Privacy Policy
Last Updated: August 10, 2009
Shoeboxed Privacy Practices Verified by TRUSTe
Introduction
Shoeboxed, Inc. was conceived, in part, as a way to increase consumer confidence in the Internet, so it’s no surprise that we take privacy very seriously. By visiting our site and using our services, you are accepting the practices and guidelines set out in this document (henceforth referred to as the ‘Policy’), so please take a few minutes to read it over carefully.
The Policy will address how Shoeboxed (referring to Shoeboxed, Inc. and all its services and products; also refers to ‘us,’ ‘we,’ and ‘Company’ in this Policy) uses and stores the data gathered when you (the ‘User’) use its website.
The Policy does not apply to or bind third parties that Shoeboxed does not control or to individuals that have special permission from Shoeboxed to break it.
Shoeboxed is a licensee of the TRUSTe Web Privacy Seal Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build user trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because Shoeboxed wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, we have agreed to disclose our information practices and have our privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe. This privacy statement covers all sites ending with the URL shoeboxed.com.
If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact us at help@team.shoeboxed.com. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison with us to resolve your concerns.
We limit the collection and use of personal information
Collecting personal information allows Shoeboxed to offer a more customized, secure, and efficient service to users. To that end, we only collect personal information that is relevant to the purposes of the Company.
We collect the following information from our users:
- Registration information (first and last name, username, password, email address, date of birth, gender)
- Mail-In Registration Information (mailing address and phone number, in addition to credit card information, which is processed by a secure third-party credit card processing service)
- User receipts
- User e-mails from retailers
- User business cards
- Data about personal items in text and picture form.
- All other user-generated content entered in the normal course of using the Services, including but not limited to forum posts, profiles, comments, suggestions, forwarded messages, etc.
- Feedback information
- Passive information
- Traffic data
Traffic data is collected by Shoeboxed and our third-party traffic analysis provider through the use of javascript that is included in our website as well as cookies that are stored temporarily on your computer. Together, these technologies help us manage our content by identifying what content is effective. We do not, and our third-party traffic analysis provider does not, tie the traffic data to our customers’ personally identifiable information. Other cookies created by Shoeboxed.com are used to secure your login session and to help ensure the security of your account. Such cookies are unrelated to the aforementioned traffic analysis and are never shared with third parties.
Shoeboxed and our advertising partners employ a software technology called clear gifs (also known as Web Beacons or Web Bugs) that helps us manage our content by identifying what content is effective. Clear gifs are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to track the online movements of Web users. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on your computer, clear gifs are embedded invisibly on Web pages and are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. We tie the information gathered by clear gifs to our customers’ personally identifiable information.
Your information in your Shoeboxed account
Shoeboxed may use the information listed above to: enforce our Terms of Service, customize and improve Shoeboxed’s software and website, provide customer service, resolve disputes and troubleshoot problems, inform users of targeted marketing, service updates and promotional offers unless you opt out and verify your identity. You can opt out of these messages by clicking Manage your subscription at the bottom of your e-mails and/or by contacting us at help@team.shoeboxed.com. Your data may be shared with other users if you choose to allow it if and only if you choose to share it. Registration is required if you want to use many of the services of Shoeboxed. As part of this registration, Shoeboxed will require that you submit certain information, such as your e-mail address. Any and all information submitted to Shoeboxed as feedback may be gathered and processed by Shoeboxed to improve its software and website. Shoeboxed may use anonymous information gathered through feedback for marketing purposes. Shoeboxed will not use feedback information that identifies you specifically without your permission.
We gather and store certain types of information whenever you use Shoeboxed products or services. Shoeboxed records traffic data from your browser, including your IP address, cookie information, and the pages you are visiting within the site. Traffic data is helpful in identifying and fixing problems with the site.
Shoeboxed may display on any page within the site how many times that page has been viewed.
Programs are available that can help you visit websites anonymously, but using such a program may make Shoeboxed unable to provide a personalized experience for you when you use its services.
Passive information is automatically generated. Shoeboxed will only use this information on an aggregated level for software and website improvement or for statistical information.
Shoeboxed uses cookies to enable the site to recognize your browser and relay traffic data back to our servers. Shoeboxed cookies do not collect personal information, and information from cookies is not combined with other personal information to identify specific users’ browsing frequency or actions.
You are strongly encouraged to keep your cookie settings enabled, because they allow you to fully experience many of Shoeboxed’s features.
