Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

This website, mobile application, or other social media application is operated by Visit Madison, Inc.. This privacy policy (“Policy”) explains how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed by Visit Madison, Inc. with respect to your use of the VisitMadison.org web site and other Visit Madison, Inc. websites and applications that display this Policy (the “Sites”) so you can make an informed decision about using the Sites. This Policy also applies to personal information collected on other web sites on our behalf by third-party vendors. This Policy does not necessarily apply to any information that you may provide, or that we may collect, through other means offline (e.g. telephone, mail). We reserve the right to change the provisions of this Policy at any time. We will alert you that changes have been made by indicating on the Policy the date of its last update. We encourage you to review this Policy from time to time to make sure that you understand how any personal information you provide will be used. By accessing or using the Sites, you accept the terms of this Policy.

WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?

As used herein, the term “personal information” means information that specifically identifies an individual (such as a name, address, telephone number, mobile number, demographic information, e-mail address, payment information where needed to complete a requested service or transaction, or information you post in comments or other interactive features) and information about that individual or his or her activities that is directly linked to personally identifiable information. Personal information does not include “aggregate” information, which is data we collect about the use of the Sites or about a group or category of services or users, from which individual identities or other personal information has been removed. This Policy in no way restricts or limits our collection and use of aggregate information.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Active Collection: Personal information may be collected in a number of ways when you visit our Sites. We collect certain information you voluntarily provide to us, such as when you send us an email or sign up to receive email or text message updates, fill out a form, connect through a social feed, sign up to be a volunteer or participate in an event, or request information. Such information may include personal information, such as your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, geographic location, and credit card information. We may also collect demographic information you may voluntarily provide from time to time, such as in response to questionnaires and surveys, including gender, ethnicity, education, and interest information. If this information is tied to personally identifiable information, it will be treated as personal information. Personal and demographic information may also be collected if you provide such information in connection with creating a profile or group, leaving comments, posting blog comments or other content, sending an email or message to another user, or participating in any interactive forums or features on the Sites. We may also obtain information from other sources and combine that with information we collect on our Sites.

We will never knowingly collect personal identifiable information from persons thirteen years of age or younger, in accordance with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and we ask that children under thirteen not submit their information.

Passive Collection: When you use the Sites, some information is also automatically collected, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, your operating system, the browser type, the address of a referring web site, and your activity on our Sites. If you access the Sites from a mobile device, we may also collect information about the type of mobile device you use, your device’s unique ID, the type of mobile Internet browsers you use, and information about the location of your device (for information about how to opt-out of this data collection, please see “What Choices Do You Have Regarding the Use of Your Information?” below). We treat this information as personal information if we combine it with or link it to any of the identifying information mentioned above. Otherwise, it is used in the aggregate only.

We may also automatically collect certain information through the use of “cookies” or web beacons. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive at the request of a website. Among other things, cookies help us improve our Sites and your experience. Information obtained from cookies and linked to personally identifying information is treated as personal information. If you wish to block, erase, or be warned of cookies, please refer to your browser manufacturer to learn about these functions. However, if you choose to remove or reject browser cookies, this could affect certain features on our Sites. Web beacons are small, invisible graphic images that may be used on the Sites or in emails relating to the Sites to collect certain information about usage and effectiveness and monitor user activity on the Sites.

Collection By Third Parties: Third-party vendors, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft may use cookies or other technologies to serve ads or deliver content on this or other websites based on your visits to this site and other sites on the Internet and to provide analytics services. These third parties may automatically collect information about your visits to this and other websites, your IP address, your ISP, the browser you use to visit our Site, pages viewed, time spent on pages, links clicked and conversion information. They do these using cookies, clear gifs, or other technologies. Information collected may be used by Visit Madison, Inc. and third parties, among other things, to analyze and track data, to deliver advertising or content on this or other websites based on your prior activities on this or other sites or targeted to your interests, and to better understand the usage and visitation of our Sites and the other sites tracked by these third parties. This Policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, cookies or clear gifs used by the third parties, and we encourage you to check the privacy policies of advertisers and/or ad services to learn about their use of cookies and other technology. If you would like to opt out of these cookies or obtain more information about this practice, click here. In some cases, third-party vendors may collect personal information from you, such as your name and email address, on other web sites and provide this information to us, or Visit Madison, Inc. may collect personal information that you enter directly within an advertising unit. This Policy does apply to such personal information collected online in this manner, and we will treat such information in the same manner as information collected on our Sites.

