When does Trulos collect personally identifiable information?
When a user registers at one of the Trulos sites or services, we collect personally identifying information from them. The more information the user provides, the better we are able to customize our services and their experience to suit their particular needs and preferences. In addition to registration, we may collect personally identifiable information from the user when they enter contests, sweepstakes, participation in promotions and special programs, register for premium or customized services, conduct a purchase at one of our merchants or affiliates, subscribe to one of our publications, or download a software product or plug-in. If a user is making a purchase or enrolling in a premium service for which there is a fee, we will collect credit card information which will include billing address, and other verifiable information of that user’s identity. In addition, we may collect personally identifiable information from that user when they provide content to Trulos for display or use on the site, including but not limited to, when users participate in surveys, message posting to bulletin boards or chat areas, submission of personals or other classified listings, building of a home page, reporting a problem with one of our site’s services, or submission of a letter to the editor. How is a user’s personally identifiable information used?
Trulos’s main goal is to provide a customized and targeted user experience within Trulos. For instance, a user’s personally identifiable information enables us to greet that user when they return to Trulos or use it’s services, and provides them with news and information that Trulos believes will be of interest to them. We review our users’ preferences, demographics, traffic patterns, and other information in the aggregate so that we can better understand who our audience is and what it is they need and want. Tracking user preferences also helps Trulos in targeted advertising. Targeted advertisements are more interesting for users, and are more productive for our clients. If a local grocery market wants to advertise an upcoming sale, we can target the ad to registered users who live near that grocery market. Please note that we do not share personally identifying information with the advertiser. We or third party ad servers acting on our behalf act as the middleman between the user and the advertisers that want to reach said users.(Third party ad servers are not entitled to collect or use personally identifying information). We use the information we collect in non-intrusive common sense ways, like using a user’s credit card number to provide them with products and/or services that they requested. All credit card information is transmitted in an encrypted form, using SSL (secure socket layer) encryption, the industry-standard. Although, we will use all reasonable efforts to safeguard the privacy of personal information, transmissions made by means of the Internet cannot be made absolutely secure. Trulos assumes no liability for disclosure of data due to errors in transmission or unauthorized third parties.
Finally, when a user has registered for one or more of Trulos’s services, Trulos will send information to that user, via e-mail, about products and services, or third party products and services we believe may be of interest to them. If the user does not wish to receive these mailings, they can simply check off the appropriate box when they register, or update their profile at any time after registration so they no longer receive such offers and mailings. Users need to check the registration screens applicable to the service, promotion, or product offer for which they are signing-up for. Specific instructions on how to update user profile information, and/or opt out of receiving offers and mailings is available at the time of registration and whenever the user logs in.
IMPORTANT! Third party vendors whom sell products and services within Trulos, have their own policies which may differ from Trulos’s.
What other information does Trulos collect and how is it used?
Cookies.
Trulos uses cookies to store and track user preferences to provide them with a more personalized experience. A cookie is a message that is sent to a user’s browser from a Web server and stored on that user’s computer’s hard drive. Almost all commercial Internet sites use cookies. A user can set their browser preferences to reject all cookies (see below) but then they will not be able to participate in most of Trulos’s customized services, and they may also be required to repeatedly type in personally identifying information in order to participate in various services, promotions, or product offerings. Cookies make the experience easier by saving the user’s preferences, purchases, and passwords. For example if a user chooses “Automatic Login” during registration, Trulos will store a scrambled version of their username in a permanent “cookie” file on their hard drive so that Trulos can track their personalized services and preferences from one visit to the next. We also use cookies that contain no personal information at all. These cookies, help us estimate our audience size, determine which areas of the Trulos are the most popular, and serve targeted advertising.
IP Address.
Trulos may also collect IP addresses for the purposes of systems administration or to report information in aggregate form to our advertisers (e.g. how many visitors logged in to a Trulos site). An IP address is a number that is assigned to a computer automatically when it logs onto the Internet. When a user visits a particular web page within the Trulos site, our servers log that personal computer’s IP address. That IP address is not linked to anything personally identifiable. With whom does Trulos share information with?
