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About, Inc. will not offer any information about you to any outside company unless we receive your prior consent.
So that we can provide you with the most efficient and enhanced service, we request information about you. Since your privacy as a participant in About, Inc. communities and on the Internet is a priority to us, we have provided this detailed policy statement about our privacy and information dissemination practices for our network of GuideSitesTM
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This site is a member of the TRUSTe program and is in compliance withTRUSTe privacy principles. |
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About, Inc. is a member of the TRUSTe program. This statement discloses the privacy practices for About.com Web site. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit initiative whose mission is to build users' trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting TRUSTe's principles of fair information practices. Because this site wants to demonstrate its commitment to respecting your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe. When you visit a Web site displaying the TRUSTe mark, you can expect to be notified of:
Privacy Policy Detailed Review...
Questions regarding this statement should be directed to the About, Inc. site coordinator registrar@about.com. If the Web site has not responded to your inquiry within seven days or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, contact TRUSTe. To return to the Site, please use the "Back" button on your browser. Please be aware that this site contains links to other sites. About is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of such web sites.
Information We Gather or Track
Information on general usage and any optional personal details you provide to us will be used to provide you with enhanced features such as customized content, access to our bulletin boards, participation in chats and the ability to participate in any of our GuideSiteTM communities. The following are details of the information we collect:
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About, Inc. collects data so that we may display personalized content to our visitors. Additionally, usage information may be analyzed so that we can judge our system's performance or execute your customized features. |
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Your computer reaches us via an particular IP (Internet Protocol) address. This can tell us things like what part of the world you're coming from or what service provider you are using, but About.com does not link your IP address to any personally identifiable information about you. |
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Your browser offers so-called "cookies" which -- if you allow their use -- store small amounts of data on your computer about your visit to any of our sites. Cookies assist us in tracking which of our features you like best. And when you re-visit our GuideSitesTM, cookies can enable us to customize our content according to your preferences. However, cookies tell us nothing about you personally unless you specifically give us additional information. The About.com Web site is viewable even if a user disables the cookie function within the Web browser, however some advanced features use cookies to assist in keeping track of your location within the About.com Web site in order to provide navigational trails and similar navigational features. These cookies are not used to personally identify your surfing patterns, and are merely used to provide naviagation links. Disabling your cookies simply means that some of these features will not have custom navigation available to you. |
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Our registration form asks for contact and demographic information used to send news about our products or promotional material from our partners. You will be able to opt-out of receiving any mailings. Demographic information may be used to customize the display of our GuideSitesTM to you by showing content that we think might be of interest or related to your past visits. |
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Surveys may ask for contact information or unique identifying information to increase the value of the results. Contests may require contact information or other demographic/personal information in order to determine your eligibility. |
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Some of the banner ads displayed in our GuideSitesTM are provided by outside companies. These ads may contain cookies. While we use cookies in other parts of our Web site, cookies received with banner ads are collected by our advertisers and we do not have access to this information. Cookies in and of themselves do not contain any personally identifiable information about you. |
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What We Do with Collected Information
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We sometimes use provided information to personalize features of our GuideSitesTM based upon your preferences. |
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From time to time we extend various offers through our partner companies. These may include news or additional details on their products and services. Your personal preferences or usage history may result in your being offered special screens or products. These offers would be sent via About and your personal information is not shared with entities outside of About, Inc. |
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We produce aggregate reports for advertisers. For example, we tell advertisers how many people saw or clicked on an ad and additionally, how many people saw or clicked on ads in different portions of our service. Where available, we may offer additional information about viewer characteristics. However this does not include personally identifiable information about you or your online usage patterns. Our advertisers allow us to provide our service to you. In return, they need to know how to effectively place their ads to potential customers. |
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We'll use your email contact information to provide you with newsletters to which you subscribe, or for similar information we think you may find of interest. However, you can choose to opt out of these mailings. By providing your contact information you will be eligible to acquire user ID's and passwords that will allow you to participate in our discussion features, including chat and bulletin boards. |
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Who Can Use Collected Information and How
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As mentioned in our "What We Do With Collected Information" section, we provide our advertisers with aggregate reports on advertising activity. |
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Feedback is used both by About, Inc. staff as well as the individual Guides for each of the GuideSitesTM Guides not only link to content from their sites and provide their own original content, but would have available to them any information that you send them directly. Guide use of this information is bound by the principles and practices expressed here... |
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Please be aware that if you voluntarily disclose information online, personal or otherwise, that information can be collected and used by others. For example, using chat, bulletin boards, or your e-mail, if you post personal information online you may receive unsolicited messages from others. About, Inc. will have no means to control this. |
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Choosing to Opt Out of Information Collection
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We provide visitors the opportunity to opt-out of receiving e-mail from us when we first request registration information from you.
