BidAlpha, Inc. Privacy Policy
Last Modified: May 10, 2010
BidAlpha, Inc. (BidAlpha) takes your
privacy seriously. This Privacy Policy is aimed at clarifying what information
we collect, how we use it to provide relevant advertising about products
or services of interest, how we safeguard this information, and how
Users can exercise their privacy preferences.
General
BidAlpha is an advertising company
that provides a service to both consumers and online advertisers by
presenting consumers who are surfing the Internet ("Users")
with relevant advertisements and finding a more likely audience for
advertisers' products based on Users’ past activities on websites
managed by our Partners (see below) and information about Users provided
to us from other third parties.
BidAlpha respects consumers’ privacy,
and we never collect, store, nor utilize Personally-Identifiable Information
(PII) such as name, address, telephone number, social security number,
or email to determine what advertisements may be of interest to consumers.
Scope of Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy applies to BidAlpha’s
online method of collection and use of anonymous information gathered
by us on this website and the websites of our partners (“Partners”)
who share information with us. We only partner with websites whose privacy
policies explicitly allow them to share anonymous information about
their Users, including information about a User’s search, browsing,
or purchasing activities on the Partner’s website. We also require
our Partners to inform Users about their privacy and information collection
practices via their privacy policies, including whether or not the Partner’s
website is using our technology, and a way to opt out from our Partners’
sharing of data with us.
BidAlpha does not accept any PII from
our Partners.
What does BidAlpha do with the User information?
The information about a User provided
to us by our Partners allows us to serve those Users with relevant online
advertising both while those users are on our Partners’ sites, as
well as when they visit other websites. These relevant advertisements
are delivered in one of two ways: (i) directly by BidAlpha when we obtain
advertising space on certain third party websites that a User is visiting,
and (ii) by BidAlpha's advertising partners, when we share non-personally
identifiable information with them.
In either case, neither BidAlpha nor
its advertising partners use this information to identify any User personally.
How does BidAlpha find a User?
When a user visits one of our Partner’s
websites an industry-standard “cookie” or “pixel tag” may be
placed on a User’s computer. Information collected from cookies or
pixel tags are not linked to any PII, and no PII is ever transferred
from the Partner to us through the cookie or pixel tag. BidAlpha
only knows the User by a randomly-generated anonymous ID, so that we
can later serve that User with relevant ads when he is on a website
on which BidAlpha or BidAlpha’s advertising partner has obtained advertising
space. The relevant ads served to the User will be based on his or her
searching, browsing, or purchasing activity on our Partners’ websites
and/or information provided to BidAlpha from third parties.
What is a “Cookie” or “Pixel Tag”?
A cookie is a small text file that
a browser stores on a user's computer for record-keeping purposes and
future recognition of that user's computer by the server or website
that placed the cookie. Users have the ability of deleting cookies
on their machine should they so wish (See Opt-Out).
A pixel tag (also commonly known as
a web beacon) is an industry-standard, transparent, graphic image usually
no larger than a 1x1 pixel that is placed on a website or an email.
When a webpage or email is opened, the image pixel is notifies a server
that an image is being downloaded and thus notifies a marketer or website
when a webpage or email has been viewed by a user. When the image pixel
retrieves the image, at the same time it can also pass along information
such as the IP address of the computer that retrieved the image, the
time the image pixel was viewed and for how long, the type of browser
that retrieved the image, and previously set cookie values.
BidAlpha cookies and pixel tags do
not track users outside our own BidAlpha website or our Partners’
websites or e-mail unless it is to display an advertisement to a User.
Disclosure of Information
We may disclose the anonymous information
to our Partners and other third parties for advertising, marketing and
analytical purposes. We contractually require our advertising partners
not to transfer this information to anyone else. We may grant our Partners
and advertisers access to reports that aggregate information about the
ads presented by the BidAlpha system. Please note that the information
in these reports is in the aggregate, and could never identify anyone
personally.
BidAlpha may also need to disclose
anonymous information if (1) we believe that there has been a violation
of the law, of your rights, or of our rights, (2) to respond to judicial
process and provide information to law enforcement agencies or in connection
with an investigation on matters related to public safety, as permitted
by law, or otherwise as required by law, and (3) if our company or substantially
all of its assets are acquired.
Safeguarding Information
The security of the information collected
through BidAlpha's technology is important to us. Information collected
by the BidAlpha system is stored in databases that are maintained in
a secure data center in the United States. Both physical and Internet
access are strictly protected and limited. Access is granted only to
those with authorization. The information is stored anonymously, and
is therefore not personally identifiable – even by us.
Opt-Out
If you prefer not to receive relevant
advertising from advertisers utilizing BidAlpha’s technology, please
click on the following link to opt-out. Opt-out. This will take
you to a page that will enable you to opt-out from being served ads
by BidAlpha or our advertising partners. If you choose to opt-out, we
will place a BidAlpha opt-out cookie on your computer that tells BidAlpha's
servers that you don't want us to store your non-personally identifiable
information or to present you with targeted online advertisements. Please
note that if you change your computer, change your Internet browser
(e.g., from Internet Explorer to Firefox) or delete all your cookies,
you will need to get another opt-out cookie from us. Remember, you receive
no increase or decrease in the number of ads you receive in a given
day whether you opt-out or not.
Privacy of Children
We are committed to protecting the
privacy of children. Neither BidAlpha’s website nor BidAlpha’s online
activities with its Partners are intended or designed to attract children
under the age of 13. We do not collect information from any person we
actually know is a child under the age of 13.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may change this Privacy Policy from
time to time. When we do, we will post the change(s) on our website.
If we change the policy in a material way, we will provide appropriate
notice to you.
If you have questions or concerns regarding
this statement, you should first contact us at privacy@bidalpha.com.
You may also contact us in writing at the following address:
BidAlpha, Inc.
3018 Manning Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90064