Privacy Policy & Agreement

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF USE CAREFULLY BEFORE USING THIS SITE.

Overview

Your privacy is important to MatchingDonors, Inc. We understand that health is a very personal, private subject, and we want you to feel as comfortable as possible visiting our Website and using its services. Perhaps you are visiting MatchingDonors to learn about organ donation for yourself, perhaps on behalf of someone else. This Privacy Policy & Agreement (“Privacy Policy”) will tell you what information we collect about you and about your use of our Website. It will explain how we protect that information and what choices you have about how it is used. We urge you to read this Privacy Policy carefully so that you will understand clearly both our commitment to you and your privacy, and how we may collect and use information. By using the MatchingDonors site, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

MatchingDonors also complies with the standards set by Health on the Net [HON].Please remember that any information (including personal and medical information) that you reveal in a MatchingDonors publicly viewable area (such as a bulletin board, public profile, posting, chat room/event, membership profile, group profile) is not protected by this Privacy Policy. Such postings will be seen by third parties not related to MatchingDonors. What you’ve written could be used by others in ways we are unable to control or predict, including to contact you for unauthorized purposes. Also, if you access a third-party site from a link on MatchingDonors, any information you reveal on that site is not subject to this Privacy Policy. You should consult the privacy policies of each site you visit.

The following are the provisions of our Privacy Policy that describe the information we collect from or about you; ways we disclose, use and protect that information; choices you have, and how you can update your information or contact us with questions. We hope that reading our Privacy Policy gives you a clear idea of how we manage information about you.

INFORMATION COLLECTED ABOUT YOU

A. Information Collected by MatchingDonors or on MatchingDonors Behalf

In GeneralPersonally, Identifiable Information (PII or Personal Information) is information that can be used to identify or contact you. When you visit our Website, MatchingDonors collects only the Personal Information you provide to us. We collect the Personal Information that you provide to us in two general and distinct ways: (1) When you register as a Member and/or when you update your Member Profile, and (2) When you choose to use various MatchingDonors Interactive Tools and Services or participate in surveys or send e-mails to MatchingDonors. We also collect non-personal information from you and about your use of our Website, e-mails, special promotions and newsletters that we send to you, and Websites of selected sponsors and advertisers. For example, MatchingDonors may use cookies” or “web beacons” to collect non-personal information about your use of our site, selected sponsors sites, or e-mails we send to you. MatchingDonors does not store any Personal Information in any cookies on your computer. MatchingDonors does not use web beacons to collect any Personal Information from or about you or to track your activities across Websites generally. All of these are described in more detail below.Any television network, radio station or any other media that airs, shows or prints any of our Public Service Announcements will be considered a Sponsor of MatchingDonors and automatically allows MatchingDonors to print or show in any media, royalty free, that they are a Sponsor of MatchingDonors; including the use of the media name and logo.

Registration and Member Profile

When you put in your information into MatchingDonors.com, and you do not sign up for a membership, you agree to be contacted by MatchingDonors.com by telephone and e-mail on a regular basis to see if we can help you get your membership completed.You may use many of our Website’s features without registering or submitting any Personal Information. In that case, the only information we collect will be non-personal information collected through the use of cookies or web beacons (see details below). However, in order to have access to certain services and content available on our site (e.g., Registering as a person in need of an organ), you are required to complete a registration form. We use the Personal Information that you provide through registration to respond to questions from you and/or inform you of significant changes to this Privacy Policy. We may also use this information to send you e-mails with special promotions or newsletters with content that we think may be of interest to you. You can always opt-out of receiving such e-mails or unsubscribe to newsletters at any time – see Article 4 below for more detail about opting-out of receiving e-mails and newsletters.

Interactive Tools

We also collect other information, some of which may be Personal Information, that you voluntarily provide to us when you choose to use some of the MatchingDonors Interactive Tools and Services. We also collect information you provide voluntarily through responses to surveys, questionnaires and the like. Some of the free Interactive Tools on our site ask you for Personal Information.

