Privacy Policy
Gender Spectrum Privacy Policy
Effective as of June 1, 2012
1. INTRODUCTION
Gender Spectrum is a service provided by Gender Spectrum Charitable Fund, Inc. (“Gender Spectrum,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). We take the privacy of Gender Spectrum users very seriously. Please read this Privacy Policy to learn more about how Gender Spectrum treats information, including personally identifiable information, in connection with the http://genderspectrum.com and http://genderspectrum.org websites and service (the “Gender Spectrum Service” or the “Service”). We provide this Privacy Policy because you have a right to know what information we collect, how it is protected and used, and the circumstances under which it may be disclosed. If you have comments, suggestions, questions, or concerns about our Privacy Policy, please contact us via email at privacy@ genderspectrum.com or in writing at: 1271 Washington Ave. #834, San Leandro, CA 94577.
Online Privacy Standards. We follow the principles supported by the Federal Trade Commission’s Fair Information Practices Principles, currently available at http://www.ftc.gov/reports/privacy3/fairinfo.shtm.
What This Policy Covers. This policy covers the ways in which Gender Spectrum treats information, including personally identifiable information, that we obtain when you use our Service. We regard “personally identifiable information” as information that someone can use to identify or contact you in person, such as your real name, telephone number, email address, or physical mailing address. Information that we use internally to identify you as a member in our system is not considered personally identifiable information. Your IP address is not considered personally identifiable information.
2. HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION
Information You Provide During Account Creation
Registration Information. During the forum registration process, we require that you provide us with an email address, your real name, and if you are the parent or guardian of a minor, your minor child or ward’s email address and real name.
Access To Your Personal Information. In general, we make it easy for you to view, edit and/or delete the personally identifiable information you have submitted to the Gender Spectrum Lounge (the forums), with the exception of information you submitted during the account registration process.
Information You Provide While Using the Forums
We make certain forums, as well as chat and private messaging features, available to our Members for discussion on a variety of topics related to gender identity and other topics that we believe may be of interest to our members. Any information you disclose in these areas becomes public information and accordingly, such information is not subject to this Privacy Policy. We have no control over its use and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose any personal information on the forums.
Information We Do Not Collect From Any Users
Minors under the age of 13. As explained further in our Terms of Use (available at http://genderspectrum.org/terms), users must be 13 years of age or older to use the Service. Gender Spectrum will never knowingly solicit, nor will it accept, personally identifiable information from visitors or Members known to be under thirteen (13) years of age.
Social Security Number. We do not require your social security number to use the Gender Spectrum Service or to access any part of our site. Gender Spectrum will never ask for your social security number.
Information We Track
Log Files. Similar to many websites and internet services, we gather certain information automatically and store it in web server log files. This information includes internet protocol addresses, browser type, hardware model, operating system version, HTTP referrer information, internet service provider (ISP), mobile network information, site entry/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and click stream data. We use this information to improve our site, analyze trends, administer the site, and gather aggregate information about our user base as a whole. We may analyze such data using Google Analytics, or other similar third-party services. Such services may employ cookies and/or action tags (also known as single pixel gifs or web beacons).
Cookies. Similar to many websites, the Gender Spectrum Service may store one or more cookies on your computer. A cookie is a small text file that can help us understand how our site visitors use our site, what pages they view during their visit, and their account and preference information as users of the Service. We may also use cookies to enable our site to remember you when you come back without requiring you to log in each time. Cookies also allow us to track and understand the interests of our users to enhance the overall experience on our site. Cookies used by Gender Spectrum do not include your personally identifiable information, though they may contain a unique identifier.
If you prefer not to receive cookies, you can set your web browser software to disable them. To do so, please refer to the help section of your specific browser for more information on how to manage or disable cookies. Please note that your browser must be configured to accept cookies to get the best experience using the Gender Spectrum Service.
3. HOW WE USE INFORMATION
To Provide You With Gender Spectrum Services
We use your information, including personally identifiable information, for the purpose of providing you with the Service. We share your information, including your personally identifiable information, only as reasonably necessary to provide the Service and as otherwise specified herein.
In Gender Spectrum Communications
We use email and/or prominent notifications on our website as our primary means to inform our users of important Service and promotional announcements.
