Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 19, 2018

ProvenFranchises.com (“ProvenFranchises.com” or “we”) adopted this Privacy Policy to reflect our commitment to protecting your privacy. We take the collection of personal information from our Users seriously and are committed to protecting each User’s privacy in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

In this Privacy Policy, we use the term “User” to include any individual who accesses and uses any of the Services,

 

WHERE THIS PRIVACY POLICY APPLIES

This Privacy Policy applies to our websites, digital applications, and online services, ProvenFranchises.com (the “Websites“);awards programs,surveys, contests and sweepstakes (together, the “Services“).

If a particular Service refers or links to a different privacy policy, then that privacy policy — not this Privacy Policy — applies.

Our agreements with certain business customers may contain provisions about the collection, use, storage and disposal of information collected through the Services and offline. If a provision of a customer agreement conflicts or otherwise is inconsistent with a provision of this Privacy Policy, then the provision of the customer agreement will prevail but solely to the extent of the conflict or inconsistency. Please contact us by email or phone.

 

HOW TO CONTACT US

You may contact ProvenFranchises.com directly if you have any question regarding the Services or our privacy practices. Please send your query to: ProvenFranchises.com 1608 S. Ashland Ave #96414 Chicago, IL 60608.

 

DATA CONTROLLER

The data controller for the information you provide or that we collect pursuant to this Privacy Policy is: ProvenFranchises.com 1608 S. Ashland Ave #96414 Chicago, IL 60608.

 

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We provide various informational, educational, and entertainment features as part of the Services. To operate these features, we collect information from our Users. The types of information that ProvenFranchises.com collects depends on the purpose for which each User chooses to use the Services.

We use the information we collect from Users to provide more meaningful editorial and advertising content and to offer relevant products and services, as well as to maintain, protect and improve Users’ overall experience.

When you use the Services, we use collect information about which features you’ve used, how you’ve used them and the devices you use to access the Services. Depending on the settings of a User’s computer or mobile device (“Device“), ProvenFranchises.com also automatically collects: Internet Protocol (IP) address; MAC address; Device make, model and operating system version; mobile network information; internet service provider; browser type and language; country and time zone in which the Device is located; and metadata stored on the Device. This information is collected through cookies and other tracking tools. (For more information about cookies, please see below [and our Cookie Notice].)

ProvenFranchises.com may supplement the information you provide to us with information from other sources. All of this information is treated as personal information when it directly or indirectly identifies an individual User.

 

HOW WE USE INFORMATION

We use information to operate the Services, including:

To administer your account and provide the Services to you

To inform you about offers and events

To improve the Services and develop new ones

To prevent, detect and fight fraud or other illegal or unauthorized activities

To ensure legal compliance

To process your information as described in this Privacy Policy, we rely on the following legal bases:

 

USE AND COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY OPERATIONAL PROVIDERS

For the convenience of our Users, we may provide the opportunity to purchase certain goods, merchandise and services through the Services. Companies other than ProvenFranchises.com may handle some of these transactions. We call the companies that conduct our e-commerce operations, order fulfillment and/or contract services our “operational providers.” If you choose to use these Services, our operational providers will request information to fulfill your order or request. The voluntary submission of your personal information to these operational providers, including your order or request, is governed by the specific operational provider’s privacy and other terms. To facilitate an order or request, we may share information with the operational provider. The operational provider also may share your information with us. We will store this information in our User database. In most instances, we request that our operational providers adhere to the provisions in this Privacy Policy and only share Users’ personal information with us, unless necessary to complete a User’s request or order. We also request that these providers only use the personal information for the purpose of conducting the sale or fulfilling the requested service or order. However, you must read an operational provider’s privacy policy to determine the extent of use and disclosure of your personal information collected by them. ProvenFranchises.com, its parents, affiliates and subsidiaries are not responsible for the collection, use and disclosure practices of operational providers, nor is ProvenFranchises.com responsible or liable for the products or services provided by operational providers.

 

HOW WE SHARE INFORMATION

·         With our operational providers and partners

We use third-party operational providers to help us operate and improve the Services. These third parties assist us with data hosting and maintenance, analytics, customer care, marketing, payment processing and security operations. All of our service providers must adhere to confidentiality obligations that are consistent with this Privacy Policy.

We also provide co-branded services or promotions with certain sponsors or other business partners. As a part of these services or promotions, we may request the submission of your personal information for participation and/or registration. We share this information with the sponsor or partner participating in the service or promotion. If the sponsor or partner collects your personal information, they may also share your information with us.

·         With our affiliates

We share your information with our affiliates to help us with technical processing operations, such as data hosting and maintenance, customer care, marketing and targeted advertising, better understanding how the Services are used and Users’ behavior to improve the Services, securing our data and systems, fighting against spam, abuse, fraud and intellectual property infringement.

