websites, services, or applications. Accordingly, we do not make any guarantee regarding any such third parties, and we will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by the use of such third-party websites, services, or applications. The inclusion of a link towards a third-party website, service, or application does not imply an endorsement by us. We cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of data you provide to any third parties. Any data collected by third parties is not covered by this privacy notice. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other websites, services, or applications that may be linked to or from the Services. You should review the policies of such third parties and contact them directly to respond to your questions.

6. DO WE USE COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?

In Short: We may use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect and store your information.

We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to access or store information. Specific information about how we use such technologies and how you can refuse certain cookies is set out in our Cookie Notice

7. HOW DO WE HANDLE YOUR SOCIAL LOGINS?

In Short: If you choose to register or log in to our Services using a social media account, we may have access to certain information about you.

Our Services offer you the ability to register and log in using your third-party social media account details (like your Facebook or Twitter logins). Where you choose to do this, we will receive certain profile information about you from your social media provider. The profile information we receive may vary depending on the social media provider concerned, but will often include your name, email address, friends list, and profile picture, as well as other information you choose to make public on such a social media platform.

We will use the information we receive only for the purposes that are described in this privacy notice or that are otherwise made clear to you on the relevant Services. Please note that we do not control, and are not responsible for, other uses of your personal information by your third-party social media provider. We recommend that you review their privacy notice to understand how they collect, use, and share your personal information, and how you can set your privacy preferences on their sites and apps.

8. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements).

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or

9. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

10. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Services. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at support@accountingsprout.com 

11. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: In some regions, such as the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom (UK), and Canada, you have rights that allow you greater access to and control over your personal information.You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.

In some regions (like the EEA, UK, and Canada), you have certain rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; and (iv) if applicable, to data portability. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. You can make such a request by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section “HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?” below.

We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

If you are located in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your Member State data protection authority or UK data protection authority.

If you are located in Switzerland, you may contact the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner

Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section “HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?” below or updating your preferences.

However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

Opting out of marketing and promotional communications:You can unsubscribe from our marketing and promotional communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send, or by contacting us using the details provided in the section “HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?” below. You will then be removed from the marketing lists. However, we may still communicate with you — for example, to send you service-related messages that are necessary for the administration and use of your account, to respond to service requests, or for other non-marketing purposes.

Account Information
If you would at any time like to review or change the information in your account or terminate your account, you can:
    • Log in to your account settings and update your user account.
Upon your request to terminate your account, we will deactivate or delete your account and information from our active databases. However, we may retain some information in our files to prevent fraud, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our legal terms and/or comply with applicable legal requirements. Cookies and similar technologies: Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our Services. You may also opt out of interest-based advertising by advertisers on our Services. If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at support@accountingsprout.com

12. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this privacy notice.

13. DO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.

If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.).

CCPA Privacy Notice

The California Code of Regulations defines a “resident” as:

      (1) every individual who is in the State of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and

      (2) every individual who is domiciled in the State of California who is outside the State of California for a temporary or transitory purpose

All other individuals are defined as “non-residents.”

If this definition of “resident” applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information.

What categories of personal information do we collect?

We have collected the following categories of personal information in the past twelve (12) months:

Category Examples Collected
A. Identifiers
Contact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account name
NO
B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute
Name, contact information, education, employment, employment history, and financial information
NO
C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law
Gender and date of birth
NO
D. Commercial information
Transaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment information
NO
E. Biometric information
Fingerprints and voiceprints
NO
F. Internet or other similar network activity
Browsing history, search history, online behavior, interest data, and interactions with our and other websites, applications, systems, and advertisements
NO
G. Geolocation data
Device location
NO
H. Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information
Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities
NO
I. Professional or employment-related information
Business contact details in order to provide you our Services at a business level or job title, work history, and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with us
NO
J. Education Information
Student records and directory information
NO
K. Inferences drawn from other personal information
Inferences drawn from any of the collected personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics
NO
L. Sensitive Personal Information NO

We may also collect other personal information outside of these categories through instances where you interact with us in person, online, or by phone or mail in the context of:

How do we use and share your personal information?

    • Receiving help through our customer support channels;
    • Participation in customer surveys or contests; and
    • Facilitation in the delivery of our Services and to respond to your inquiries.

More information about our data collection and sharing practices can be found in this privacy notice.

You may contact us by email at support@accountingsprout.com , or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document.

If you are using an authorized agent to exercise your right to opt out we may deny a request if the authorized agent does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf.

Will your information be shared with anyone else?

We may disclose your personal information with our service providers pursuant to a written contract between us and each service provider. Each service provider is a for-profit entity that processes the information on our behalf, following the same strict privacy protection obligations mandated by the CCPA.

We may use your personal information for our own business purposes, such as for undertaking internal research for technological development and demonstration. This is not considered to be “selling” of your personal information.

We have not disclosed, sold, or shared any personal information to third parties for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding twelve (12) months. We will not sell or share personal information in the future belonging to website visitors, users, and other consumers.

Your rights with respect to your personal data

Right to request deletion of the data — Request to delete

You can ask for the deletion of your personal information. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will respect your request and delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as (but not limited to) the exercise by another consumer of his or her right to free speech, our compliance requirements resulting from a legal obligation, or any processing that may be required to protect against illegal activities.
Right to be informed — Request to know

Depending on the circumstances, you have a right to know:

    • whether we collect and use your personal information;
    • the categories of personal information that we collect;
    • the purposes for which the collected personal information is used;
    • whether we sell or share personal information to third parties;
    • the categories of personal information that we sold, shared, or disclosed for a business purpose;
    • the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold, shared, or disclosed for a business purpose;
    • the business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing personal information; and
    • the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you.

In accordance with applicable law, we are not obligated to provide or delete consumer information that is de-identified in response to a consumer request or to re-identify individual data to verify a consumer request.

Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of a Consumer’s Privacy Rights

We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.

Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information

We do not process consumer’s sensitive personal information.

Verification process

Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. These verification efforts require us to ask you to provide information so that we can match it with information you have previously provided us. For instance, depending on the type of request you submit, we may ask you to provide certain information so that we can match the information you provide with the information we already have on file, or we may contact you through a communication method (e.g., phone or email) that you have previously provided to us. We may also use other verification methods as the circumstances dictate.

We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. To the extent possible, we will avoid requesting additional information from you for the purposes of verification. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes. We will delete such additionally provided information as soon as we finish verifying you.

Other privacy rights

    • You may object to the processing of your personal information.
    • You may request correction of your personal data if it is incorrect or no longer relevant, or ask to restrict the processing of the information.
    • You can designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. We may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance with the CCPA.
    • You may request to opt out from future selling or sharing of your personal information to third parties. Upon receiving an opt-out request, we will act upon the request as soon as feasibly possible, but no later than fifteen (15) days from the date of the request submission.

