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Last updated 1
August 2003
This privacy policy applies to the use of our Sites
(as defined below) by users ("you") who are accessing the services
of SavingStreet, LLC. and its subsidiaries, and affiliates (collectively,
"SavingStreet", "we", "us" and "our").
The SavingStreet family of sites, including but not limited to SavingStreet.com,
are committed to your privacy and security. To that end, we want you to
understand what types of information we gather from you, how this information
is used and safeguarded, and how you can control its use.
SavingStreet Privacy Basics:
To make this Privacy Policy easy to understand, we have built it around
5 simple privacy basics.
- Notice - You have a right to
know what data is collected by SavingStreet at what part of our Sites
and how in general it will be used.
- Choice - You have a right to
choose (or choose not to) share information with us and our partners,
where it is reasonable to do so.
- Access, Edit and Non-Use - You
have a right to access, edit and review Personally Identifiable Information
(information which may, on its own be directly traceable to you, such
as your name, phone number or address) on our Sites.
- Non-Use - You have a right to
know how to contact us to ask that we no longer use your information
- Security - You have a right to
know how we protect your Personally Identifiable Information.
This privacy policy covers the following issues:
- What information is collected from me?
- How is my information used?
- Cookies
- Registration
- Tools
- User-Requested Services
- Solicited Information
- User-Initiated Communication o Referrals
- Automatically Gathered Data
- What choices do I have regarding the use of my
information?
- How do I "opt-out"?
- How can I access and change my information?
- What do I do if I no longer want Market Information
sent to me?
- How is my information protected?
- Scope of This Privacy Policy: Outside Links
- Effective Date and Modifications
- Contacting Us
What information is collected from
me?
The types of information we collect from you will vary, depending on how
you use our Sites. It is possible to browse our Sites without submitting
any Personally Identifiable Information ("personal information")
at all, but if you choose to take advantage of some of our products and
services, you may be asked to provide information such as a user name
and password, your full name, e-mail address, phone number, address, or,
for certain financial products or services, and for certain e-commerce
transactions your credit card information. Whenever we ask for this kind
of information, we strive to provide a link to this Privacy Policy to
help you understand how your personal information will be used before
you decide whether to disclose it.
In addition to the personal information you choose to submit, our systems
are set up to gather certain anonymous data to help us to better understand
how our Sites are being used and how we can improve them. This automatically
gathered data includes your computer's Internet Protocol ("IP")
address, statistics about how visitors navigate through our Sites and
information provided through the use of "cookies" (which is
described in more detail below).
As you visit our Sites, be aware that third parties may at times be able
to gather information from and about you. For example, third party advertiser
servers, companies that place advertisements on our Sites and companies
offering products or services through our Sites may use cookies to collect
and use information about you and may collect information that you submit.
In these cases, the third parties will use such information according
to their own privacy policies that may differ from this Privacy Policy.
How is my information used?
The use of your information depends on the context in which it is collected.
Therefore, pay special attention to the categories below that relate to
the features of our Sites that you wish to utilize. In addition to using
your personal information as set forth below, note that we may disclose
the information that we collect about you when we have reason to believe
that it is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against
persons or entities who may be causing injury to you, to us or to others,
and may also disclose such information when we believe that the law requires
it, such as identifying (but not limited to) violations of our Terms and
Conditions.
We may link information collected from you through various means, including
information collected automatically and through the use of cookies and
purchase information, or other personal information you provide to help
us offer content, advertisements, products and services that we believe
will be of interest to you, and this information may also be shared among
our Sites. In addition, we may share this information, in aggregate form,
with our current and potential advertisers so they can present advertisements
more effectively.
If you have indicated that you want to be contacted by third parties,
we may use the information we collect to select which names to provide
to a particular third party in order to present you with products and
services that we believe will be of interest to you, but we will not disclose
this type of information, other than your Contact Information (information
that provides a means of contacting you), to any such third party.
SavingStreet may use anonymous data automatically gathered by our servers
so that we can understand how to make our Sites more convenient and useful
to our audience. This information may also be shared among our Sites and
used for similar purposes. In addition, we may share this information,
in aggregate form, with our current and potential advertisers or marketing
allies so they can try to present advertisements and content more effectively.
