Microsoft - AccuWeather.com Privacy Statement
AccuWeather wants to assure that visitors to and users of AccuWeather sites, including the wired sites, the mobile sites, and applications whether using or not using the http://www.accuweather.com/ sites (jointly and severally referred as the AccuWeather Sites), are provided with appropriate information and choice mechanisms to make and implement informed decisions on using the AccuWeather Sites, including but not limited to providing Personally Identifiable Information ('PII').
Your use of the AccuWeather sites indicates your consent and acknowledgement to the practices described in this Privacy Statement.
We want you to know that AccuWeather is committed to safeguarding your privacy online. As AccuWeather expands its offerings and as technology evolves, we may, from time to time, update our privacy practices to address these. Please check this page on a regular basis for updates to this Privacy Statement. THE ACCUWEATHER SITES, AND THE PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND ADVERTISING MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THESE SITES, MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR USE BY CHILDREN.
What We Collect About You. We collect information on the AccuWeather Sites during the registration process and through your use of the AccuWeather Sites for business purposes that will allow us to better and more efficiently serve you. Our personalization, interactive communications, online commerce and other types of services, allow us to deliver better service and content that is relevant to our user base. Some uses AccuWeather makes of this information are processing and verifying subscriptions, billing, and providing you with up-to-date information on the newest AccuWeather products. Third parties, providers, advertisers and vendors (hereinafter "Providers") may be utilized by AccuWeather in conjunction with the operation of the AccuWeather Sites and the products, services, and advertising related to them. These Providers may also collect information.
-You may be asked to provide information that personally identifies you or allows AccuWeather and/or its Providers to contact you. Generally this information is requested when you are asked to register for fee-based services, although some free products and services may also request or require registration. You may be asked to provide personally identifiable information such as your name, address,and email address (collectively 'Personally Identifiable Information' or 'PII'), as well as select a username and password (if one is not selected for you by AccuWeather). You may be asked for information which is no considered PII, such as a zip/postal code and/or country of origin. As a registered subscriber or user, you may be able to download software, enter contests, order e-mail newsletters or participate in additional services. In addition to the PII obtained at registration, you may be asked for information at other times, such as when you make a purchase or register for a service on or through the AccuWeather Sites, when you submit a listing for a web site, or when you report a problem with one of our sites or services. However, whenever you voluntarily disclose personal information online - for example on message boards, through email, or in chat areas - that information can be collected and used by others.
In addition to the information that you may proactively provide or voluntarily disclose, your mere use of the AccuWeather Sites may result in the assignment of unique identifying numbers and/or codes which may be used to allow AccuWeather and its Providers and others who assist AccuWeather in the support of the AccuWeather Sites and the products and services offered on the AccuWeather Sites, including advertisers, to track a user's web browsing movements across the internet and not just on the AccuWeather sites. This type of information is consider User Data (as defined below). By using the AccuWeather Sites, you acknowledge and consent to such activity.
To provide location-based services, AccuWeather and its partners and licensees utilize certain geographic tracking technologies that may collect, use, and/or share precise location data (such as GPS signals sent by a mobile device) or information that can be used to approximate a location (such as a cell ID), including the real-time geographic location of your computer or mobile device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by AccuWeather and its partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. By accepting AccuWeather's Privacy Statement and/or by using AccuWeather's products and/or services, you consent to use by AccuWeather and its Providers, partners and licensees of such geographic tracking technologies.
-If you contact AccuWeather we may keep a record of that correspondence, and may further prompt you for further information, depending on the nature of the contact. We may also occasionally ask that you voluntarily participate in certain promotions, surveys or contests ('Special Programs'), or enable automatic entry into such Special Programs via log-on entries. At such times, AccuWeather may disclose your PII to sponsors of the Special Program, and we may or may not describe this to you prior to transferring the data. Special Programs may also be subject to additional or different terms, or may be shared or used in a slightly different way. If different terms do apply, details of the specific terms and conditions or rules for these Special Programs may or may not be provided by posting to the AccuWeather Sites or upon registration for the Special Program, on a case-by-case basis, subject to AccuWeather's terms For Sharing PII.
-To the extent unique information, which is not in itself PII, such as personal profile, anonymous identifier(s), demographic information, behavioral information, browser identifiers, session information, device type, carrier provider, unique device ID, UUID/UDID, carrier user ID, web sites visited, IP address and traffic data, is associated with PII, then such unique information shall NOT be considered PII, but shall be considered User Data. Additionally, PII does NOT include information that is collected anonymously (i.e. without identification of the individual user) or demographic or behavioral information that is not connected to or correlated with an identified individual.
-Why We Want to Know. It's important for us to know our users. We deliver valuable products and services, We are able to accomplish this through the use of Providers, such as advertisers, to produce the income we need to operate the free areas of the AccuWeather Sites. Providers are like most businesses in that they want something in return for the money they spend advertising on the AccuWeather Sites. They may want to know how many people will see their ad, and how often. The advertising companies may use information (including or not including PII) about your visits to this and other web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. These companies may also employ, among other things, Cookies, Web Beacons and FlashCookies/HTML5/local storage/mini databases in furtherance of their services to AccuWeather.