Some personal information is required for registration. However, for specific contests or to enable your participation within our discussion areas, some degree of personal and contact information will be necessary. You can always choose not to receive additional mailings at that time. |
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Corrections & Updates to Personal Information
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Visitors can change or correct information about themselves via online forms which are part of our registration system. If there is a problem with a change being accepted by our system, you may contact us at the email address: registrar@about.com
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Deleting or deactivating your name from our database
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Visitors may un-subscribe from newsletters and opt out of various mailings though our online registration forms. If you have difficulty using these forms, you can send email to registrar@about.com |
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Children's Privacy
This statement discloses the privacy practices for portions of About.com directed at children under 13. About.com will NOT:
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collect online contact information from a user under 13 without prior verifiable parental consent, which includes an opportunity for the parent to prevent use of the information and participation in the activity. When we do not obtain prior verifiable parental consent, online contact information will be used only to directly respond to the child's request and will not be used to contact the child for other purposes. |
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collect personally identifiable offline contact information from users under 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. |
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distribute to third parties any personally identifiable information collected from a child under 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. |
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give the ability to children to send e-mail, create personal web pages, participate in forums or kids chat rooms without prior verifiable parental consent. |
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entice a child under 13 by the prospect of a special game, prize or other activity, to divulge more information than is needed to participate in such activity. |
We will also place prominent notice wherever personally identifiable information is collected requesting the child to ask a parent for permission to proceed.
The following are details of the information we collect and how we use it:
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About, Inc. collects data so that we may display personalized content to our visitors. Additionally, usage information may be analyzed so that we can judge our system's performance or execute your customized features. Your computer reaches us via a particular IP, (InternetProtocol), address. This can tell us things like what part of the world your computer is connecting from. Or what service provider you are using. Your browser offers so-called "cookies" which -- if you or your child allow their use -- store small amounts of data on your computer about your child's visit to any of our sites. Cookies assist us in tracking which of our features your child likes best. And when your child re-visits our GuideSites, cookies can enable us to customize our content according to your child's preferences. However, cookies tell us nothing about your child personally unless you or your child specifically give us additional information. Demographic information may be used to customize the display of our GuideSitesTM to your child by showing content that we think might be of interest or related to the child's past visits. |
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Some of the banner ads displayed in our GuideSitesTM are provided by outside companies. These ads may contain cookies. While we use cookies in other parts of our Web site, cookies received with banner ads are collected by our advertisers and we do not have access to this information. Cookies in and of themselves do not contain any personally identifiable information about your child. |
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The About.com Web site includes many topical areas that all users may access. By giving your verifiable consent to allow your child to use chat, forums, newsletters, and/or any other functionality of the About.com Web site in which your child may provide personally identifiable information, your child will also have access to those relevant functionalities throughout the About.com Web site, including those areas which are not directed toward children. Please monitor your child's use of other areas of the Web site which are not directed toward children. |
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We produce aggregate reports for advertisers. For example, we tell advertisers how many people saw or clicked on an ad and additionally, how many people saw or clicked on ads in different portions of our service. Where available, we may offer additional information about viewer characteristics. However this does not include personally identifiable information or online usage patterns. Our advertisers allow us to provide our service to our users and our members. In return, they need to know how to effectively place their ads to potential customers. |
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We'll use email contact information to provide members with newsletters to which the member subscribed, or for similar information we think the member may find of interest. However, you can choose to discontinue your child's receipt of these mailings. |
COPPA
Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying FTC regulation establish United States federal law that protects the privacy of children using the Internet. We offer the following for the protection of children under 13:
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Many About.com activities may collect information about children under 13, including e-mail, personal web pages, forum participation, and kids chat rooms. Use of such activities requires initial registration by the participant. Children under 13 who wish to register are asked to have a parent or legal guardian do so for them. The parent must provide a credit card number for verification that he/she is an adult. Upon verification, the parent can choose which activities he or she would like the child to participate in. The parent can change the selected activities at any time. |
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After obtaining parental consent, we collect and maintain the name, date of birth, and email address of children who register. We use this information to contact children for subscription to newsletters and notification of contests. Parents can review their child's personal information, ask to have it deleted and refuse to allow any further collection or use of their child's information. To do so, log on as a member and clicking on the Parental Controls link in their membership profile. |
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We do not distribute to third parties any personally identifiable information collected from children under 13 or from sites that are specifically directed to children under 13. |
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We use a technology called "cookies" to track what pages users visit on our service, as described in the previous section of this document. We also use cookies to check the age of registered users who enter chat rooms in sites located outside of the Kids channel. Users under 13 are not permitted in chat rooms unless their parents have consented to their participation, as above. |
This site is operated by About.com. We are the only operator that collects or maintains children's personal information through this site. If you have any questions regarding this policy or the safety of kids at About.com, please contact us at: About, Inc., 1440 Broadyway, New York, NY, 10018, call us at (212) 204-4000, or email us at kidsprivacy@about.com.
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How to contact customer service
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, our practices, or your dealings with About, Inc., you can contact
Registration Manager
About, Inc.
1440 Broadway
19th Floor
New York, NY 10018
registrar@about.com
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