ThePrysm.com Privacy Policy

1.1 Our Commitment To Protecting Your Privacy. ThePrysm.com respects your privacy. To better protect your privacy, we provide this Privacy Policy explaining our online information practices and the choices that you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this Privacy Policy easy to find, we make it available from our home page and by hyperlink at every point where Personally Identifiable Information may be requested from you.

1.2 Member Profiles. If you become a member of our site, we will ask you to complete a questionnaire concerning your age, gender, personal interests, and other categories of personal information (as presented on our Join and Update Profile pages). We collect this information for the purpose of providing you with personally tailored content in the form of articles, products, podcasts, and videos. The more information that you provide, the better we can tailor your content.

1.3 Changes to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy describes the ways that we collect, store, use, and protect your Personally Identifiable Information. By using ThePrysm.com, you are deemed to have accepted this Privacy Policy. We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time by posting a revised version on our website, ThePrysm.com. The revised version will be effective at the time we post it. Your continued use of this site after we post a revised Privacy Policy signifies your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy. It is therefore important that you review this Privacy Policy regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes and updates made to the Privacy Policy. As we reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time, you should review it frequently. Your continued use of this site and/or continued provision of Personally Identifiable Information to us will be subject to the terms of the then-current Privacy Policy. We last modified this Privacy Policy on March 15, 2008.

2.1 Categories of Information Collected. Our collection of information is grouped into two categories: Personally Identifiable Information (information identifiable to a specific individual), and Aggregate Information (general demographic information that does not identify any individual).

2.2 Personally Identifiable Information. We collect Personally Identifiable Information from our users at several different points on our website; such information may include your name, e-mail address, or any other information that identifies you. Personally Identifiable Information is retained by us indefinitely.

2.3 Aggregate Information. Like most websites, ThePrysm.com automatically collects and stores certain statistical information from your web browser, including your Internet Protocol (IP) address; browser type; operating system; Internet Service Provider (ISP); the date and time you accessed our website; the pages you accessed on our site; the IP address of the website from which you entered our site; and your exit page from our site. We may track the total number of visitors to our website and the number of visitors to each page of our site. We may analyze this data for trends and statistics in the aggregate, but such information will be maintained, used, and disclosed in aggregate form only and will not contain Personally Identifiable Information. Aggregate Information is retained by us indefinitely.

3.1 Methods of Information Collection. Our methods of information collection are grouped into two categories: Clickstream Data (a record of your activity on our website including which pages that you visited, how long you were on a page [or our entire website], in what order the pages were visited, and the e-mail addresses of mail that you sent and received), and Information Voluntarily Provided (by you).

3.2 Clickstream Data. As described above, ThePrysm.com automatically collects and stores certain statistical information from your web browser. We may use such aggregate information to analyze trends, administer the website, track the movement of users throughout our website, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.

3.2.a. Cookies. A cookie is a small text file stored on a user’s computer for record-keeping purposes. We use cookies on this site to store your preferences, record session information, record user-specific information on what pages you access or visit, alert you to new areas that we think might be of interest when you return to our site, record past activity to provide better service when you return to our website, ensure that you are not repeatedly sent the same banner ads, customize Web page content based on your browser type or other information that you send. You can program your computer to warn you each time a cookie is being sent, block third-party cookies, or block all cookies. However, by blocking all cookies you may not have access to certain features on our site. To protect your privacy, you should not save your login information on a computer that is not your own. Clicking the “Log Off” link on any of our web pages will remove the cookie from the computer that you are currently using.

3.2.a.1. Linked cookies. We may link the information that we store in cookies to Personally Identifiable Information that you submit while on our site.

3.2.a.2. Session ID and Persistent Cookies. We may use both session ID and persistent cookies. Session ID cookies make it easier to navigate our site by helping us to recognize you if you visit multiple pages on our site during the same session, so that we do not need to ask you for your password on each page. Once you log out or close your browser, this cookie expires. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period and can be removed (see your Web browser’s “help” file for details on how to remove persistent cookies). We may set a persistent cookie to track and target your interests to enhance your experience on our site. Both session ID and persistent cookies are encrypted to protect them from being used for any other purpose. Our cookies are encoded so that only we can interpret the information stored in them.

3.2.a.3. Third-Party Cookies. This Privacy Policy covers only our use of cookies; it does not cover the use of cookies by any advertisers, third-party content or service providers, or companies that we may hire to track how our website is used. Such cookies collect data stored in aggregate form; we have no access to or control over these cookies. We may use outside ad companies to display ads on our site; such ads may contain cookies and are collected by the ad companies, and we do not have access to this information. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers for more detailed information on their practices, as well as for instructions about 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.

3.2.a.4. Advertising Opt-Out. Some of the ads that appear on our site may also be delivered to you by third-party Internet advertising companies. These companies use certain technologies to deliver ads and marketing messages and to collect aggregate data about your visit to or use of our site, including information about the ads that they display, via a cookie placed on your computer that reads your IP address. To opt out of information collection by these companies, or to obtain information about the technologies they use or their own privacy policies, please visit www.ThePrysm.com/MyAccount.aspx.

