Privacy Policy

Date of Last Revision: April 7, 2014

Note about Children: Our services are not intended for, marketed to or available to individuals younger than the age of 13, and individuals younger than the age of 13 should not submit personal information to us.

Please read this Privacy Policy to learn more about:

SUMMARY
INFORMATION COLLECTION
- Registration and Other Information You Provide
- Your Profile, Community Forums and User Content
- Third Party Services, Social Media Platforms, and Information Third Parties Provide About You
- Referral Features and Gift Certificates
- Information ScholarGeek Collects Automatically When You Access The Services
- Cookies and Log Files
- Web Beacons
- Embedded Scripts

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
INFORMATION SHARING
- Educational Institutions
- When You Request That We Share Your Information
- Service Providers
- Administrative, Legal Reasons & Academic Integrity Investigations Business Transitions
- Sweepstakes, Contests and Promotions

THIRD PARTY AD NETWORKS AND ANALYTICS PROVIDERS
MOBILE USE
UPDATING YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION AND CONTROL OVER YOUR PROFILE
CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNT
THIRD PARTY CONTENT, LINKS TO OTHER SITES, AND SCHOLARGEEK CONTENT FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE SERVICES
SECURITY
CONSENT TO TRANSFER
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS
A NOTE TO SCHOLARGEEK MOBILE APPLICATION USERS REGARDING TRUSTe

SUMMARY

WE FULLY DESCRIBE OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES BELOW IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. THIS SUMMARY PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING OUR USE AND SHARING OF YOUR INFORMATION, AND THIRD PARTIES WHO MAY SERVE ADVERTISEMENTS AND WHO MAY SET COOKIES OR WEB BEACONS OR SIMILAR TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES WHEN YOU USE THE SERVICES, BUT PLEASE REVIEW OUR FULL PRIVACY POLICY BEFORE USING OUR SERVICES.

We primarily use the information we collect when you use the Services in connection with your relationship with ScholarGeek, your use of the Services, and for sending you information from us or on behalf of certain third parties. This includes linking you to other members of the ScholarGeek community and providing offers to you based on information you provide or we collect or your use of the Services. Please review the "INFORMATION COLLECTION" and "HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION" sections of this Privacy Policy for a full description of the information we collect, including Personal Information, and how we use that information. Remember that if you create a Profile or participate in community forums and similar features on the Services, your information may be public. Note that we do not share your Personal Information with third parties for marketing purposes without your consent; however, we may share your Personal Information under certain limited circumstances. For more details, please review the section below entitled "Information Sharing."

ScholarGeek works with network advertisers, ad agencies , analytics service providers and other vendors to serve third party advertisements on and through the Services, to provide us with information regarding traffic on the Services, including the pages viewed and the actions users take when visiting the Services; to serve our advertisements on other web sites, within mobile Apps, and elsewhere online; and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Services and the effectiveness of our advertisements. For example, if you click on a ScholarGeek advertisement, our service provider(s) may be able to tell us the advertisement you clicked on and where you were viewing the advertisement. You may also see third party ads on the Services. The advertisements you see may be served by one or more third parties, who may use information about your activities on the Services, and other web sites and services, to provide you targeted advertising based upon your interests. We do not share Personal Information (information that identifies you as a specific individual, such as your name or e-mail address) with these third parties, but ad network providers, the advertisers, ad agencies, analytics service providers and other vendors may set and access their own tracking devices (including cookies and web beacons) and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you and your online browsing activities. Please review "THIRD PARTY AD NETWORKS AND ANALYTICS PROVIDERS" for additional information. Some of the companies who serve these targeted ads participate in a self-regulatory program that allows you to opt-out of having information about you used for this purpose, and you may access that opt-out by clicking here. Please note this does not opt you out of being served advertising. You will continue to receive generic ads while using the Services and elsewhere online.

INFORMATION COLLECTION

1. Registration and Other Information You Provide

The Services may collect "Personal Information" (which is information that can be used to identify or contact a specific individual, such as your name and email address), account information (such as a password or other information that helps us confirm that it is you accessing your account) and demographic or other information (such as your school, gender, age or birthdate and zip code and information about your interests and preferences). We will also collect payment information (typically, credit card account information) if you choose to purchase products or services through the Services. Any information combined with Personal Information will be treated as Personal Information.