·         For corporate transactions

We may transfer your information if we are involved, whether in whole or in part, in a merger, sale, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, bankruptcy or other change of ownership or control.

·         When required by law

Applicable law may require us and our service providers to disclose your information if: (i) reasonably necessary to comply with a legal process, such as a court order, subpoena or search warrant, government investigation or other legal requirements; or (ii) necessary for the prevention or detection of crime (subject in each case to applicable law).

·         To enforce legal rights

We may also share information: (i) if disclosure would mitigate our liability in an actual or threatened lawsuit; (ii) as necessary to protect our legal rights and legal rights of our users, business partners or other interested parties; (iii) to enforce our agreements with you; and (iv) to investigate, prevent, or take other action regarding illegal activity, suspected fraud or other wrongdoing.

·         With your consent or at your request

We may ask for your consent to share your information with third parties. When we do, we will make clear why we want to share the information.

We may collect and provide aggregate information about our Users (such as how many persons visited a particular page or activity or the likes and dislikes of our Users) to our advertisers, sponsors, promotional partners and affiliates but this aggregated information does not include personal information about any individual User.

 

OUR USE OF COOKIES AND TRACKING TOOLS

Our Websites use cookies and other tracking tools.

A cookie is a small data file that contains a unique identification number that a website places on your hard drive when you visit a site. The cookie stores information about your computer, the type of browser you use, and how many times your computer visits a certain site. Cookies enable us to track how often Users are visiting our Websites and the specific pages visited, the number of entries in specific events, the estimated audience size for sponsors and advertisers, and other User preferences. You can refuse to use cookies by turning them off in your browser. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use most of the Websites. However, you may find that some areas on the Websites will be slower, or may not function at all, and you may not be able to participate in certain activities such as contests or sweepstakes if the cookies are disabled. To learn more about cookies generally, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

The Websites also use clear GIFs [Graphics Interchange Formats] (also known as pixel tags, web beacons or web bugs). A clear GIF is computer code that contains a unique identifier that enables us to monitor user activity and traffic of the Websites. We use GIFs to gather aggregate information on visits to our Websites, track usage of Website links and assist with registration and other features.

 

USE AND COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY ADVERTISERS AND SPONSORS; THIRD PARTY COOKIES AND TRACKING TOOLS

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads on the Websites. These advertising companies may collect and use information (not including your name, address, e-mail address or telephone number) about your visits to the Websites and other websites not owned and operated by us, and may also combine this information with other data about your purchases and interests from other online and offline sources, in order to provide advertisements about goods and services that may interest you (as inferred from your online activity).

We also share usage information about Users of the Websites with these companies for the purpose of managing and targeting advertisements and for market research analysis on the Websites and other websites. For these purposes, we and our third party advertising companies may note some of the pages you visit on the Websites through the use of GIFs. In the course of serving advertisements to the Websites, our third party advertisers may place or recognize a unique ‘cookie’ on your computer. The Websites may post banner ads and other forms of advertisements, and/or links to the websites of affiliate entities or of advertisers or sponsors who are companies that are not owned or operated by us, or our affiliates or subsidiaries. These entities may independently solicit and collect personal information, or send their own cookies and/or clear GIFs to our Users. The data collected is used in order to provide advertisements about goods and services that may be of interest to Users of the Websites and other interactive media and may be used to keep track of user response to each advertisement. We also work with third-party data analytics and online targeting companies. Some of these companies may use non-personal information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to the Websites and other websites in order to provide data and targeting recommendations based on which we may provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

Many of the third-party companies we work with are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), a cooperative on online marketing and analytics companies committed to building consumer awareness and establishing responsible business and data management practices. The NAI has developed a tool that allows consumers to opt out of targeted advertising delivered by NAI members’ ad networks. To learn more about opting out of targeted advertising or to use the tool, go to http://optout.networkadvertising.org/.

Following are the names and websites of some of the other companies who may set cookies on the Websites to serve or present the ads that appear on the Websites and to conduct research about the advertisements. You may learn about opting out of their targeted advertising programs by going to their respective websites.

Brightcove – www.brightcove.com/privacy

Casale Media – www.casalemedia.com/privacy.html

Clearspring – www.clearspring.com/legal/privacy

Collective Media – www.collective-media.com/privacy

Context Web – www.contextweb.com/ppolicy.html

DrivePM – www.drivepm.com/privacy-policies.php

Dynamic Logic – www.dynamiclogic.com/na/company/privacypolicy

Eyeblaster – www.eyeblaster.com/privacy.asp

Eyewonder – www.eyewonder.com/privacy.php

Google Analytics – www.google.com/intl/en_ALL/privacy.html

Hitwise – www.hitwise.com/other/privacy-policy.php

InsightExpress – www.insightexpress.com/main.asp?pageID=143

Interpolls – www.interpolls.com/privacy.html

Jupiter Media Metrix – www.internet.com/corporate/privacy/privacypolicy.html

Mediaplex – www.mediaplex.com/mojo_privacy_statement.shtml

Millward Brown IntelliQuest – www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/millwardbrown/Content/Global/TermsAndConditions.aspx

