Privacy

Thank you for using GroupDeals! This privacy policy helps you understand what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have as a user.

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

We collect information in a few different ways:

1. When you give it to us or give us permission to obtain it

When you sign up for or use our products, you voluntarily give us certain information. This can include your name, profile photo, comments, likes, email address you used to sign up, and any other information you provide us. If you're using GroupDeals on your mobile device, you can also choose to provide us with location data.

You also may give us permission to access your information in other services. For example, you may link your Facebook or Twitter account to GroupDeals, which allows us to obtain information from those accounts (like your friends or contacts). The information we get from those services often depends on your settings or their privacy policies, so be sure to check what those are.

2. We also get technical information when you use our products

These days, whenever you use a website, mobile application, or other internet service, there's certain information that almost always gets created and recorded automatically. The same is true when you use our products. Here are some of the types of information we collect:

  • Log data. When you use GroupDeals, our servers automatically record information ("log data"), including information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website or your mobile app sends when you're using it. This log data may include your Internet Protocol address, the address of the web pages you visited that had GroupDeals features, browser type and settings, the date and time of your request, how you used GroupDeals, and cookie data.
  • Cookie data. Depending on how you're accessing our products, we may use "cookies" (a small text file sent by your computer each time you visit our website, unique to your GroupDeals account or your browser) or similar technologies to record log data. When we use cookies, we may use "session" cookies (that last until you close your browser) or "persistent" cookies (that last until you or your browser delete them). For example, we may use cookies to store your email subscription preferences or other GroupDeals settings so you don‘t have to set them up every time you visit GroupDeals. Some of the cookies we use are associated with your GroupDeals account (including personal information about you, such as the email address you gave us), and other cookies are not.
  • Device information. In addition to log data, we may also collect information about the device you're using GroupDeals on, including what type of device it is, what operating system you're using, device settings, unique device identifiers, and crash data. Whether we collect some or all of this information often depends on what type of device you're using and its settings. For example, different types of information are available depending on whether you're using a Mac or a PC, or an iPhone or an Android phone. To learn more about what information your device makes available to us, please also check the policies of your device manufacturer or software provider.

3. Our partners and advertisers may share information with us

Sometimes our partners may let us collect information when you use their services, or may share with us the information they collect. For example:

  • Online advertisers typically share information with the websites or apps where they run ads to measure and/or improve those ads. We also receive this information, which may include information like whether clicks on ads led to purchases or a list of criteria to use in targeting ads.

HOW DO WE USE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT?

We use the information we collect to provide our products to you and make them better, develop new products, and protect GroupDeals and our users. For example, we may log how often people use two different versions of a product, which can help us understand which version is better.

We also use the information we collect to offer you customized content, including:

  • Suggesting potential connections or venues you might like. For example, if you've indicated that you're interested in Mexican food or visited a particular dining website that is linked to GroupDeals, we may suggest specific restaurants or people that we think you might like.
  • Showing you ads you might be interested in. Learn more about how we use information from outside of GroupDeals to customize your GroupDeals experience.
  • Send you updates (such as when certain activity, like connections or comments, happens on GroupDeals), newsletters, marketing materials and other information that may be of interest to you. For example, depending on your email notification settings, we may send you weekly updates that include the best deals of the week at your college. You can decide to stop getting these updates by updating your account settings (or through other settings we may provide).
  • Help your friends and contacts find you on GroupDeals. For example, if you sign up and connect your Facebook account, we may help your Facebook friends find your account on GroupDeals when they first sign up for GroupDeals. Or, we may allow people to search for your account on GroupDeals using your email address.
  • Respond to your questions or comments. The information we collect may be "personally identifiable" (meaning it can be used to specifically identify you as a unique person) or "non-personally identifiable" (meaning it can't be used to specifically identify you). We use both types of information, and combinations of both types, as described above. We may use or store information wherever GroupDeals does business, including states outside your own.

WHAT CHOICES DO YOU HAVE ABOUT YOUR INFORMATION?

Our goal is to give you simple and meaningful choices over your information. If you have a GroupDeals account, many of the choices you have on GroupDeals are built directly into the product or your account settings. For example, you can:

  • Access and change information in your profile page at any time, or change your email subscription and push notification preferences.
  • Link or unlink your Pinterest account from an account on another service (e.g., Facebook or Twitter).

You may have choices available to you through the device or software you use to access GroupDeals. For example:

  • The browser you use may provide you with the ability to control cookies or other types of local data storage.
  • Your mobile device may provide you with choices around how and whether location or other data is shared with us.

To learn more about these choices, please see the information provided by the device or software provider.

HOW AND WHEN DO WE SHARE INFORMATION?

GroupDeals is a tool people use to find all they need when it comes to dining and nightlife in their college town. their inspirations, make them a reality, and inspire others in the process. When you create an account, members in the GroupDeals network can view it. You may also provide us with profile page information that anyone can view, depending on your profile privacy settings. The other limited instances where we may share your personal information include:

  • When we have your consent. This includes sharing information with other services (like Facebook or Twitter) when you've chosen to link to your GroupDeals account to those services.
  • We may employ third party companies or individuals to process personal information on our behalf based on our instructions and in compliance with this Privacy Policy. For example, we may share data with a security consultant to help us get better at identifying spam or with our accountants to make sure we're keeping the books right. In addition, some of the information we request may be collected by third party providers on our behalf.
  • Online advertisers typically use third party companies to audit the delivery and performance of their ads on websites and apps. We also allow these companies to collect this information on GroupDeals.
  • If we believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation or legal request; to protect the safety, rights, or property of the public, any person, or GroupDeals; or to detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues.
  • We may engage in a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, reorganization, or similar transaction or proceeding that involves the transfer of the information described in this Policy.

We may also share aggregated or non-personally identifiable information with our partners, advertisers, or others. For example, we may tell an advertiser on GroupDeals how many people clicked something they shared, or the percentage of people who click to use a particular deal after viewing it.

OUR POLICY ON MINORS

Pinterest is not directed to children under 13, and is really directed for those directly affiliated to a particular University. If you learn that your minor child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us.

HOW DO WE MAKE CHANGES TO THIS POLICY?

We may change this policy from time to time, and if we do we'll post any changes on this page. If you continue to use GroupDeals after those changes are in effect, you agree to the revised policy. If the changes are significant, we may provide more prominent notice or get your consent as required by law.

Effective: January 20th, 2015