Privacy Policy

Effective Date: May 27, 2019

Last Updated: May 27, 2019

The Privacy Scoop (“The Privacy Scoop,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) values the privacy of those (“you,” “your,” “customer(s),” and “user(s)”) who visit its (“Website”) and any other individuals that we  obtain their Personal Information from (define below). We are the data controller of the Personal Information we process, and is therefore responsible for ensuring that the systems and processes we use are compliant with data protection laws, to the extent applicable to us.

Please take a moment to read the entire Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) before providing any information to us and contact us if you have any questions. The name and contact details of The Privacy Scoop is located at the end of this Policy. By submitting your information to or through the Services and Website and by using our Services and Website, you signify your agreement to the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you disagree with the practices described in this Policy, please do not disclose any information to us and do not use any of our Website and Services.

We may make periodic changes to this Policy. If such a change is made, we will post the revised terms on https://www.theprivacyscoop.com and where appropriate, by other means. The revised terms will be effective on the “Last Updated” date stated at the top of this Policy. Please see more on this topic under the “Changes and updates to the Privacy Policy” section below.

Information we collect and information you provide

We may collect your information in a variety of ways through your use of the Website or Services including when you visit or browse the Website and its pages, fill out and submit a form or your email address, or access and use our Services. The type of information we collect varies and may include:

1. Personal Information you voluntarily provide to us.

Personal information is information that can be used to identify you as an individual (“Personal Information”). When you contact us or access and use our Website and Services, we may collect a variety of information, including, but not limited to, first name, last name, personal address, phone number, email address, certain Usage Data (defined below), such as IP address. You are not required to provide Personal Information to us.

We collect Personal Information from a number of sources, either directly from the data subjects, publicly available sources, or from colleagues.

For the purposes of the landing page, we do not collect any Personal Information characterized as sensitive information (“Sensitive Personal Information”), such as finance or health information. If this changes, we will update this Policy and will proceed with notification as described in the Changes and updates to the Privacy Policy section below. If we collect Sensitive Personal Information, before providing it to us, we urge you to carefully consider whether to disclose your Sensitive Personal Information to us. If you do provide Sensitive Personal Information to us, you consent to its use and disclosure for the purposes and in the manner described in this Privacy Policy.

Location Data” is a category of Personal Information collected about the location of a mobile device or computer, including: the location of the mobile device or computer used to access the Website and Services derived from GPS or WiFi use; the IP address of the mobile device or computer or internet service used to access the Website and Services (however, depending on the jurisdiction and applicable law, IP address may be considered non-personal information, and if that’s the case, it will be treated as such); and other information made available by a user or others that indicates the current or prior location of the user.

2. Non-personal Information we collect when you access or use our Website and Services.

Non-personal information is information that does not necessarily identify you as an individual (“Non-personal Information”). This may include a variety of information, including, but not limited to, Usage Information (defined below) and information related to your interaction with our Website and Services.

Usage Information”or“Usage Data”—information about an individual’s online activity that, by itself, does not identify the individual, such as: technical information, including your browser type, service provider, IP address (IP address, by itself, may or may not identify your as an individual under the applicable laws and therefore this type of information is also listed under Subsection 1 “Personal information you voluntarily provide to us” above), operating system and webpages visited; information about what you’ve searched for and looked at while using the Website and Services or how you interact with the Website and Services; metadata, which means information related to items you made available through the Website and Services, such as the date, time or location that a shared photograph or video was taken or posted.

Generally, we do not consider Usage Data as Personal Information because Usage Data by itself usually does not identify an individual. Personal Information and Usage Data, as well as different types of Usage Information, may be linked together and, once linked, may identify an individual person. Some Usage Data may be Personal Information under applicable law and will be treated as such. If we do combine Non-personal Information with Personal Information, the combined information will be treated as Personal Information for as long as it remains combined.

Do Not Track

California law requires us to disclose how we respond to web browser Do Not Track (“DNT”) signals. We do not respond to or take any action with respect to a DNT configuration set in your internet browser, and therefore, do not disable tracking.