To exercise these rights, you can contact us by email at support@accountingsprout.com , or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you.

14. DO VIRGINIA RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: Yes, if you are a resident of Virginia, you may be granted specific rights regarding access to and use of your personal information.
Virginia CDPA Privacy Notice
Under the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (CDPA): “Consumer” means a natural person who is a resident of the Commonwealth acting only in an individual or household context. It does not include a natural person acting in a commercial or employment context. “Personal data” means any information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable natural person. “Personal data” does not include de-identified data or publicly available information. “Sale of personal data” means the exchange of personal data for monetary consideration. If this definition “consumer” applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal data. The information we collect, use, and disclose about you will vary depending on how you interact with us and our Services. To find out more, please visit the following links: Your rights with respect to your personal data
    • Right to be informed whether or not we are processing your personal data
    • Right to access your personal data
    • Right to correct inaccuracies in your personal data
    • Right to request deletion of your personal data
    • Right to obtain a copy of the personal data you previously shared with us
    • Right to opt out of the processing of your personal data if it is used for targeted advertising, the sale of personal data, or profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects (“profiling”)
We have not sold any personal data to third parties for business or commercial purposes. We will not sell personal data in the future belonging to website visitors, users, and other consumers. Exercise your rights provided under the Virginia CDPA More information about our data collection and sharing practices can be found in this privacy notice. You may contact us by email at support@accountingsprout.com by submitting a data subject access request, or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document. If you are using an authorized agent to exercise your rights, we may deny a request if the authorized agent does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf. Verification process We may request that you provide additional information reasonably necessary to verify you and your consumer’s request. If you submit the request through an authorized agent, we may need to collect additional information to verify your identity before processing your request. Upon receiving your request, we will respond without undue delay, but in all cases, within forty-five (45) days of receipt. The response period may be extended once by forty-five (45) additional days when reasonably necessary. We will inform you of any such extension within the initial 45-day response period, together with the reason for the extension. Right to appeal If we decline to take action regarding your request, we will inform you of our decision and reasoning behind it. If you wish to appeal our decision, please email us at support@accountingsprout.com . Within sixty (60) days of receipt of an appeal, we will inform you in writing of any action taken or not taken in response to the appeal, including a written explanation of the reasons for the decisions. If your appeal if denied, you may contact the Attorney General to submit a complaint.

15. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?

In Short:Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

16. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at support@accountingsprout.com  or contact us by post at:

W.D. Simmons LLC

7845 Colony Rd Suite C4-203

Charlotte, NC 28226

United States

17. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

You have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, change that information, or delete it. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please fill out and submit a data subject access request

Introduction

This Privacy Policy applies to the Community Brands’ hosted product platforms and websites owned and operated by Community Brands, including, but not limited to www.communitybrands.com. Throughout this document, this website and all other Community Brands websites will be collectively referred to as the “Websites.” Services provided by or enabled via the Websites will be referred to as the “Services.”

At Community Brands (“CB”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”), we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes the types of information we collect about users of our Company websites, and users of websites hosted by the Company on behalf of our customers (“Customers”). This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect, use, and safeguard the information you provide to us and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our Services.

Community Brands provides services through our platforms for the purpose of fulfilling our Customer agreements (Customer Agreements). Community Brands processes Customer data under the direction of its Customers and has no direct relationship, control, or ownership of the personal data it processes under the Customer Agreement. Customers are responsible for complying with any regulations or laws that require providing notice, disclosure, and/or having a legal basis prior to transferring the data to Community Brands for processing purposes. If you are a customer of a Community Brands Customer, you should review any additional privacy policy and terms of use agreements before using a Community Brands Customer’s website. Community Brands is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of non-Community Brands websites to which this website, or any other Community Brands website, may link.

Community Brands Platforms

In addition to the Websites, Community Brands operates cloud-based software for its Customers – associations, nonprofits, and K-12 schools. The use of information collected through these platforms is strictly limited to the purpose of meeting our contractual obligations to our Customers and providing the services requested by our Customers, which are defined within our Customer Agreements.

Policy Regarding Children

Community Brands Websites and Services are not designed for use by children under the age of 16. As such, Community Brands Websites are not directed at children under the age of 16 nor do we knowingly collect information from children under the age of 16. With regard to our platforms, none of the Community Brands products are intended to collect information from children but our Customers may collect information about children. Through our agreements with our Customers, we require that our Customers comply with all laws with regard to processing data about children.

A Note to Parents & Children

If you are a child under 16 in the European Union or UK or a child under 13 in the United States, you may access the Service only to the extent that consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibly over you. Please speak with your parent or guardian about this Privacy Policy so you can better understand how we use your personal data. We make reasonable efforts to verify that consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibility over you, and, if we learn or have reason to suspect that we have collected personal data from you without parental consent, we will promptly delete it.

Parental Access

A parent who has already given Community Brands or our Customer permission to collect, use, and share their child’s personal information can, at any time, do the following: (1) review, correct, or delete the child’s personal information; and/or (2) discontinue further collection, use, or sharing of the child’s personal information.

Community Brands offers products that support schools and is a proud signatory of the Student Privacy Pledge 2020.

What Data Do We Collect

Depending upon the Community Brands Website or Service you are accessing or other method of contact, we may collect the following information:

  • Contact details such as (for example) your full (i.e., first, and last) name, institutional affiliations, phone number, email address, and postal address.
  • Educational and professional background information
  • Employment and application data
  • Event registration information
  • Tuition, admission, and financial aid information
  • Payment Data
  • Usernames and passwords that may be used on some of the Community Brands Websites
  • Comments, feedback, posts, and other content you submit to the Community Brands Websites
  • Information you provide to or post on message boards or chat rooms that are part of the Community Brands Websites
  • Interests and communication preferences.

How Do We Collect and Use Data

Community Brands provides products such as platforms, websites, and apps to our Customers. Community Brands’ Customers are the owners of the personal information collected from their end-users. Our Customers decide what data to collect (this typically includes information about their end-users (customers, prospects, employees, consultants or independent contractors, suppliers, and other individuals or third parties). We only collect this information under the direction of our Customers and have no direct relationship with the individuals whose personal information we process on behalf of our Customers.

Community Brands accesses and collects information that you voluntarily give us via email, webform or other direct contact from you. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone. We may disclose information to our corporate affiliates and third parties to provide products and services to you or related to products or services you have purchased or downloaded from Community Brands. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email or text message in the future to tell you about our services, new products, changes to this privacy policy or to provide you with informational or educational newsletters.

