Privacy Philosophy
At PlaceSite we believe very strongly that people, not companies, should own their own personal information. As consumers ourselves we hate getting spam and telemarketing calls from companies we haven't chosen to do business with.
When you sign up for PlaceSite and entrust us with your personal information, we feel an obligation not to do anything with it that you would not approve of.
We also believe that you have an obligation -- to inform yourself about how companies use your private information. Does your bank provide credit card companies with your name and address? Where do all those telemarketers get your phone number? We encourage you to read and understand our privacy policy, ask any questions you have, and do the same when you deal with other companies who might not be as proactive about your privacy as we are. You can always contact us at privacy@placesite.com with questions or comments.
PlaceSite's Guiding Privacy Principles
- Your personal information is your own, and you decide who will have access to it.
- You maintain ownership rights to your personal information, even if PlaceSite undergoes business transitions or policy changes. (See "Change of Ownership or Other Business Transition" section below for more information.)
- You may add, delete, or modify your personal information at any time you're in a PlaceSite place.
- PlaceSite will not update or modify your personal information without your permission.
- PlaceSite will not sell, exchange, or otherwise share your personal information with third parties, unless required by law or in accordance with your explicit instructions.
- PlaceSite does not send spam (unsolicited e-mail), maintain spam mailing lists, or support the activities of spammers.
By using PlaceSite's Software, Services and/or Sites, you accept this Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions, and expressly consent to our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information in the manner described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and subject to the terms of our Terms and Conditions. This Privacy Policy applies to all Web sites operated or controlled by PlaceSite.
Information Collection and Use
PlaceSite Users: Your Information
When you join PlaceSite you provide us with "Your Account Information," and you may provide us with "Your Profile Information," which are each described in detail below. (We refer to both categories together as "Your Information").
- Your Account Information: Your username and your private password are required by PlaceSite so that you can fully enjoy PlaceSite's benefits.
- Your Profile Information: This information is optional. When you join PlaceSite, you can store contact information about yourself (e.g., name, e-mail address, phone number, postal address, etc.) in your profile. You may then choose to share each piece of this information with other people through our Services within range of that place's wireless signal (i) always, (ii) never, or (iii) only when you are at a specific location.
We use Your Information to enable you to use PlaceSite's software and services. Specifically:
- Your Account Information: This information is stored on PlaceSite's secure servers and is not intentionally shared with any outside parties. If you forget your password and you specified an e-mail address as part of Your Profile Information, we'll ask you to enter the email address on record with PlaceSite, and we'll e-mail your login information to that address.
- Your Profile Information: You maintain your PlaceSite Profile using the Software through PlaceSite designated Web site (the "Site") in a PlaceSite location. You specify the information that is contained in Your PlaceSite Profile and also control how Your Profile Information is made available to others by configuring the privacy options for each applicable field. We use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that your choices are honored.
You may choose from three privacy options for each piece of Your Profile Information:
- "Always" -- Information marked "Always" is visible to other people within range of the specified place's wireless signal, regardless of whether you're physically present in that place.
- "When I'm Here" -- Information marked "When I'm Here" will only be visible to other people within range of the specified place's wi-fi service, and it will only be visible when you are logged in to PlaceSite within that range.
- "Never" -- Information marked "Never" will not be seen by other people at all. Some people choose this setting to temporarily hide information, while keeping it on hand so they can later reveal the information without re-entering it.
You may change these privacy options as often as you wish.
Notwithstanding the above, we may use Your Information:
- For license reporting and assessment of service levels, for example calculating the number of users in a database;
- To better understand on an aggregated basis how our products and services are used, to gauge traffic patterns and to determine what types of content and services are most popular with users of our products and services;
- To verify access rights to content, services or software;
- To provide you with information about PlaceSite products, services, news and events through our sites or through e-mail;
- To allow you to purchase and download PlaceSite products and services; and/or
- To provide you with personalized content and services.
Boundaries of a PlaceSite "Place"
PlaceSite services are tied to specific physical places, but we cannot always limit a PlaceSite's visibility to the physical walls of its associated place. This visibility is based upon the range of that place's wireless signal. For example, a cafe's PlaceSite may be visible not only to people sitting inside the cafe, but also to people in front of the cafe or in a place next door to the cafe. Wherever a PlaceSite wi-fi access point can be accessed, that PlaceSite and the information shared on it may be viewed.
Limited Data Sharing with Third Parties
PlaceSite is committed to protecting your privacy. We will only intentionally share Your Information with third parties in accordance with your instructions and in order to provide you specific services.
We may share aggregated and/or anonymous demographic information with our business partners but no such information will be linked to Your Account Information, Your Profile Information or other personally identifiable information.
Despite our efforts to protect Your Information, we cannot ensure that all of your private communications and other personally identifiable information will never be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this Privacy Policy. By way of example (without limiting the foregoing), we may be forced to disclose information to the government, law enforcement agencies or third parties under certain circumstances, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, or Members may abuse or misuse your information that they collect from our Sites. Therefore, although we use industry standard practices to protect your privacy, we can not promise, and you should not expect, that your personally identifiable information or private communications will always remain private.
Legal Requests
PlaceSite cooperates with law enforcement inquiries. . We may disclose any information about you to law enforcement or other government officials, or any other third party, as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate in connection with an investigation of fraud, intellectual property infringements, or other activity that is illegal or may expose us or you to legal liability.
Rights to Your Information
You have the right to access, correct, update, and/or delete Your Information at any time you're in a PlaceSite place. You can do so by logging into the Site with your username and password. PlaceSite will use commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that you will retain these rights even in the event of a business transition (see "Change of Ownership or Other Business Transition" section below for more information).