How we collect information

Whether we collect certain types of information and how we process it depends on how you use and access the Website and Services. Some information is collected automatically through use of cookies and similar data collection tools (defined below). We collect information about you in the following ways:

  • When you voluntarily provide your information to us in order to use our Website and Services. For example, we collect Personal Information from you when you call/email or contact us for help or otherwise voluntarily provide your Personal Information.
  • When you connect with social media through our Website or Services. Our Website and Services may offer you the ability to use Facebook Connect, LinkedIn, or other social media services (collectively, “Social Media”) in conjunction with certain Services. When you access the Services through your Facebook or other Social Media account, the Services may, depending on your privacy settings, have access to information that you have provided to the Social Media platform. We may use this information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or at the time the information was collected. When you associate your Social Media account with your account and authorize us to have access to this information, you agree that we may collect, use and store the information provided by Social Media services as described in this Privacy Policy.
  • When you complete a client satisfaction, a review, or market research survey.
  • We may combine the information we collect from you with information from other sources and use the combined information as described in this Privacy Policy.
  • When we receive your information from cookies and other data collection tools.
  • We, along with the service providers that help us provide the Website and/or Services, use small text files called cookies. Cookies are small computer files sent to or accessed from your web browser or your computer’s or tablet’s hard drive that contain information about your computer, such as a user ID, user settings, browsing history and activities conducted while using the Website or Services. Cookies are not themselves personally identifiable, but may be linked to Personal Information that you provide to us through your interaction with the Website or Services. A cookie typically contains the name of the domain (internet location) from which the cookie originated, the “lifetime” of the cookie (i.e., when it expires) and a randomly generated unique number or similar identifier.  

Cookies help us improve the Website and Services by tracking users’ navigation habits and storing users’ password, customizing users’ experience with the Website and Services; enabling us to analyze technical and navigational information about the Website and Services and to provide features, insights, and personal content preferences; and helping to detect and prevent fraud and for performance analytics and research.

Some web browsers (including some mobile web browsers) provide settings that allow a user to reject cookies or to alert a user when a cookie is placed on the user’s computer, tablet or mobile device. Most mobile devices also offer settings to reject mobile device identifiers. Although users are not required to accept cookies or mobile device identifiers, blocking or rejecting them may prevent access to some features available through the Website and Services.

  • We may also use and allow certain third parties to use other cookies, similar tracking technologies, and other data collection tools (such as pixels, web beacons and server logs), which we collectively refer to as “data collection tools.” We automatically collect certain information and may store it in log files. The information may include IP addresses, the region or general location where your computer or device is accessing the internet, browser type, operating system, clickstream data, other system settings, and other Usage Information about the use of the Website, including a history of the pages you view and access times. We use this information to help us design our Website and Services to better suit our users’ needs and to help improve marketing, analytics, Services, and Website functionality. We may also use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server and to administer our Website, analyze trends, track visitor movements, and gather broad demographic information that assists us in identifying visitor preferences.
  • By using The Privacy Scoop web site you consent to the use, storing and accessing of your information by our use of our or third parties’ data collection tools in accordance with the terms of our Cookie Policy.
  • Our Website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our website. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. Google Analytics uses cookies. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the Website (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States. Google will use this information for the purposes of evaluating your use of the Website, compiling reports on Website activity for website operators and providing other services relating to the Website activity and internet usage. Google may also transfer this information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process the information on Google’s behalf. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. As described above, you may refuse the use of cookies by selecting the appropriate settings on your browser, however please note that if you do this you may not be able to use the full functionality of this Website. By accessing and using the Website and our Services, you consent to the processing of data about you by Google in the manner and for the purposes set out above. You can opt-out of having your activity on the website made available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on for your web browser here. The Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on provides visitors with the ability to prevent their data from being collected and used by Google Analytics. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page here.
  • We may also use other third party services, such as:
    • FullStory, which provide us with a clearer picture of how you use our Website or Services, such as where you click on the Websites, what non-sensitive text entered into the Website, and your mouse movements. You can read FullStory’s privacy policy here  and their opt-out feature here.
    • Mailchimp, which manages our email services and landing pages, including our newsletters, promotional emails, and administrative messages. Mailchimp also helps us to understand whether and when our emails are opened, whether we already have sent a particular message to you, on which links have been clicked within emails or landing pages, subscription preferences, and helps us market to you. You can learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here. You can access Mailchimp’s opt-out here.
    • GreenGeeks, which hosts our website. Their privacy policy is available here.

Why we use information we collect

We may collect, process, use or disclose your Personal Information for the following purposes (“Purposes”). Each of the Purposes is justified by a “legal basis”, that is, a specific condition.