3.2.b. Third-Party Applications. Applications like widgets, created by third-party developers, may also be available on our site. Third-party applications are small pieces of software, often with interactivity, that appear on various pages within our site. ThePrysm.com does not control the third-party developers and cannot control their actions. When you use a widget or other third-party application, you are interacting with the third-party developer, not with ThePrysm.com. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of websites or other services operated by third-parties that are linked to, or integrated with, the ThePrysm.com website, or for the privacy practices of third-party Internet advertising companies. After you leave ThePrysm.com website by such a link, or access a third-party application (such as a widget), or click on an advertisement, you should review the applicable privacy policy of the third-party or advertiser site to learn how they will handle any Personally Identifiable Information that they collect from you, as well as the other terms of their privacy policies.

3.2.c. Clear Gifs (Web Beacons/Web Bugs). Like many websites and their third-party advertising partners, we use a software technology called “clear gifs” to manage site content. Clear gifs (also called “web beacons,” or “web bugs”) are very small graphics (about the size of the period at the end of this sentence); they contain a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of Web users. Unlike cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, clear gifs are embedded invisibly on Web pages. We use clear gifs in our HTML-based e-mails to let us know which e-mails have been opened by recipients so that we may determine the effectiveness of our communications and marketing campaigns.

3.3 Information Voluntarily Provided. You may voluntarily post your name, address, e-mail, and comments to our website. Any Information Voluntarily Provided shall be deemed to be non-confidential. “Information Voluntarily Provided” includes, but is not limited to, comments, messages posted on our message boards, e-mails, e-mail addresses of people who send or receive e-mail through our website, e-mail addresses of people who post to our message boards or chat rooms, suggestions, ideas, and other submissions disclosed, submitted, or offered to us on or by this site or otherwise disclosed, submitted, or offered in connection with your use of this site. We shall be free to use such Information Voluntarily Provided on an unrestricted basis. Information Voluntarily Provided is retained indefinitely.

3.3.a. Online Forms. To use certain services of this site you must first complete an online form and provide Personally Identifiable Information. We provide a number of tools designed to help you manage some aspect of your life, however you must enter personal information into these tools in order to get the full benefit from them. We will use this information to provide you with automated feedback intended to help you achieve your goal. We consider this information highly confidential and will not release it to others. We will not sell or make public any profile or test information. We may aggregate the information with similar information received from others and provide sums, averages, and other statistics derived from it to you and other site members. The sums, averages, and statistics cannot be traced back to you.

3.3.b. Surveys or Contests. From time-to-time, we may provide the opportunity to participate in contests or surveys on our site. If you participate, we will request certain Personally Identifiable Information from you. Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary – you may choose whether or not to disclose this information. The requested information typically includes contact information and demographic information. We use may use a third-party service provider to conduct these surveys or contests; those companies are prohibited from using our users’ Personally Identifiable Information for any other purpose.

3.3.c. Mailing List. In order to join ThePrysm.com, you must provide us with an e-mail address, which we verify before approving your membership. We will use this e-mail address to send you your password in case you forget it. We will also send you additional e-mail based on the preferences that you establish with us. Every unsolicited e-mail that we send you will contain a link to the My Account page that allows you to modify your e-mail preferences.

3.3.d. Your ThePrysm.com E-Mail Account. Once you become a member of ThePrysm.com, you may obtain a free “your_name@ThePrysm.com” e-mail account. Use of this e-mail account is governed by our Terms of Use Agreement and our Membership Agreement published on our website.

3.3.e. Referral Service. If you choose to use our referral service to tell a friend about our site, we will ask you for your friend’s name and e-mail address. We will automatically send your friend an e-mail inviting him or her to visit the site. Your friend may e-mail us to request that we remove this information from our database.

3.3.f. Demographic Data. We may ask you to submit certain demographic information (for example, location, age) to improve our marketing; such information is collated in the aggregate and when used for marketing purposes is not associated with any specific individual.

3.3.g. Customer Service. You may voluntarily provide us with your Personally Identifiable Information to allow us to communicate with you in response to your inquiries to provide the services you request. We use return e-mail addresses to answer the e-mail we receive. Such addresses are not used for any other purpose and are not shared with outside parties.

3.3.h. Other Feedback. We may collect additional information from or about you in other ways not specifically described here. For example, we may collect information related to your contact with our customer support team, or store results if you respond to a survey. We encourage you to submit optional information so that we may provide you with a more personalized experience on our site.

3.4 Information Collected from Members. If you register as a member, you will be asked to provide information concerning your age, gender, e-mail address, marital status, children, political affiliation, religion, geographic location, occupation, education, home ownership, and personal interests and hobbies.

3.5.a. Opt-Out Provision. When you register for any of our services, we may save your e-mail address to send you updates about special offers, new products, and new services. If you do not wish to receive e-mail updates, you may quickly change your email preferences online or e-mail us at remove@ThePrysm.com.

