StuffBuff Privacy Policy — September 14, 2009
The disclosure of personal information is always a sensitive issue and StuffBuff takes it very seriously. We consider it our highest priority to protect the privacy of our members. To that end, this privacy policy outlines the types of information StuffBuff collects and how that information is used in the operation of our site. All information that StuffBuff collects will adhere to this privacy policy and will be used for the sole purpose of providing you a highly personalized and interactive experience with our site. By using our website, you are consenting to the terms of this Privacy Policy.
1. What information we collect and how we use it
To enjoy the benefits of StuffBuff, most can only be made available if we have certain information about you. To access these services, you will, from time to time, be asked to submit personal information about yourself. StuffBuff generally collects personally identifiable information with your specific knowledge and consent. You may view and make adjustments to your user preferences at any time by logging into StuffBuff and selecting "Settings".
Registration. In order to provide you with an account at StuffBuff that allows you to store your preferences and which includes other benefits and conveniences of our service, we need to collect information from you when you register such as your email address, username, and password. These are required for users to store and modify bookmarks and other content on the site. You will be automatically opted in to receive in-system and email notices, which may include notification if someone sends you a message or invites you to join a StuffBuff list or group, new friend requests, StuffBuff newsletters and announcements, notification of new activity on your lists, and notices about public StuffBuff activity by your friends.
Publicly Shared. If you make any postings to public areas, such as forums, blogs, comments, or by providing content, then this information will be stored on our databases for public viewing, and in such case any personally identifiable information you submit will be publicly available and can be read, collected and used by other users, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. You can view the opt-out options on the site by selecting the Settings link.
Service Providers. Information may sometimes be collected by third party service providers with whom StuffBuff contracts to host the web site or to provide you with the StuffBuff service. StuffBuff asks such service providers to make the personal information available only to StuffBuff for StuffBuff to use in accordance with the terms of this policy and not to use the information for any other purpose. StuffBuff uses this information to allow you to enjoy the functionality of the site, to troubleshoot and to provide customer support. We also utilize third party service providers to provide products, services or functions on our behalf (such as sending emails or processing, fulfilling subscriptions, analytics), and ask these service providers to agree to maintain the confidentiality of your personally identifiable information and not to use your personally identifiable information for any reason except to carry out the purpose(s) for which we hired them.
Personalized Services. We will also collect your bookmarks and associated content, messages, IP address, and information from browser data and cookies. StuffBuff may use your bookmarks to improve our marketing and promotional efforts by providing targeted advertising based on the content of the lists or providing you with optional mailings about products you may be interested in. We may provide you with special offers that may be of interest to you based upon your user settings and products you may have listed in your account. You can adjust these notifications at any time by logging into StuffBuff and selecting the "Settings" link.
Contests and Sweepstakes. In addition to the foregoing, StuffBuff may share or disclose personally identifiable information about you to other companies or individuals when you have entered a contest or sweepstakes sponsored by a third party, in which case the information may be shared with that third party for their use in their discretion, including direct marketing. (Some of our contests and sweepstakes will ask you at the time of entry whether you would like your personal information to be shared with the sponsor. Other contests will not give you that option and in that event, if you do not want your information to be shared, you should not enter the contest).
Cookies and Log Files. Like most web sites, StuffBuff collects information using cookies and web log files to track site usage. A cookie is a tiny data file that resides on your computer and allows StuffBuff to recognize you as a member when you return to our site using the same computer and web browser. Our web log files may contain additional information such as your IP address, the type of browser and version you are using and other information that is are not, by themselves, personally identifiable.
Cookies are text files that identify your computer to our server. Cookies generally identify a computer used and not a specific individual, recording areas of the site that have been visited by a computer and for how long. Users have the opportunity to set their computers to accept all cookies, to notify them when a cookie is issued, or not to receive cookies at any time. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site. You can, should you chose, disable the cookies from your browser and delete all cookies currently stored on your computer. This may, however, prevent you from taking full advantage of the services that this website has to offer.
One type of cookie, known as a "persistent" cookie, is set when you log in to your StuffBuff account if you check the "remember me on this computer" box. The next time you visit the StuffBuff web site, the persistent cookie will allow us to recognize you as an existing member so you will not need to log in before using the service. In order to change your e-mail address or password, however, you will need to re-enter your password even if your computer contains your persistent cookie. Additionally, if you log out of the StuffBuff site you will need to re-enter your password the next time you visit in order to log in to your account. Another type of cookie, called a "session" cookie, is used to identify a particular visit to the StuffBuff site. Session cookies expire after a short time or when you close your web browser.