Our Purposes are as follows:

  • To design and improve our Website and Services and our content;
  • To help provide technical and services support and client/user communications;
  • To enhance your overall Website and Services experience;
  • To provide to you any Services offered or will be offered on the Website;
  • To respond to your requests, verify your identity, and carry out requests made by you on the Website or in relation to our Services;
  • To protect the rights, property or safety of us or third parties, including our other clients and users of the Website or our Services;
  • To maintain our records;
  • To provide notification to users about updates, Website, Services, and changes to our terms, conditions, and policies;
  • Where you have given consent; and/or
  • As otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.

Our legal basis for this collection, processing, use, or disclosure of your information above is that it is in our legitimate interest or a third party’s interest to do so as it is necessary: for our compliance with legal obligations, consistent with applicable laws; to establish, enforce, or defend our legal rights; to protect the rights of third parties; for fulfillment of Services; to develop and grow our business and Services and promote the our reputation; and/or to provide client services to you. In some cases, this processing is necessary to perform a contract to which you are a party.

If any Personal Information is Sensitive Personal Information, we will process only with your explicit consent.

We may also use your information:

  • To conduct market research, implement marketing strategies, send you updates (by email, text message, telephone), newsletters, promotions, or new services;
  • To administer any promotional programs that you enter into; and
  • To identify potential business opportunities.

Our legal basis to use your information for marketing and client development purposes is that it is in our legitimate interest to develop and grow our business and Services and promote our reputation. Because of this legitimate interest, we do not usually need your consent to send you promotional communications. However, where consent is needed, we will ask for this consent separately and clearly. You can opt out anytime by emailing us at [email protected] and/or proceed with the link available to unsubscribe in the email sent to you, as applicable.

We may ask you to confirm or update your marketing preferences if you instruct us to provide further services in the future, or if there are changes in the law, regulation, or the structure of our business.

How and we share and disclose your information

We share and publish Personal Information we collect with certain third parties, as we deem necessary, with your consent, or as we see appropriate in connection with delivering, operating, maintaining and/or providing the Website or Services to you. They include:

  • Third parties we use such as a payment or credit card processing company for clients to pay for our Services, a company that builds our Website and maintains our Website and Services, a company that assists us with client insight analytics, such as Google Analytics and FullStory, and a company that provides data hosting, software, cloud services to store your information, or other technology services. We will share your Personal Information only as necessary for the third parties to provide those services. Additionally, if we use or partner with third parties to provide specific services or information to you, those third parties may be allowed to use your Personal Information to provide such services. We do not share your Personal Information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.
  • Our professional advisers, such as lawyers and accountants.
  • Third party postal or courier providers who assist us in delivering our postal marketing campaigns to you.
  • Law enforcement and public and governmental authorities as it may be necessary by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests whether they come within or outside your country of residence. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate. This also applies to Non-personal Information.
  • Other third parties if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions, to fulfill legal duties and avoid conflicts of interest, to protect our operations or clients, as well as our rights, property, or interests, or to prevent misuse or unauthorized use of the Website and Services.
  • Relevant third parties in the event of a reorganization, merger, or sale where we may transfer any and all Personal Information we collect to the relevant third party.
  • Other third parties when you have agreed that we may do so.

Except as otherwise stated in this Policy, we do not sell, rent, or otherwise share Personal Information to anyone and may only share it with third parties described above.

We may post information about programs and events that are sponsored by or co-sponsored by other firms or organizations. Should you choose to register electronically for any of these events or submit your information to these third parties, we will have no control over the third party sponsors’ use of this information, and this Privacy Policy will not apply.

We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose Non-personal Information for any purpose, in any manner, and to any third party as we deem appropriate or necessary. We may also sell Non-personal Information from time to time at our sole discretion.

Links to Third Party Services

The Services may contain links to third-party websites and services (“Third Party Service(s)”) with which we have no affiliation. A link to any Third Party Services does not mean that we endorse it or the quality or accuracy of information presented on it. If you decide to visit a Third Party Service, you are subject to its privacy policy and practices and not this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to carefully review the legal and privacy notices of all other digital services that you visit.

How can you review, update, or delete the data we collect from you?

Based on the laws of some countries, you may have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, change that information, or delete it in some circumstances. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within 30 days. If we are unable to accommodate your request, we will let you know why we are unable to do so.

