PRIVACY POLICY
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. PURPOSE OF PRIVACY POLICY. The Baby Penguin, LLC (“The Baby Penguin”, “us”, “we,” “Company”) is committed to respecting the privacy rights of visitors and other users of thebabypenguin.com (the “Site”). We created this Privacy Policy (this “Policy”) to give you confidence as you visit and use the Site, and to demonstrate our commitment to fair information practices. This Privacy Policy is only applicable to the Site, and not to any other websites that you may be able to access from the Site, each of which may have data collection and use practices and policies that differ materially from this Privacy Policy.
1.2 DATA CONTROL. This Privacy Policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of The Baby Penguin website visitors and subscribers; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.
1.3. NOTICE CONCERNING CHILDREN
PLEASE NOTE: We are a general audience site, and do not direct any of our content specifically at children under 13 years of age pursuant to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.
This Website is not intended for children under the age of 13. We and this Website does not knowingly and intentionally collect any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If you are under 13 years of age, please do not use or provide any information on this Website. Do not use any third-parties that might have links present on this website. Do not provide your name, address, phone number or any payment information.
If a parent or guardian believes that this Website unknowingly collected personally identifiable information of a child under the age of 13 in its database, please contact us at once at [email protected] and we will do our best to immediately remove any and all such information from our database.
2. INFORMATION COLLECTION PRACTICES
2.1. WHAT BASIC INFORMATION DOES THE COMPANY COLLECT?
In operating the Site, we collect personal information from you in three situations:
- If and when you choose to join our email list, usually in exchange for a free ebook, guide, or podcast notes, we collect your name and email address. In compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, any and all communications sent from our Company or Website will clearly state who the email is from, why’s it’s for, and will have a clear method for contacting the sender. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link provided in every email. If you have any trouble unsubscribing, email [email protected] and request to be removed.
- If you choose to contact us via the “contact” page. In doing so, you will provide us with your name and email address. We reserve the right to retain the content of your email messages along with your email address and our responses.
- If you leave a comment on a blog post or podcast episode, you may be asked for a name, email address, and other information.
The legal basis for this processing is your consent and our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.
You are not required to provide us with information via these three methods to use and enjoy the Site. Please do not supply any other person’s personal data to us, unless we prompt you to do so.
Your privacy is important to us, therefore, your email address will never be shared, sold, leased to any third party members.
2.2. WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DOES COMPANY COLLECT?
(a) AUTOMATIC COLLECTION. Our servers automatically recognize visitors’ domain names and IP addresses (the number assigned to computers on the Internet). No personal information about you is revealed in this process. The Site may also gather anonymous “traffic data” that does not personally identify you, but that may be helpful for marketing purposes or for improving the services we offer.
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.
(b) COOKIES. From time to time, we may use the standard “cookies” feature of major browser applications that allows us to store a small piece of data on your computer about your visit to our Site. Cookies help us learn which areas of our Site are useful and which areas need improvement through programs including, but not limited to, Google Analytics. We may also use cookies from third party social sites and programs including, but not limited to, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.
2.2.1 About cookies
(a) A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
(b) Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.
(c) Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.
2.2.2 Cookies that we use
We use cookies for the following purposes:
(a) Authentication – we use cookies to identify you when you visit our website and as you navigate our website.
(b) Status – we use cookies to help us to determine if you are logged into our website.
(c) Personalisation – we use cookies to store information about your preferences and to personalize the website for you.
(d) Security – we use cookies as an element of the security measures used to protect user accounts, including preventing fraudulent use of login credentials, and to protect our website and services generally.
(e) Advertising – we and our partner companies use cookies to help us to display advertisements that will be relevant to you.
(f) Analysis – we use cookies to help us to analyze the use and performance of our website and services.
(g) Cookie consent – we use cookies to store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies more generally.
2.2.3 Cookies used by our service providers
(a) Our service providers, including but not limited to Sumo, Optin Monster, Facebook, and LeadPages, use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website.
(b) We use Google Analytics to analyze the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google’s privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.
2.2.4 Managing cookies
Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:
(a) https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);
(b) https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);
(c) http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);
(d) https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);
(e) https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411 (Safari); and
(f) https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).
Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites. If you block cookies, you may not be able to use all the features on our website.
(c) SPONSORS AND ADVERTISERS. We may decide to accept sponsorship and advertisements on the Site. Should this occur, you should assume said sponsors and advertisers will be given access to the impressions and click data on their marketing pieces. Your personally identifiable information will never be revealed to them by us.
The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business.
3. USE AND SHARING OF INFORMATION
3.1. WHAT DOES OUR COMPANY DO WITH COLLECTED INFORMATION?
(a) PERSONAL INFORMATION. We do not disclose the personally identifiable information to any third parties other than those that we use to facilitate the functioning of the site such as a hosting company and email program for mailings.