Community Brands may access Customer Data for the purposes of providing and enhancing a service, preventing or addressing service or technical problems, responding to support issues, and responding to a Customer’s instructions, or as may be required by law, in accordance with the relevant Agreement between the Customer and Community Brands.

Our information collection and use practices are described in more detail below.

Product-Related Information Collection

Community Brands collects certain additional information in connection with your use of our Services, web-based products and/or desktop products with online features. For instance:

  • Product Updates: Some products provide you with the ability to download and register product and/or tax updates as they become available. During the download and registration process, we collect “Business Information”, including customer ID number and product version, type, and serial number. This is collected so that we can authorize your access, provide you with the appropriate update, and to update our records as to the product and products updates you have downloaded or installed, so that we may provide the appropriate support.
  • Account Set-Up and Access: Upon subscribing to our services, Community Brands collects Business Information, which may include information such as product serial number, customer ID and your customer profile information. This allows us to identify you to authorize your access and use of the services, and to provide you with your relevant account information. Certain products allow you to access your account to obtain information such as your support plan status, service subscriptions, registrations, and order history.
  • Online Product /Account Application: Certain products and services are subject to an application and enrollment process, which may be completed on paper or online. Information requested may include federal ID numbers, bank account, payroll, credit card and contact information. This information is used to process your enrollment request and, if approved, to set up and administer your account.
  • Web-based Services: Some of our web-based Services collect certain additional information, including IP address, browser, connection speed, domain, referring URL and other environment-related information. This enables us to provide a secure environment for the use of the services, to pre-populate forms and calculate aggregate statistical information about the customers using these services. We use this information to better protect you and to provide a better user experience.

Support. We offer certain support services. If you access our support services, you may be asked for information such as customer ID, product name, product version, and other information to help us determine what the technical issues are and how best to help you resolve them. In addition, certain products allow you to submit support-related questions directly from the product. If you access online support services from a product, information about your network, operating system, and other similar information will be automatically pre-populated for submission to our customer support representatives to assist them in answering your questions.

Third-Party Products. Community Brands may use your business information to inform you of special discounts or offers from other companies we have carefully selected and whose products and services may be of interest to you.

Public Forums. Information (including personal and business information) that you submit, post, or otherwise reveal in a public forum (such as comments to a blog or product discussion forum) is not subject to this Privacy Policy, will be seen by third parties not related to Community Brands, and may be used by them or Community Brands to contact you for any purpose.

Registrations. To access information (blogs, demos of our products, marketing materials etc.) on the Websites, a user may be required to register with Community Brands. During registration a user is required to give certain information (such as name, email address, job title). This information is used to contact you about the products/services on our Website in which you have expressed interest.

Orders. We request information from you on our order forms. To buy from us, you must provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial information (like credit card number, expiration date). All payment data is stored by our payment processors, and you should review their Privacy Policies and contact the payment processor directly to respond to your questions. Community Brands uses this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we’ll use this information to contact you.

Surveys and Contests. From time-to-time, our Websites may request information via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you may choose whether or not to participate and therefore disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code). Contact information will be used to notify winners and award prizes, if applicable. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of the Websites.

Email and Text Communication. Each email and/or text we send will contain instructions on how to unsubscribe should you decide not to receive future promotional communication. If you choose to opt-out of receiving promotional email and/or text communications from Community Brands, we may still periodically communicate with you via email, mail, and telephone for non-promotional matters. Please allow up to 10 business days to be removed from our promotional communication list.

We send notification emails about the Website and Services from time to time as necessary. Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive them, you have the option to deactivate your account.

Third-Party Email Promotions. If you access and/or use any of our third-party provider’s (our Partners) services from a link on our Websites, a Community Brands/Partner co-branded site or by any other means, any information you reveal in connection with such service is submitted to our Partner and is not subject to this Privacy Policy. You should consult the privacy policy of any Partners or third-party site with respect to its treatment of any information that you may reveal through such service.

Services and Product Data. Business information collected by Community Brands does not include your company’s data entered in the course of operating our products (“Product Data“) or data provided by you while using our services (“Services Data“). Community Brands will not access your Product Data or Services Data except in the following limited circumstances:

  • to provide you with technical support, solely at your request and with your permission
  • on a limited-access basis to install updates, produce regular backups or restore data from backups at your request
  • where the inherent purpose of the product or service requires Community Brands to provide the Product Data or Services Data to a third party on your behalf (for example where Community Brands makes tax filings on your behalf or initiates bank transfers on your behalf); and
  • to utilize Aggregate Information derived from Product Data and Services Data to help us improve our products and services and in developing additional offerings. Aggregate Information is non-identifying information about you that is provided to third parties for analysis. For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of users of this Website and the activities they conduct while on this Website to better understand user experience. Third-parties who receive aggregate information cannot identify or contact you based on the information they receive

Community Brands will not provide your Product Data or Services Data to any third-party or permit any third-party to access your Product Data or Services Data, except with your permission or to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena, or court order. In addition, if at any time you decide to discontinue your use of the applicable service, your Services Data will be destroyed and removed from all servers according to terms set forth in your Customer Agreement, subject to applicable back-up and disaster recovery practices and procedures.

Employment Applications and Talent Management. As part of our recruitment and talent management process, we collect personal information with respect to individuals who are interested in working for us. In this context, we collect employment and application data, such as the following: contact information (e.g., name, title, residential or postal address, telephone number, and personal email address); information in a curriculum vitae, resumé, cover letter, or similar documentation; details regarding the type of employment sought, willingness to relocate, job compensation and benefit preferences; health data (e.g., medical conditions); information related to your background, education, criminal record, credit history and similar data; information provided about or by your references or other third parties related to your employment history, skills, qualifications, or education; and, information related to previous applications to us or previous employment history with us. When permitted by law, we may collect information about your race and ethnicity to assist with our diversity and inclusion programs. We use this information for the following purposes: to identify and evaluate job applicants; to verify your information; to complete employment, education, background and reference checks; to communicate with you about the recruitment process and your application; to comply with our legal, judicial, regulatory, administrative, or other corporate requirements; to analyze and improve our application and recruitment process; to accommodate individuals who may have specialized needs during the employment process; and to protect the rights, interests, and property of our business, other job applicants, employees, or the public, as required, or permitted, by law.

Cookies. Community Brands may place “cookies” on the browser of your computer. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies may enhance the convenience and use of the Websites. You may choose to decline cookies if your browser permits but doing so may affect your ability to access or use certain features of the Website.