2. Your Profile, Community Forums and User Content

You may have the opportunity to create a profile, which consists of information about you, which may include Personal Information, photographs, information about your academic and work history, your interests and activities, your use of the Services and other information ("Profile"). Some of the information in your Profile may be visible to third parties or to everyone, depending on the nature of the information and the privacy settings you choose when you sign in and go to your Account on the website or other Services where you created your Profile. ScholarGeek may also make the information contained in your Profile accessible through means other than the ScholarGeek website (such as through an app or an application programming interface (API)). Your Profile may also be indexed by and displayed by internet search providers when someone searches for your name. ScholarGeek does not control how frequently third-party search engines update their indexes; consequently their information may be outdated and still available for a period of time even if you discontinue use of the service.

Note that in order to provide services and opportunities to you, educational organizations, scholarship providers and other third parties may be able to review certain information in your Profile , whether or not you have limited public access to that information . You may have the opportunity to control whether this information is shared, but some information may be shared automatically -- all as disclosed on the website or other Services where you created your Profile. ScholarGeek does not share your contact information (email, full postal address or phone number) with those third parties unless you request or agree to that sharing. However, ScholarGeek may send you information and offers from third parties and information about the Services, and you may not be able to opt-out from these messages without closing your account.

The Services may provide you the opportunity to participate and post content publicly in forums, through interactive features and through other communication functionality ("Community Forums"). You may choose, through such features or otherwise, to submit or post reviews, problems, suggestions, ideas, solutions, questions, answers, class notes, course outlines, comments, testimonials, feedback, messages, images, videos, text or other material ("User Content"). Your User Content may also be posted in your Profile. You may edit or remove your profile information, but you may not be able to remove answers or postings or other uploaded material.

Note that anything you post to a Community Forum may be public. If you choose to voluntarily disclose Personal Information in your Profile or a Community Forum, that information will be considered public information and the protections of this Privacy Policy will not apply.

In addition, the Services may allow members to communicate and collaborate with each other. If you create an account, participate in a Community Forum or choose to communicate with others through the Services, certain information about you may be disclosed in connection with your or others use of the Services, including certain information about you and your network (such as your name and profile photo, the number of your connections, and the names and pictures of your connections). We allow other users to use contact information they have about you, such as your email address, to find you, including through contact importers and search, and they may also contact you through the Services.

3. Third Party Services, Social Media Platforms, and Information Third Parties Provide About You

Third parties may provide us with information about you. For example, if you are on a third party web site, and you opt-in to receive information from us, that third party will forward information about you to us so that we may contact you as requested.

The Services may permit interactions between the Services and a third party web site or service, such as enabling you to "like" a product within our Services or "share" content to other web sites. If you choose to "like" or "share" content or to otherwise post information from or via the Services to a third party web site, feature or application, that information may be publicly displayed, and the third party web site may have access to information about you and your use of our Services. Similarly, if you post information on a third party platform that references ScholarGeek or one of the Services, your post may be published on our Services in accordance with terms of that third party. These Features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our web site, and may set a cookie to enable the Feature to function properly. Social Media Features and Widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Services. Your interactions with these Features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.

You may also choose to participate in a third party application or feature through our Services (such as logging in through Facebook Connect or otherwise linking the Services with another web site or interactive service) or on a third party web site or service (such as one of our Facebook applications or a similar application or feature on a third party web site or service) through which you allow us to collect (or the third party to share) information about you, including personal information. Information about you, including your name and profile photo, may be shown to other users of the Services if you are logged in through the Services or through a third party web site or service. The third party may allow you to remove the application or feature, in which case we will no longer collect information about you through the application or feature, but we may retain the information previously collected. When you choose to participate, you may be opting to link your activity on our Services with that third party web site or service, which may then collect information about your visits to our Services and may publish that activity as you request to your profile or similar feature with that third party (such as if you choose to share a purchase you made on ScholarGeek.com with your connections on the third party website). In addition, we may receive information about you if other users of a third party web site give us access to their profiles and you are one of their "connections" or information about you is otherwise accessible through your "connections" web page, profile page, or similar page on a social networking or other third party web site or interactive service.

The information we collect is subject to this Privacy Policy. The information collected and stored by the third party remains subject to the third party's privacy practices, including whether the third party continues to share information with us, the types of information shared, and your choices with regard to what is visible to others on that third party web site and service. The third party may allow you to remove the application or feature, in which case we will no longer collect information about you through the application or feature, but we may retain the information previously collected. In addition, we may receive information about you if other users of a third party web site or service give us access to their profiles and you are one of their "connections" or information about you is otherwise accessible through your "connections" web page, profile page, or similar page on a social networking or other third party web site or interactive service.

