Babbledog Privacy Policy
Last Modified: January 15, 2008
This Privacy Policy summarizes the ways that Renesys Corporation ("we" or "our") treats the information that users ("you" or "your") provide while using the Babbledog services and websites (collectively referred to in this privacy policy as "Babbledog"). This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is subject to the Babbledog Terms of Service. Please read this Privacy Policy and the Babbledog Terms of Service carefully. By using Babbledog or registering for the Babbledog service, you are agreeing that your use of Babbledog and any personal information you provide on Babbledog is subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Babbledog Terms of Service. This Privacy Policy does not cover websites or services that are linked from Babbledog.
Babbledog's real-time online user community provides you with useful, individualized recommendations for live discussion forums and associated websites, based on your browsing preferences and the discussions you participate in. We collect certain kinds of information, disclosed below, which allows us to more precisely target and individualize our recommendations.
Collection of Information
When you register for the Babbledog service, you must provide a user name, password and email address (collectively, "user information"). We also provide facilities for you to provide more personally identifiable user information to be shared with other users (a "profile"), but only with your specific knowledge and consent.
Our servers may automatically collect information about your computer when you use the Babbledog browser extension to participate in live discussions, including without limitation to the type of browser software you use, the operating system you are running, the URLs of websites that refer you to our website, the URLs of non-secure websites you visit, comments you submit to Babbledog discussion forums and your Internet Protocol ("IP") address (collectively, "session information"). Babbledog collects cookies for session management and for coordination between the sidebar and the Babbledog website; we do not use cookies or clear GIFs to track users across sites.
Use and Dissemination of Information
If you submit personally identifiable information to us, then we use your personal information to operate, maintain, and provide to you the features and functionality of Babbledog. For example, we use your email address to send you a copy of your user name and password upon registration, and upon your request thereafter. You may optionally agree ("opt in") to allow us to use your email address to communicate with you about new features, products or services. We use your username and password to grant you access to the Babbledog service and website. If you opt to provide public profile data, we may share it with other Babbledog users. You should not include any personally identifiable data in your profile that you are not comfortable sharing publicly.
We use bulk session information as statistical input to our algorithms that rank the relative popularity of discussion groups and related web pages. We also use your session information to improve the quality of our personalized discussion and website recommendations.
We may provide personally identifiable information and non-personally-identifiable information to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies, or other businesses or persons for the purpose of processing such information on our behalf. We require that these parties agree to process such information in compliance with our privacy policy, and we use reasonable efforts to limit their use of such information and to use other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
We may allow other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within the Babbledog. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser, the advertisements and links that appear on Babbledog. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or Web Beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize the advertising content you see. We do not provide any personally identifiable information to these third-party ad servers or ad networks without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out. However, please note that if an advertiser asks us to show an advertisement to a certain audience (for example, men ages 18-34) or audience segment (for example, men ages 18-24 who have viewed certain channels of content) and you respond to that advertisement, the advertiser or ad-server may conclude that you fit the description of the audience they are trying to reach. The advertiser may also use information regarding your use of Babbledog, such as the number of times you viewed an ad (but not any personally identifiable information), to determine which ads to deliver to you. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers or ad networks for more information on their practices and for instructions on how to opt-out of certain practices. Our privacy policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or websites.
Also, we reserve the right to use session information, which may at times be able to identify you, for any other lawful business purpose, including helping to improve and administer the service, and for internal research and development. We reserve the right to use, transfer, sell, and share aggregated, anonymous data about our users and their collective session information ("bulk information") for any business purpose, such as analyzing trends in demographics and access patterns for Babbledog discussions and related web pages.
We also reserve the right to disclose personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information that we believe, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to enforce the Babbledog Terms of Service, to take precautions against liability, to investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, to protect the security or integrity of our services and websites, and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of our company, our users or others.
In addition, as our business changes, we may buy or sell various assets. In the event all or a portion of the assets owned or controlled by us, our parent or any of our subsidiaries or affiliates are sold, assigned, transferred, merged into or acquired by another company or person, or we otherwise undergo a change of control, the information we collect may be among the transferred assets.
Security
We use commercially reasonable physical, managerial, and technical safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of your personal information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission of information, we make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure the security of our systems. However, please note that this is not a guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. If we learn of a security systems breach, then we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. We may post a notice on Babbledog if a security breach occurs. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing.
Kids and Parents
Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. For that reason, we do not knowingly collect or maintain personally identifiable information or non-personally-identifiable information on Babbledog from persons under 13 years of age, and no part of Babbledog is directed to persons under 13. If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use or access Babbledog at any time or in any manner. If we learn that personally identifiable information of persons under 13 years of age has been collected on Babbledog without verified parental consent, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information.
Individuals aged 13 through 17 must get the permission of their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) before accessing, registering for, or participating in Babbledog. We encourage parents to advise their children not to disclose information about themselves while using Babbledog, and to carefully monitor their children's communications with third parties.
Policy Changes
This Privacy Policy may be revised periodically and this will be reflected by the "last modified" date printed at the top of this Privacy Policy. Please revisit this page to stay aware of any changes. In general, we only use your personal information in the manner described in the Privacy Policy in effect when we received the personal information you provided. Your continued use of Babbledog constitutes your agreement to this Privacy Policy and any future revisions.
For revisions to this Privacy Policy that may be materially less restrictive on our use or disclosure of the personal information you have already provided to us, we will attempt to obtain your consent before implementing such revisions with respect to such information.
Contact Information
If you are concerned about any activities that are occurring on Babbledog or have questions about your privacy while using this website, please .