Community Brands may also utilize web beacons on our Websites. A “web beacon,” also known as an Internet tag, pixel tag or clear GIF, links web pages to web servers and their cookies and may be used to transmit information collected through cookies back to a web server. The information collected through these automated means may include information that we gather and store about your visit to, and use of, the Websites, such as your IP address, type of browser and operating system used, date and time you access the websites, pages you visit, and, if you linked to the Websites from another website, the address of that website. This data does not include Personal Information and is not treated as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy, but it may include the IP address of your device. We may link an IP address to information that is personally identifiable.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can disable this function so that your browser will not accept cookies. Please be aware that disabling this function may impact your use and enjoyment of this Website.

Third-Party Analytics. We may also allow certain third-party analytics service providers to include cookies and web beacons within the pages of the Websites on our behalf and to retain and use the information received from such cookies and web beacons themselves. Third-party service providers that collect this data on our behalf may offer information about their data collection practices, and in some cases, an opt out on their respective websites which you can access here: http://www.google.com/analytics/.

Do Not Track. Currently, various browsers — including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari — offer a “do not track” or “DNT” option that relies on a technology known as a DNT header, which sends a signal to Web sites’ visited by the user about the user’s browser DNT preference setting. We do not currently commit to responding to browsers’ DNT signals with respect to the Company’s Web sites, in part, because no common industry standard for DNT has been adopted by industry groups, technology companies or regulators, including no consistent standard of interpreting user intent. We take privacy and meaningful choice seriously and will make efforts to continue to monitor developments around DNT browser technology and the implementation of a standard.

How Long Do We Keep Your Data

We may retain your information for a period of time consistent with the original purpose of collection. For instance, we may retain your information during the time in which you have an account to use our Web sites or Services and for a reasonable period of time afterward. We also may retain your information during the period of time needed for us to pursue our legitimate business interests, conduct audits, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

How Do We Protect Your Data

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the Websites, your information is protected both online and offline. We use appropriate security measures to protect the security of your data both online and offline. These measures vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect, process, store, and the current state of technology. Please note, though, that no website or internet transmission is completely secure, so while we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss or a data breach will never occur.

How We Share Data

Unless you give us your permission, we don’t share data we collect from you with third parties, except as described below:

Third-party service providers or consultants. We may share data collected from you on Community Brands Websites with third-party service providers or consultants who need access to the data to perform their work on Community Brands’ behalf. These third-party service providers are limited to only accessing or using this data to provide services to us and must provide reasonable assurances that they will appropriately safeguard the data.

Compliance with Laws. We may disclose your data to a third party if (i) we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or government request (including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements), (ii) to enforce our agreements and policies, (iii) to protect the security or integrity of the Community Brands Site or our services and products, (iv) to protect ourselves, our other customers, or the public from harm or illegal activities, or (v) to respond to an emergency which we believe in good faith requires us to disclose data to assist in preventing a death or serious bodily injury. If Community Brands is required by law to disclose any of your data that directly identifies you, then we will use reasonable efforts to provide you with notice of that disclosure requirement, unless we are prohibited from doing so by statute, subpoena or court or administrative order. Further, we object to requests that we do not believe were issued properly.

Business transfers. If we go through a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, data we gather from you through our website may be part of the assets transferred or shared in connection with due diligence for any such transaction. Any acquirer or successor of Community Brands may continue to use the data we collect from you through our Websites as described in this notice.

Aggregated or de-identified data. We might also share data collected from you from Community Brands Websites with a third party if that data has been de-identified or aggregated in a way that does not directly identify you.

We do not share your data (including, but not limited to, the personal data of your end users) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, unless you give us your consent to do so.

Employers – Career Center Solutions. An Employer, in our Career Center Solution, is a recruiter, company representative, agency or other individual who has contracted with Community Brands and is interested in contacting potential candidates, or job-seekers, for job openings. Relevant job-seeker resumes are provided to Employers, who may use that resume information to contact the job-seeker. This information is only made available to employers with the consent of the job-seeker. Community Brands does not share your data (including, but not limited to, the personal data of your end users) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, unless you give us your consent to do so.

Cross Border Transfers of Data

Community Brands’ headquarters are in the United States and as such, data may be transferred to the United States from the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, or another country that requires legal protections for international data transfer. Personal data will be transferred to the United States only: to fulfill contractual obligations to you; with your consent; or to fulfill a compelling legitimate interest of Community Brands in a manner that does not impeach on your rights and freedoms. We make every effort to ensure the security and protection of the data we transfer.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of personal data and adherence to Global Data Protection laws. Community Brands implements Standard Contractual Clauses to govern the transfer of data into the United States.

For EEA residents, you can find the contact details for your local data protection authority here https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm

 

View our Data Protection Agreement here.

 

View our List of Sub-Processors here.

Australia Privacy Rights

Data Privacy Rights. The personal information collected, stored, used, and/or processed by Community Brands, as described in this Privacy Policy, is collected, stored, used and/or processed in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth), as amended, and the Australia Privacy Principles (“APPs”). Further information regarding the APPs is set out on the Australian Government website www.oaic.gov.au. If you would like to update or access your personal information held by Community Brands, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. If you believe that the personal information that we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete, or inaccurate, then you may request we amend it and you may submit such a request by contacting us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below.

Complaint Process. Please notify us of any complaint you may have about our handling of your personal information by contacting us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below, and please set forth the details of your complaint. We will undertake commercially reasonable efforts to reply to your complaint within thirty (30) days and will, where necessary or appropriate, advise you of the general reasons with respect to how we responded to your complaint. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may submit a complaint at any time to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Canada Privacy Rights

Personal data (as the term is defined in the Personal Data Protection and Electronic Documents Act of Canada (“PIPEDA”)) may be collected, stored, used and/or processed by Community Brands in accordance with this Privacy Policy and Community Brands’ obligations under PIPEDA and other applicable Canadian provincial laws. Pursuant to Canadian law, you have a right to request access to your personal information and to request that inaccurate personal information be corrected. If you have submitted personal information to us and would like to have access to it, or have it corrected, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. When requesting access to, or correction of, your personal information, we will require that you verify our request via email and request specific data from you to enable us to confirm the authenticity of the request and your identity, and to enable us to search our records and databases. To delete your name from our electronic contact lists (text or email), please follow the applicable opt-out instructions included in each SMS/Text Marketing communication or contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. For more information about the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, please access its website.