Service-Related Announcements. When you establish an account at http://genderspectrum.org/lounge, we use the email address provided during account creation to deliver important Service-related announcements to you. Examples of Service-related announcements include: email verification during registration, requests for password reset, important security or server maintenance updates, upgrades, and new releases, or policy changes. These Service-related announcements are considered a fundamental part the Gender Spectrum Service, and members cannot opt out of these email announcements.
Promotional Announcements. In order to improve the experience for our members, we may send you regular updates from Gender Spectrum from time to time. These communications are enhancements to our service and are entirely optional. We will make it easy for you to unsubscribe from these communications via a link in the footer of each such email you receive.
For Internal Reporting and Analysis
As noted above, we use information gathered from log files and cookies to improve our site, analyze trends, administer the site, track users' movements around the site, and to gather aggregate information about our user base as a whole.
4. HOW WE SHARE AND DISCLOSE INFORMATION
With Third-Parties
We Do Not Rent or Sell Your Information. We will neither rent nor sell your personally identifiable information to anyone. Occasionally we share anonymous, non-personal, aggregate information about our members with partners or advertisers, and we may publish these aggregate usage statistics on our website for the interest of our users.
Linked Services. In some cases, we allow you to access or link to other web services through our website. In such cases, those sites may choose to collect your personal information as they deem appropriate. As noted above, we are not responsible for or in control of how third parties collect, use, or disclose your information obtained through these linked services. We encourage you to be aware when you are using these third party services and, for your best on-line experience, we encourage you to review their policies before submitting any personal information to them.
Third party service providers. We may provide your personal information to third party service providers who work on behalf of or with the Gender Spectrum Service to provide some of the services and features of the Service (for example, web hosting and data storage), and to help us communicate with the members of our Site. However, these service providers do not have any independent right to share this information (expect pursuant to a legal requirement such as a subpoena or warrant).
As Necessary In Certain Legal Circumstances
Legal Requirements. We reserve the right to disclose your information, including personally identifiable information, when we have a good faith belief that access, use, preservation, or disclosure of such information is necessary to (a) comply with any law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request; (b) enforce our Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations of the Terms of Service; (c) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud or security or technical issues; or (d) protect against harm to the rights, property, or safety of Gender Spectrum, its users, or the public as required or permitted by law.
Acquisition. If Gender Spectrum becomes involved in a merger, acquisition, or any form of sale of some or all of its assets, including bankruptcy, our assets, including member information, may be transferred to a third party. At that time, your member information may become subject to that third party’s privacy policy. Before we transfer your user information, we will notify you either by email or by posting a prominent notice on our site, and we will remind you of your ability to add, edit or delete information from your account management options page in advance of any such transfer.
5. HOW WE KEEP INFORMATION SECURE
Security of Account Information. Your forum account is password protected. Please do not share your password with anyone, and remember to change your password from time to time, to keep your account secure. Gender Spectrum will never ask you for your password.
Network Security. Gender Spectrum and its partners employ a variety of commercially standard encryption and security technologies and procedures to protect information, including your personal information, from unauthorized access. Please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, thus we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, but we cannot guarantee its absolute security.
Forum postings and Other Public Postings. As discussed above, your forum postings are available to other users of the site and are therefore not secured against disclosure by other site users who may read them. Please use caution in deciding what to post on the forums
Management Procedures. Gender Spectrum and its partners maintain standard physical and electronic procedural safeguards that limit access to your personally identifiable information and other data to employees (or people working on our behalf and under confidentiality agreements) who, through the course of standard business activities or provision of the Service, need to access your personally identifiable information or other data.
6. YOUR PERSONAL CHOICES
Receiving Communications. If you subscribe to any optional promotional communications, you will be able to unsubscribe from these communications via a link in the footer of each such email you receive.
Editing / Deleting Your Account Information. Any member who establishes a Gender Spectrum Service account can view the personally identifiable information that they have submitted to the Service (exclusive of registration information). Such information is available at the member’s account page, where members can add, edit, or delete such personally identifiable information as the member sees fit. To completely delete your account and accompanying personal information, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please be aware that deleting your personal information from your member page or deleting your account will not result in the deletion of your prior forum postings.
7. UPDATES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY
From time to time, we will review and may make changes to our privacy policy. When we do so, we will notify you either by email or by placing a prominent notice on our website. The most recent version of our privacy policy is always available from a link on our homepage, and at http://genderspectrum.org/privacy.