Some of Shoeboxed partners, especially site analyzers, use cookies on shoeboxed.com, but we do not use, access or control those cookies or their uses.
Shoeboxed uses credit card processors to provide our Receipt Mail-In service. When you sign up for Receipt Mail-In, your name and payment and mailing information will be sent as necessary to these processors to provide the service. These processors are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose than processing your payment of Receipt Mail-In as directed by Shoeboxed.
The information users provide to Shoeboxed is integral to the functioning of the website. We will not rent or sell your personal information to anyone. We share such data only in certain circumstances, as listed below:
- Shoeboxed employees, consultants and contracted workers may use or come into contact with user information during the course of their normal working duties for Shoeboxed.
- Shoeboxed will release personal user information if it is required under the law or the Terms of Service, or is otherwise necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Shoeboxed, its employees, users or others. We 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 comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our site.
- If Shoeboxed ever tries to share your personal information except as set forth above, it will contact you and you may prevent Shoeboxed from sharing this data by opting out.
How your information is secured
Your personal data on Shoeboxed is protected by a user name and password login. You are responsible for keeping your user name and password secret, and should be careful to log out of your account after you have finished any given session, especially if you are using a public computer. The security of your personal information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as your name, mailing address, or credit card information) on our registration forms, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). To learn more about SSL, follow this link (https://www.thawte.com/siteseal/trustedlink.html).
Only employees that need to access personal information (such as customer service representatives) will have access to personal information. Shoeboxed keeps all employees informed and reminded of privacy and security practices.
Your choices about your privacy
You may always opt not to disclose certain personal information, but that may mean that you will not be able to access certain services. For example, your name and e-mail address are necessary to complete the registration process. After registration, you can always opt out of receiving non-service related messages by clicking manage your subscription at the bottom of these messages or by contacting us at help@team.shoeboxed.com.
You will receive an automatic welcome e-mail necessary to complete your registration process. You may also receive strictly service-related announcements on rare occasions, for example, if our service is temporarily suspended. If you do not wish to receive these announcements, you have the option of deactivating your account. You may request that your account be deleted or deactivated from Shoeboxed by sending an e-mail to help@team.shoeboxed.com.
You may request that your account be deleted from Shoeboxed by sending an e-mail to help@team.shoeboxed.com.
You can add, delete or update your personal information, but Shoeboxed may retain a copy of the unrevised information. You can also add, delete or update your personal information by clicking on Account Settings upon logging in. Contact us at help@team.shoeboxed.com with any questions. You can unsubscribe from any of the non-service related Shoeboxed messages or newsletters by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of your emailed newsletters. If you choose to use our Invite Friends feature, we will ask you for your friend’s e-mail address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time e-mail inviting him or her to visit the site. Your friend may contact us at help@team.shoeboxed.com to request that we remove this information from our database.
Shoeboxed does not post any user information along with testimonials unless we have been given permission to do so by the user. We get in touch with our users to verify that they are aware of their personally identifiable information being posted on our public site before anything is posted. The user may submit or revoke a testimonial by contacting us at help@team.shoeboxed.com.
If you choose to submit any personally identifiable information on our blog, you should be aware that this information can be read, collected, or used by other users on these forums. We are not responsible for the information you choose to submit in these forums.
If you have a complaint about Shoeboxed’s privacy policy, please send it via email to help@team.shoeboxed or mail it to PO Box 1411, Durham, NC 27701 (Street address: 501 Washington Street, Suite K, Durham NC 27701. You can also contact us to opt-out of having your personally identifiable information used for certain purposes, including promotional communications, newsletters, or sweepstakes. Your complaint will be filed and reviewed by a qualified member of the Shoeboxed team. If required, you will receive a response to your message as soon as possible. If necessary, Shoeboxed will incorporate any changes that are necessary as soon as possible
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Shoeboxed may amend or change this Policy at its sole discretion at any time. The use of the information we collect at any given point is subject to the Privacy Policy in effect at the time of collection. You should periodically check the Privacy Policy to make sure you understand the current policy.
Shoeboxed will notify you through e-mail contact or a prominent notice on the site before we implement any material changes regarding our privacy practices.
Conditions of use
Your use of the Shoeboxed website and other services is subject to this Privacy Policy and Shoeboxed’s Terms of Use, including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application of Delaware state law.