Cookies

We also collect anonymous, non-personal information about your use of our site or your use of e-mails, special promotions or newsletters that we send to you. For example, we collect non-personal information about your use of our site and your use of the sites of selected sponsors and advertisers through the use of “Cookies”. Cookies are small computer files that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive that allow us to know how often someone visits a site and the activities they conduct while on that site (such as the chat rooms you visited, whether you submitted orders for products, etc.). Every computer is assigned a different cookie by MatchingDonors. The information collected by cookies helps us dynamically generate advertising and content on web pages or in e-mails specifically designed for you and also allows us to statistically monitor how many people are using our site and selected sponsors and advertiser’s sites, or opening our e-mails, and for what purposes. We may use cookie information to target certain advertisements to your browser or to determine the popularity of certain content or advertisements.Your browser software can be set to reject all cookies. Most browsers offer instructions on how to reset the browser to reject cookies in the “Help” section of the tool bar. If you reject our cookie, certain of the functions and conveniences of our site may not work properly but you do not have to accept our cookie in order to productively use our site. While it may be possible to link non-personal cookie information to Personal Information collected in other ways, we want you to know that if you accept our cookie we will not, without your consent, link the cookie information we collect to Personal Information you provide to us on our site.

Web Beacons

In limited circumstances we also may use “Web Beacons” to collect anonymous, non-personal information about your use of our web site and the sites of selected sponsors and advertisers, and your use of e-mails, special promotions or newsletters we send to you. Web beacons are tiny graphic image files embedded in a web page or e-mail that provide a presence on the web page or e-mail and send back to its home server information from the Users browser. The information collected by web beacons allows us to statistically monitor how many people are using our site and selected sponsors and advertiser’s sites, or opening our e-mails, and for what purposes. MatchingDonors web beacons are not used to track your activity across Websites generally. While it may be possible to link non-personal web beacon information to Personal Information collected in other ways, we want you to know that we will not, without your consent, link the web beacon information we collect to Personal Information you provide to us on our site.

E-mails and Newsletters

As noted in the discussions of cookies and web beacons (see above), we collect anonymous, non-personal information about your use of e-mails and newsletters that we send to you. In some cases, when you click on a link or an advertisement in an e-mail or newsletter, your browser may be momentarily directed to the site of a third party which, acting on MatchingDonors behalf (see Disclosure to Website Service and Content Contractors, below), notes or “counts” your response to the e-mail or newsletter before re-directing your browser to its proper destination; this re-direction process will not be apparent to you. When you use MatchingDonors “E-mail a Friend” application, MatchingDonors e-mails the article or other content you designate to your friend’s e-mail address and lists your e-mail address as the sender. MatchingDonors uses the friend’s e-mail address only for the purpose of sending your friend the e-mail you requested and for no other purpose unless otherwise disclosed to you at the time you send the e-mail.

B. Information Collected by Third Parties Not Acting on MatchingDonors Behalf

Sponsors, partners or advertisers on the MatchingDonors site or in e-mails, special promotions or newsletters we send you may also use their own cookies or web beacons when you click on their advertisement or link to their site or service, or even if the advertisement simply appears on a page or in an e-mail that you are viewing. Some advertisers use companies other than MatchingDonors to serve their ads and to monitor user’s responses to ads, and these companies (“Ad Servers”) may also collect non-personal information through the use of cookies or web beacons on our Website. In certain situations, information collection may be facilitated by momentarily directing your browser to the site of an Ad Server or other third party acting on behalf of the sponsor, partner, or advertiser before re-directing your browser to its proper destination (e.g., back to MatchingDonors to show the ad, or to the advertiser’s Web site); this re-direction process will not be apparent to you.We do not control these third parties use of cookies or web beacons, or how they manage the non-personal information they gather through them. However, we do require sponsors, advertisers and Ad Servers who collect cookies or web beacon information through our Website to agree that they will not collect any Personal Information from our site without your consent. They have promised us they will not link any non-personal cookie or web beacon information collected by them on our site to Personal Information they or others collect in other ways or from other sites. In addition, MatchingDonors Advertising Policy is posted on our Website and will provide additional detail about our relationship with advertisers and the companies that serve ads. You should review the privacy policy of other sites you visit or link to from our site to understand how these other sites use cookies and how they use the information they collect through the use of cookies or web beacons on their own sites. Certain Ad Servers allow you to prevent them from collecting data through the use of cookies. In order to do so, you must opt-out of such data collection with each individual site. Currently, you can opt-out of cookies for several Ad Servers by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative gateway opt-out site. This site will also allow you to review the Ad Server’s privacy policies.