3.5.b. Financial Data. We do not collect any financial information (such as your credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or social security number) from you. We do not ask you for your mailing address. We may display products to you that we think may be beneficial and appropriate. If you click on a product, you will be taken to the seller’s website where, if you purchase a product, the seller will collect any financial information necessary to complete the transaction. Sellers do not share this information with us. Each seller has its own privacy policy and you should familiarize yourself with its terms.

4.1 The Way We Use Information. We respect your privacy. We do not sell, rent, or loan any information regarding our customers to any third-party. We may, however, release this information if required by law or to enforce our terms of service. Please note that our Privacy Policy does not cover the websites or web pages that link to our site.

4.2 Personally Identifiable Information. We may use Personally Identifiable Information to: deliver more relevant marketing offers to you through e-mail or on our site; provide the services and customer support you request; process transactions and send notices about your transactions; collect payments; troubleshoot problems; prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities; enforce our Terms of Use Agreement and/or Membership Agreement; customize, measure, and improve our services and the content and layout of our website; send you targeted marketing, service update notices, and promotional offers; and compare information for accuracy and verify it with third-parties. We may also create a user profile based on information collected through cookies, log files, and web beacons that is subsequently tied to Personally Identifiable Information. We will not use or share the Personally Identifiable Information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

4.3 Aggregate Information. We may use or disclose aggregate information for any purpose. We use this information to better design our website and to share with advertisers, and for demographic purposes. Demographic information (which does not identify individual users) is used in the aggregate to measure the number of visitors to our website or to certain sections of our site, to improve our website by addressing our users’ preferences, to analyze trends, and to attract new users.

5.1 Links to Other Sites. This website contains links to other sites that we do not own or control. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our site and to read the privacy policies of each and every website that collects Personally Identifiable Information. This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected by this website.

6.1 Disclosure: How We Share Your Personally Identifiable Information with Others. We may share your personal information with:

6.1.a. Contract Service Providers. Contract service providers assist with aspects of our business operations (for example, fraud prevention, payment collection, marketing, and technology services). By contract, these service providers may only use your information in connection with the services they perform for us and not for their own benefit.

6.1.b. Companies We Plan to Merge with or be Acquired by. In the event that we go through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your Personally Identifiable Information will likely be among the assets transferred. You will be notified via e-mail of any such change in ownership or control of your personal information. If such an event should occur, we will require that the new combined entity follow this Privacy Policy with respect to your personal information. If your personal information could be used contrary to this policy, you will receive prior notice.

6.1.c. Law Enforcement Agencies, as Part of the Legal Process. We may share your Personally Identifiable Information with law enforcement, government officials, or other third-parties when we are compelled to do so by a subpoena, court order, or similar legal procedure or legal process served on us. We may also provide information without a court order to cooperate with law enforcement or government officials for any legitimate purpose, under advice of counsel, or to avoid litigation.

6.1.d. Other Situations. We may also share your personal information: where we need to do so to comply with state or federal law; where we believe in good faith that the disclosure of personal information is necessary to prevent physical harm or financial loss; to report suspected illegal activity; or to investigate violations of our Terms of Use or Member Agreements.

6.1.e. Third-Parties. We will not sell or rent any of your personal information to third-parties in the normal course of business and will only share your personally identifiable information with third-parties as described in this Policy.

7.1 Data Security. We employ reasonably designed procedural and technological measures consistent with industry practice (such as firewalls, password protection, secure socket layer, and other security measures), to help protect your Personally Identifiable Information from loss, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

7.2 Employee Data Theft. ThePrysm.com ensures that its employees, agents, and contractors must have a valid business reason to access your Personally Identifiable Information.

8.1 COPPA Compliance. We use reasonable commercial efforts to adhere to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”) which prohibits the collection of personal information online from children under the age of 13 without first obtaining verifiable parental consent. This website is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not target our services or this website to children under 13, and no part of our website is structured to attract anyone under age 13. We do not knowingly collect or maintain Personally Identifiable Information from children under the age of 13.

8.2 Age Restriction. Members of ThePrysm.com must be 18 years of age or older. This website is not intended for anyone under the age of 18. We do not target our services or this website to anyone under 18, nor do we knowingly collect or maintain Personally Identifiable Information from anyone under the age of 18.

8.3 Representations and Warranties. By using this website, you represent and warrant that (a) all information you submit is truthful and accurate, (b) you are 18 years of age or older and, (c) your use of this website does not violate any applicable law or regulation.

8.4 European Union Members. When a Member who is located in the European Union chooses to post Personally Identifiable Information that will be publicly disclosed, that Member is responsible for ensuring that such information conforms to all local data protection laws. ThePrysm.com is not responsible under the EU local data protection laws for Member-posted information.

9.1 How You Can Review, Change, or Correct Your Information. You can review all of your Personally Identifiable Information that we have collected and maintained by visiting the PrivateProfile and email preferences pages. All of the special tools that we provide collect personal information and allow you to update and delete such information at any time.

10.1 How To Contact Us. Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please contact us.