Due to the communications standards on the Internet, when you visit the StuffBuff web site we automatically receive the URL of the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave StuffBuff . We also receive the Internet protocol (IP) address of your computer (or the proxy server you use to access the World Wide Web), your computer operating system and type of web browser you are using, as well as the name of your ISP. This information may be used to analyze overall trends to help us improve the StuffBuff service, but is not linked to personally identifiable information in any way.
More information can be obtained on cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/index.html which is run by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
2. Disclosure of your information
Third Parties. StuffBuff will not sell or lease your personal information to third parties without your explicit consent, unless required by law. We may share your information with third parties under certain circumstances:
- if sharing your information is necessary to execute a specific request by you (e.g., purchasing premium services via credit card, in which case it would be necessary to share your information with a credit card processing company). In these specific cases third parties will not retain, share or store any personally identifiable information except to provide the specific services requested by you, and are bound by strict confidentiality agreements which limit their use of such information.
- if sharing your information is required by law or is necessary to respond to a subpoena, warrant or court order, or to protect the rights of StuffBuff or its members.
- if you give us explicit permission to share your information for any reason not stated in this privacy policy.
Other StuffBuff Members. Occasionally you may invite a non-member of StuffBuff to register with the site and join your network or group. You also may invite existing StuffBuff members to join a group or become your direct contact. In these cases, StuffBuff generates an e-mail message to your invitee that may list information such as your e-mail address, your full name and your headshot photo (if you have provided one). The rest of your contact information will only be shared with the person you invite if both of you have indicated that you would like to establish each other as contacts.
Advertisers. We may use third-party advertising companies to advertise products or services on our site. These companies may employ cookies and action tags (also known as single pixel gifs or web beacons) to measure advertising effectiveness. Any information that these third parties collect via cookies and action tags will be completely anonymous.
Links to Other Web Sites. When you transfer to the site outside of the StuffBuff network, your activity will be conducted on their site, and in accordance with that web site owner’s privacy policy and terms of service. StuffBuff has no control over those policies, so you should carefully review them before you conduct any business on a third party site. StuffBuff shall have no liability for any commercial transactions you conduct on a merchant's site, and you hereby release StuffBuff for any claims, liabilities or damages of any nature as a result of such activities. Share With Friends. StuffBuff has a "Share with Friends" feature that allows you to send email messages to your friends that contain links to content at StuffBuff. In order to use this feature, you will need to enter the third party's email address. StuffBuff will only use this third party email address for transmitting the email message and StuffBuff does not thereafter retain these email addresses.
3. Security
StuffBuff has implemented security measures to protect member information from loss, misuse and alteration. We use industry-standard practices such as encrypted storage, firewalls and password protection systems to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal information. Each of our employees is aware of our security policies, and your information is only available to those employees who need it to perform their jobs. In the event that you believe your personal or StuffBuff account information has been compromised, you must notify us as soon as possible.
4. Control over your personal information
The success of StuffBuff is directly related to your trust in our privacy practices. You can change any of your personal information stored on the StuffBuff site at any time, whether it be the information supplied at registration (with the exception of your user ID), for your profile page or anything else. You may view and make adjustments to your user preferences at any time by logging into StuffBuff and selecting the "Settings" link. In addition, you may cancel your StuffBuff membership by sending us an e-mail via our Contact page. Once we process your request, we will remove your name and other personally identifiable information from our database.
5. Users under age 13
If you are under the age of 13, you are not permitted to register as a user of the StuffBuff website.
6. Changes to this Privacy Policy
StuffBuff may update our privacy policy and reserve the right to do so at any time. The latest version of the privacy policy will always be available at http://stuffbuff.com/about-us.html?tab=tab-about-us3.html so please check this page regularly to make sure you are aware of any updates.
7. Contact Information
If you have questions regarding this privacy policy, please contact our privacy staff as follows;
Mail: StuffBuff Attn: Chief Privacy Officer, StuffBuff Inc 904 Green Pl, Woodmere NY 11598 Email: privacy@stuffbuff.com