C. Children

NO ONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 MAY USE MATCHINGDONORS.COM OR ANY OF ITS SECTIONS FOR ANY REASON, OR IN ANY MANNER, INCLUDING BUT NO LIMITED TO POSTING PERSONAL INFORMATION. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) was passed by U.S. Congress in November 1998. COPPA requires that operators of online services or Web sites obtain parental consent prior to the collection, use, disclosure, or display of the personal information of children. The Federal Trade Commission established rules for the acts implementation, which went into effect April 21, 2000.

We do not allow anyone under 18 years old to put in their own information. We believe that children should get their parents or guardian’s consent before giving out personal information.

D. Public Forums

This Privacy Policy does not protect you when you use MatchingDonors public forums. As a service to our users, MatchingDonors features chat rooms and bulletin boards where users with similar medical conditions can share information and support one another or where users can post questions for people to answer. In addition, we may offer online discussions on a variety of topics moderated by medical experts. You should be aware that any information shared in a chat room, bulletin board, other posting or online discussion is public information and may be seen, disclosed to or collected by third parties that do not adhere to our Privacy Policy. You should think carefully before disclosing any personal information in any public forum.

E. E-mails to MatchingDonors

This Privacy Policy does not protect you when you send business information, ideas, concepts or inventions to MatchingDonors by e-mail to the various MatchingDonors departments listed on the “Contact Us” link on our Website. If you want to keep business information, ideas, concepts or inventions private or proprietary, do not send them in an e-mail to MatchingDonors. We try to answer every e-mail in a timely manner, but are not always able to do so.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

Except as set forth in this Article or as specifically agreed to by you, MatchingDonors will not disclose any Personal Information it gathers from you on our Website if you choose the private option, if you do not choose the “Private” option MatchingDonors may at its discretion release potential donors contact information to Patient Members that may need to receive more donor profiles. We may release Personal Information to third parties: (1) to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, requests by legal authorities, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; or (2) in special cases, such as a physical threat to you or others.

A. Disclosure to MatchingDonors

SubsidiariesMatchingDonors may disclose Personal Information to its corporate subsidiaries. Any Personal Information provided to subsidiaries of MatchingDonors will be treated by those subsidiaries in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy.

B. Disclosure to MatchingDonors

Operations and Maintenance ContractorsMatchingDonors operations and maintenance contractors sometimes have limited access to your Personal Information in the course of providing products or services to MatchingDonors. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide us with technology, services, and/or content related to better operation and maintenance of our Website. Unless you have opted out of receiving e-mails and newsletters from MatchingDonors, these contractors also may have access to your e-mail address to send newsletters or special promotions to you on our behalf or to send e-mails to you for purposes such as conducting market research on our behalf. Access to your Personal Information by these contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary in order for the contractor to perform its limited function for MatchingDonors. We also contractually require that our operations and maintenance contractors 1) protect the privacy of your Personal Information consistent with this Privacy Policy, and 2) not use or disclose your Personal Information for any purpose other than providing us with products and services.

C. Disclosure to Website Service and Content Contractors

Certain content and services offered to you through our Website are served on Websites hosted and operated by a company other than MatchingDonors (“Third Party Contractor Websites”). MatchingDonors may disclose your Personal Information to these Third Party Contractor Websites without your consent, and you should be aware that any information you disclose once you access these other sites is not subject to this Privacy Policy. MatchingDonors does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices of these Third Party Contractor Websites. You should review the privacy policy posted on the other site to understand how that Third Party Contractor Website collects and uses your Personal Information. MatchingDonors makes an effort to make it obvious to you when you leave our Website and enter a Third Party Contractor Website, either by requiring you to click on a link or by notifying you on the site. In addition, if you see a phrase such as “Powered by” or “in association with” followed by the name of a company other than MatchingDonors, then you are on a Website hosted by a company other than MatchingDonors.

D. Disclosure to or by Co-branded Channel Partners

MatchingDonors is a contractor and may provide co-branded content and services to Websites hosted and operated by companies other than MatchingDonors (“Channel Partner Websites”). You can only access these co-branded content and services through the Channel Partner Website, and usually from the health section of these other Websites. The co-branded MatchingDonors pages that you may access through a Channel Partner Website have different registration processes and opportunities for information collection, and Personal Information that you provide on these pages may be shared with the Channel Partners. Each of these co-branded MatchingDonors sites has its own privacy policy posted on that site, which explains what information is disclosed by MatchingDonors to the Channel Partner and vice versa. If you visit one of these co-branded MatchingDonors sites, please read the privacy policy that is posted on that site, as well as the individual privacy policy of the Channel Partner Website.

