The privacy practices described in this Privacy Policy, including any changes we may inform you of or post to our web site, apply to our services available under the pinechata and sub-pinechatas of www.pinechata.com and apply generally to all of our websites and wholly owned subsidiary websites. By visiting this website you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use or access our services.
As described below, information that personally identifies you may be collected by pinechata, disclosed to third parties, and used by third parties and Pinechata. This Privacy Policy describes the information we collect about you and what may happen to that information. Although this policy may seem lengthy, we have prepared a detailed policy because we believe you should know as much as possible about Pinechata's practices. All Pinechata controlled websites and the websites of our subsidiaries operate under similar privacy practices as described in this Privacy Policy and, subject to the requirements of applicable law, we strive to provide a consistent set of privacy practices globally.
As provided in this Privacy Policy, Pinechata is committed to safeguarding your privacy when you provide us with personal information. We strive to treat your personal information as safely and securely as reasonably possible. Please read the following privacy policy to better understand how your information will be treated as you use our numerous offerings. We've organized our privacy statement in Q&A format to address the most frequently asked questions. If you have any questions after reading through our statement, please let us know. We want to hear from you! You can e-mail us at the addresse below:
info@pinechata.com
Information about our customers is an important part of our business, and we are not in the business of selling it to others. We share customer information with Pinechata partners who agree to follow appropriate customer data management practices to manage your entitlements and contractual relationship with Pinechata, or with your consent. We occasionally employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include fulfilling orders, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customer lists, ensuring accuracy of data, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, and processing credit card payments. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes. We release account and other personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. Obviously, however, this does not include selling, renting, sharing, or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information from customers for commercial purposes in violation of these commitments. As we continue to develop our business, we might sell or buy subsidiaries or business units. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets but remains subject to these pre-existing commitments.
What information does Pinechata collect from me?
Pinechata may collect customer information in a number of ways, but the two most common are during website registration or site personalization and product or service registration or enrollment. In some instances, you may visit some of our sites and use some of our services without providing information to us. The information requested may vary depending on which product, service or site you are using or accessing. We typically ask for your basic contact information, such as your name, title, company name, e-mail address, postal addresses, telephone numbers and the industry that you work in. As an example, we may also ask for unique identifiers, such as a mother’s family name or a keyword, and for financial information, such as account or credit card number to verify your user identity when you make purchases. If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence or communication. Information on how you communicated with us may also be recorded and can include your e-mail address including country pinechata, the language you selected for viewing order forms or other documents, your browser type, the currency in which you viewed prices if such feature is available, your use of a secure or insecure Web page, the return e-mail address shown in any e-mail message from you, the return address on any envelope or facsimile number on any facsimile, or the telephone number from which you called. Pinechata may also clean-up and standardize data when it is collected. For example, Pinechata may abbreviate the term: “street” to “St.” or correct a spelling mistake made when Pinechata collected the data.
In addition to the information we obtain at the initial stage of registration, we may ask you for information at other times, such as when you make a purchase or use a service on an Pinechata site; when you participate in a contest, survey, or promotion; or when you report a problem with one of our sites or services. In most cases, the more specific information you provide, the better we are able to personalize your Web experience.
Finally, Pinechata collects information about its Web site guest visitors and members in general, which does not necessarily identify the member, using our server log files and some of the methods described under "cookies" below.
Why does Pinechata gather this information?
Pinechata's primary goal in collecting personal information is to provide you, the user, with a personalized experience on our web sites and/or with our products and services. We may also use your information to address, and contact you on, issues about the use of our products and services. This includes personalization services, interactive communications, online commerce, and many other types of services, many of which are completely free to you. Depending on your wishes, we may use your contact information to provide you with information about products or services offered by Pinechata or by our partners. By knowing accurate information about you, Pinechata is able to deliver better service and more relevant content to our individual users.
How does Pinechata use my information?
Pinechata uses your information to recommend Pinechata products and services and to enable you to take advantage of the many features they offer. Once you register, you are no longer anonymous to Pinechata. For some of our sites, such as Pinechata.com and the Subscription Center, you will be given or create an ID, and you can create a confidential password to be able to take full advantage of those sites’ many offerings. As previously stated, any additional information you volunteer enables us to better personalize your experience. We may also use your contact information to reach you regarding important issues about the use of our services.
The information you provide during product or service registration or enrollment will be used by Pinechata to register you as an authorized user of a Pinechata product or service or to issue your authorization code or password, which allows you to access products or services. We may also use this information to send you materials describing products and services offered by Pinechata or by our partners, if you have indicated that you wish to receive these materials.