We also may supplement the information we collect with outside records from third parties in order to provide you with information, services or goods you have requested, to enhance our ability to serve you, to tailor our content to you and to offer you opportunities to purchase products or services that we believe may be of interest to you. We may combine the information we receive from those other sources with information we collect through the Services. In those cases, we will apply this Privacy Policy to the combined information.

4. Referral Features and Gift Certificates

The Services may offer referral features whereby users may use an email tool to invite friends to use the Services using a one-time email. ScholarGeek stores this information for the purpose of verification, as well as tracking the success of our referral program. ScholarGeek will not use those referred email addresses for any other purpose (unless, of course, the referred user comes to a Service and registers as a user, in which case ScholarGeek may use the email address provided by the referred user in accordance with this Privacy Policy). The referred person may contact us to request that we remove this information from our active database.

If you purchase a gift certificate for another person, we will ask you for that person's name and email address, as well as for an optional personal message. We will automatically send your friend a one-time email including an invitation to visit the Services as well as their gift code. ScholarGeek stores information such as the gift certificate recipient's name and email address for the sole purpose of verification. ScholarGeek does not sell or disclose any of this information to any outside sources or parties and collects this information only to maintain records that a gift certificate was purchased and sent to a recipient. Vouchers purchased through ScholarGeekdeals are not gift certificates and must be used according to the terms of the voucher.

5. Information ScholarGeek Collects Automatically When You Access The Services

Like other websites and online services, we and our analytics providers and other third party service providers may automatically collect certain "Usage Information" whenever you access and use the Services, including, without limitation, by viewing information about a course or school, renting a textbook, asking or answering questions, viewing another user's profile, sending a message, searching for a person or information, or by clicking on an advertisement.

Usage Information may include the browser and operating system you are using, the URL or advertisement that referred you to our Services (if applicable), the search terms you entered into a search engine that lead you to our Services (if applicable), all of the areas within our Services that you visit (including information about any ads you may view), and the time of day you used the Services, among other information. We may use Usage Information for a variety of purposes, including to tell you about people or events nearby, to provide special offers, to serve advertisements, to select appropriate content to display to you, and to enhance or otherwise improve the Services and our products.

In addition, we automatically collect your IP address or other unique identifier ("Device Identifier") for any computer, mobile phone or other device (any, a "Device") you may use to access the Services. A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access a Service, and our servers identify your Device by its Device Identifier. Some mobile service providers may also provide us or our third party service providers with information regarding the physical location of the Device used to access a Service. Usage Information is generally non-identifying, but if we associate it with you as a specific and identifiable person, we treat it as Personal Information.

Usage Information is collected via tracking technologies, including:

Cookies and Log Files: ScholarGeek uses cookies and web log files to track usage of our Services. A cookie is a tiny data file which resides on your computer, and which allows ScholarGeek to recognize you as a user when you return using the same computer and web browser. If your browser settings do not allow cookies, you will not be able to use our Services as fully as intended. Log files are the record of your visits to the Services and include Usage Information. Like the information you enter at registration or in your Profile, cookie and log file data is used to customize your experience when you use the Services. Third parties may also set cookies as you interact with the Service.

One type of cookie we use, known as a "persistent" cookie, is set once you've logged in to your account on the Services. If you do not log out of your account, then the next time you visit, the persistent cookie will allow us to recognize you as an existing user so you will not need to log in before using the Services. Of course, if you are using a public computer or sharing your private computer with others, you should log out of your account after each visit. If you log out of a Service, you will need to re-enter your password the next time you visit in order to log in to your account. We also use a cookie which functions as a "session" cookie, meaning that it is used to identify a particular visit. Session cookies expire after a short time or when you close your web browser.

Web Beacons: We, as well as our affiliate program partners, service providers, and other third parties, may employ a software technology called clear gifs (a.k.a. web beacons/web bugs), that help us better manage content on our Services by informing us of 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 for our affiliate program. In contrast to cookies, which are stored on a user's computer hard drive, clear gifs are embedded invisibly on web pages and are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. This information is used to help improve the overall quality and experience of our Services.

An Embedded Script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Services, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your computer or other device from our server or a third party service provider and is deactivated or deleted when you disconnect from the Services.

In addition, we may use a variety of other technologies that collect similar information for security and fraud detection purposes.