California Privacy Rights

Data Privacy Rights. Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended (“CCPA”), California residents have additional data privacy rights, including (i) the right to be notified about what personal information is collected about you, and our intended use and purpose for collecting your personal information, (ii) the right to know and access personal information we have collected, used, disclosed, or sold about you over the past twelve (12) months, including the categories of personal information we have collected, used, disclosed, or sold about you, the categories of sources from which the personal information is collected, the business or commercial purpose for which your personal information was collected, used, disclosed, or sold, and the categories of third parties with whom we have shared your personal information, (iii) the right to request Community Brands to transfer, to the extent feasible, personal information in certain forms and formats, (iv) the right to request that we delete/erase your personal information under certain circumstances, and (v) the right not to be subject to discrimination for asserting your rights under the CCPA. The personal information we collect from you, the purposes for which it is used, the source of such personal information, and the parties to whom we share your personal information is set forth in this Privacy Policy. To exercise any of the CCPA’s data privacy rights set forth herein, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. If you would prefer, you may designate an authorized agent to submit a CCPA privacy request on your behalf. An authorized agent must be registered with the California Secretary of State to conduct business in California.

Privacy Request Verification Process. If you (or your authorized agent) make any request related to your personal information under the CCPA, Community Brands will ascertain your identity (and the identity of the authorized agent, to the extent applicable) to the degree of certainty required or permitted under the law before addressing your request. Community Brands will, to the extent required or permitted by law, require you (or your authorized agent) to verify your request via email or other means and match at least two or three pieces of personal information we have previously collected from you before granting you access to, or erasing, specific pieces or categories of personal information, or otherwise responding to your request. We may require written documentation that demonstrates a third party is authorized to serve as your agent for the purposes of submitting the requests set forth herein, unless you have provided the authorized agent with power of attorney pursuant to California Probate Code §§ 4121 to 4130. None of the CCPA’s rights are absolute and are subject to legal and regulatory exceptions and exemptions. For more information about the CCPA, please see: https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa.

Opt-Out Rights / Do Not Sell My Personal Information. California residents have the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information. Community Brands does not sell your personal information.

Privacy Rights

Community Brands is a service provider to our Customers and the data in our systems is owned by our Customers, meaning, our Customers have jurisdiction over the data and any end-user data subject request should be submitted directly to the Customer. Customer’s users may access, correct, and delete some information within the Platforms. If you have additional requests, please contact our Customer’s directly. Community Brands supports our Customers in all requests.

In compliance with Global Data Protection laws, Community Brands provides its Customers with specific additional rights such as the right to access, correction, and deletion as described below:

  • request access to categories and specific pieces of personal information about you
  • request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information about you;
  • request deletion of personal information about you;
  • request restrictions, temporarily or permanently, on our processing of some or all personal information about you;
  • request transfer of personal information to you or a third party where we process the data based on your consent or a contract with you, and where our processing is automated; and
  • opt-out or object to our use of personal information about you where either:
    • o our use is based on your consent or our legitimate interests, or
    • o you do not want us to share with third parties.

If you are a Community Brands Customer, you may exercise your rights by contacting Privacy@Communitybrands.com. All requests will be addressed within the timeframe required based on the applicable regulation. If the collection of your personal data was based on your consent, you have the right to revoke that consent at any time. Be aware that by revoking consent, you may lose access to Services you previously opted to use.

If you are not a Community Brands Customer and rather a user of our Services through an account you have with a Community Brands Customer, please contact that Customer directly.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We update this privacy statement when necessary to provide greater transparency or in response to:

  • Feedback from customers, regulators, industry, or other stakeholders
  • Changes in our products
  • Changes in our data processing activities or policies

When we post changes to this statement, we will revise the “Effective Date” date at the top of the statement. If there are material changes to the statement, such as a change to the purposes of processing of personal data that is not consistent with the purpose for which it was originally collected, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes before they take effect or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to learn how Community Brands is protecting your information.

How to Contact Us

Community Brands commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. Community Brands takes its users’ privacy concerns seriously.

If you believe that Community Brands has not complied with this Privacy Policy with respect to your personal information, please email us at privacy@communitybrands.com or by writing to the Community Brands Privacy Officer at the following address:

Community Brands
Attn: Privacy Officer
9620 Executive Center Dr. N #200
St. Petersburg, FL 33702
USA

In your letter, please include which Community Brands Platform you are inquiring about. The complete list of Community Brands platforms can be found here: https://www.communitybrands.com/company/our-brands/. Describe in as much detail as possible the ways in which you believe that the Privacy Policy has not been complied with. We will investigate your complaint promptly.

Please note that Community Brands is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of non- Community Brands websites to which this Site or any other Community Brands website may link. Also, Community Brands is not responsible for the privacy practices of its Customer or users of its Customer’s websites. You should review the additional privacy policy of the Customer site before using the site.

Introduction

This Privacy Policy applies to the Community Brands’ hosted product platforms and websites owned and operated by Community Brands, including, but not limited to www.communitybrands.com. Throughout this document, this website and all other Community Brands websites will be collectively referred to as the “Websites.” Services provided by or enabled via the Websites will be referred to as the “Services.”

At Community Brands (“CB”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or the “Company”), we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes the types of information we collect about users of our Company websites, and users of websites hosted by the Company on behalf of our customers (“Customers”). This Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect, use, and safeguard the information you provide to us and to assist you in making informed decisions when using our Services.

Community Brands provides services through our platforms for the purpose of fulfilling our Customer agreements (Customer Agreements). Community Brands processes Customer data under the direction of its Customers and has no direct relationship, control, or ownership of the personal data it processes under the Customer Agreement. Customers are responsible for complying with any regulations or laws that require providing notice, disclosure, and/or having a legal basis prior to transferring the data to Community Brands for processing purposes. If you are a customer of a Community Brands Customer, you should review any additional privacy policy and terms of use agreements before using a Community Brands Customer’s website. Community Brands is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of non-Community Brands websites to which this website, or any other Community Brands website, may link.

Community Brands Platforms

In addition to the Websites, Community Brands operates cloud-based software for its Customers – associations, nonprofits, and K-12 schools. The use of information collected through these platforms is strictly limited to the purpose of meeting our contractual obligations to our Customers and providing the services requested by our Customers, which are defined within our Customer Agreements.

Policy Regarding Children

Community Brands Websites and Services are not designed for use by children under the age of 16. As such, Community Brands Websites are not directed at children under the age of 16 nor do we knowingly collect information from children under the age of 16. With regard to our platforms, none of the Community Brands products are intended to collect information from children but our Customers may collect information about children. Through our agreements with our Customers, we require that our Customers comply with all laws with regard to processing data about children.

A Note to Parents & Children

If you are a child under 16 in the European Union or UK or a child under 13 in the United States, you may access the Service only to the extent that consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibly over you. Please speak with your parent or guardian about this Privacy Policy so you can better understand how we use your personal data. We make reasonable efforts to verify that consent is given or authorized by the holder of parental responsibility over you, and, if we learn or have reason to suspect that we have collected personal data from you without parental consent, we will promptly delete it.

