Effective September 1, 2009:
Wordster, Inc. (“Wordster” or “we”) owns and operates Wordster.com. This Privacy Policy describes Wordster’s use and sharing of personally identifiable information (“PII”-- full name, email address, mailing address, birth year and other data that Members voluntarily provide to Wordster when they register (also known as “Registration PII”). The Term “User” refers to a Visitor or a Member. This Privacy Policy applies to the services offered by Wordster, including any Wordster-branded URL (the “Wordster Website”), and other features (for example, music and video embedded players), Wordster mobile services, and any other features, content, or applications offered from time to time by Wordster in connection with the Wordster Website (collectively, the “Wordster Services”). The Wordster Services are hosted in the United States. The Wordster Website is a general audience site and does not knowingly collect PII from children under 10 years of age. From time to time Wordster may modify this Privacy Policy to reflect industry initiatives or changes in the law, our PII collection and use practices, the features of the Wordster Services, or technology, and such modifications shall be effective upon posting by Wordster on the Wordster Website. Your continued use of the Wordster Services after Wordster posts a revised Privacy Policy signifies your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. It is therefore important that you review this Privacy Policy regularly to ensure you are updated as to any changes. If Wordster materially changes its practices regarding collection or use of your PII, your PII will continue to be governed by the Policy under which it was collected unless you have been provided notice of, and have not objected to, the change.
COLLECTION AND SUBMISSION OF PII AND NON-PII ON WORDSTER
General. When Wordster collects PII from you it is because you are voluntarily submitting Registration PII to us in order to register as a Member of Wordster. Wordster may also collect PII from you if you choose to participate in Wordster Services activities like sweepstakes, contests, and surveys, because you want us to furnish you with products, services, newsletters, or information, or in connection with content or suggestions you submit to Wordster for review. In addition, Wordster collects other non-PII including IP address, aggregate user data, and browser type. This data is used to manage and improve the Wordster Services, track usage, and for security purposes. Wordster Members may also choose to provide or store non-PII information in their profiles, including but not limited to year of birth, interests, hobbies, groups with whom they are affiliated (schools, companies), videos and/or pictures, bulletins or personal statements (collectively “Profile Information”). The Profile Information in a Member’s profile is provided at his or her sole discretion. Wordster Members can change their Registration PII and Profile Information at any time and can control how Visitors, other Members and Wordster may view content that has been posted by the Member. The Member controls the Profile Information that is displayed along with their submitted content via their account settings, available within the “Edit Profile” portion of their Wordster profile. Cookies. Cookies are small bits of information that Wordster places on your computer. Wordster uses cookies to identify your Internet browser, store Users’ preferences, and determine whether you have installed the enabling software needed to access certain material on the Wordster Services. Data in cookies may be read to authenticate user sessions or provide services. Third party advertisements displayed on Wordster Services may also contain cookies set by Internet advertising companies or advertisers (known as “third party cookies”). Wordster does not control these third party cookies and Users of the Wordster Services should check the privacy policy of the Internet advertising company or advertiser to see whether and how it uses cookies. See the “Notice” section below for more information on customized advertising on Wordster. A pixel tag is a tiny image inserted in a webpage and used to record the number and types of views for that page. Wordster may allow third party pixel tags to be present on Wordster Services for purposes of advertising, providing services or data and statistics collection. You can program your computer to warn you each time a cookie is being sent, block third party cookies or block all cookies. However, by blocking all cookies you may not have access to certain features on the Wordster Services.
NOTICE: WORDSTER WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH NOTICE ABOUT ITS PII COLLECTION PRACTICES
When you voluntarily provide PII to Wordster, we will make sure you are informed about who is collecting the information, how and why the information is being collected and the types of uses Wordster will make of the information to the extent it is being used in a manner that differs from what is allowed pursuant to this Privacy Policy. At the time you provide your PII, Wordster will notify you of your options regarding our use of your PII (See “Choice” below). Except as described in this Privacy Policy, Wordster will not share your PII with third parties unless you have given Wordster permission to do so (See “Use” below). Wordster Services may be linked to Internet sites operated by other companies. Wordster Services may also carry advertisements from other companies. Wordster is not responsible for the privacy practices of websites or other services operated by third parties that are linked to or integrated with the Wordster Services or for the privacy practices of third party Internet advertising companies. Once you leave Wordster Services via such a link, access a third party application (such as widgets) or click on an advertisement, you should check the applicable privacy policy of the third party or advertiser site to determine, among other things, how they will handle any PII they collect from you. Wordster Services may also be linked to sites operated by companies affiliated “Affiliated Companies” with Wordster. Users who visit those Affiliated Company sites should still refer to their separate privacy policies and practices, which may differ in some respects from this Privacy Policy. Wordster may use cookies and similar tools to customize the content and advertising you receive based on the Profile Information you have provided. Profile Information you provide in structured profile fields or questions (multiple choice questions like “Marital Status,” “Education” and “Children”) (“Structured Profile Information”), information you add to open-ended profile fields and questions (essay questions like “About Me,” “Interests” and “Movies”) (“Non-Structured Profile Information”) and other non-PII about you may also be used to customize the online ads you encounter to those we believe are aligned with your interests. The information used for this feature does not provide your PII or identify you as an individual to third parties. Some of the advertisements that appear on Wordster Services may also be delivered to you by third party Internet advertising companies. These companies utilize certain technologies to deliver advertisements and marketing messages and to collect non-PII about your visit to or use of Wordster Services, including information about the ads they display, via a cookie placed on your computer that reads your IP address. Third party applications (such as widgets) created by third party developers may also be available on the Wordster Services. Third party applications are small bits of software, often with interactivity, that can be installed into Members’ profiles or shared with other Users. However, Wordster does not control the third party developers, and cannot dictate their actions. When a Member engages with a third party application, that Member is interacting with the third party developer, not with Wordster. Wordster encourages Members not to provide PII to the third party’s application unless the Member knows the party with whom it is interacting.