We may also use aggregate information to share information with the public
regarding products, services, content or tools that may of interest to
them. If we sell off a division, merge with another company or spin off
a business, your information may be included in such a transaction. However
if such a transaction occurs we will notify you of the event and give
you an opportunity to respond.
Cookies:
Cookies are small files that we send to and your computer stores (optionally,
based upon your individual configuration) so that we can recognize it
as a unique computer the next time you visit our Sites. Our cookies are
used for three purposes: (1) to keep track of your information for your
own convenience; (2) to help us optimize your online experience by altering
our content depending on your particular needs or browsing patterns, and
to provide you with advertisements, products and services that we believe
will be of interest to you; and (3) to help us understand the size of
our audience and their traffic patterns within our Sites. Some of our
advertisers and third-party ad servers may also utilize their own cookies.
Also, companies offering products or services through a SavingStreet Web
site may use their own cookies. Several of them may be part of the Network
Advertising Initiative's ("NAI") Self Regulatory Principles
Governing Online Preference Marketing. To read their Privacy Principles
click
here. To opt out of the NAI's Online Preference Marketing, click
here. In addition, we sometimes use "clear GIFs" in connection
with cookies and other website functions. Clear GIFs perform administrative
functions without detracting from the your online experience. They may
be used to perform statistical and administrative tasks including measuring
site and page traffic, verifying advertising avenues and positioning images
on the web. Clear GIFs do not collect personal information.
Registration:
The personal information you provide when you become a registered user
of one of our Sites is used primarily to help us customize your online
experience. This personal information may also be shared among our Sites
to make your use of our Sites more convenient by, for example, limiting
the number of times you have to register with us. Your e-mail address
serves as a unique identifier in our record system, and it is used together
with your password to prevent unauthorized access to any information you
choose to store on our Sites. The data you give us about your personal
preferences and demographics (e.g., your age, ZIP code, occupation or
the like) may be used to help us offer content, advertisements, products,
and services that we believe will be of interest to you. In addition,
we may share this information, in aggregate form, with our current and
potential advertisers so that they can present advertisements more effectively.
If you forget your password for any registered area of our Sites, we have
an automated password recovery system, which can be accessed by clicking
on the "Forgot Password?" link on the sign in page. Customer
Care does not have access to your password. Please note that we do not
knowingly accept or store any Personally Indentifiable Information about
any individual under the age of 13 under any circumstances. If we become
aware that Personally Indentifiable Information regarding an individual
under the age of 13 has been stored, we will promptly delete it from our
records
- For our Home Buyer Management System, "My
SavingStreet," you may be required to submit information about
yourself (including contact and financial information), your home, neighborhood
and lifestyle preferences as well as other information necessary to
assist you in locating the home you would like to purchase through SavingStreet.
This information is stored for your convenience and will not be used
by other parties for marketing purposes without your consent and then
only for the purposes of offering the products or services that you
request (unless you indicate you prefer otherwise). Your e-mail address
serves as a unique identifier in our record system, and it is used together
with your password to prevent unauthorized access to any information
you choose to store on our Sites. The data you give us about your personal
preferences and other information (e.g., your age, ZIP code, occupation
and the like) may be used to help us offer content, advertisements,
products, and services that we believe will be of interest to you. In
addition, we may share this information, in aggregate form, with our
current and potential advertisers and marketing allies so that they
can present advertisements and services more effectively.
- Unless you specify that you'd prefer not to hear
from us, we may also use the e-mail address you provide at the time
of registration to contact you for promotional or other purposes. You
may have these communications terminated at any time. If you indicate
that you're interested in hearing from other companies, we may also
share your Contact Information with such companies for that purpose.
We may have to contact you now and then to inform you of changes to
your service, a change in this Privacy Policy or other administrative
purposes. These administrative e-mails will not contain any advertisements.
Tools:
Our Sites allow you to use many helpful tools, such as financial and home
improvement calculators, real estate search tools and other tools most
of which will not ask you to disclose any personal information. These
tools are for your benefit, and the information you submit when you use
them (typically impersonal data) is not disclosed to anyone or used for
any purpose other than to provide you with the service you're seeking.
However there are several online tools where we may ask your permission
to use the personal information you enter in order to offer services,
products or information that we believe may be of use to you or to merge
such information into your profile registration. When using such tools
you will always be given the opportunity to opt-out of sharing or storing
such information.