Parental Access

A parent who has already given Community Brands or our Customer permission to collect, use, and share their child’s personal information can, at any time, do the following: (1) review, correct, or delete the child’s personal information; and/or (2) discontinue further collection, use, or sharing of the child’s personal information.

Community Brands offers products that support schools and is a proud signatory of the Student Privacy Pledge 2020.

What Data Do We Collect

Depending upon the Community Brands Website or Service you are accessing or other method of contact, we may collect the following information:

  • Contact details such as (for example) your full (i.e., first, and last) name, institutional affiliations, phone number, email address, and postal address.
  • Educational and professional background information
  • Employment and application data
  • Event registration information
  • Tuition, admission, and financial aid information
  • Payment Data
  • Usernames and passwords that may be used on some of the Community Brands Websites
  • Comments, feedback, posts, and other content you submit to the Community Brands Websites
  • Information you provide to or post on message boards or chat rooms that are part of the Community Brands Websites
  • Interests and communication preferences.

How Do We Collect and Use Data

Community Brands provides products such as platforms, websites, and apps to our Customers. Community Brands’ Customers are the owners of the personal information collected from their end-users. Our Customers decide what data to collect (this typically includes information about their end-users (customers, prospects, employees, consultants or independent contractors, suppliers, and other individuals or third parties). We only collect this information under the direction of our Customers and have no direct relationship with the individuals whose personal information we process on behalf of our Customers.

Community Brands accesses and collects information that you voluntarily give us via email, webform or other direct contact from you. We will use your information to respond to you, regarding the reason you contacted us. We will not sell or rent this information to anyone. We may disclose information to our corporate affiliates and third parties to provide products and services to you or related to products or services you have purchased or downloaded from Community Brands. Unless you ask us not to, we may contact you via email or text message in the future to tell you about our services, new products, changes to this privacy policy or to provide you with informational or educational newsletters.

Community Brands may access Customer Data for the purposes of providing and enhancing a service, preventing or addressing service or technical problems, responding to support issues, and responding to a Customer’s instructions, or as may be required by law, in accordance with the relevant Agreement between the Customer and Community Brands.

Our information collection and use practices are described in more detail below.

Product-Related Information Collection

Community Brands collects certain additional information in connection with your use of our Services, web-based products and/or desktop products with online features. For instance:

  • Product Updates: Some products provide you with the ability to download and register product and/or tax updates as they become available. During the download and registration process, we collect “Business Information”, including customer ID number and product version, type, and serial number. This is collected so that we can authorize your access, provide you with the appropriate update, and to update our records as to the product and products updates you have downloaded or installed, so that we may provide the appropriate support.
  • Account Set-Up and Access: Upon subscribing to our services, Community Brands collects Business Information, which may include information such as product serial number, customer ID and your customer profile information. This allows us to identify you to authorize your access and use of the services, and to provide you with your relevant account information. Certain products allow you to access your account to obtain information such as your support plan status, service subscriptions, registrations, and order history.
  • Online Product /Account Application: Certain products and services are subject to an application and enrollment process, which may be completed on paper or online. Information requested may include federal ID numbers, bank account, payroll, credit card and contact information. This information is used to process your enrollment request and, if approved, to set up and administer your account.
  • Web-based Services: Some of our web-based Services collect certain additional information, including IP address, browser, connection speed, domain, referring URL and other environment-related information. This enables us to provide a secure environment for the use of the services, to pre-populate forms and calculate aggregate statistical information about the customers using these services. We use this information to better protect you and to provide a better user experience.

Support. We offer certain support services. If you access our support services, you may be asked for information such as customer ID, product name, product version, and other information to help us determine what the technical issues are and how best to help you resolve them. In addition, certain products allow you to submit support-related questions directly from the product. If you access online support services from a product, information about your network, operating system, and other similar information will be automatically pre-populated for submission to our customer support representatives to assist them in answering your questions.

Third-Party Products. Community Brands may use your business information to inform you of special discounts or offers from other companies we have carefully selected and whose products and services may be of interest to you.

Public Forums. Information (including personal and business information) that you submit, post, or otherwise reveal in a public forum (such as comments to a blog or product discussion forum) is not subject to this Privacy Policy, will be seen by third parties not related to Community Brands, and may be used by them or Community Brands to contact you for any purpose.

Registrations. To access information (blogs, demos of our products, marketing materials etc.) on the Websites, a user may be required to register with Community Brands. During registration a user is required to give certain information (such as name, email address, job title). This information is used to contact you about the products/services on our Website in which you have expressed interest.

Orders. We request information from you on our order forms. To buy from us, you must provide contact information (like name and shipping address) and financial information (like credit card number, expiration date). All payment data is stored by our payment processors, and you should review their Privacy Policies and contact the payment processor directly to respond to your questions. Community Brands uses this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we’ll use this information to contact you.

Surveys and Contests. From time-to-time, our Websites may request information via surveys or contests. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and you may choose whether or not to participate and therefore disclose this information. Information requested may include contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code). Contact information will be used to notify winners and award prizes, if applicable. Survey information will be used for purposes of monitoring or improving the use and satisfaction of the Websites.

Email and Text Communication. Each email and/or text we send will contain instructions on how to unsubscribe should you decide not to receive future promotional communication. If you choose to opt-out of receiving promotional email and/or text communications from Community Brands, we may still periodically communicate with you via email, mail, and telephone for non-promotional matters. Please allow up to 10 business days to be removed from our promotional communication list.

We send notification emails about the Website and Services from time to time as necessary. Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive them, you have the option to deactivate your account.

Third-Party Email Promotions. If you access and/or use any of our third-party provider’s (our Partners) services from a link on our Websites, a Community Brands/Partner co-branded site or by any other means, any information you reveal in connection with such service is submitted to our Partner and is not subject to this Privacy Policy. You should consult the privacy policy of any Partners or third-party site with respect to its treatment of any information that you may reveal through such service.

Services and Product Data. Business information collected by Community Brands does not include your company’s data entered in the course of operating our products (“Product Data“) or data provided by you while using our services (“Services Data“). Community Brands will not access your Product Data or Services Data except in the following limited circumstances:

  • to provide you with technical support, solely at your request and with your permission
  • on a limited-access basis to install updates, produce regular backups or restore data from backups at your request
  • where the inherent purpose of the product or service requires Community Brands to provide the Product Data or Services Data to a third party on your behalf (for example where Community Brands makes tax filings on your behalf or initiates bank transfers on your behalf); and
  • to utilize Aggregate Information derived from Product Data and Services Data to help us improve our products and services and in developing additional offerings. Aggregate Information is non-identifying information about you that is provided to third parties for analysis. For example, we might inform third parties regarding the number of users of this Website and the activities they conduct while on this Website to better understand user experience. Third-parties who receive aggregate information cannot identify or contact you based on the information they receive

Community Brands will not provide your Product Data or Services Data to any third-party or permit any third-party to access your Product Data or Services Data, except with your permission or to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena, or court order. In addition, if at any time you decide to discontinue your use of the applicable service, your Services Data will be destroyed and removed from all servers according to terms set forth in your Customer Agreement, subject to applicable back-up and disaster recovery practices and procedures.