Omniture – www.omniture.com/en/privacy/policy#optout

Pointroll – www.pointroll.com/privacy-policy.aspx

Quantcast – www.quantcast.com/docs/privacy

Quigo – www.quigo.com/privacy.htm

Unicast – www.unicast.com/privacy-policy.aspx

Vizu – answers.vizu.com/privacy-policy.htm

Please be advised that when you link to or visit an advertiser’s or sponsor’s website, we may frame the site with our website logo; however, you will be subject to the privacy policy and terms of usage agreement of that website operator. ProvenFranchises.com and its affiliates are not responsible for advertiser or sponsor ads and/or links or the content, activities, information collection, use and disclosure practices of the websites of advertisers and sponsors.

 

HOW WE PROTECT AND RETAIN INFORMATION

We use physical, technical and organizational measures designed to protect your information against unauthorized access, theft and loss. We restrict access to your personal information to those employees who need to know that information to service your account or perform their job functions.

Although we takes precautions intended to help protect information that we process, no system or electronic data transmission is completely secure. Any transmission of your personal data is at your own risk and we expect that you will use appropriate security measures to protect your personal information.

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and the information in your account. We may suspend your use of all or part of the Services without notice if we suspect or detect any breach of security. You understand and agree that we may deliver electronic notifications about breaches of security to the email address on record on your account.

If you believe that your account or information is no longer secure, please notify us immediately by email.

We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

 

CROSS BORDER DATA TRANSFERS

Sharing of information sometimes involves cross-border data transfers to or from the United States of America and other jurisdictions. For example, where the Services are available to Users in the European Economic Area (“EEA”), personal information is transferred to the United States. We use the EU-US and Swiss-US Privacy Shield and standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission to validate transfers of EEA residents’ personal information from the EEA to other countries. For more information about our Privacy Shield certification, please read the PRIVACY SHIELD section below. Standard contractual clauses are commitments between companies transferring personal information of EEA residents to protect the privacy and security of the transferred personal information.

 

YOUR CHOICES ABOUT YOUR INFORMATION

If you would like to review, correct, update, suppress, restrict or delete personal information (including Personal Data as defined in the PRIVACY SHIELD section below) that you have previously provided to us, or if you would like to receive an electronic copy of your personal information for purposes of transmitting it to another company (if this right to data portability is provided to you by law), you can contact us directly.

In your request, please make clear what personal information you would like to have changed, whether you would like to have your personal information suppressed from our database, or other limitations you would like to put on our use of your personal information. For your protection, we only fulfill requests for the personal information associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before fulfilling your request. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable.

Please note that we often need to retain certain data for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transaction that you began prior to requesting a change or deletion (e.g., when you make a purchase or enter a promotion, you may not be able to change or delete the personal information provided until after the completion of such purchase or promotion). Our databases and other records may have residual data which will not be removed. In addition, we also may not allow you to review certain data for legal, security or other reasons. If at any time you believe that the Services have not adhered to this Privacy Policy, please let us know. We will use good faith efforts to determine and correct the problem.

 

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

ProvenFranchises.com respects the privacy of your child and we want to share with you our policies regarding children under the age of thirteen (13). Although Users of all ages may navigate through the Services, we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under age thirteen (13). If we learn that a child under age thirteen (13) has improperly provided us with information, we will notify the child’s parent or legal guardian and thereafter delete the child’s personal information from our records.

 

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

If you are a California resident, you can request a notice disclosing the categories of personal information about you that we have shared with third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year. To request this notice, please submit your request to us by mail. Please allow 30 days for a response.

 

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES AND SERVICES

The Services may include links to third-party websites and services that are not operated by us. When you click these links, you will be directed away from the Services. A link to a third-party website or service does not mean that we endorse it or the quality or accuracy of information presented on it. If you decide to visit a third-party website or service, you are subject to its privacy practices and policies, not ours. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any personal information that you provide to these other websites and services.

 

PRIVACY SHIELD

ProvenFranchises.com complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Frameworks (together “Privacy Shield Frameworks“) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of Personal Data (as defined below) transferred from European Union member countries and Switzerland to the United States. ProvenFranchises.com has certified that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles with respect to such Personal Data. If the policies in this Privacy Shield Policy and the data subject rights under the Privacy Shield Principles conflict, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern.

To learn more about the Privacy Shield program and to view our certification page, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov.

With respect to Personal Data received or transferred pursuant to the Privacy Shield Frameworks, ProvenFranchises.com is subject to the regulatory enforcement powers of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.

