PRIVACY STATEMENT
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Our Commitment To Privacy
Your privacy on the Internet is of the utmost importance to us. Because we gather certain types of information about the users of Experts.com, we feel you should fully understand the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses what information we gather, how we gather it, how we use it, and how to correct or change it. Please read this statement. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@experts.com.
This web site may contain links to, and may be accessed from, other web sites. Experts.com is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of other Web sites. This privacy statement applies only to Experts.com.
Information Experts.com Collects
Experts.com gathers two types of information about users: (1) personal information that users provide through optional, voluntary registrations and submissions; and (2) non-personal information that is gathered through aggregated tracking information derived mainly by tallying page views and other uses throughout our site. The gathered information enables Experts.com to better serve its users' needs.
Manner In Which Experts.com Collects Information
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Expert Registration. To be listed in Experts.com's premier expert Directory, an expert must register with the site and submit payment. To complete the registration process, Experts.com requests certain information from the expert. Some information is required, while some is optional:
- To complete the expert registration process, experts must provide a means for Experts.com to contact the expert. Required information is identified as such and may include email address, phone number, street address, etc.
- During the registration process, experts have the option of supplying various forms of personally identifiable information to be displayed in the Directory and viewed by the public. This information may include the name, street address, phone number, email address, web address, expertise, etc. The more optional information is provided, the better informed is the consumer about the expert’s services, expertise, location, fees, etc.
- Visitors. No personally identifiable information is collected from visitors to our site who do not wish to register as an expert. Visitors are not required to register before they browse the expert profiles. However, visitors may voluntarily choose to contact representatives or registered members of the Experts.com web site. In this process, the visitor must provide Experts.com with personally identifiable information such as name, street address, and telephone number or email address. This information will only be used by Experts.com and will not be sold to mass marketers without prior consent.
- Polls. From time to time, we may offer interactive polls to our registered experts or to visitors. Polls will be used to assess visitors’ and experts’ opinions of the web site, as well as to gauge audience opinions about proposed topics. At that time, the visitor or expert will have the option to supply the site with personally identifiable information or to provide their opinions anonymously.
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Cookies. A cookie is a small data file that certain web sites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you've visited. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites.
You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use any portion of the Experts.com site. While Experts.com does not currently use cookies, we may utilize them in the future. On such occasion, we will clearly inform our users upon entry to the site. - Usage Tracking. Experts.com tracks user traffic patterns throughout the site. Sometimes, Experts.com tracks and catalogs the search terms that users enter in the various search engines on the site. Experts.com may also track information to determine how each page on the site performs (i.e., how often that page is visited or accessed by visitors and registered experts). But, the tracking and gathering of usage information are never associated with individual users.
Use Of Non-Personal Information
Non-personal information, which is aggregated from tracking various uses of the site, is used to assist in refining our listings, to better serve our experts and visitors, to enhance the users’ experience on our site, and to improve the web site’s performance. We may also use this information to offer special opportunities and promotions to our experts and visitors. Again, this information will not be associated with any individual user to be sold to mass marketers.
Use Of Personal Information
- Enhance User Experience. Experts.com uses the personal information that is voluntarily given to us by our users to enhance their experience on the site. This may include providing to users an interactive or personalized experience on our site, or preparing future content based on the interests of our users.
- Newsletters & Announcements. On occasion, Experts.com will provide registered experts with newsletters to inform experts of industry events, innovations and issues. Experts.com may also provide registered experts with announcements promoting new services provided by Experts.com.
- Legal Matters. Should a situation arise where Experts.com is required by law or legal process to provide information regarding an Experts.com user, Experts.com will comply.
Opt Out Policy
Experts.com gives users the option, wherever necessary and practical, to opt-out of the use of their personally identifiable information for secondary uses (those that are not necessary to complete a transaction on our site). Such choices include:
- The option not to provide certain personal information when registering on the site.
- The option not to participate in certain interactive activities such as polls.
- The option not to receive the Experts.com Newsletter, Announcements and other e-mails, except those that are necessary to maintain membership (i.e. reminders to experts to pay annual fees).
Access To Personal Information
Experts.com offers registered users the ability to access, modify or delete the information they have submitted to Experts.com during their registration. The instructions for doing this can be found in our Members Area. To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. Registered experts who are experiencing problems accessing this feature or have questions about this service can contact us at webmaster@experts.com.
Privacy Policy Changes
This privacy statement states our current practices and policies. If our practices change in the future, this statement will be updated and posted here so that you have the latest information on our data collection and use policies.
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