Employment Applications and Talent Management. As part of our recruitment and talent management process, we collect personal information with respect to individuals who are interested in working for us. In this context, we collect employment and application data, such as the following: contact information (e.g., name, title, residential or postal address, telephone number, and personal email address); information in a curriculum vitae, resumé, cover letter, or similar documentation; details regarding the type of employment sought, willingness to relocate, job compensation and benefit preferences; health data (e.g., medical conditions); information related to your background, education, criminal record, credit history and similar data; information provided about or by your references or other third parties related to your employment history, skills, qualifications, or education; and, information related to previous applications to us or previous employment history with us. When permitted by law, we may collect information about your race and ethnicity to assist with our diversity and inclusion programs. We use this information for the following purposes: to identify and evaluate job applicants; to verify your information; to complete employment, education, background and reference checks; to communicate with you about the recruitment process and your application; to comply with our legal, judicial, regulatory, administrative, or other corporate requirements; to analyze and improve our application and recruitment process; to accommodate individuals who may have specialized needs during the employment process; and to protect the rights, interests, and property of our business, other job applicants, employees, or the public, as required, or permitted, by law.

Cookies. Community Brands may place “cookies” on the browser of your computer. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies may enhance the convenience and use of the Websites. You may choose to decline cookies if your browser permits but doing so may affect your ability to access or use certain features of the Website.

Community Brands may also utilize web beacons on our Websites. A “web beacon,” also known as an Internet tag, pixel tag or clear GIF, links web pages to web servers and their cookies and may be used to transmit information collected through cookies back to a web server. The information collected through these automated means may include information that we gather and store about your visit to, and use of, the Websites, such as your IP address, type of browser and operating system used, date and time you access the websites, pages you visit, and, if you linked to the Websites from another website, the address of that website. This data does not include Personal Information and is not treated as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy, but it may include the IP address of your device. We may link an IP address to information that is personally identifiable.

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can disable this function so that your browser will not accept cookies. Please be aware that disabling this function may impact your use and enjoyment of this Website.

Third-Party Analytics. We may also allow certain third-party analytics service providers to include cookies and web beacons within the pages of the Websites on our behalf and to retain and use the information received from such cookies and web beacons themselves. Third-party service providers that collect this data on our behalf may offer information about their data collection practices, and in some cases, an opt out on their respective websites which you can access here: http://www.google.com/analytics/.

Do Not Track. Currently, various browsers — including Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari — offer a “do not track” or “DNT” option that relies on a technology known as a DNT header, which sends a signal to Web sites’ visited by the user about the user’s browser DNT preference setting. We do not currently commit to responding to browsers’ DNT signals with respect to the Company’s Web sites, in part, because no common industry standard for DNT has been adopted by industry groups, technology companies or regulators, including no consistent standard of interpreting user intent. We take privacy and meaningful choice seriously and will make efforts to continue to monitor developments around DNT browser technology and the implementation of a standard.

How Long Do We Keep Your Data

We may retain your information for a period of time consistent with the original purpose of collection. For instance, we may retain your information during the time in which you have an account to use our Web sites or Services and for a reasonable period of time afterward. We also may retain your information during the period of time needed for us to pursue our legitimate business interests, conduct audits, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

How Do We Protect Your Data

We take precautions to protect your information. When you submit sensitive information via the Websites, your information is protected both online and offline. We use appropriate security measures to protect the security of your data both online and offline. These measures vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect, process, store, and the current state of technology. Please note, though, that no website or internet transmission is completely secure, so while we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss or a data breach will never occur.

How We Share Data

Unless you give us your permission, we don’t share data we collect from you with third parties, except as described below:

Third-party service providers or consultants. We may share data collected from you on Community Brands Websites with third-party service providers or consultants who need access to the data to perform their work on Community Brands’ behalf. These third-party service providers are limited to only accessing or using this data to provide services to us and must provide reasonable assurances that they will appropriately safeguard the data.

Compliance with Laws. We may disclose your data to a third party if (i) we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or government request (including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements), (ii) to enforce our agreements and policies, (iii) to protect the security or integrity of the Community Brands Site or our services and products, (iv) to protect ourselves, our other customers, or the public from harm or illegal activities, or (v) to respond to an emergency which we believe in good faith requires us to disclose data to assist in preventing a death or serious bodily injury. If Community Brands is required by law to disclose any of your data that directly identifies you, then we will use reasonable efforts to provide you with notice of that disclosure requirement, unless we are prohibited from doing so by statute, subpoena or court or administrative order. Further, we object to requests that we do not believe were issued properly.

Business transfers. If we go through a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, data we gather from you through our website may be part of the assets transferred or shared in connection with due diligence for any such transaction. Any acquirer or successor of Community Brands may continue to use the data we collect from you through our Websites as described in this notice.

Aggregated or de-identified data. We might also share data collected from you from Community Brands Websites with a third party if that data has been de-identified or aggregated in a way that does not directly identify you.

We do not share your data (including, but not limited to, the personal data of your end users) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, unless you give us your consent to do so.

Employers – Career Center Solutions. An Employer, in our Career Center Solution, is a recruiter, company representative, agency or other individual who has contracted with Community Brands and is interested in contacting potential candidates, or job-seekers, for job openings. Relevant job-seeker resumes are provided to Employers, who may use that resume information to contact the job-seeker. This information is only made available to employers with the consent of the job-seeker. Community Brands does not share your data (including, but not limited to, the personal data of your end users) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, unless you give us your consent to do so.

Cross Border Transfers of Data

Community Brands’ headquarters are in the United States and as such, data may be transferred to the United States from the European Economic Area (“EEA”), Switzerland, or another country that requires legal protections for international data transfer. Personal data will be transferred to the United States only: to fulfill contractual obligations to you; with your consent; or to fulfill a compelling legitimate interest of Community Brands in a manner that does not impeach on your rights and freedoms. We make every effort to ensure the security and protection of the data we transfer.

We are committed to protecting the privacy of personal data and adherence to Global Data Protection laws. Community Brands implements Standard Contractual Clauses to govern the transfer of data into the United States.

