Textscouts.com Website Privacy Policy

Last Updated: 01/01/2023

Thank you for visiting the Textscouts.com website located at the http://Textscouts.com domain or our advertising platform located at the https://Textscouts.com domain. This privacy policy (“Policy”) describes how personal information you voluntarily provide or authorize to be released, or which is publicly available or lawfully obtainable from third parties, may be obtained and used by Textscouts.com and its online advertising and monetization operations (collectively, “Textscouts.com”, “we” or “our”). Textscouts.com provides a technology platform that enables the delivery of targeted advertisements on behalf of its advertising clients (“Advertisers”) to consumers who have registered, utilized the products of, or otherwise interacted with one of the third parties in Textscouts.com's User network of third party websites, social media pages, software applications, social networks and other Internet properties (together, these third party sources are referred to in this Policy as "Users", and their websites, pages, applications, networks and other Internet properties are referred to as “Web Properties”). If you are a user of Textscouts.com's website located at www.Textscouts.com or any of the materials, products or services provided on or through the website (collectively, the “Site”), or if you are one of Textscouts.com's Users or Advertisers, you agree to this Policy, in its entirety, when you: (a) access or use the Site; or (b) register on the Site to participate as a User or Advertiser on the Textscouts.com Network (as this term is defined in the Textscouts.com Website Terms and Conditions posted on the Site (“General Terms”)). If you do not agree to this Policy in its entirety, you are not authorized to become an Advertiser or other user (collectively, a “Textscouts.com Member”) and/or to use the Site in any manner or form whatsoever. Additionally, this Policy is provided for informational purposes so that customers and users of Textscouts.com's products and services can better understand how Textscouts.com collects, discloses and uses personal information about them.

This Policy does NOT apply to the practices of Advertisers, Users or other companies and persons that Textscouts.com does not own or control or to persons that Textscouts.com does not employ or manage. We reserve the right to change the terms of this Policy at any time. When we make changes, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of the Policy and post the changed policy on the Site. If there are material changes to this Policy or in how Textscouts.com will use your personal information, we will notify you by prominently posting a notice of such changes here or on our home page, or by sending you an e-mail (if you have registered with us). Your provision of any information on or through the Site following such notification shall constitute your consent to the collection, disclosure and use of such information in accordance with the changed Policy. Accordingly, we encourage you to review this Policy whenever you visit the Site in order to familiarize yourself with the most recent version. Furthermore, Textscouts.com retains its right to enter into new or different lines of business with consumers and, if and to the extent it does so, may display a different Privacy Policy to the consumer for such lines of business.

 

Introduction

Our Policy is intended to explain our privacy practices concerning information about you, including:

• The kinds of personal information we collect;
• How we use personal information;
• Disclosure of personal information;
• How you can access, update and delete your personal information, or opt out from Textscouts.com's behavioral advertising;
• How we protect personal information.

Users of the Site and its products and services, and other persons who may be affected by Textscouts.com's behavioral advertising and monetization operations, generally fall into three categories:

1. Users
2. Advertisers
3. Consumers who receive and/or interact with targeted advertisements displayed when using services provided by our Users ("Individuals").

Information We Collect

The following is a summary of the types of personal and non-personal information we collect from or about Textscouts.com Members, Site users and Individuals. We will NOT collect personal information about you in a manner inconsistent with your personal profile privacy settings. If you do not wish to have certain personal information shared with us, please change your privacy settings with our Users or their networks.

Textscouts.com Members and Voluntarily Provided Information. We collect personal information on the Site when you attempt to register as a Textscouts.com Member or otherwise choose to provide personal information to us. Personal information is any information that can be used to identify or locate a particular person or entity. This may include, but is not limited to: personal name and business entity name and/or title with the applicable business entity, as well as your personal and/or business e-mail address, mailing address, daytime and/or mobile telephone numbers, fax number, PayPal or bank account information (including, but not limited to, account number, routing number and bank location), and/or any other information requested on the applicable Textscouts.com Member registration form, such as username and password. (For purposes of this Policy, your bank account and other financial information shall be considered "Sensitive Information.") We also may collect certain non-personal information from Users, such as information typically contained in a web server's log files or analytics program including: IP address, browser type, operating system, geographic location, referral information, click-stream data, etc. (for additional detail about these practices, please see the section below entitled “Individual and Textscouts.com Member Behaviors Collected With Cookies, Web Beacons and Other Web Technologies.”) Finally, we collect server and Individual activity information so that we can process and facilitate transactions in, or the awarding or crediting of, User virtual currencies as requested by Individuals and Users.