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use information about you, including Personal Information, the information you provide in your Profile, User Content, and Usage Information to:

(1) allow you to participate in features we offer or to provide related customer service, including, without limitation, to respond to your questions, complaints or comments;

(2) tailor content, recommendations and offers we display to you;

(3) process a transaction you initiate;

(4) provide you with information, products, services, or suggestions;

(5) send or display to you and others using the Services special offers or advertisements from us, our advertisers, or third-parties;

(6) process your registration with our Services, including verifying your e-mail address is active and valid;

(7) improve the Services and our products, and for internal business purposes, including the measurement of ad effectiveness;

(8) contact you with regard to your use of the Services and, in our discretion, changes to our policies; and

(9) permit other ScholarGeek users to contact you, and vice versa;

(10) to provide you with location features and services (e.g., telling you about local deals and events); and

(11) as described in the Privacy Policy and for purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or otherwise with your consent.

Note that we may create, facilitate or display social advertisements, whereby your name and profile photo may be used to advertise products and services to your network based on your use of the Services and your interactions with ScholarGeek and third parties through the Services. If we are utilizing Social Ads on one of our Services, you will be able to opt-out through your account settings for that Service.

Please note that information submitted on the Services via a "Contact Us" or other similar function may not receive a response. We will not use the information provided via these functions to contact you for marketing purposes unrelated to your request unless you agree otherwise.

INFORMATION SHARING

ScholarGeek does not share your Personal Information with third parties for their marketing purposes without your consent. ScholarGeek may share non-Personal Information, such as aggregate user statistics, demographic information and Usage Information with third parties, including advertisers, content providers, and analytics providers; and third parties may collect non-Personal Information when you visit the Services. We also may share your Personal Information with third parties with your consent, as disclosed at the time you provide us with information, and as described below or otherwise in this Privacy Policy:

1. Educational Institutions: We work with colleges, universities, scholarship providers and educational institutions ("Educational Institutions") to provide targeted recruiting and outreach to some of our members. We may allow Educational Institutions to review information in your Profile (such as hometown, grade point average, and graduation year), whether or not you have chosen to restrict public access to some of that information. However, we do not share your contact information (email address, full postal address or phone number) with these Educational Institutions without your consent, but we may send you information on their behalf. This is a fundamental element of our free Services. In addition, you may indicate that you would like to receive additional information from Educational Institutions or other third parties and we will then share your information with those parties so that they may contact you per your request. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of third parties. If you later decide that you no longer want to receive communications from a third party, you will need to contact that third party directly.

2. When You Request That We Share Your Information. We may offer opportunities and features through the Services that are brought to you by a third party or that otherwise involve sharing your information with a third party. If you request or agree at that time to have your information shared, your information will be disclosed to that third party (or parties) and will be subject to the privacy policy and practices of that third party. You also may request, sometimes through your use of an interactive feature, a widget or third party application, that we share information about you with a third party and we will typically do so under those circumstances.

3. Service Providers. We will share your Personal Information with third parties to carry out your instructions and to provide specific services to you or to us as part of our Services, but subject to confidentiality obligations which limit their use and disclosure of such information. If you purchase any products or services, our billing partner will receive billing and financial information (e.g., credit card numbers) necessary to process your charges, including your postal and e-mail addresses, depending on your payment method.

4. Administrative, Legal Reasons & Academic Integrity Investigations. We may also disclose your information, including Personal Information, in response to a subpoena or when required by law; to defend our rights; in response to a written request from law enforcement regarding an investigation into criminal activity that may have occurred through or in any way using ScholarGeek's Services or property; to provide information to a claimed owner of intellectual property who claims that content you have provided to us infringes on their rights; upon request of an academic institution connected to an investigation into academic integrity to protect and/or defend any applicable Terms of Use or other policies applicable to the Services; or to protect the personal safety, rights, property or security of any organization or individual. We may also use Device Identifiers, including IP addresses, to identify users, and may do so in cooperation with copyright owners, Internet service providers, wireless service providers or law enforcement agencies in our discretion. These disclosures may be carried out without notice to you.

5. Business Transitions ScholarGeek may share Personal Information with its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, primarily for business and operational purposes. In the event that ScholarGeek goes through a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, or other corporate change, including, without limitation, during the course of any due diligence process, your information, including Personal Information, will likely be among the assets transferred. You will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on Services of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information. This Privacy Policy will become binding upon the new owner of the information until amended.

Sweepstakes, Contests and Promotions. We may offer sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions ("Promotion") that may require registration. By participating in a Promotion, you are agreeing to governing terms, conditions or official rules, which may contain specific requirements of you, including allowing the sponsor(s) of the Promotion to use your name, voice, likeness or other indicia of persona in advertising or marketing associated with the Promotion. If you choose to enter a Promotion, Personal Information, such as your name and shipping address, may be disclosed to third parties or the public in connection with the administration of such Promotion, including, without limitation, in connection with winner selection, prize fulfillment, and as required by law or permitted by the Promotion's official rules, such as on a winners list.

