Effective Date: January 3, 2014
comiXology User Privacy Policy
For Web Services and Applications
At comiXology, we respect your privacy. We endeavor to make our policies for the collection and use of information relating to you and others who use our services understandable and fair. This Privacy Policy (this “Policy”) describes the information we collect, how we use that information, the purposes for which we share such information with others, and how you can contact us to ask any questions or express any concerns you may have about our privacy practices or information that you have provided.
This Policy applies to information collected by our applications for mobile and tablet devices, laptops, and desktops (collectively, the “App”) and the comiXology website (www.comixology.com, the “Site”). We may refer to the App and the Site collectively as our “Service.” We refer to the comic books and other content offered through our service as “Content.” Words such as “purchase” or “sale” (and similar terms, including all tenses), as applied to Content (including any Content the Company makes available for free), refer to the grant to you of a limited license as described in the applicable end user license agreement, terms of use, or terms of service.
This Policy does not cover the collection and use of your personal data by our business partners, and does not cover any information that may relate to comiXology outside of the App and the Site.
The company that operates as comiXology and provides the Service is Iconology, Inc. (the “Company”), 512 Seventh Avenue, 12th FL, New York, NY 10018 (USA). You can contact us by email at support@comixology.com. We may also refer to the Company by words such as “we,” “us,” or “our.”
1. Information We Collect and How We Use It
We collect information that you input into our Service and data generated by your use of our Service. We describe these two types of information below and explain how, alone or in combination with other data we collect, we use them.
1.1 Information You Input
You may input information to make use of certain features of our Service. For example, when you create an account with us you will enter information about yourself such as username, email address, birthdate, and other relevant information we request, when you use the search features on our Service you enter the terms you wish to search for, and the “Buy in Print” feature on the App allows you to enter your zip code to obtain information about nearby comic book stores. You enter your payment method information to purchase Content through your account with us. Such payment method information (including account numbers, expiration dates, and security codes) is transferred to a third-party provider of payment services and is not retained by us.
When you purchase Content offered in the App using your account with a third party app store we do not collect the credit card information that you use for such purchases, and we are not responsible for the policies and practices of such app stores.
We use your account with us to allow Content that you have purchased while logged in on one device to be accessible (synchronize) on all devices through which you access our Service while logged into your account. Our specialized applications, which are limited to certain types of Content, may only be used to access and read Content within the scope of the Content they offer. Records of all Content synchronized to your account with us may be used and shared as described in this Policy, including Content initially purchased through a service of ours with a separate privacy policy.
We may use your search terms to recommend to you Content that we think might interest you. We may use your email address to let you know about products, services, events, or issues relating to the world of comic books and other content that might interest you. You may opt out of receiving marketing emails through a link in such emails or by notifying us at support@comixology.com. Whether or not you opt out of such emails, we may use your email address to provide information to you regarding your purchases, including any enhanced features that may be made available, changes to our terms of service or policies, service or operational matters, and other matters as permitted by applicable law.
We may use your birthdate to determine if you are qualified to create an account with us or purchase certain Content or to understand the age distribution of our customers. If you receive our marketing emails, we may send you an annual “happy birthday” message that may also contain product offers.
1.2 Information We Collect Automatically
Your use of our Service generates information that the Company collects automatically. This section summarizes the important types of information that we may collect.
Hardware, Software, and Network Data
We may collect information about the type and version of the device you use to access our Service, operating system, IP address assigned to the device by the third party providing Internet access to the device, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information, including mobile phone number. In the case of the App, this information may include an identifier generated by us or by the operating system of your device to enable us to identify the App that you have downloaded.
This information will enable us to provide to your device Content properly configured for that device, to keep a record of the Content that you purchase, and to analyze activity on our Service. If you choose to create an account with us, that record will enable you to synchronize Content as described above.
In addition to the uses noted above, we may use IP addresses to detect and mitigate fraud or to determine what State, postal code and/or Country the device is in. We may use that data to comply with various legal obligations, such as geographic restrictions on the distribution of certain Content and payment of taxes, to display geographically appropriate Content, policies, notices, and advertisements, and to better understand the geographic distribution of our customers.
If you use the “Buy in Print” feature of the App, the App will ask if we may determine your location. If you consent, and if any required location services on your device are enabled, we will use data from your device to determine your location and provide information about nearby comic book stores. You may also choose to enter a zip code.
Content Selection
We may collect information about the Content that you purchase, place in your cart without purchasing, or search for or browse. We may use that information to recommend to you Content that we believe might interest you.
Tracking Technologies, Including Cookies
We use, and allow third parties to use, various technologies (“Tracking Technologies”) that enable tracking and collection of information about your activity on our Service or on other Company or third party services. This may include information about whether you accessed our Service, what pages or views you accessed, how long you stayed on each page or view, any links you clicked on while on the Service, the website or other property you came from, what Content you browsed, placed in your cart, downloaded, or purchased, as well as the hardware, software, and network data discussed in the preceding section. Such tracking technologies may include cookies (small pieces of information that a website places on a computer or mobile device used to access the Internet that can be used to recognize a return visitor and collect and store information about that visitor’s prior activity on the Site), pixel tags, also referred to as web beacons (pieces of data embedded in an image on a website or email that allow for tracking of your activity on a website or your actions with regard to an email, such as whether you opened the email or accessed a link within the email), and anonymous identifiers (text strings that function like cookies, but used on mobile devices or other platforms that do not accommodate cookies).
We, or third parties with our permission, may use Tracking Technologies in the following ways:
* To manage our business and improve our Service based on factors such as how many users visit or use our Service, what pages and views are accessed, whether visitors are new or repeat visitors, which features and Content of our Service most interest our visitors, and how our Service performs from a technical point of view (such as the speed with which content loads and the incidence of technical problems).