CHOICE: WORDSTER WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH CHOICES ABOUT THE USE OF YOUR PII
Except as described in this Privacy Policy, Wordster will get your permission before we use the PII you provide to us in a way that is inconsistent with the purpose for which it was submitted or share your PII with third parties that are not affiliated with Wordster.
USE: WORDSTER'S USE OF PII
Wordster will only use the PII you provide under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy. If Wordster obtains PII from a third party, such as a business partner, our use of that information is also governed by this Privacy Policy. In order to locate content items that have been provided by other Wordster Members, Wordster allows Users to search for Members using Registration PII (i.e., first initial +last name, first name+last name initial, or school, etc.,). Wordster may also enable Members to publicly display some Registration PII as an element of their Profile Information if they choose to do so via a profile setting under “Edit Profile.” Search engines may index the portion of a Member’s profile (including the Profile Information it contains) that is publicly displayed. If you have consented to receive promotional materials (e.g., newsletters) or notifications from Wordster, Wordster may periodically use your email address to send you such materials related to the Wordster Services, as applicable. If you want to stop receiving such materials from Wordster, you can change your profile settings under “Account Settings,” or follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email. Wordster employees, agents and contractors must have a business reason to obtain access to your PII. Wordster may share your PII with those who help us manage or provide Wordster Services’ information activities (for example, statistical analyses, data processing), or with outside contractors, agents or sponsors who help us with the administration, judging and prize fulfillment aspects of contests, promotions and sweepstakes. These outside contractors, agents or sponsors may temporarily store some information on their servers, but they may only use your PII to provide Wordster with a specific service and not for any other purpose. Wordster may also provide your PII to a third party in those instances where you have chosen to receive certain information and have been notified that the fulfillment of such a request requires the sharing of your PII. Wordster also may share your PII with Affiliated Companies if it has a business reason to do so. As described in “Notice” above, Wordster may customize the advertising and marketing messages you receive on the Wordster Website, or may work with outside companies to do so. Your non-PII and/or Profile Information may be shared with these companies so this customization can be accomplished. Wordster prohibits these companies from sharing your non-PII and/or Profile Information with any third party or from using it for any other purpose. Anonymous click stream, number of page views calculated by pixel tags, and aggregated demographic information may also be shared with Wordster’s advertisers and business partners. There may be instances when Wordster may access or disclose PII, Profile Information or non-PII without providing you a choice in order to: (i) protect or defend the legal rights or property of Wordster, our Affiliated Companies or their employees, agents and contractors (including enforcement of our agreements); (ii) protect the safety and security of Users of the Wordster Services or members of the public including acting in urgent circumstances; (iii) protect against fraud or for risk management purposes; or (iv) comply with the law or legal process. In addition, if Wordster sells all or part of its business or makes a sale or transfer of all or a material part of its assets or is otherwise involved in a merger or transfer of all or a material part of its business, Wordster may transfer your PII to the party or parties involved in the transaction as part of that transaction. When a Member who is located in the European Union chooses to post Profile Information that will be publicly disclosed, that Member is responsible for ensuring that such information conforms to all local data protection laws. Wordster is not responsible under the EU local data protection laws for Member-posted information.
SECURITY: WORDSTER PROTECTS THE SECURITY OF PII
Wordster uses commercially reasonable administrative, technical, personnel and physical measures to safeguard PII and credit card information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification. In addition, Wordster uses reasonable methods to make sure that PII is accurate, up-to-date and appropriately complete.
ACCESS, REMEDIES AND COMPLIANCE: HOW TO ACCESS, CORRECT OR CHANGE YOUR PREFERENCES REGARDING YOUR PII AND HOW TO CONTACT WORDSTER ABOUT PRIVACY CONCERNS
Whenever possible, Wordster Members may review the Registration PII we maintain about them in our records. We will take reasonable steps to correct any PII a Member informs us is incorrect. If you are a Member, you can view and change your Registration PII, Member preferences and Profile Information by logging into your account and accessing features such as “Edit Profile.” If you ask Wordster to stop using your PII, Wordster will honor that request while retaining any record of your PII that is necessary to comply with applicable federal, state or local law. If you would like to communicate with us about this Privacy Policy or Wordster’s collection and use of your PII please contact Wordster at:
Email:privacy@Wordster.com
Mail: 75 Fifth Street, NW Suite 246-A Atlanta, Georgia 30308