User information is shared by Trulos in order to provide users with a more integrated and customized experience within Trulos. In general, we will not disclose personally identifiable information to third parties except to the extent necessary to provide a requested product or service, or under circumstances required by law. However, many of the services available through the Trulos are offered in conjunction with third parties (e.g. personalized stock quotes or online e-mail). We may disclose personal information (such as an email address) to third parties, but we will notify that user of such disclosure prior to transferring the data. If a user make a purchase from a Trulos merchant, the information provided in connection with that purchase is delivered also to that merchant in order to facilitate that transaction. Any personally identifiable information provided online as part of an advertiser promotion (e.g. online coupons) may also be shared directly with the advertiser.
In general we will only disclose personally identifiable information to the extent necessary to complete the transaction, administer the promotion, or fulfill the request. However, specific uses of personal information that vary from this Privacy Statement may be found the in the Terms of Service or privacy policies applicable to that particular service or offering. In addition, third party sponsors may administer sweepstakes, contests, promotions, and other programs. To the extent that the users are notified of such uses of personal information which are different from those described in this Policy Statement during the user’s enrollment in any particular service, sweepstakes, contest or promotion, the uses of which they are specifically notified will govern that service, sweepstakes, contest or promotion. Users should be on the look-out for terms of service and privacy statements applicable to the services for which they sign-up or participate in. In general, third parties that receive information about the user from the Trulos will be obligated to notify that user and provide them with an opt-out method before sending direct communications. IMPORTANT Trulos does not control the privacy policies of our advertisers and other third party sites to which we provide banner ads and or links. We assume no responsibility or liability for these third party policies or the actions of non-affiliated third parties.
We will disclose your personal information when we believe in good faith that any applicable law, regulation, or legal process requires it, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect or enforce our rights or the rights of another user. We disclose aggregated user statistics (for example, the percentage of our users who access our Service from work) in order to describe our services and reach to prospective partners, advertisers, and other third parties. However aggregate data is not traceable to you specifically.
What are the user’s options to control the use of personal information?
Most browsers can be configured to reject cookies or alert the user when cookies are being sent. However, if a user refuse the cookies, it is possible that some portions of the Trulos, such as contests, shopping, or personalized stock quotes may not work properly for them.
A user may cancel their registration to any Trulos service and/or request the removal of their personal information from our user records by sending e-mail to [email protected]. We will confirm this request via e-mail. After the user responds to the confirmation, we will remove said information from the Trulos database. Residual information may remain in our archives and records, but this information will not be used for a commercial purpose (however we may notify the user of major changes to our service from time to time). We reserve the right to maintain information on registered users who have violated our Terms of Service or who have had their access to the Trulos blocked in order to detect repeat offenders.
What else should a user know about their privacy?
A user should be aware that if they voluntarily disclose personal information online in a public area, that information may be collected and used or abused by others. Trulos does not control the actions of our visitors and registered users. If a user discloses their own personal information in a chat room, forum, on their home page, or any other publicly accessible place on Trulos, they do so at their own risk, and they also understand that their submitted information may be collected and used by others to send unsolicited messages, advertisements, or for other purposes.
It is important that a user remembers that their protection of privacy begins with themselves. The user is solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of any password they use to register, and they should always be careful and responsible whenever disclosing information online.
What about a child’s personally identifiable information?
Trulos is profoundly clear about protecting the privacy of children. We encourage kids to involve their parents in any online activities they participate in. Except where otherwise disclosed, Trulos will not collect or use any personal information from children we know to be under the age of thirteen without obtaining express parental consent. All general information collected from users under the age of thirteen is used only for aggregate statistical analysis. Where users under the age of 13 are permitted to participate in contests, they may be required to provide the e-mail address of their parent or guardian so that we can send notification and prices to the parent or guardian.
Acceptance of Privacy Policy.
By using the Trulos sites and services, the user signifies theirour acceptance of this Privacy Statement. If they do not agree or are not comfortable with any policy described in this Privacy statement, the user’s only remedy is to discontinue use of the Trulos. We reserve the right, to modify this Privacy Statement at any time. The continued use of any portion of the Trulos following notification or posting of such changes, will constitute the user accepts all of such changes.
If there are any questions or concerns about specific policies, please send e-mail to [email protected]