* To provide personalized recommendations, Content, advertising, marketing emails, and guidance on Service features based on your activity on our Service, such as prior purchases, abandoned shopping cart selections, and browsing activities.
* To remember actions you took to avoid asking you to repeat them during a session or to provide features such as enabling you to resume reading at the last page you accessed, synchronized across devices.
* To enable us or third party sites or services or advertising companies to collect and store information regarding your activity on the App, the Site, our other services, or third party services to provide you with personalized recommendations or content or to provide you or broader advertising audiences with advertisements tailored to your or such audiences’ inferred interests, or to measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. The third party advertisers may serve advertisements for us or for other companies on the App, the Site, our other services, or on third party services.
* To measure and analyze activity on the App, the Site, our other services, and third party services. In addition to the uses outlined above, we or any provider of such measurement and analytical services may provide non-personally identifiable data to third parties.
Generally, Internet browsers contain controls for managing cookies. Those controls may enable you to delete cookies or to accept or reject certain categories of cookies. You may be able to manage other (non-cookie) tracking technologies through the websites of the firms that provide such technologies or through the operating system of your mobile device. You should consult the “Help” section of your browser or the website of your hardware, software, or operating system providers for further information. If you reject or delete cookies the related features and functions of our Site may be unavailable to you and the performance of our Site as experienced by you may be impaired.
Remarketing on Our Site
We may use Google remarketing services, which allow third parties, including Google, to serve advertisements to you on our behalf based on your activity on our Site. This involves placing on our Site pages a small piece of code provided by Google. This code enables third parties, including Google, to place a cookie on your computer that tells them about your visit to our Site and allows them to recognize you and display relevant advertisements when you visit other websites within the Google Display Network. We may also use similar remarketing services from other companies.
Opting Out of Third Party Personalized Advertising and Analytics on our Site
You may be able to opt-out of receiving personalized online advertisements from advertisers or advertising networks who are members of the Network Advertising Initiative or who subscribe to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising by visiting the opt-out sections on the websites of each of those organizations. Links to those sites are here:
http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
http://www.aboutads.info/choices/
You can learn how to customize or opt-out of receiving personalized online advertisements from Google through this link: https://www.google.com/settings/ads. If you would like to opt-out of Google Analytics collecting data from your browser when you visit websites, you can download and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/
2. Information We Share
We may share your information with the following, or under any of the following circumstances:
* Our corporate affiliates such as a corporate subsidiary.
* Our current or prospective business partners, including publishers who provide content for any of our services, (a) who have a need to understand the nature and operation of our business, such as sales and usage trends or sales data underlying royalty calculations (information provided in this respect is not personally identifiable), (b) if through our Service or their services you have requested a product or service that requires us to transfer the information, or (c) if you use your account credentials to create an account with or log into any other service, including the digital stores operated under the brands of such partners and for which we provide technology or management services, or opt-in to receiving information about our retail affiliates. In the circumstances referred to in (c), we may provide your account information, including email address, to such partners and they may use that email address to send you marketing emails and other information subject to applicable law and their own privacy policies and terms of service.
* Third parties we have retained to perform services on our behalf, such as Content hosting and delivery, data analytics, marketing and advertising, and payment services.
* In connection with a business transaction involving transfer of our Company or a business of ours, information relating to customers typically would be included in the assets transferred.
* If you consent.
* For the following reasons relating to legal matters or corporate responsibility based on our good faith assessment of the appropriate course under the circumstances: (a) as required by legal process or any law to which we are subject, (b) in response to a request by a court, law enforcement authority, or government agency or official that we believe would have the power to compel compliance if we refuse, (c) to protect our rights under our contracts, terms of service, and end user license agreements, and to otherwise protect our rights, (d) to protect the rights or welfare of others, including our employees and owners of copyright or other intellectual property in Content, (e) to prevent or mitigate physical harm to person or property or financial loss, (f) to assess or mitigate credit risk, and (g) to conduct any investigation relating to the foregoing.
3. Geography
We are based in the United States (“U.S.”). Any data collected in connection with our Service may be transferred to, processed, and stored within the U.S. or other countries in which we do business or our service providers transfer, process, or store data.
4. Children Under 13
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Any parent or guardian who believes that a child may have provided personal information to us should contact us at support@comixology.com.
5. Data Security
The security of information relating to our customers is very important to us. We use reasonable methods to protect that information, and review and adjust those methods as appropriate. We use Secure Sockets Layer encryption for the transmission of account registration and payment data, and in other instances where appropriate. You should understand that no feasible system of data security is invulnerable.
6. Links to Other Websites and Services
We may provide links to various third party websites and services. Those sites and services are not under our control. Those sites and services may have their own privacy policies, which we strongly suggest you review if you visit them or utilize them. We are not responsible for those third party privacy policies or the related data processing practices.
7. Changes to this Policy
We may change this Policy at any time and without prior notice to you. If the changes are material, we may notify you by posting or displaying a notice on this page, by email, on an updated App available for free download, or by any other method we choose in our discretion. Changes are effective when the revised Policy is made available on our Service or through any other method we choose in our discretion, or at such later date as may be stated in the revised Policy. Your use of the Service after a change is effective will be governed by the Policy as changed. The Policy in effect at any time governs our use of all information in our possession at that time. However, if we change the Policy in a way that materially reduces the protections afforded information collected prior to the change, we will not apply that change to that previously collected information without the consent of the affected customers. Please review this Policy from time to time while you are connected to the Internet so that you are aware of any changes. We will indicate above the effective date of this Policy.