E. Disclosure to Linked Sites

In addition to the Third Party Contractor Websites that you may access as described above, for your convenience there are links to Websites operated by companies other than MatchingDonors (“Third Party Websites”) that are not contractors who provide content or services through our Website. These links may be found in advertisements, referenced within content, or placed beside the names or logos of sponsors. MatchingDonors does not disclose your Personal Information to these Third Party Websites without obtaining your consent. MatchingDonors does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices of these sites. If you choose to link to one of these Third Party Websites, you should review the privacy policy posted on this other site to understand how that Third Party Website collects and uses your Personal Information.

F. Disclosure of Aggregate Information

MatchingDonors may provide to third parties non-personal information about you that does not allow you to be identified or contacted and that is combined with the non-personal information of other users (“Aggregate Information”). Depending on the circumstances, we may or may not charge third parties for this Aggregate Information. We also may not limit the third parties use of the Aggregate Information, except that we do require third parties to whom we disclose Aggregate Information to agree that they will not attempt to make this information personally identifiable by combining it with other databases or otherwise.

G. MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile

All information that is received, used, or disclosed in connection with MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile is encrypted. MatchingDonors collects the Personal Information you voluntarily store in MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile.

Per the registered patient’s request MatchingDonors.com can send out a one-time e-mail to all registered donors with a compatible blood type asking them if they would be tested for that patient. All Donors agree that any response received by MatchingDonors.com from any donor will be shared either in part or in its entirety by MatchingDonors.com with the patient.

MatchingDonors does not use the Personal Information stored in MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile for any purpose except to provide members with a readily accessible, easy-to-update means of collecting and storing your profile. The only entities that will have access to MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile Personal Information are MatchingDonors itself, people you allow, and any third parties hired by MatchingDonors to assist us in operating, maintaining, and improving the site. These third parties are required by us to hold your information in the strictest of confidence and may not use or disclose it except to fulfill the service we hired them to perform. MatchingDonors will not share any of the Personal Information that is stored in MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile with any other third parties without your express permission.

HOW MATCHINGDONORS HANDLES PRIVACY AND SECURITY INTERNALLY

MatchingDonors wants your Personal Information to remain as secure as possible. That is why we have a two-tier security system at MatchingDonors that combines leading technical safeguards and a code of conduct for those employees who are permitted to access our customers Personal Information. On the technical side, MatchingDonors uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology in transmitting your Personal Information to our servers to help ensure the integrity and privacy of the Personal Information you provide to us via the Internet. Encryption involves systematically scrambling numbers and letters, so that even if someone managed to intercept the information, they would not be able to make sense of it. In order to take advantage of this encryption technology, you need to have an Internet browser that will support 128-bit encryption, such as Netscape or Microsoft Explorer. On the employee side, only a limited number of MatchingDonors employees are authorized to access your Personal Information. All MatchingDonors employees must abide by our Privacy Policy and those who violate our Privacy Policy are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination. Although we will make every reasonable effort to protect your Personal Information from loss, misuse, or alteration by third parties, you should be aware that there is always some risk involved in transmitting information over the Internet. There is also some risk that thieves could find a way to thwart our security systems.

YOUR PRIVACY CHOICES

From time to time and at different locations on the MatchingDonors Website, you will be given the option of receiving recurring informational/promotional newsletters via e-mail from MatchingDonors and/or directly from third parties.If you wish to subscribe to such newsletters via e-mail, we ask for contact information, such as name and e-mail address. You can unsubscribe from the newsletters by simply clicking on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of any e-mail newsletter. An e-mail to our automated unsubscribe service will be created on your machine. Click the “send” button. You will then be unsubscribed from that newsletter within two to three business days. If you are experiencing difficulties with our automated unsubscribe service, you can e-mail us at MatchingDonors Customer Service. MatchingDonors Customer Service will unsubscribe you from that newsletter in two to three business days.At Registration and at various times as you use the site, you may have the option of receiving e-mails or newsletters directly from third parties, participating in research or marketing surveys and participating in other activities. You may exercise these options by placing a check mark beside a statement that expresses a preference for receiving these communications or participating in these activities. You may change your decision at any time by changing your preferences within your Member Profile or by following other directions provided in association with the individual communication or activity.This privacy statement applies only to the MatchingDonors Website. The MatchingDonors site does contain links to other sites. Once you enter another Website (whether through an advertisement, service, or content link), be aware that MatchingDonors is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage you to look for and review the privacy statements of each and every web site that you visit through a link or advertisement on MatchingDonors site or any site that collects Personal Information from you.