-Vendors and Third Party Providers. To make the AccuWeather Sites more valuable to our customers and our visitors, we may offer some products, services or features in conjunction with Providers. Many wireless products, for example, may be made available through cooperative arrangements with Providers who offer specialized products, information or services that work well with AccuWeather Sites, products and services. In some instances, our Providers may have the same access to your PII as we do. Their use of the information will be subject to the terms of their respective privacy policies or statements, which you may find on their websites.
-We use third-party companies to serve ads when you visit the AccuWeather Site(s), including Microsoft. These companies may use information about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services 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, click here: (http://www.aboutads.info/choices) or for Microsoft advertising, click here: (https://choice.live.com/AdvertisementChoice/). You may also go to the sites and policies of our Providers to find out more about technologies utilized by them in the course of providing services to the AccuWeather Sites.
-Links to Provider Sites. Occasionally, you may seek access to certain products and/or services on the AccuWeather Sites that are only available through third parties, either through their own web sites or on web sites hosted by or linked to the AccuWeather Sties. When ordering, registering for or purchasing products or services from these Providers, you may at times be entering into an agreement with that Provider, and not with AccuWeather, and supplemental Provider Terms may apply. You should read and understand the Providers' terms of use and policies before using their site or entering into agreements with them, since they may differ substantially from this Privacy Statement and other applicable AccuWeather Terms and Conditions. AccuWeather is not responsible for and does not endorse or accept any responsibility over the contents or use of the Provider sites, products and/or services and is not responsible for webcasting or any other form of transmission received from any linked or hosted site. You should contact our Providers directly should you have any questions or concerns relating to the terms of use and privacy policies of our Providers' web sites. We may provide information and contact information about our Providers in this policy or on the AccuWeather Sites, but we take no responsibility to have a complete list of these nor to ensure that the contact information is correct or accurate. The information is provided for convenience only, but it is your responsibility to seek out and contact such entities.
-Online Behavioral Advertising. The AccuWeather Sites may be designed to utilize Online Behavioral Advertising, data collection and use practices(OBA). This means that certain information regarding your internet viewing behaviors or practices, over periods of time and perhaps involving websites or applications which are not the AccuWeather Sites, may be used for the purpose of choosing advertising to display to you. If you desire to "opt-out" of this OBA process, you can use the link at http://www.aboutads.info/choices to do so. This hyperlink and process is the recommended tool for such "opt-out" provisions of the Digital Advertising Alliance Self-Regulatory Principles of Online Behavioral Advertising, to which AccuWeather endeavors to adhere to, as a member of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
-Cookies. The AccuWeather Sites may be designed to utilize cookies for optimal user performance. Cookies and other types of identifiers may also be included for purposes of collecting anonymous traffic data (e.g. how may people come to the AccuWeather Site(s), how often, etc.) Such cookies or identifiers may be placed by us or by third parties who perform services for us. Cookie preferences may be found under 'Edit/Preferences/Advanced' (Netscape Communicator 7), 'Tools/Internet options/Security/Custom Level' (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 PC) or 'Edit/Preferences/Receiving Files/Cookies' (Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 Mac). Generally speaking, you may modify browser preferences to accept all cookies, be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies. If you choose to reject all cookies, you may be unable to use many of AccuWeather's products and services. Some sections of the AccuWeather Sites may require that you log on in order to continue to use specific goods or services offered through our network, because we do not want cookies to replace security measures that you would otherwise take for yourself, your PII and your data. Some of these services include certain software applications and fee-based services, and some Internet activities that require more than an IP Address to continue.
Web Beacons. Web beacons may also be found on the AccuWeather Sites Web beacons are used to monitor user navigation to tailor the AccuWeather Sites to our subscribers or users' preferences and enhance the site's offerings. For a thorough description of web beacons and their uses, please click here.
FlashCookies/HTML5 Software/Local Storage/Mini databases. The AccuWeather Sites may utilize flashcookies/HTML5 software and/or local storage and/or mini databases in conjunction with the use of the sites and the targeting of advertising to the users of the AccuWeather sites. Many hand held mobile devices use these technologies in conjunction with the mobile browsers on the devices. Many mobile devices use these technologies which allow for the storage of information on the mobile devices and, in effect, allow the enhancement of internet browsing as well as other uses including but not limited to targeting advertisements. The flashcookies/HTML5/local storage/mini databases technologies also allow the device to track a user's web browsing movements across the internet and not just on one particular website. AccuWeather and its providers may utilize one or more of these technologies and others on the AccuWeather Sites(s).
-Security. Anytime a credit card is requested for processing orders through the AccuWeather Sites, the user transaction containing the credit card information may encrypted using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. SSL provides strong encryption to all digital information as it crosses the Internet. While on a secure page, such as on order forms, the lock button on the bottom of Web browsers such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked or open when you are just surfing or in other areas of the Site. To learn more about SSL, click here.
