Vittana Privacy Policy
Last Revised: December 14, 2010
This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed by Vittana and its subsidiaries and affiliated companies ("Vittana"). Personal information covered by this Policy includes information collected when you use our websites, located at www.vittana.org and blog.vittana.org ("Site" or collectively "Sites"), or otherwise interact with Vittana. We reserve the right to change this Policy at any time. If we change this Policy, we will update the "Last Revised" date above. We encourage you to review this Policy from time to time to make sure you understand how any personal information you provide will be used.
How Do We Collect Personal Information?
Personal information may be collected from our site users and volunteers in a number of ways. We collect certain information you provide to us, such as when you register for an account, create a profile or a group, participate in a customer survey or communicate with us by phone. Such information may include your name, display name, location, mailing address, email address, date of birth, Vittana credit history, and other contact or demographic information. We may also obtain information from other sources and combine that with information we collect on our Sites.
When you use the Sites, some information is also automatically collected, such as your Internet Protocol ("IP") address, your operating system, the browser type, the address of a referring website, and your activity on the Sites. We treat this information as personal information if we combine it with or link it to any of the identifying information mentioned above.
We may also automatically collect certain information through the use of "cookies" or web beacons. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive at the request of a website. Among other things, cookies help us improve the Sites and your experience. If we link cookies to any personally identifying information, we will treat this information as personal information. Web beacons are small, invisible graphic images that may be used on the Sites or in emails relating to the Sites to collect certain information and monitor visitors' activity on the Sites and to tell if an email we send you has been opened and acted upon.
We may store and process personal information in the United States and other countries.
How Do We Use the Personal Information We Collect?
We use personal information collected through our Sites for the purposes described in this Policy or elsewhere on the Sites. For example, we may use personal information we collect:
- to operate and improve our Sites;
- to respond to your comments and questions and provide customer service;
- to collect and process your loans and send you confirmations, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
- to communicate with you about upcoming events and provide you with news and information we think will be of interest to you;
- to request feedback and otherwise contact you about your use of the Sites;
- to notify you about important changes to our Sites; and
- for any other purpose for which the information was collected.
What Personal Information Do We Share With Third Parties?
We will not share the personal information we collect from you through the Sites with third parties, except as described in this Policy or on the Sites. For example, we may share personal information as follows:
- when you give us consent to share your personal information with our partners or other site users;
- with vendors, consultants, and other service providers who are engaged by or working with us in connection with the operation of the Sites or the services we provide and who need access to such information to carry out their work for us;
- to comply with laws or respond to lawful requests and legal processes;
- to protect the rights and property of Vittana and our agents, lenders, students, volunteers, site users and employees, copyright owners, or any other third parties, including to enforce our agreements, policies, and Terms of Use;
- in an emergency situation to protect the personal safety of Vittana, our site users, students, employees, or any third party; and
- in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of Vittana assets, financing or acquisition, or in any other situation involving the transfer of all or part of the business assets of Vittana.
We may also share aggregated or anonymized information that does not directly identify you.
We are not responsible for the actions of any independent third parties you may choose to engage with directly, nor are we responsible for any additional information you provide directly to any third parties, and we encourage you to become familiar with their privacy practices before disclosing information directly to any such parties. Nothing herein restricts the sharing of aggregated or anonymized information, which may be shared with third parties without your consent.
Links to Other Websites
Our Sites may contain links to other websites. Any personal information you provide on a linked site is provided directly to that third party and is subject to that third party's privacy policy. This Policy does not apply to linked sites and we are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of those websites. We encourage you to learn about linked sites' privacy and security practices and policies before providing them with personal information.
What Steps Do We Take To Protect Your Information Online?
We take reasonable measures to help protect your personal information in an effort to prevent loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Please be aware, however, that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against interception or other types of misuse. To protect the confidentiality of personal information, you must not disclose your password to any other person. You are responsible for all uses of our website by any person using your password. Please advise us immediately if you believe your password has been misused.
What Choices Do You Have Regarding the Use of Your Information?
You may "opt out" of receiving marketing or promotional emails from us by following the instructions in those emails or by emailing unsubscribe@vittana.org. If you opt out, we may still send you non-promotional emails.
Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our Sites.
Questions?
If you have any questions about this Policy, please contact us.