UPDATING AND/OR REMOVING YOUR INFORMATION AND CONTACTING MATCHINGDONORS

You can always contact us in order to (1) delete your Information from our systems, (2) update the Personal Information that you have provided to us, and (3) change your preferences with respect to marketing contacts or other activities, by e-mailing us at ContactUs@MatchingDonors.com return receipt required, you will need put your username and password in the e-mail. Such changes will not have any effect on other information that MatchingDonors maintains. If you have a complaint or problem, you may e-mail us at contactus@MatchingDonors.com and the customer service department will forward your complaint to the appropriate internal MatchingDonors department for a response or resolution. We try to answer every e-mail in a timely manner but are not always able to do so.

If you do not receive adequate resolution of a privacy related problem, you may write to MatchingDonors Privacy Help Desk at: MatchingDonors Privacy DivisionMatchingDonors Privacy DivisionMatchingDonors, Inc.766 Turnpike StreetCanton, MA 02021or call 781-821-2204

You should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to MatchingDonors from our servers. The need to back-up our systems to protect information from inadvertent loss means that a copy of your Personal Information may exist in a non-erasable form that will be difficult or impossible for us to locate. Nevertheless, we promise that upon receiving your request, all Personal Information stored in the databases we actively use for research and daily business activities, and other readily searchable media, will be deleted.

Privacy as it applies to the Internet is a dynamic, rapidly developing area. In the future, we may make significant changes to our privacy policy affecting the use of the Personal Information we collect. We will notify you by e-mail of any significant changes concerning our use of your Personal Information and obtain your “opt-in” consent to any significant new uses of your Personal Information if it was collected from you prior to a significant change in this policy. We may also make non-significant changes to our Privacy Policy that generally will not affect our use of your Personal Information and we generally will not notify you of these non-significant changes. You should check this posted Privacy Policy for any non-significant changes. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy or any revised policy, please exit the site immediately.

What is a cookie and why does MatchingDonors put cookies on my computer? Do I have a choice about them if I want to use the site?A “cookie” is a small line of text that MatchingDonors can store on your hard drive when you visit the site. Cookies help us give you a better experience as you move through the site. Once you’ve registered, cookies can allow you can bypass the log-in process. Cookies can allow you to tailor the site to your preferences and allow us to display advertisements that may fit your interests while you visit the site. Note, however, we do not send your personally identifiable information to the advertisers.

There are two types of cookies

“Session cookies” are deleted when you close your browser and end a Web viewing session.“Permanent cookies” are stored until a date we specify or until you remove them.Cookies tell us how often a computer, or a person using a login ID, visits our site. They can also record what parts of our site you visited. The text of a cookie can contain a unique identifier assigned to your browser. It can also contain information about you or your preferences.We do not store your personally identifiable information in your permanent cookies. And MatchingDonors does not and will not link that data to your permanent cookie.

You don’t have to accept cookies if you don’t want to. You just need to change the settings in your browser to reject all cookies. If you do, you can still visit MatchingDonors, but you’ll miss out on certain features. You’ll have to log in each time you want to customize your home page and access other sections of the member-only portions of the site. And certain services (such as the Health Risk Appraisal) will not work.

2. Why do I have to provide my e-mail address to register for MatchingDonors? I don’t want to receive any e-mails, anyway.

We ask for your e-mail address in registration so that we can contact you if necessary. Some examples include:

– To contact you about changes in our privacy policy

– To seek your consent for any new uses of your personal information

– To inform you if we were to receive a subpoena or court order for your personal information

You will also receive newsletters at your e-mail address unless you opt out of receiving them (which you can do at any time).

3. Does MatchingDonors track and record my movement through the site? If so, how is this information used?

Through the use of cookies, MatchingDonors has the ability to track and record your movement through the site (commonly known as the “click stream”). This information is not linked and will not be linked with your personally identifiable information. Thus, this information remains anonymous. MatchingDonors uses this anonymous information to collect general statistics about how people use our site and to target advertisements to your interests and preferences.