HOW DO WE USE THE PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT?

We use personal information collected through our Sites for the purposes described in this Policy or elsewhere on the Sites. For example, we may use personal information we collect:

• to provide the services, products, or information you request, and to process and complete such requests and any related transactions;
• to invite you to subscribe to email or text-message alerts related to Visit Madison, Inc.;
• to send you confirmations, receipts, updates, alerts, and support and administrative messages and otherwise facilitate your use of, and our administration and operation of, the Sites;
• to notify you about important changes to the Sites;
• to send you newsletters and otherwise provide you with information or services you request or that we think will be of interest to you, such as sending you information to keep you informed about various issues, events, promotions, products, and resources;
• to notify and contact participants in promotions on the Sites;
• to request feedback and to otherwise contact you about your use of the Sites;
• to respond to your emails, submissions, questions, comments, and requests and to provide customer service;
• to monitor and analyze site usage and trends, and to personalize and improve the Sites and our users’ experiences on the Sites, such as providing content, or features that match your profiles or interests, and to increase the Sites’ functionality and user friendliness;
• to serve ads, on this Site or other websites or media, based on the information you provide and the actions you take; and
• for any other purpose for which the information was collected.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION DO WE SHARE WITH THIRD PARTIES?

It is our policy not to share the personal information we collect from you through our Sites with third parties, except as described in this Policy or as otherwise disclosed on the Sites. For example, we may share personal information as follows:

• with vendors, consultants, and other service providers or volunteers who are engaged by or working with us and who need access to such information to carry out their work for us;
• with relevant partner businesses, organizations, groups, or causes that we believe have similar purpose or objectives;
• when you give us your consent to do so, including if we notify you on the Sites, that the information you provide will be shared in a particular manner and you provide such information;
• when we believe in good faith that we are lawfully authorized or required to do so or that doing so is reasonably necessary or appropriate to comply with the law or legal processes or respond to lawful subpoenas, warrants, or court orders;
• when we believe in good faith that doing so is reasonably necessary or appropriate to respond to claims or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Visit Madison, Inc., our users, our employees, our volunteers, copyright owners, third parties or the public, including without limitation to protect such parties from fraudulent, abusive, inappropriate, or unlawful activity or use of our Site;
• to enforce or apply this Policy, our Terms of Service, or our other policies or agreements.

We are not responsible for the actions of any service providers or other third parties, nor are we responsible for any additional information you provide directly to any third parties, and we encourage you to become familiar with their privacy practices before disclosing information directly to any such parties. Nothing herein restricts the sharing of aggregated or anonymized information, which may be shared with third parties without your consent.

INTERACTIVE FEATURES

You understand that when you use the Sites, information you post in profiles, blogs, forums, petitions, and other interactive areas of the Sites, as well as any information you share with individuals through the Sites or share through social network sites, will be available to other users and, in some instances, may be publicly available. We recommend that you be cautious about giving out personal information to others.

We are not responsible for the actions of any third parties with whom you share personal information. We suggest you take time to familiarize yourself with any privacy settings available on the Sites or other social network sites.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

Our Sites may contain links to other websites. Any personal information you provide on the linked pages is provided directly to that third party and is subject to that third party’s privacy policy. This Policy does not apply to such linked sites, and we are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of these websites or any other sites that are linked to from our Sites. We encourage you to learn about their privacy and security practices and policies before providing them with personal information.

WHAT STEPS DO WE TAKE TO PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION ONLINE?

We take commercially reasonable technical, administrative, and physical measures to protect your personal information in an effort to prevent loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We use encryption to protect highly sensitive data, including credit card information. Please be aware, however, that despite our efforts, no security measures are impenetrable and no method of data transmission that can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. To protect the confidentiality of personal information, you must keep your password confidential and not disclose it to any other person. You are responsible for all uses of our Sites by any person using your password. Please advise us immediately if you believe your password has been misused.

WHAT CHOICES DO YOU HAVE REGARDING THE USE OF YOUR INFORMATION?

You may “opt out” of receiving email updates and newsletters by following the unsubscribe instructions in those emails.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about this Policy, please contact us at [email protected].