grassroutz - privacy policy

privacy policy

Last Updated: Feb 25, 2007

This privacy policy describes how we collect and use your data. If you have any questions or comments regarding grassroutz's privacy policy or its enforcement, please contact us at privacy@grassroutz.com.

1.ABOUT GRASSROUTZ. grassroutz.com, a service of grassroutz, LLC (“grassroutz”), is an online information sharing network that offers a place for people to offer and receive recommendations for service providers.

2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT. grassroutz collects information our users submit to us such as their name and e-mail address to allow us to identify users and notify them of changes or updates to our service. We also collect personal information submitted by our users in filling out their profile on the service such as age and country, state, and city of residence, or zip/postal code. We collect this personal information when our users: (a) sign up as a member; (b) make changes to their member profile information; (c) send e-mail messages, forms, or other information to us via grassroutz.com. This information is also used for members can receive service provider search results. Members may choose to provide additional information beyond their basic profile for their personal profiles. We collect reviews and rating of businesses and service providers submitted by the members. Providing additional information beyond what is required at registration is entirely optional, but enables our users to better identify each other and more effectively connect and interact with their network.

grassroutz also collects information from users that is unique, but cannot be linked to a specific individual, such as browser type. We gather this information on all visitors to www.grassroutz.com for systems administration purposes and to track user trends, such as our most popular features.

3. COOKIES. Like many other Web sites, grassroutz uses a standard technology called "cookies." Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your hard drive -- not on our site. They can help make the Internet experience quicker and more convenient. Cookies allow our users to login without entering their ID and password each time they use grassroutz. Cookies help us understand how members use grassroutz, which allows us to improve upon the service. We use the information gathered by cookies in aggregate, except in the case of error reports. Members who disable cookies will not be able to use grassroutz.

4. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. grassroutz uses personal information to create a secure and personalized service for our members. If you add another member as a “friend” to your profile (a “Friend”), your screen name and any service provider recommendations are displayed to Friends in your grassroutz network, or your Friends’ Friends. You may also modify your user settings to allow other members to view only your screen name, and/or allow Friends or other users to view your real name. In addition, we may provide your reviews to third parties, in which case your screen name, along with any personally identifiable information you have elected to make public in grassroutz, or have included in your reviews, may be shown to users of such third party web sites.

5. DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. We will not sell, lease or exchange your personal data to third parties without first obtaining your express consent, unless required by law or to protect your membership.

6. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES. The grassroutz site may contain links to other Web sites. Please be aware that grassroutz, LLC. is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites our users choose to visit. If our users provide any information directly to parties other than grassroutz (even if those sites are showing the grassroutz brand), different rules may apply to the use or disclosure of the personal information disclosed. We encourage you to investigate and ask questions before disclosing your personal information to third parties.

7. THIRD PARTY ADVERTISERS. Sponsors or advertisers on grassroutz may use their own cookies, web beacons or other online tracking technologies in the banner advertisements served on grassroutz and in emails, special promotions or newsletters we send you. Some advertisers use companies other than grassroutz 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 website of an Ad Server or other third party acting on behalf of the sponsor, partner, or advertiser before re-directing your browser to its selected destination (e.g., back to grassroutz to show the ad, or to the advertiser's website); 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 cookie or web beacon information through our website to agree that they will not collect any personally identifiable 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 personally identifiable information they or others collect in other ways or from other sites except as may be described in connection with a particular program. For example, in connection with "Sponsored Links" furnished by Google, non-personal information sent by your browser to Google when you click on a sponsored link or submit a query may be used by Google as described in its privacy policy. 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.

8. PRIVACY PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN. In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we will not knowingly provide access to grassroutz to persons under the age of thirteen (13). If grassroutz, LLC later learns that any member is under the age of thirteen (13), we will take appropriate steps to remove the member's information from the database and we will restrict this individual from future access to the grassroutz service.

9. UPDATING AND DELETING PERSONAL INFORMATION. Members can access, change and update their registration and personal information by logging onto grassroutz and selecting the My Settings option, and then unchecking the “Send me grassroutz notification emails” checkbox. Users who leave the service may choose to have their personal information deleted by contacting customer_service@grassroutz.com and sending their unsubscribe request from the e-mail account used to create their grassroutz membership. Unsubscribe requests will generally be responded to within 48 hours, and will generally be acted upon within 48 - 72 hours.

10. OPT-OUT OF EMAIL. Users of grassroutz may choose not to receive email notifications at their registered email addresses. To opt out of these announcements, click the My Settings link at the top of any page, and uncheck the box next to "Send me grassroutz email notifications."

11. USER SURVEYS. From time to time, grassroutz may contact registered members to invite them to participate in usability surveys. Participation in these surveys is purely voluntary. Typically these surveys are anonymous and no personal information is requested. However, occasionally, we may request your email address for the purpose of sending you a reward for completing the survey. No personally identifiable information submitted will be shared with people who are not authorized agents of grassroutz. Data collected through the survey is used to compile demographic information about our members and to assist us in making improvements to our Web site.

12. IP ADDRESSES. grassroutz automatically receives and records your IP address information in our server log in two instances: 1) when you initially register your membership; 2) when a new grassroutz session is initiated by entering a user ID and password. Only ten IP addresses are recorded at any given time; each new login session will overwrite the previous IP address logged. This information is only visible to grassroutz administrators and is used to authenticate member accounts or to identify and block individuals who are not permitted to use our service.

13. SECURITY PROCEDURES. grassroutz has implemented security measures to protect member information from loss, misuse and alteration. We use industry-standard practices such as encrypted storage, firewalls and password protection systems to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal information. Each of our employees is aware of our security policies, and your information is only available to those employees who need it to perform their jobs.

14. MERGER, SALE, ACQUISITION OR BANKRUPTCY. In the event that grassroutz is acquired by or merged with a third party entity, we reserve the right, in any of these circumstances, to transfer or assign the information we have collected from our users as part of such merger, acquisition, sale, or other change of control. In the unlikely event of our bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, or assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the application of laws or equitable principles affecting creditors' rights generally, we may not be able to control how your personal information is treated, transferred, or used.

15. CONSENT. This Privacy Policy is a part of the grassroutz Terms of Use policy. By using grassroutz, users agree to be bound by the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy. Some terms may be defined in the Terms of Use. This Privacy Policy only addresses activities from our servers.

16. NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES. If grassroutz changes its policy and seeks to use your personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection, you will be notified via email or a system message visible on your grassroutz Home page. In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices that do not affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a notice on our Web site notifying users of the change. In some cases where we post the notice, we will also email users who have opted to receive communications from us to notify them of the changes in our privacy practices. Your continued use of this website signifies your assent to this Privacy Policy. This Policy was last updated February 14, 2007.

17. ORGANIZATION COLLECTING INFORMATION. grassroutz, LLC owns and operates the grassroutz.com domains. You may contact grassroutz at customer_service@grassroutz.com.

18. We will use reasonable efforts to comply with this Privacy Policy and will take reasonable action to correct any failures to comply with this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Statement or our use of personally identifiable information, please feel free to contact us at privacy@grassroutz.com or:

grassroutz, LLC
Attn: Privacy Policy
P.O. Box 2372
Princeton, NJ 08543-2372

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