We use other information we collect to get a better understanding of our subscriber base. The more insight we have into you-the people who use Pinechata sites on a daily basis-the better we can serve you. Therefore, we analyze our users' demographics, interests, and behavior based on the information provided to us. Our research and analysis is done on an aggregate basis and does not identify you personally.
Information that we obtain from voluntary programs such as surveys, promotions, and contests may be subject to additional or different terms, or may be used in a slightly different way. If different terms do apply, details of the shared use of this information will be outlined in the specific terms and conditions or rules of these special surveys, promotions, or contests. Please be sure to read those specific terms and conditions because they may alter what is written in this privacy policy on a case-by-case basis.
With whom, and how, does Pinechata share my information?
Our Business Partners, Strategic Alliance Companies, and Advertisers: If you wish to receive information from our partners or from companies with which we have a strategic alliance, unless you request us to, Pinechata generally will not provide your information to our partners for them to send you mailings; only Pinechata (or mailing agents working on behalf of Pinechata and under confidentiality agreements) will send you these direct mailings. However, if you submit information to Pinechata to use or purchase a product or service of a partner or a company with which we have a strategic alliance, we may need to share this information with those partners so that they may process your orders and ship, supply, maintain, or service the goods or services that you requested and you may be contacted by them. If you do not want your data to be shared, you can choose not to allow the transfer by not using that particular service. If you provide information directly with another company reached through an Pinechata site, that company will have control over the information you provide.
From time to time, we share aggregated data regarding the subscribers and users of our services. Some of these data may include the data obtained as described in the "cookies" section, but no personally identifiable information is included in these types of statistics. Additionally, under confidentiality agreements, Pinechata may match user information with third-party data.
Also, please pay attention to which services you register for when you register for a Pinechata site or service. In some instances we may offer you the choice to register with certain of our partners at the same time you register with Pinechata. If you choose to register with a partner, the information that you provide in registration is also subject to our partner's privacy policy, and our partner's policies as to the use of information may differ from Pinechata's policy. Again, we encourage you to review our partner's policies before you enter into agreements with them.
2. Ordering Products or Services: When you order a product or service from Pinechata, we (or our service provider) use your name, e-mail address, delivery address, and credit card number and expiration date (or financial information) as part of a credit check. This information allows us (or our service provider) to process the order and deliver the product or service. We ask for your telephone number to enable us to contact you if there is a problem with your order or the delivery of a product or service. In the event you have asked for the delivery of tangible goods, we may need to share your telephone number with the carrier delivering the goods. When you order a product or service from a company linked to one of our websites, it may be necessary for us to share certain limited information with that company in order to process and complete your purchase or other transaction. In such cases, we share the minimum information necessary to complete the transaction and only share that information when you make a purchase or engage in a transaction — not when you simply visit and leave our site. If you do not want your data to be shared, you can choose not to allow the transfer by not using that particular service.
3. Within Pinechata: Your information may be shared within Pinechata, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries for the purposes of providing you with products or services you have ordered or for which you have registered and to provide information to you about our products or services in accordance with your wishes.
What about Pinechata partner services, strategic alliance companies, or linked sites?
Certain products and services are made available through a Pinechata site but are provided by partners, either through their own web sites or on web sites that they share with Pinechata. When ordering, using or purchasing products or services from these partners, you will be entering into an agreement with that partner, and not with Pinechata. In these cases, this privacy policy does not apply; instead, the privacy policy of the partner actually providing the goods and services will apply. We urge you to read and understand our partners' policies before entering into agreements with them. We are committed to partnering with companies that share our privacy concerns. Pinechata, however, can't control the way these partners collect or use information.
Also, when you click through to a partner's or an advertiser's site, or another site linked from an Pinechata site, those companies may use cookies or other means to collect information about you. Again, this privacy policy does not apply to those sites; instead, the privacy policy of the site you visit will apply.
If you have questions about our partners' privacy policies or the privacy policies of these other sites, we encourage you to contact them directly.
What are my choices regarding the use of my information?
When you register with Pinechata, you may choose whether you want to receive information from Pinechata or our partners about other products or services or about special promotions. If you do not want to receive this information, be sure to indicate that on your registration form if the form requires you to specify your choices. You also have choices about whether you want to receive this information when you visit and provide information to other sites, including sites accessible through an Pinechata site.