User-Requested Services:
You may choose to request products or services of a more substantial or
personal nature when using our Sites. For example, you may apply for a
loan from a lender advertised on one of our sites, request our help in
locating a remodeling contractor, store your preferences for convenience
in using our Sites or make an online purchase. The information you provide
when seeking these services may be used in the following ways
- For services provided by our Sites, the information
you submit is used by us to provide the service you've requested. We
may also share this information with subcontractors or third-party vendors,
but only to the extent necessary to fulfill your request or to facilitate
your use of their services. For instance, we may use your information
on My SavingStreet to pre-populate a form to be sent to the provider
of a service you request, but the information will not be transmitted
for use in providing the service by that provider until you choose to
submit the information to them. In addition, we may use the contact
information and non-financial order information you've supplied, such
as your e-mail address, as set out in the registration section, above.
Further, for tools on SavingStreet, we may, with your permission, contact
you by phone to request additional information to help you find products
and services that we believe you will find useful. You are not required
to cooperate with any telephone requests by SavingStreet. If the service
you request requires submission of financial information, such as a
credit card number for an online purchase, rest assured that this financial
information is used only for processing your payment, and is not retained
after completion of your order. We may, however, store your non-financial
order information for accounting purposes and to help us understand
your preferences better, so that we can offer you products or services
in the future that you may find useful.
- For products and services offered to you jointly
by us and a third party, your personal information may be shared with
or independently gathered by the third party. In these situations, SavingStreet
will endeavor to only use your personal information as outlined in this
Privacy Policy, but the third party may use the information in different
ways. You can tell when a product or service is offered by a third party,
because a page of our Sites will be "co-branded" and will
display the third party's logo and/or name along with our own, or you
will be linked to the third party's site to complete the transaction.
Please be aware that each company we do business with has its own policies
regarding the use and protection of your information that may differ
from those outlined in this Privacy Policy. If you are concerned about
how your personal information might be used or protected by a third
party, we encourage you to become familiar with its Privacy Policy before
using the service or requesting the product.
- From time to time, we may wish to use personal
information you provide when requesting a product or service for purposes
beyond those listed above. If this is the case, you will always be notified
of the additional use prior to your submitting the personal information,
and you'll be given a chance to opt-out of that use or to not complete
the request for the particular product or service.
Solicited Information:
You may occasionally see contests, surveys and other features of our Sites
that ask you to provide us with personal information. When you choose
to respond to these requests, the personal information you offer may be
used for several purposes. These include the uses set out in the registration
section above. They also include providing information to third parties
as necessary for prize fulfillment and other aspects of any contest, sweepstakes,
game or other promotion. If we are going to use your personal information
for any other purpose, we will notify you of that purpose and give you
a chance to opt-out before responding to our survey or participating in
our contest, sweepstakes, game or other promotion. Any contest, sweepstakes,
game or other promotion that is accessible through the Site is governed
by specific rules. By entering any such contest, sweepstakes, game or
other promotion, you will become subject to those rules. We urge you to
read the applicable rules, which are linked from the particular contest,
sweepstakes, game or other promotion.
User-Initiated Communication:
Portions of our Sites enable you to send e-mail to us or to third parties
(such as Real Estate Professionals) and to participate in public bulletin
boards and discussion groups. All postings to public bulletin boards and
discussion groups become our property. Whenever you choose to initiate
these kinds of communication with us, or anyone else, you may expect to
be contacted in return. Also, remember that our bulletin boards and discussion
groups are open to the public, and therefore, your postings can be seen
by anyone and are not protected by us or any other entity. Please use
your own discretion when deciding what to post publicly and whom to contact.
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to edit or delete inappropriate
postings from our bulletin boards and discussion groups; provided, however,
the reservation of this right shall not, under any circumstances, obligate
us to conduct such editing or deletions.
Referrals:
If you participate in any referral service we may offer, we will use the
information you submit to determine which of our participating professional(s)
may be able to serve your needs. We may then forward your name, Contact
Information and other responses contained on our sign-up form to the selected
professional(s), who may then contact you using that information. Any
information you provide also may be used by us in accordance with the
uses set out in the registration section, above. In some cases we may
store these communications to home professionals or other third parties,
but solely for the purpose of assisting the professional in tracking their
communications.