THIRD PARTY AD NETWORKS AND ANALYTICS PROVIDERS

Some of the companies who serve these targeted ads participate in a self-regulatory program that allows you to opt-out of having information about you used for this purpose, and you may access that opt-out. Please note this does not opt you out of being served advertising. You will continue to receive generic ads while using the Services and elsewhere online.

We may share Usage Information about visitors with third party advertising companies, analytics providers and other vendors. We do not share Personal Information (information that identifies you as a specific individual, such as your name or e-mail address) with these third parties, but ad network providers, the advertisers, ad agencies, analytics service providers and other vendors may set and access their own tracking devices (including cookies and web beacons) and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you (such as your general interest in higher education and scholarships) and your online browsing activities.

MOBILE USE

If you use the Services through a mobile device or our mobile application, your mobile device ID, your mobile carrier, and your physical (GPS) location may be transmitted to ScholarGeek. You agree that ScholarGeek may store and use that information for security purposes (for example, for user verification and to ensure that ScholarGeek's APIs are being used appropriately) and, if available, for purposes of assisting you in locating nearby shipping stores, schools or other places of interest. If you wish to no longer allow ScholarGeek to track your physical locations you may turn this off within your device settings. When you place an order through the Services, you may be able to opt-in to receiving text messaging reminders from ScholarGeek. If you choose to do so, you must provide to ScholarGeek your telephone number, which ScholarGeek will store and use to send reminders to you. You may always opt-out by replying "STOP" to one of the text messages received. You also acknowledge and agree that use of the Services through a mobile device may cause data to be displayed on and through your mobile device which may be viewed by your mobile carrier or other access provider.

UPDATING YOUR ACCOUNT INFORMATION AND CONTROL OVER YOUR PROFILE

You may be able to review the information you provided to us on a Service and make any desired changes to the information, or to the settings for your account on that Service, by logging in to your account for that Service and editing or deleting the information. You also may be able to limit the information you receive from us by adjusting your settings. However, we reserve the right to send you information on our behalf and on behalf of third parties in connection with providing the Services. If you no longer want to receive information from us, you will need to close your account for that Service.

CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNT

If you wish to close your account with one of our Services, please send your request and we will remove your Personal Information and Profile, if applicable, from the active databases for the Service(s) you request. Please let us know which Service(s) you wish to close and send your request using an email account that you have registered with ScholarGeek under your name. You typically will receive a response to a request within five business days of our receiving it.

Even if your account is closed, information may remain in backup records and we may retain certain data if it may be necessary to prevent fraud or future abuse or for legitimate business purposes, such as analysis of aggregated, non-personally-identifiable data, account recovery or if required by law. All retained data will continue to be subject to the applicable privacy policy for the Service. Also, if you have posted content on or through the Services, such as in Community Forums, we may not be able to delete it.

THIRD PARTY CONTENT, LINKS TO OTHER SITES, AND SCHOLARGEEK CONTENT FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE SERVICES

Certain content provided through the Services may be hosted and served by third parties, which may include third party widgets (such as those that allow you to "like" or "share" content with third party web sites and online services. In addition, the Services may link to third party web sites or content over which ScholarGeek has no control and which are governed by the privacy policies and business practices of those third parties. In addition, third-party partners of ScholarGeek from whom your order through the Services may have different privacy policies which apply to such partner's use of your information.

Please also note that ScholarGeek content and widgets may be included on web pages and web sites that are not associated with us and over which we have no control. These third parties may independently collect data. ScholarGeek is not responsible for the privacy practices or business practices of any third party.

SECURITY

ScholarGeek takes commercially reasonable security measures to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. For example, when you enter sensitive information such as a credit card number and CCV2 number on our checkout forms, that information is encrypted using secure socket layer (SSL) technology, to help protect the communications between you and our payment partners.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, as in any real-life scenario, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

CONSENT TO TRANSFER

The Services are in many deferent countries. please be aware that information we collect will be transferred to and processed in many deferent countries. By using the Services, or providing us with any information, you fully understand and unambiguously consent to this transfer, processing and storage of your information in many deferent countries, a jurisdiction in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as those in the country where you reside and/or are a citizen.

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

ScholarGeek may update this Privacy Policy at any time and any changes will be effective upon posting. In the event that there are material changes to the way we treat your Personal Information, we will display a notice through the Services. We may also notify you by email. However, we will use your Personal Information in a manner consistent with the Privacy Policy in effect at the time you submitted the information, unless you consent to the new or revised policy.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS

If you have questions or comments about this privacy policy, please email us at [email protected]

Privacy Policy

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