Data retention and storage

The Personal Information we collect is stored in one or more databases hosted by one or more third parties. We require companies performing Services on our behalf to protect your Personal Information in a manner appropriate to the type and sensitivity of the information, and to use it only in connection with those Services.

We may retain and store Personal Information, such as names, emails, and addresses, for a minimum of 3 years after you are no longer a user, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. We will only retain Sensitive Personal Information as long as you are a user. This data retention may be needed to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy. If you wish that we no longer use your information to provide you Services, contact us at [email protected].

We retain and use Non-personal Information for as long as needed and as we deem appropriate and necessary for any purposes, including but not limited to, to develop, improve, and provide Services, comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, perform fraud prevention efforts, and enforce our agreements.

Security of your information

To help protect the privacy of Personal Information you transmit through use of our Website and Services, we maintain physical, technical and administrative safeguards. We update and test our security technology on an ongoing basis. We restrict access to your Personal Information to our employees, independent contractors, and our third party vendors who need to know that information to provide benefits or Services to you. When you provide your payment information to us, this information is stored on our third party provider’s secure servers. Our third party provider uses encryption technology to ensure safeguards are in place. We have appropriate security measures to prevent Personal Information from being accidentally lost, or used or accessed unlawfully.

We follow generally accepted standards to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, security system, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure.  Although we do our best to protect your Personal Information, we do not guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us or provide online.  Any transmission of Personal Information is at your own risk. If you have any questions about security on our Website or Services, you can contact [email protected].

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) access to certain parts of our Website or Services, you are responsible for keeping this access confidential. We ask you not to share this access with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out personal or private information in public areas of the Website. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Website.

Children’s privacy

Our Website and Services are not directed at children or users under the age of 13. If we learn that we have collected the Personal Information of a child under 13, or equivalent minimum age depending on jurisdiction, we will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible.

Cross-border transfers

This Website is controlled and operated by us from the United States and is not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than that of the United States. Any information you provide to us through use of the Website may be stored and processed, transferred between and accessed from the United States and other countries which may not guarantee the same level of protection of Personal Information as the one in which you reside. However, we will handle your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy regardless of where your Personal Information is stored/accessed. Please also note the “Transferring Personal Information from the European Union (US) to the United States (US)” section below.

Transferring Personal Information from the European Union (US) to the United States (US)

The Privacy Scoop’s headquarters are in the US. As described above, Personal Information we collect from you will be processed in the US. Because our Website and Services can be accessed worldwide, this section addresses transfer of Personal Information from the EU to the US. The US has not currently sought nor received a finding of “adequacy” from the EU under Article 45 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We rely on derogations for specific situations as set forth in Article 49 of the GDPR. In particular, we collect and transfer to the US Personal Information only: with your consent; to perform a contract with you; or to fulfill a compelling legitimate interest of The Privacy Scoop in a manner that does not outweigh your rights and freedoms. We endeavor to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your personal information and to use it only consistent with your relationship with us and the practices described in this Privacy Policy. We also minimize the risk to your rights and freedoms by not collecting or storing sensitive information about you. Any Personal Information collected about EU visitors through the Website and/or Services is processed in the United States by us or by a party acting on our behalf. When you provide Personal Information to us through the Website and/or Services, you consent to the processing of your information in the United States.

Your privacy choices

You may request us to have access, correct, amend, update, or delete your Personal Information, or update your preferences, including opting out of particular communications, by contacting [email protected]. Please remember that limited communications may be necessary in order to complete your transaction or for you to participate in our Services.

Changes and updates to the Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. If we make any changes, we will notify you by revising the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy and, in some cases, we may provide you with additional notice, such as adding a statement to our homepage or sending you an email notification. If there are material changes to our Privacy Policy, we will notify you more directly by email or means of a notice on the home page prior to the change becoming effective. You should check our Website frequently to see the current Privacy Policy that is in effect and any changes that may have been made to it. Your continued use of or access to the Website or Services after we make changes constitutes your acceptance of these changes and the current version of this Privacy Policy, so please check the Policy periodically for updates.

Questions, concerns or complaints

If you have any questions or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy or data processing, please identify the issue as a Privacy Policy concern in your communication to us to our contact details below:

The Privacy Scoop

20283 Santa Maria Ave # 2132

Castro Valley, CA 94546

[email protected]