Individuals: Subscription or Survey Information. Textscouts.com collects information from Individuals when you voluntarily provide it to Textscouts.com or one of its Users (for example, by signing up for an email newsletter or through a co-registration offer on a survey), or by other means of online or offline surveys, order forms, or registration pages operated by third parties (collectively, a "User Form"). In a User Form, Textscouts.com or a third party may offer you incentives in exchange for providing information about yourself, such as name, email address, street address, zip code, telephone numbers, birth date, gender, salary range, education and marital status, occupation, employment information, and personal and/or online interests (together, "User Information")). Completing the User Forms is voluntary and you are under no obligation to provide User Information.

Individuals: Information Collected When You Interact with Advertisements. When you interact with advertisements displayed using our technology, we may obtain certain personal information about you so that we can provide our services. For example, we may collect any information contained in your profile that you have voluntarily agreed to share, including your name, age, gender, and profile picture.

Individuals: Virtual Currency Transactions. In connection with providing our virtual currency monetization platform, through which we offer technology and services to enable Individuals using User Web Properties to earn points or other virtual currencies offered by the Users by responding to advertisements, and to facilitate direct payments from such Individuals via credit card, stored value or debit card, PayPal transfer, bank transfer, mobile billing and other payment sources, we may collect personal information, including name; email address; PayPal, credit, debit or stored value card, bank account and similar financial information (for purposes of this Policy, such financial information shall be considered “Sensitive Information”); information relating to your account with a User; and information concerning whether you have completed a User Form, made a purchase or completed some other action in response to an advertisement.

Individuals: Vendor List Information. Textscouts.com may obtain information about you after you provide information to a third party and you permit that party (the "Seller") to share the information, which Textscouts.com subsequently purchases, licenses or otherwise lawfully acquires. Such information may include, but is not limited to, your name, street address, zip code, telephone numbers, birth date, gender, salary range, education, marital status, occupation, industry of employment, personal and/or online interests, and/or other information which you provided to the Seller (together, "Vendor List Information"). When acquiring Vendor List Information, Textscouts.com requires assurances from the Seller that the Seller has a right to transfer the Vendor List Information to Textscouts.com and that Textscouts.com may lawfully use the Vendor List Information to transmit offers from Advertisers.

Individual and Textscouts.com Member Behaviors Collected with Cookies, Web Beacons, and Other Web Technologies. Textscouts.com uses cookies, web beacons and other web-based technologies to associate certain Internet-related information about you, such as your Internet Protocol address and what web browser and operating system you are using, with certain of your online behaviors, such as opening or clicking on a particular online advertisement or visiting a particular page on the Site. Additionally, Textscouts.com may use other new and evolving sources of information and information gathering in the future (together with cookies, web beacons and similar technologies, "Web Technologies"). We may use Web Technologies to collect certain non-personal information about Individuals to help us ensure that the advertisements we serve are targeted. For example, we may collect, without limitation, information related to advertisements that were delivered to you and that you clicked on, along with your browsing behavior and other click-stream data. Information collected through Web Technologies is referred to below as “Technology Information.”

(a) Cookies. A cookie is a small amount of data stored on the hard drive of your computer that allows your computer's browser to store your preferences and allows Textscouts.com to identify your IP address with corresponding information in Textscouts.com's database. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell us your email address and similar individual identifying information, but may contain such information as date and time of your website visit, session identification number and registration information. We use cookies to understand Site usage and to improve the content and offerings on the Site. In addition, Textscouts.com may set a cookie on your computer when you view advertisements delivered on or in connection with User Web Properties. After a cookie is set, Textscouts.com may track how you interact with the advertisement and the User Web Property (for example, registering, purchasing, browsing, etc.).

You may set your browser to warn you that cookies are in use, or to block the use of cookies. Most browsers are set to accept cookies. If your browser is not set to accept cookies, certain uses of the Site may require you to go to your browser user preferences to enable cookies. Each browser is different, so check the ''Help'' menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences. If you change computers, operating systems or browsers, or use multiple computers or browsers, you will need to repeat this process for each computer and each browser. To find out more about cookies, please visit www.cookiecentral.com.

(b) Web beacons. A web beacon is a programming code used to display an image on a web page and can also transfer an individual's user identification to a database and associate the individual with previously acquired information about the individual. Web beacons enable Textscouts.com to track certain websites you visit or advertisements you view online. Web beacons help determine products or services in which you may be interested and help track online behaviors for marketing purposes. More information about web beacons is available at http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/Web_beacon.html.

(c) Where Technology Information is Collected. Technology Information is collected directly from the Site and Textscouts.com-delivered advertisements or indirectly through Users with whom Textscouts.com contracts to display advertisements.

(d) Advertisement Codes. To make certain that our advertisements served to Web Properties by Textscouts.com are targeted correctly, Users must place Textscouts.com-provided tags or tracking codes, known as advertisement codes, on or in connection with their Web Properties. The Advertisement Codes do not collect personal information. They are used to match Individual browsing behavior to a segment profile designated for targeting Ads to Individuals on or using the applicable User Web Property.