Changes to your information are typically executed immediately. For example, if you change privacy settings for Your Profile Information, these changes will appear upon subsequent requests to PlaceSite's servers from any other users.
Change of Ownership or Other Business Transition
In the event PlaceSite goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition or the sale of all or substantially all of its assets (a "Business Transition"), your membership in PlaceSite and the PlaceSite servers containing Your Information will, in most instances, be part of the assets transferred. In such event, you will be notified via e-mail and/or through a notice on the Site and/or any other appropriate methods prior to the Business Transition, and PlaceSite's custody of Your Information will be transferred subject to all the terms and restrictions in the then-current Privacy Policy.
Following a Business Transition, PlaceSite or its successors will continue to use Your Information in accordance with the then-current Privacy Policy. If, however, we plan to use Your Information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify you via e-mail and/or through a notice on our Site and/or any other appropriate methods. You will have a choice as to whether or not we use Your Information in this different manner or whether you elect to discontinue use of the Software and Services. Whether or not you wish to have Your Information used in this different manner, you will retain ownership rights to Your Information and the ability to delete Your Information at any time you're in a PlaceSite place. Please note, if you have deleted or deactivated your account with the Services, you will not be contacted, nor will Your Information be used in this different manner.
Cookies
In order to improve our services for your benefit, we use "cookies" when you are logged into PlaceSite using your e-mail address and password. A cookie is a piece of data that is transferred to your browser by a Web server and can only be understood by the server that gave it to you. It functions as your computer's identification token and enables PlaceSite to personalize your experience when you are signed in to the Site. If you reject the cookie, you may not be able to sign up for some of the Services or use certain features of the Site.
Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether to accept it. (For some Web pages that require an authorization, cookies are not optional. Users choosing not to accept cookies will probably not be able to access those pages.)
While PlaceSite uses cookies to enable you to use our services, and our Web servers automatically log the Internet Protocol ("IP") address of your computer, PlaceSite does not use this information to identify you personally except to provide you with the features of our services.
Log Files and Backups
Like most Internet services, we use log files on the server side. The data held in log files includes your IP address, browser type, e-mail application, Internet service provider ("ISP"), referring/exit Web pages, computer platform type, date/time stamp, and user activity. PlaceSite uses server log data to analyze trends, administer the Services and the Site, and improve service levels. IP addresses are not tied to any personally identifiable information.
Associated log and temporary files are stored on PlaceSite's servers. These files store Your Account Information, your permissions, preference settings, system notifications as well as other data necessary to operate the PlaceSite service. Your Information may also exist within regularly performed server backups.
Member Communications
We may send new Members confirmation e-mails verifying the ownership of the e-mail addresses provided in Your Account Information. We also communicate with you to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to your account. For example, if you provide an e-mail address while signing up, later forget your password, and then ask that we send you a password reminder, we will use that address to send you that reminder.
Members may occasionally receive information on PlaceSite products, services, news and events. Out of respect for your privacy, we present you with the option of not receiving these communications. You may change your current setting by modifying your Account preferences using the Site.
On rare occasions it may be necessary to send out a strictly service-related announcement which is not promotional in nature. This announcement may notify you of changes to the Privacy Policy and/or Terms of Service Agreement, as well as planned service suspensions and outages. Generally, you may not opt-out separately from these communications, though you can deactivate your account. These notifications will generally be sent to a validated e-mail address for your account.
Links
The Site contains, and the Software may present, links to other sites. Please be aware that PlaceSite is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave PlaceSite or otherwise link to other sites, to read the privacy policies of each and every site that collects personally identifiable information. PlaceSite's Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by PlaceSite Services, the Software or the Site.
If you use a bulletin board, chat room or other messaging services on this site, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit there can be read, collected, or used by other users of these forums, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. We are not responsible for personally identifiable information you choose to submit in these forums.
Children's Privacy
PlaceSite is committed to protecting the privacy needs of children and we encourage parents and guardians to take an active role in their children's online activities and interests. PlaceSite's Services and Site are not intended for and may not be used by children under the age of 16. PlaceSite does not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 16 and PlaceSite does not target its Services, Software and Site to children under 16.
Government Authority
You should be aware that, as with all legal contracts, our Terms of Service and this Privacy Policy could be amended, terminated or modified without the consent of you and/or PlaceSite by judicial proceeding, court order, in connection with bankruptcy or other insolvency proceedings, or pursuant to other government action. When reasonable and lawful, we will notify you if this occurs.
Security and Confidentiality
- If you forget your password, you will be asked to provide the e-mail address that you specified while signing up. A temporary password will be mailed to you at that address.
- The Services use Secure Socket Layer ("SSL") for client-server communication containing Your Account Information.
- Your Web-based access to Your Account Information is protected by an encrypted password. We recommend that you do not disclose your password to anyone.
- Your Information resides on a firewall-protected server that only selected PlaceSite personnel have access to. PlaceSite strives to prevent unauthorized parties from viewing Your Information.
Changes to the PlaceSite Privacy Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time based on your comments and our need to accurately reflect our data collection and disclosure practices. All changes to this policy are effective after we provide you with at least (30) days notice of such changes by sending an email to all Members or by posting the new Privacy Policy on the Site with a link from the Site's homepage. We provide you with (30) days notice to allow you the opportunity to notify PlaceSite if you do not agree to such changes. If you do not agree to such changes we may be forced to suspend your profile and discontinue your access to the service. Continued use of our Software, Services or Site will be deemed your consent to any changes to the Privacy Policy.
Contacting Us
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding the Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@placesite.com or via postal mail at:
PlaceSite, Inc.
104 Laidley Street
San Francisco, CA 94131
USA