-Age / Use by Minor. AccuWeather does not intend to collect any personally identifiable information from children through our websites. Please do not allow children under the age of 18 to provide any personally identifiable information, ask questions or participate in chat rooms related to our websites. If we are notified that a child under 18 has provided personal information, we will delete that information as soon as reasonably possible. If you become aware that a child under 18 has provided such information, please send us a detailed email at support@accuweather.com so we can delete this information.
-Password Security Access to certain portions of the AccuWeather Sites are password-protected so that you and only you will have access to the Site as a subscriber. It may be necessary for AccuWeather, its employees, contractors or Providers working on behalf of AccuWeather to access the Site using your subscriber information to provide you with support or to perform certain maintenance tasks. This access happens on an as-needed basis only.
-Electronic Registration. When you access or install a new product or service, you may be asked to register electronically. Your registration information will be merged with any information you have already provided ('Profile'). If you have not previously registered within the AccuWeather Sites, a Profile may be created for you from your product registration information. If you have not already registered by giving us your PII, you will be asked to do so to ensure that only you can access the product or services. Upon satisfactory completion of your registration information, AccuWeather authorizes users to access and use the AccuWeather Sites and its products and services subject to the Terms and Conditions and this Privacy Statement. User shall maintain the confidentiality of any user name and password. If there is a breach of the confidentiality of a password or user name assigned to user, or any breach of security through user's account, then user shall so notify AccuWeather's customer assistance center immediately by contacting AccuWeather at support@accuweather.com.
-TERMS FOR SHARING PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION
-In special circumstances, AccuWeather may opt to access or disclose PII when there is reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be violating AccuWeather's Terms and Conditions, this Privacy Statement, any applicable End User License Agreement, Provider or Subscription Terms, or when there is reason to believe an individual may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) AccuWeather's rights or property, other AccuWeather Site users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. AccuWeather may then opt to disclose or access PII in good faith in circumstances where the law requires it, and for administrative and other purposes that we deem necessary to maintain, service, and improve the AccuWeather Sites and our products and services. AccuWeather may also be requested to disclose PII to law enforcement authorities or as may be required by court-ordered subpoena.
-From time to time, we may share data regarding the users of the AccuWeather Sites and the use of our services (for example, 10% of our users are within a certain specialty industry, or users who choose one type of service request a related or similar service 38% of the time, etc.), and we may also combine a user's use and purchasing habits through the AccuWeather Sites and our providers' sites to create a personalized user profile so we can tailor the AccuWeather Sites to our users' preferences and enhance the site's offerings (hereinafter 'User Data'). There may also be other instances where AccuWeather has determined that sharing User Data with third parties would maximize AccuWeather's ability to better serve users. Should this occur, no PII will be included in these types of statistics.
-Since we use Providers to ship products or perform customized products and/or services offered or accessed through the AccuWeather Sites or our Providers' sites, and a credit card processing company to bill some users for goods and services, we may need to disclose PII to complete certain business transactions. Users may also require that we bill for services via invoicing, purchase order, or through Providers, such as mobile/wireless carriers or internet storefronts. Under these circumstances, we may be required to share the user's PII to obtain a credit report with a reporting agency or to complete the order processing to serve the user. We may request that these Providers do not retain, share, store or use PII for any secondary purposes.
-AccuWeather is in the business of providing and hosting weather information products, services, and other related products and services as a service to our users. As such, User Data is also considered, a 'customer list', and as such, is a valuable asset to any company subject to legal protection and regulation under federal and state laws as a property interest. Accordingly, User Data will be subject to all customary rights and protections afforded to property owners under these laws. Such rights customarily include the right to transfer the information during the sale of assets to or merger with third parties, and to routinely share such information with affiliates of AccuWeather.
-Excepting PII collected during the purchasing or registration process, User Data may be used by AccuWeather or Providers to, among other things, retrieve or create the product or service that you have requested or for such business purposes as AccuWeather and/or its providers may determine in their sole discretion, without resort to a reasonableness standard. Please be advised that this User Data may be stored by AccuWeather or its Providers as 'preferences' or otherwise and used without restriction. Further, all information submitted is and becomes the exclusive property of AccuWeather and by submitting material to AccuWeather, you accept responsibility for its accuracy, appropriateness and legality. Other than as set out above, you may receive notice when PII might go to third parties, and within such notice you may find the information about your opportunity to choose not to share the PII.
-If for some reason you believe that AccuWeather has not adhered to these stated principles, please notify us at terms@accuweather.com, and we will work to determine the issue and correct the problem . Your concerns should be detailed in a communication including enough identifying information to permit someone to contact you, in case further information is required to troubleshoot your concerns. Be certain the words 'AccuWeather Privacy Statement' are included in the Subject line. Further resolution of your concerns will be governed by the Terms and Conditions applicable to the AccuWeather Sites.
Version date: October 18, 2012
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