On other Pinechata sites, although many of our feedback forms allow you to choose not to receive certain communications from Pinechata or our partners, there are still some that do not. We are currently in the process of updating the remaining forms to have this capability. If you receive a communication from us that does not contain instructions on how to choose not to receive these communications, and you wish to be removed from our mailing database, please follow the instructions below to help facilitate a timely and accurate removal:
Also, if you visit a public forum, chat rooms, message boards, and/or news groups on an Pinechata website, please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.
What are “cookies” and how does Pinechata use them?
A cookie is a small amount of data that is sent to your browser from a Web server, and gets saved on your computer hard drive. These cookie files store and sometimes track information about what you do on Pinechata sites. This information makes it possible for us to offer and provide highly customized services. All areas on Pinechata sites where you are prompted to login or that are customizable require that you accept cookies. Pinechata also uses third-party Web metric partners subjected to strict confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations, to set cookies so that we can analyze user data.
Generally, we use cookies to:
1.Remind us of who you are and to access your profile (stored on our computers) in order to deliver to you a better and more personalized service. This cookie is set when you register or "Log On" and is modified when you "Log Off" of our services.
2.Estimate our audience size. Each browser accessing an Pinechata site is given a unique cookie which is then used to determine the extent of repeat usage, usage by a registered user versus by an unregistered user, and to help target advertisements based on user interests and behavior.
3.Measure certain traffic patterns, which areas of the site you have visited, and your visiting patterns in the aggregate. We measure traffic patterns as a matter of research to determine customer interest. We use this research to understand how our users' habits are similar to or different from one another so that we can make each new experience on Pinechata sites a better one. We may use this information to better personalize the content, banners, and promotions that you and other users will see on our sites. This information helps us to determine which services are of most value to our customers.
Pinechata also collects IP Addresses for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers.
I'd rather not have cookies stored on my computer. Is there any way to work around them?
Yes, you do have choices with respect to cookies. By modifying your browser preferences you can choose to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies. If you choose to reject all cookies, however, you will be unable to use those Pinechata services that require registration or customization in order to participate. You may still view Pinechata sites in a non-personalized manner without cookies, though some areas of our sites may not be accessible or function properly if you choose to reject all cookies. If you choose to accept cookies from us, you are granting us your consent to set cookies on your computer.
I would like to update the information I originally provided to Pinechata. Also, I would now like to stop getting mailings and offers sent to me. What do I do?
At those Pinechata sites requiring registration, you can edit your profile. You can also send an email with the subject of unsubscribe me in the contact form on the contact page.
Please note that Pinechata is not responsible for removing any information from lists maintained by any third party to whom you have directly provided data or with whom you have entered into agreements.
Can I cancel my Pinechata website access accounts?
Yes, your Pinechata account can be deleted or deactivated anytime. Once you do so, however, you won't be able to access any members-only area of the Pinechata service you’ve deactivated. To delete your account, please follow the instructions below:
What kinds of security precautions are in place to protect my information from hackers or prying eyes?
For those Pinechata sites requiring registration, your profile is password-protected so that you and only you have access. However, it may on occasion be necessary for Pinechata, Inc. employees or contractors working on behalf of Pinechata, Inc. to have access to your profile to provide you with support or to perform certain maintenance tasks. This access happens on an as-needed basis only.
We sometimes utilize other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include fulfilling orders, delivering packages, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from customer lists, analyzing data, providing marketing assistance, processing credit card payments and providing customer service. They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for any other purpose.
We recommend that you do not divulge your password to anyone. Also remember to sign out of your Pinechata account and close your browser window when you have finished your work. This is to prevent others from accessing your personal information.
Pinechata strives to protect your personal information. For all Pinechata sites, we use advanced security technology to ensure that your personal data remain private within our site. However, since no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or which we transmit to you from our online products or services.
Where is my data stored?
Your data may be processed and stored on Pinechata computers in the United States or other countries. Your data may also be processed and stored in other countries where services are being provided by a licensee, agent or service provider of Pinechata. In such cases, Pinechata and Pinechata’s licensees, agents or service providers are bound to all the terms and conditions of this privacy policy. You hereby consent to the transfer of any personal data to the United States or any other country outside of your home country where Pinechata or its licensee, agent or service provider is providing services or processing or storing personal data in accordance with the terms of this privacy policy.
What else should I know about my privacy?
Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online - for example on message boards, through e-mail, or in chat areas - that information can be collected and used by others. In short, if you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return.
As Pinechata expands its online offerings, we will update our privacy policy to apply to them. Please check this page on a regular basis for updates.
You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your user names and passwords. Please be careful and responsible whenever you're online.