Automatically Gathered Data:
The information gathered automatically by our system-such as your computer's
IP address, the kind of browser you're using, and a record of your navigation
through our site-may be used by SavingStreet so we can understand how
to make our sites convenient and useful to our audience. This information
may also be shared among our Sites and used for similar purposes. In addition,
we may share this information, in aggregate form, with our current and
potential marketing allies and advertisers so they can know how to present
their advertisements more effectively. When such data is aggregated, all
Personally Indentifiable Information is eliminated.
What choices do I have regarding the
use of my information?
Reading this Privacy Policy should help you understand how any information
you share with us might be used. If you feel concerned about any of these
uses, you might elect not to participate in certain services, features
or products that we offer. We will never collect personal information
about you without your knowledge, so the decision whether or not to share
this information is completely up to you.
How do I "opt-out"?
You also have the ability to terminate e-mail correspondence from us at
any time. You may be given the chance to opt-out of direct mailings when
you disclose your e-mail address to us. Further, you can reply to any
of our mails and type "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or send
an e-mail to Privacy@SavingStreet.com
with your request and we will promptly remove you from that particular
e-mail service. To opt-out or request that we not use your My SavingStreet
profile information to market information to you, please e-mail Privacy@SavingStreet.com
with your request. If you feel concerned about the cookies that are sent
between our computers and yours, you may, through your Web browser, either
choose to reject them automatically, or have your computer prompt you
before accepting them. Generally, this is done by selecting the appropriate
cookies setting on your Web browser (usually found in "Internet Options"
or "Preferences"). Please note, however, that some of our features
and services depend on the use of cookies. Therefore, you will be unable
to take advantage of those features if you choose not to accept cookies.
How can I access and change my information?
To view, edit or delete the personal information you submitted on our
Sites during registration or elsewhere as described above, follow the
instructions found in the "My SavingStreet" area of the Site(s)
where you registered or submitted personal information.
What do I do if I no longer want Market
Information sent to me?
If you would like us to no longer use your personal information we may
gather from you to market information to you:
How is my information protected?
Whenever personal information about you is stored on our computers, that
information is password-protected from unauthorized access or use. In
addition, this information is kept only on servers that are located behind
a firewall, which makes their contents inaccessible to outside users.
Since your financial information is especially sensitive, we take special
care to keep it secure. We will only transmit or ask for this information
over secure Internet connections, using SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption,
the currently accepted standard for online security, and security keys.
In addition, we require password authentication from any third parties
you've authorized to receive this information. Finally, your credit card
number and financial information are rarely stored on our servers, as
most orders are processed by our marketing allies providing the service
or product requested. While this means you may have to enter this information
more than once, we believe the added security is worth the extra effort.
In those instances where we store such data, we protect the data on secure
servers and transmit the information using secure Internet connections.
Of course, we appreciate your help in safeguarding the integrity of your
own and others' privacy. We hope you'll use common sense whenever you
disclose personal information over the Internet. Just as importantly,
we encourage you to let us know immediately if you suspect that the information
you share with us is being used in any way contrary to this Privacy Policy.
Finally, unfortunately no data transmission over the Internet or the storage
of information on servers can be guaranteed to be 100% secure and while
we strive to protect your personal information (as described herein),
we cannot guarantee or warrant its complete security. To contact us, please
send an e-mail to: Support@SavingStreet.com.
Scope of This Privacy Policy: Outside
Links
This Privacy Policy only applies to our Sites. Our Sites contain links
to sites operated and maintained by third parties over which we have absolutely
no control. Please be aware that these sites may collect information about
you, and operate according to their own privacy practices that may differ
from this Privacy Policy. Remember that once you're outside our Sites,
any information you submit is outside of our control.
Effective Date and Modifications
This Privacy Policy is effective as of the date first written above and
may be updated and modified from time to time by us in our sole discretion.
If we choose to update or modify this Privacy Policy, such updated or
modified policy shall become effective upon its posting on the Site. Accordingly,
we encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy and the Site
in order to keep apprised of our current privacy practices. If you do
not agree to any provision of this Privacy Policy, or any update or modification
thereto, please do not use the Site.
Contacting Us
If you have concerns about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices
in general, contact us at:
Privacy Administrator
Legal Department
SavingStreet, LLC
410 17th Street
Sixth Floor
Denver, CO 80202
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