Individuals: Email Databases. Textscouts.com may track your interaction with email advertisements sent to you by Textscouts.com or others (for example, when you register, purchase, or browse in response to such emails).

Outside Information. Textscouts.com may lawfully receive information about you from third parties, such as information located in public databases.

No Information Collected from Children Under 13. Please be advised that we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under age 13. If we become aware that a child under age 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete it from our database. If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us at legal@Textscouts.com.com.

How We Use Your Information: Users and Advertisers

We use your personal information primarily for administrative purposes pertaining to your account and customer management purposes, including (a) processing payments owed to you; (b) providing reports, customer service, newsletters, RSS feeds and other information, products and/or services that you have signed up for or have otherwise agreed to receive; (c) operating the Textscouts.com Network; (d) sending you information regarding Textscouts.com and/or the Textscouts.com Network; (e) displaying content that is customized to your interests and preferences; (f) tracking with your compliance with the General Terms, and/or the Textscouts.com Platform Services Agreement, as applicable; (g) contacting you when necessary regarding your account with us and/or operational updates to our Site; and (h) for validation, suppression, content improvement and feedback purposes. Unless you indicate a preference not to receive such information when you sign up for the Site or subsequently, we may also send you surveys, marketing communications to inform you of new products or services or other information or offers that may be of interest, and/or updates about Textscouts.com. These surveys, marketing communications, or updates may come from Textscouts.com or our service providers. If you do not wish to continue to receive surveys, marketing communications or updates, you may indicate this preference by following the "unsubscribe" or "opt-out" instructions included within each email communication. Please keep in mind that, even if you choose not to receive these communications, you may continue to receive transactional or account communications (e.g., confirmation emails) and other communications which are required or permitted by applicable law.

We use Sensitive Information only to process, and provide support, servicing and fraud detection for, payments and other transactions that Users have requested.

You also agree that we may also use your name, company name and logo in advertising or promotional materials to refer truthfully to you as an advertising client of ours or as a User in the Textscouts.com Network.

We use non-personal information primarily for internal research and analytics to improve our Site and our services.

How We Use Your Information: Individuals

We use your personal information to help us ensure that the advertisements we serve are interesting to people who see the advertisements. For example, if your privacy settings permit it, we may use your profile photo or name when serving an advertisement to a person who is your friend We use your non-personal information primarily to ensure that the advertisements we serve are targeted. For example, we may aggregate demographic data to create anonymous groups so that we can serve advertisements which may appeal to members of those groups.

Generally, Textscouts.com uses information about Individuals to target advertising and other information, such as business, weather, entertainment, sports and general news alerts and similar information, more effectively. When an Individual is online, Textscouts.com uses Technology Information to associate an Individual with their information, and Textscouts.com attempts to show information and advertising for products and services to which the person may respond. Textscouts.com may use data collected from a response to one type of advertising or information for targeting advertisements or other information through a different venue. For example, Textscouts.com may notice that you responded to a skateboarding-related advertisement and use that response to deliver a skateboarding-related advertisement and other information to you.

In addition, Textscouts.com may use Individual personal information to process transactions you have requested involving User virtual currencies and to award or credit you with User virtual currencies in connection with actions you have taken to respond to advertisements displayed on or in connection with User Web Properties. We use Sensitive Information only to process, and provide support, servicing and fraud detection for, such transactions and activities.

Disclosure of Your Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, lease or disclose your personal information to unaffiliated entities, except in the limited circumstances listed below. (Textscouts.com may transfer information to our affiliated entities, that is, entities that control, are controlled by, or are under common control with Textscouts.com, for marketing and other purposes at our discretion.)

We may disclose your personal information to third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf. For example, we may engage other companies to handle the processing of payments, to provide data storage, to assist in marketing Textscouts.com's products or services, to conduct audits, to provide web analytics, and to provide hosting, design, development and other operations which make our Site work. Other third-party service providers may help us communicate with you through electronic mail, direct mail or telephone communication. Our policy is to permit these third-party service providers to obtain only the personal information they need to provide the services, and to require them to protect personal information to the same extent as Textscouts.com, including not using it for any improper purpose.

We will make your personal information available to non-affiliated third parties only in the following limited circumstances:

• When we are compelled to do so by a governmental agency, court or other entity (e.g., to respond to subpoenas, court orders or other legal process);
• If we believe your actions violate any law, regulation, our General Terms or any other agreement by which you are bound, or if you threaten the rights, property or safety of Textscouts.com, the Site, our service providers, suppliers, customers or users, or any other party;
• If, in our sole discretion, we believe such disclosure to be necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries, to protect our business and assets, to defend our interests and/or to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
• To cooperate with law enforcement authorities, a court or administrative agency, or other governmental authority in connection with an investigation or where otherwise required or permitted by applicable law.
• In the event of a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, transfer of control, joint venture, sale of assets or other strategic business transaction or event involving us and/or our related companies.