For EEA residents, you can find the contact details for your local data protection authority here https://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm

 

View our Data Protection Agreement here.

 

View our List of Sub-Processors here.

Australia Privacy Rights

Data Privacy Rights. The personal information collected, stored, used, and/or processed by Community Brands, as described in this Privacy Policy, is collected, stored, used and/or processed in accordance with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth), as amended, and the Australia Privacy Principles (“APPs”). Further information regarding the APPs is set out on the Australian Government website www.oaic.gov.au. If you would like to update or access your personal information held by Community Brands, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. If you believe that the personal information that we hold about you is incorrect, incomplete, or inaccurate, then you may request we amend it and you may submit such a request by contacting us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below.

Complaint Process. Please notify us of any complaint you may have about our handling of your personal information by contacting us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below, and please set forth the details of your complaint. We will undertake commercially reasonable efforts to reply to your complaint within thirty (30) days and will, where necessary or appropriate, advise you of the general reasons with respect to how we responded to your complaint. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may submit a complaint at any time to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Canada Privacy Rights

Personal data (as the term is defined in the Personal Data Protection and Electronic Documents Act of Canada (“PIPEDA”)) may be collected, stored, used and/or processed by Community Brands in accordance with this Privacy Policy and Community Brands’ obligations under PIPEDA and other applicable Canadian provincial laws. Pursuant to Canadian law, you have a right to request access to your personal information and to request that inaccurate personal information be corrected. If you have submitted personal information to us and would like to have access to it, or have it corrected, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. When requesting access to, or correction of, your personal information, we will require that you verify our request via email and request specific data from you to enable us to confirm the authenticity of the request and your identity, and to enable us to search our records and databases. To delete your name from our electronic contact lists (text or email), please follow the applicable opt-out instructions included in each SMS/Text Marketing communication or contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. For more information about the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, please access its website.

California Privacy Rights

Data Privacy Rights. Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended (“CCPA”), California residents have additional data privacy rights, including (i) the right to be notified about what personal information is collected about you, and our intended use and purpose for collecting your personal information, (ii) the right to know and access personal information we have collected, used, disclosed, or sold about you over the past twelve (12) months, including the categories of personal information we have collected, used, disclosed, or sold about you, the categories of sources from which the personal information is collected, the business or commercial purpose for which your personal information was collected, used, disclosed, or sold, and the categories of third parties with whom we have shared your personal information, (iii) the right to request Community Brands to transfer, to the extent feasible, personal information in certain forms and formats, (iv) the right to request that we delete/erase your personal information under certain circumstances, and (v) the right not to be subject to discrimination for asserting your rights under the CCPA. The personal information we collect from you, the purposes for which it is used, the source of such personal information, and the parties to whom we share your personal information is set forth in this Privacy Policy. To exercise any of the CCPA’s data privacy rights set forth herein, please contact us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section listed below. If you would prefer, you may designate an authorized agent to submit a CCPA privacy request on your behalf. An authorized agent must be registered with the California Secretary of State to conduct business in California.

Privacy Request Verification Process. If you (or your authorized agent) make any request related to your personal information under the CCPA, Community Brands will ascertain your identity (and the identity of the authorized agent, to the extent applicable) to the degree of certainty required or permitted under the law before addressing your request. Community Brands will, to the extent required or permitted by law, require you (or your authorized agent) to verify your request via email or other means and match at least two or three pieces of personal information we have previously collected from you before granting you access to, or erasing, specific pieces or categories of personal information, or otherwise responding to your request. We may require written documentation that demonstrates a third party is authorized to serve as your agent for the purposes of submitting the requests set forth herein, unless you have provided the authorized agent with power of attorney pursuant to California Probate Code §§ 4121 to 4130. None of the CCPA’s rights are absolute and are subject to legal and regulatory exceptions and exemptions. For more information about the CCPA, please see: https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/ccpa.

Opt-Out Rights / Do Not Sell My Personal Information. California residents have the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information. Community Brands does not sell your personal information.

Privacy Rights

Community Brands is a service provider to our Customers and the data in our systems is owned by our Customers, meaning, our Customers have jurisdiction over the data and any end-user data subject request should be submitted directly to the Customer. Customer’s users may access, correct, and delete some information within the Platforms. If you have additional requests, please contact our Customer’s directly. Community Brands supports our Customers in all requests.

In compliance with Global Data Protection laws, Community Brands provides its Customers with specific additional rights such as the right to access, correction, and deletion as described below:

  • request access to categories and specific pieces of personal information about you
  • request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete personal information about you;
  • request deletion of personal information about you;
  • request restrictions, temporarily or permanently, on our processing of some or all personal information about you;
  • request transfer of personal information to you or a third party where we process the data based on your consent or a contract with you, and where our processing is automated; and
  • opt-out or object to our use of personal information about you where either:
    • o our use is based on your consent or our legitimate interests, or
    • o you do not want us to share with third parties.

If you are a Community Brands Customer, you may exercise your rights by contacting Privacy@Communitybrands.com. All requests will be addressed within the timeframe required based on the applicable regulation. If the collection of your personal data was based on your consent, you have the right to revoke that consent at any time. Be aware that by revoking consent, you may lose access to Services you previously opted to use.

If you are not a Community Brands Customer and rather a user of our Services through an account you have with a Community Brands Customer, please contact that Customer directly.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We update this privacy statement when necessary to provide greater transparency or in response to:

  • Feedback from customers, regulators, industry, or other stakeholders
  • Changes in our products
  • Changes in our data processing activities or policies

When we post changes to this statement, we will revise the “Effective Date” date at the top of the statement. If there are material changes to the statement, such as a change to the purposes of processing of personal data that is not consistent with the purpose for which it was originally collected, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes before they take effect or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to learn how Community Brands is protecting your information.

How to Contact Us

Community Brands commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. Community Brands takes its users’ privacy concerns seriously.

If you believe that Community Brands has not complied with this Privacy Policy with respect to your personal information, please email us at privacy@communitybrands.com or by writing to the Community Brands Privacy Officer at the following address:

Community Brands
Attn: Privacy Officer
9620 Executive Center Dr. N #200
St. Petersburg, FL 33702
USA

In your letter, please include which Community Brands Platform you are inquiring about. The complete list of Community Brands platforms can be found here: https://www.communitybrands.com/company/our-brands/. Describe in as much detail as possible the ways in which you believe that the Privacy Policy has not been complied with. We will investigate your complaint promptly.

Please note that Community Brands is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of non- Community Brands websites to which this Site or any other Community Brands website may link. Also, Community Brands is not responsible for the privacy practices of its Customer or users of its Customer’s websites. You should review the additional privacy policy of the Customer site before using the site.