Franchise Gator Privacy Policy
Last Updated January 21, 2008
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At Franchise Gator, we only use the personal information that you choose to provide, in the way we specify, when we collect it. We take your privacy seriously, and this privacy policy describes how we handle the data we collect from you. This privacy statement applies to www.franchisegator.com and www.franchisegator.co.uk.
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Our web site
All users can view content on our web site without providing any personal information (such as name, address, phone number, etc.). However, in order to provide you with a better user experience, we may collect non-personal information from your computer using cookies. More information on this process is outlined below.
Our information request form
When you request information about one or more of the businesses listed on our web site, by submitting a registration form with your contact information (name, address, phone number, e-mail, etc.), we provide your information only to the businesses that you specify. No other business receives your contact information except as otherwise described in this privacy statement. Your information may be stored in the receiving company's database, as well as ours. The collected data could be stored by Franchise Gator in a database outside your home country.
Our newsletter program
We offer opportunities throughout our web site to register for our e-mail newsletter. We only add you to our newsletter mailing list if you register to receive it. Moreover, we do not share your name or e-mail address with other companies. If you wish to unsubscribe from our newsletter, you may opt-out by clicking on the link in any of the email newsletters, or you may email your opt-out request to privacyinfo@franchisegator.com.
Our Blog
The information collected on the blog is governed by our site. The postings on the blog include news articles and press releases posted by Franchise Gator. Web site users may post comments. In order to post a comment on the blog, you must create a user name and provide your email address. Your user name and email address are stored by Franchise Gator, but they are not used for any purpose beyond posting comments to the blog.
If you use a blog on this web site, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit there can be read, collected, or used by other users, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. Franchise Gator is not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit in comments on our blog.
The "share this" function on the blog allows a user to book mark a posting or to send it to themselves or a friend. When you use the "share this" feature to send a posting to a friend, we use your personal information and your friend's email address, only to deliver the posting to your friend. The "share this" feature is hosted on our web site, and both your personal information and your friend's email address are not shared with any other company nor do we use this information for any other purpose.
Public Display of Information
On our web site we have posted interviews conducted with various individuals of some of the businesses listed on our web site. Some of these interviews contain personal information regarding the individual who provided the interview. Franchise Gator obtains express consent from individuals before posting any of their information on our web site.
Our use of cookies
In many cases, we use "cookies" to collect non-personal information from your computer. Cookies are standard Internet technologies used to measure user traffic such as browsing patterns and user visits. This information helps us to provide a better user experience through the use of statistics and measurements of user satisfaction. Some of this information is collected and compiled by third-party service providers who place cookies on our web sites to provide us with web analytics.
A cookie is a small amount of data that a web site's server sends to your browser, which is stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies can be removed from your hard drive. Also, depending on your web browser, you may be able to change how your computer treats cookies so that cookies are not used or saved. Please check with your browser provider for more information on removing cookies.
Information sharing
We may choose to share either personal or non-personal information with third-parties in order to provide a requested service or transaction. Specifically we may share your personal information with a lead verification service provider in order to ensure we are providing legitimate leads. The lead verification company does not further disseminate or use your personal information for any other purpose. We also reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our company.
Links and access to third parties
Although Franchise Gator provides links to other sites and access to third parties that may provide valuable information, we cannot control how they manage the personal information they receive from Franchise Gator. We encourage you to review their privacy policies and data collection procedures on their websites.
Security Measures
We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. While no data transfer can be completely secure, we will make reasonable efforts to secure all data that is transferred, stored or processed.
We recommend that you take every precaution in protecting your personal information when you are on the Internet. For example, change your passwords often, use a secure browser and use a strong password by using a combination of numbers, letters and characters.
Children's Privacy
Franchise Gator is intended to be used by individuals over the age of 18. We do not seek or willingly collect information on children under the age of 18. If we discover that we have collected information on a child under the age of 18, then we will delete that information from our system.
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European Union Safe Harbor
Franchise Gator complies with the provisions of the Safe Harbor Agreement concerning the transfer of personal data from the European Union to the United States. Accordingly, we follow the Safe Harbor Principles published by the U.S Department of Commerce in regards to all such data. Franchise Gator, LLC is a licensee of the TRUSTe EU Safe Harbor Seal Program.
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Complaints and Outside Resources
Franchise Gator, LLC is a licensee of the TRUSTe Web Privacy Seal Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build user's trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Franchise Gator's ongoing commitment to privacy is demonstrated by the disclosure of our information practices and the review of our privacy practices for compliance by TRUSTe.
If you have questions or concerns regarding Franchise Gator's privacy policy, you should first contact privacyinfo@franchisegator.com. If Franchise Gator has not responded to your inquiry within a reasonable amount of time or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you can contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with Franchise Gator to resolve your concerns.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any we disclose it. We reserve the right to modify this statement at any time, so please review it frequently. If there are material changes to this statement or regarding how Franchise Gator will use your personal information, we will notify you by posting a prominent notice of such changes to our privacy policy prior to implementing the change or by directly sending you a notification.
Additional information
We need your assistance in keeping your information up to date. If you would like to review, correct, change, or delete your personal information or you need assistance unsubscribing, please email us at: privacyinfo@franchisegator.com or write to us at the address down below. We will respond to your request for access to your personal information within 30 days.
Privacy Coordinator
Franchise Gator
821 Second Avenue
Suite 1800
Seattle, WA 98104
