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Your privacy is very
important to us. We want to make your experience on the Internet as enjoyable
and rewarding as possible, and we want you to use the Internet’s vast array of
information, tools, and opportunities with complete confidence. This Privacy
Policy is meant to convey our commitment to protect the privacy of our
customers.
This Privacy Policy
describes how Sitestar Corporation DBA Sitestar.Net
(the “Company”) collects information from all end users of The Company’s
Internet services (the “Services”)—those who access some of our Services but do
not have accounts (“Visitors”) as well as those who pay a monthly service fee
to subscribe to the Service (“Members”)—what we do with the information we
collect, and the choices Visitors and Members have concerning the collection
and use of such information.
Personal Information
The Company Collects and How It Is Used
Introduction
The Company collects information in different ways from Visitors and Members
who access the various parts of our Services and the network of Web sites
accessible through our Service. We use this information primarily to provide a
customized experience as you use our Services and, generally, do not share this
information with third parties. However, we may disclose personal information
collected if we have received your permission beforehand or in very special
circumstances, such as when we believe that such disclosure is required by law
or other special cases described below.
Registration
Members are asked to provide certain personal information when they sign up for
our Services including name, address, telephone number, billing information
(such as a credit card number), and the type of personal computer being used to
access the Services. The personal information collected from Members during the
registration process is used to manage each Member’s account (such as for
billing purposes). This information is not shared with third parties, unless
specifically stated otherwise or in special circumstances. However, in
instances where The Company and a partner jointly promote the Services, The
Company may provide the partner certain personal information, such as the name,
address, and username of persons who subscribed to the Services as a result of
the joint promotion for the sole purpose of allowing us and the partner to
assess the results of the promotion. In this instance, personal information may
not be used by the partner for any other purpose. The Company may also generate
nonidentifying and aggregate profiles from personal
information Members provide during registration (such as the total number, but
not the names, of Members). As explained in more detail below, we may use this
aggregated and nonidentifying information to sell
advertisements that appear on the Services.
Online Shopping
At some Web sites, you can purchase products and services or register to
receive materials, such as a catalog or new product and service updates. In
many cases, you may be asked to provide contact information, such as your name,
address, email address, phone number, and credit/debit card information. If you
complete an order for someone else, such as an online gift order sent directly
to a recipient, you may be asked to provide information about the recipient,
such as the recipient’s name, address, and phone number. The Company has no
control over the third parties’ use of any personal information you provide
when placing such an order. Please exercise care when doing so.
If you order products
directly from The Company, such as through the “The Company Store,” we will use
the personal information you provide only to process that order. We do not
share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to
complete that order.
Online Advertisements
The Company displays our online advertisements. We share aggregated and nonidentifying information about our Visitors and Members
collected through the registration process as well as through online surveys
and promotions with these advertisers. Additionally, in some instances, we use
this aggregated and nonidentifying information to
deliver tailored advertisements. For instance, an advertiser tells us the
audience they want to reach (for example, males between 25 and 55 years of age)
and provides us an advertisement tailored to the audience. Based upon the
aggregated and nonidentifying information we have
collected, we may then display the advertisement to the intended audience. The
Company does not share personal information about its Visitors or Members with
these advertisers.
We use various third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web
site. These companies may use information (not including your name, address,
email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web
sites in order to provide advertisements on this site and other sites about
goods and services that may be of interest to you. If you would like more
information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this
information used by these companies, please click here: http://www.networkadvertising.org/optout_nonppii.asp
Responses to Email
Inquiries
When Visitors or Members send email inquiries to The Company, the return email
address is used to answer the email inquiry we receive. The Company does not
use the return email address for any other purpose and does not share the
return email address with any third party.
Voluntary Customer
Surveys
We may periodically conduct both business and individual customer surveys. We
encourage our customers to participate in these surveys because they provide us
with important information that helps us to improve the types of services we
offer and how we provide them to you. Your personal information and responses
will remain strictly confidential, even if the survey is conducted by a third
party. Participation in our customer surveys is voluntary.
We take the information we
receive from individuals responding to our Customer Surveys and combine (or
aggregate) it with the responses of other The Company customers to create
broader, generic responses to the survey questions (such as gender, age,
residence, hobbies, education, employment, industry sector, or other
demographic information). We then use the aggregated information to improve the
quality of our services to you, and to develop new services and products. This aggregated, non-personally identifying information may be
shared with third parties.
Special Cases
It is The Company’s policy not to use or share the personal information about
Visitors of Members in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also
providing you an opportunity to opt out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated
uses. However, The Company may disclose personal information about Visitors or
Members, or information regarding your use of the Services or Web sites
accessible through our Services, for any reason if, in our sole discretion, we
believe that it is reasonable to do so, including: to satisfy laws, such as the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act, regulations, or governmental or legal
requests for such information; to disclose information that is necessary to
identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be violating
our Acceptable Use Policy or other user policies; to operate the Services
properly; or to protect The Company and our Members.
"Cookies"
and How The Company Uses Them
A “cookie” is a small data file that can be placed on your hard drive when you
visit certain Web sites. The Company may use cookies to collect, store, and
sometimes track information for statistical purposes to improve the products
and services we provide and to manage our telecommunications networks. These
cookies do not enable third parties to access any of your customer information.
Additionally, be aware that if you visit non-The Company web sites where you
are prompted to log in or that are customizable, you may be required to accept
cookies.
Advertisers and partners
may also use their own cookies. We do not control use of these cookies and
expressly disclaim responsibility for information collected through them.
The Company's
Commitment to Children's Privacy
Protecting children’s privacy is especially important to us. It is our policy
to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 and all
other applicable laws.
We have Web pages designed
especially for our younger users. While we make every effort to ensure that
these Web sites are fun and age-appropriate for our younger audience, we
believe that there is no substitute for proper parental supervision. For
further information about tips, tools, age-appropriate or kid-friendly Web
sites and how to report online trouble, please visit http://www.getnetwise.org/.
Finally, The Company
recommends that children ask a parent for permission before sending personal
information to The Company, or to anyone else online.
The Company's
Commitment to Data Security
Services and Web sites we sponsor have security measures in place to protect
the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. While we
make every effort to ensure the integrity and security of our network and
systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent
third-party “hackers” from illegally obtaining this information.
Where to Direct
Questions About The Company's Privacy Policy
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the practices described
herein, you may contact:
Customer Service
Sitestar Corporation DBA Sitestar.Net
7109 Timberlake Rd.
Lynchburg, VA 24502
custserv@sitestar.net
Revisions to This
Policy
The Company reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this policy, our
Internet Service Agreement and our other policies and agreements at any time
and in any manner. Notice of any revision, amendment, or modification will be
posted in accordance with the Internet Service Agreement and/or Acceptable Use
Policy.
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