4. Can I use MatchingDonors without revealing ANY of my personally identifiable information?

Yes. You can visit the site and have access to vast stores of health information without ever having revealed any personally identifiable information. There will never be a time when we capture personally identifiable information without your knowledge. The nature of some features, such as MatchingDonors.com Personal Profile and Health Risk Appraisal, require that you share some personally identifiable information.

Aggregate Information

As a Web site gathers individual pieces of Non-personal Information (see definition below) from its users, it may combine similar data from many or all the users of the Web site into one big “clump.” .For example, the site may add up the total number of people in Peoria, Illinois, (but not their names) who are seeking information about weight loss and compare that to the number of people in Petaluma, California seeking the same information.This sort of statistical information is called aggregate data because it reflects the habits and characteristics of a large group of anonymous people. Web sites may use aggregate data or share it with their business partners so that the information and services they provide best meet the needs of the users. Aggregate data also helps advertisers on the Web know how effectively they are reaching their target audience. This is very similar to the way that the Nielsen ratings are used in the radio and television industries.

Click Stream or Click Trail Information

A record of all the pages you have visited during your visit to a particular Web site or the services you accessed from the site or from an e-mail Click Stream Information is associated with your browser and not with you personally. It records the archives of your browser.

Cookie

A small data file that is stored on the hard drive of the computer you use to view a Web site. Cookies are placed by that site or by a third party with a presence on the site, such as an advertiser using a Web Beacon (see definition below) and are accessible only by the party or site that placed the cookie (i.e. a cookie placed on your computer by MatchingDonors isn’t accessed by any other site you visit but a cookie placed on your computer by an advertiser may be accessed by any site on which that same advertiser has a presence). Cookies can contain pieces of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).MatchingDonors encrypts any PII it stores in its cookies. These cookies often are used to make the site easier to use. For example, if you check a box to ask that we store your user name on your computer so that you don’t have to enter it each time you visit the site, it’s stored in a cookie on your computer.

You can control whether or not cookies are placed on your machine by MatchingDonors or any other site or third party. You can change the settings in your browser software to disable the use of cookies; see your browser’s help file to determine how to do this. Be aware that if you choose to disable cookies, some of the features on MatchingDonors (e.g. automatic login, joining of health communities, storing your health information, etc.) will not be available to you.

Non-personal Information

Information that is not traceable back to any individual and cannot be used to identify an individual. Click Stream Information is Non-personal Information, as is information such as gender, age, city and state when not linked with other Personal Information.

Opt-In/Opt-Out

Opting in (or out) means that you’re specifying your choice to participate (or not) in a program, feature, tool, or enhancement on a Web site. The choice is usually presented to you if participation requires the use of personally identifiable information (PII). For example, if you wish to receive a newsletter by e-mail on health topics from MatchingDonors, you must indicate your choice, typically by checking or unchecking a box next to a statement such as:I’d like to receive a free subscription to MatchingDonors Newsletter and periodic updates about new MatchingDonors features and services.Depending on the feature in question, the box next to the statement may be already checked or unchecked when it’s presented to you. If the box is already checked, you may opt out by clicking on the box to remove the check mark. If the box is unchecked, you may opt in by clicking on the box to place a check mark in it, indicating your wish to participate.

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Personal Information: Information that can be traced back to an individual (contrast with Non-Personal Information and Aggregate Information). Examples of PII include your name, home address, telephone number, e-mail address, and Social Security number.If other pieces of information are linked to PII, they also become PII. For example, if you use a nickname to chat online and give out your real name while chatting, your nickname becomes PII when linked with other PII.

Web Beacons

(also often referenced as “clear GIFs”, “web bugs”, “1-by-1 GIFs”, “Single-Pixel GIFs”, “1 x 1 Pixels”, or “clear Pixels”): Tiny graphic image files, imbedded in a web page in GIF, jpeg or HTML format, that provide a presence on the web page and send back to its home server (which can belong to the host site, a network advertiser or some other third party) information from the Users browser, such as the IP address, the URL of the page on which the beacon is located, the type browser that is accessing the site and the ID number of any Cookies on the Users computer previously placed by that server. Web Beacons can also be used to place a cookie on the Users browser.