Disclosure of Non-Personal Information

In addition to the foregoing, Textscouts.com may sell or transfer non-individualized information, such as summary or aggregated anonymous information about all persons or sub-groups of persons. For example, we may provide our advertisers with aggregate, anonymous non-personal informational about Individuals, including, without limitation, demographic data. This aggregate data allows us to create anonymous groups that our advertisers use to identify people who may be interested in particular products or services.

Accessing/Updating/Deleting Your Personal Information and Opting Out of Behavioral Targeting

If you would like to delete or update the personal information that we have collected from you, simply send your request via e-mail to legal@Textscouts.com. If you are an Advertiser on the Textscouts.com platform then you may update your personal information by logging into your account at our Site and modifying your account information.

We will process your request, where possible and subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, within a reasonable period of time after receipt. To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to help verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

To prevent the display of Textscouts.com advertising on a Web Property, for example, banner advertisements, do not visit the Web Property. To only prevent Textscouts.com from tracking your behavior on a Web Property, turn off cookies from that Web Property and do not click on or interact with any advertisements. Facebook and other social networking platforms also provide you with the ability to change your privacy settings to limit the ability of third parties such as Textscouts.com to view your profile and other information and track your activities and content on those platforms. Textscouts.com respects your privacy settings and will not collect information in violation of those settings.

To prevent software programs such as a User social media application from displaying advertisements on your computer, uninstall the software program or application provided by the User by following the instructions included in the User privacy policy at the time of installation. There should be an option to uninstall in the "Add/Remove Programs" section of the Windows® operating system (or the corresponding section of the Mac operating systems), or you should be able to do so by visiting the file director of the installed program or application and running an uninstaller executable.

To unsubscribe from Textscouts.com or User email lists, click the link included in the footer of any message delivered by Textscouts.com or a User and follow the instructions provided.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, even if you unsubscribe from marketing emails, we may continue to contact you for the purpose of communicating information relating to your participation in the Textscouts.com Network, as well as to respond to any inquiry or request made by you.

How We Protect Your Personal Information

We know it takes confidence and trust to share personal information online. We endeavor to keep your confidence and maintain your trust by protecting your personal information. To that end, we maintain reasonable standards of security and confidentiality. For example, Textscouts.com stores Individuals' information in a database in encrypted form. In addition, Textscouts.com's computers have security measures, such as firewalls, to protect against the loss, misuse and/or alteration of the information under Textscouts.com's control. Textscouts.com also maintains physical and procedural safeguards to protect information under our control and to restrict access to those employees and agents who have a need to know in order to provide services to you and/or operate our business. We also rely as much as possible on reputable encrypted third-party payment solutions like PayPal in connection with processing payment transactions that may involve Sensitive Information.

Notwithstanding such measures, Textscouts.com cannot guarantee that its security measures will prevent these computers from being illegally accessed and the Individual information on them stolen or altered. Despite our efforts, as with most Internet sites and businesses, it is possible that third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions of private communications and/or unlawfully gain access to protected computers. No method of data collection, transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot warrant such absolute security. Whenever you provide personal information online, you accept this risk, including when you share your personal information with us or our Users or in response to an online advertisement.

Notwithstanding these inherent risks, we make a concerted good faith effort to ensure that your personal information is protected by maintaining the reasonable standards of security and confidentiality mentioned above. We require our service providers who are under contract with us to follow the same policy.

Privacy Practices of Third Parties

Third Party Web Technologies. Users and Advertisers in the Textscouts.com Network, as well as other Users and advertisers who place advertisements on the Internet, may use their own cookies, web beacons and other Web Technologies to collect information about you. Textscouts.com has no control over third parties' use of such Web Technologies.

Links to Third Party Websites. The Site, Advertiser’s advertising content, Users' Web Properties, and e-mail messages transmitted by Textscouts.com on its own behalf or on behalf of its Users or Advertisers may contain links to third-party websites ("Third Party Websites"). Please be aware that Textscouts.com is not responsible for the privacy and security practices of Third Party Websites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave the Site (or when you leave a User's Web Property) and to read the privacy policies of each and every website that you visit. This Policy applies SOLELY to information collected by Textscouts.com and/or the Site.

In compliance with applicable federal and state laws, we shall notify you and any applicable regulatory agencies in the event that we learn of a breach of Textscouts.com's information security with respect to your personal information protected by those laws. Where permitted by applicable law, you will be notified via email in the event of such a breach. Please be advised that notice may be delayed in order to address the needs of law enforcement, determine the scope of network damage, and/or to engage in remedial measures.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this Policy, or would like more information on our privacy practices, please contact us at legal@Textscouts.com.