(b) ANONYMOUS INFORMATION. We use anonymous information to analyze our Site traffic. In addition, we may use anonymous IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer our site, or to display the content according to your preferences. Traffic and transaction information may also be shared with business partners and advertisers on an aggregate and anonymous basis.
(c) USE OF COOKIES. We use information obtained from cookies to analyze your use of the Site and to make appropriate changes. Promotions or advertisements displayed on our site may contain cookies. We do not have access to or control over information collected by outside advertisers on our site.
(d) DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. We may disclose any information we have for you if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (1) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on us, (2) protect and defend our rights or property or the users of the Site, or (3) act under exigent circumstances to protect the safety of the public or users of the Site.
(e) REMARKETING. You may receive email from us (if you choose to receive it, and you can opt-out anytime using the provided Unsubscribe link), and you may be remarketed to on Facebook and other online platforms.
(f) SALE OF INFORMATION. In order to accommodate changes in our business, we may sell or buy portions of the Site or our company, including the information collected through this Site. If Company or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, user information will be one of the assets transferred to the acquirer.
3.2. SHARING YOUR DATA WITH OTHERS
We may disclose your personal data to any member of our group of companies (this means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and all its subsidiaries) insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes, and on the legal bases, set out in this privacy policy.
(a) We may disclose your personal data to our insurers and/or professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
(b) We may disclose your personal data, such as your email address, to our advertisers or directory partners insofar as reasonably necessary to resolve disputes.
(c) Financial transactions relating to our website and services may be handled by our payment services providers, Stripe and PayPal. We will share transaction data with our payment services providers only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing your payments, refunding such payments, and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments and refunds. You can find information about the payment services providers’ privacy policies and practices at https://stripe.com/us/privacy and https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full. The payment information does not get stored in our system because everything gets processed through the payment processors. Therefore, should you have any questions about payment activities and/or information, contact the specific payment processor directly.
(d) We may disclose your inquiry data to one or more of those selected third-party suppliers of goods and services identified on our website for the purpose of enabling them to contact you so that they can offer, market and sell to you relevant goods and/or services. Each such third party will act as a data controller in relation to the inquiry data that we supply to it; and upon contacting you, each such third party will supply to you a copy of its own privacy policy, which will govern that third party’s use of your personal data.
(e) In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.
4. INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER OF DATA
(a) We are based in the United States. The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws in Europe. Transfers to these countries will be protected by appropriate safeguards, namely the use of standard data protection clauses adopted or approved by the European Commission, a copy of which can be obtained here.
5. RETAINING AND DELETING PERSONAL DATA
(a) This Section 5 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.
(b) Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.
5.1 We will retain your personal data as follows:
(a) Personal data will be retained indefinitely unless manually deleted from the system either by our choice or yours.
(b) In some cases it is not possible for us to specify in advance the periods for which your personal data will be retained. In such cases, we will determine the period of retention based what is allowed by our third-party Analytics, marketing, and Email service providers.
(c) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 5, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.
6. YOUR RIGHTS
6.1 In this Section 6, we have summarized the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.
6.2 Your principal rights under data protection law are:
(a) the right to access;
(b) the right to rectification;
(c) the right to erasure;
(d) the right to restrict processing;
(e) the right to object to processing;
(f) the right to data portability;
(g) the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and
(h) the right to withdraw consent.
6.3 You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.
6.4 You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.
6.5 In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
6.6 In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.
6.7 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
6.8 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.
6.9 You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.
6.10 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:
(a) consent; or
(b) that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract,
and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.
6.11 If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.
6.12 To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.
6.13 You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us: The Baby Penguin, LLC, 7600 Brussels Pl, Dulles, VA 20189.
7. SECURITY
The Site has security measures in place to prevent the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information that we obtain from you, but we make no assurances about our ability to prevent any such loss to you or to any third party arising out of any such loss, misuse, or alteration.
8. WEBSITE AREAS BEYOND COMPANY’S CONTROL
8.1. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
The Site contains links to other websites. If you choose to visit those websites, it is important to understand our privacy practices and terms of use do not extend to those sites. It is your responsibility to review the privacy policies at those websites to confirm that you understand and agree with their practices.
9. CONTACT INFORMATION AND PRIVACY POLICY UPDATES
9.1. CONTACTING US
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our practices related to this Site, please feel contact us using the “Contact” link at the bottom of the Site.
9.2. UPDATES AND CHANGES
We reserve the right, at any time, to add to, change, update, or modify this Policy to reflect changes in our Privacy Policy. We shall post any such changes on the Site in a conspicuous area. You may then choose whether you wish to accept said policy changes or discontinue using the Site. Any such change, update, or modification will be effective 30 days after posting on the Site. It is your responsibility to review this Privacy Policy from time to time to ensure that you continue to agree with all of its terms.
10. DATA PROTECTION OFFICER
10.1 Our data protection officer’s contact details are [email protected].