Definitions

In this PRIVACY SHIELD section:

Personal Data” means any information relating to a EU User that identifies or can be used to identify that EU User, either separately or in combination with other readily available data that is received by ProvenFranchises.com in the U.S. from the EEA or Switzerland in connection with the Services, including information provided offline, including Sensitive Personal Data.

Sensitive Personal Data” means Personal Data regarding an individual’s racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, genetic or biometric data that uniquely identifies an individual, physical or mental health, or sexual life or orientation.

EU User” means an individual who accesses and uses the Services and who resides in the EEA or Switzerland.

Privacy Shield Principles

ProvenFranchises.com commits to processing Personal Data in accordance with the Privacy Shield Principles as follows:

1.      Notice

Prior to collecting Personal Data, ProvenFranchises.com notifies EU Users about the categories of Personal Data that ProvenFranchises.com collects and the purposes for collection and use of their Personal Data. ProvenFranchises.com will only process Personal Data in ways that are compatible with the purpose for which ProvenFranchises.com collected it or for purposes later authorized.

We use the Personal Data that we collect from EU Users of the Services as described in this Privacy Policy. Before ProvenFranchises.com uses Personal Data for a purpose that is materially different from the purpose for which ProvenFranchises.com collected it or that was later authorized, ProvenFranchises.com will provide EU Users with the opportunity to opt out.

2.      Choice

If ProvenFranchises.com collects Sensitive Personal Data, we will obtain explicit opt-in consent whenever Privacy Shield requires. ProvenFranchises.com will obtain opt-in consent before Personal Data is disclosed to third parties other than those described in this Privacy Policy, before Personal Data is used for a different purpose than that purpose for which it was collected or later authorized, and whenever Privacy Shield requires.

Please see the YOUR CHOICES ABOUT YOUR INFORMATION section above for more information about how to exercise your choices.

3.      Accountability for Onward Transfer

ProvenFranchises.com shares Personal Data collected through the Services as described above.

If ProvenFranchises.com transfers Personal Data to a third party, ProvenFranchises.com takes reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure that each third party transferee processes Personal Data transferred in a manner consistent with ProvenFranchises.com obligations under the Privacy Shield Principles. ProvenFranchises.com will ensure that each transfer is consistent with any notice provided to EU Users and any consent they have given. ProvenFranchises.com requires a written contract with any third party receiving Personal Data that ensures that the third party (i) processes the Personal Data for limited and specified purposes consistent with any consent provided by EU Users, (ii) provides at least the same level of protection as is required by the Privacy Shield Principles, (iii) notifies ProvenFranchises.com if it cannot comply with Privacy Shield; and (iv) ceases processing Personal Data or takes other reasonable and appropriate steps to remediate.

As noted above, under certain circumstances, ProvenFranchises.com may be required to disclose Personal Data in response to valid requests by public authorities, including for national security or law enforcement requirements.

ProvenFranchises.com remains liable under the Privacy Shield Principles if an agent processes Personal Data in a manner inconsistent with the Principles unless ProvenFranchises.com is not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.

4.      Security

ProvenFranchises.com takes appropriate measures to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, unavailability and destruction. In determining these measures, ProvenFranchises.com takes into account the risks involved in the processing and the nature of the Personal Data.

5.      Data Integrity and Purpose Limitation

ProvenFranchises.com takes reasonable steps to ensure that such Personal Data is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete and current. ProvenFranchises.com adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles for as long as it retains Personal Data in identifiable form. ProvenFranchises.com takes reasonable and appropriate measures to comply with the requirement under the Privacy Shield to retain Personal Data in identifiable form only for as long as it serves a purpose of processing.

ProvenFranchises.com limits the collection of Personal Data to information that is relevant for processing. ProvenFranchises.com does not process Personal Data in a way that is incompatible with the purpose for which it was collected or subsequently authorized by an EU User.

6.      Access

A EU User has the right to access his or her Personal Data and to correct, amend, limit use of or delete the Personal Data if the Personal Data is inaccurate or processed in violation of the Privacy Shield Principles. ProvenFranchises.com is not required to grant the rights to access, correct, amend and delete Personal Data if the burden or expense of providing access, correction, amendment or deletion is disproportionate to the risks to the EU User’s privacy or if the rights of persons other than the EU User are or could be violated.

Please see the YOUR CHOICES ABOUT YOUR INFORMATION section above for more information about how to exercise your choices.

7.      Recourse, Enforcement, and Liability

In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, ProvenFranchises.com commits to resolve complaints about your privacy and our collection or use of your Personal Data transferred to the United States pursuant to Privacy Shield. European Union and Swiss individuals with Privacy Shield inquiries or complaints should first contact ProvenFranchises.com by mail.

ProvenFranchises.com has further committed to refer unresolved privacy complaints under the Privacy Shield Principles to an independent dispute resolution mechanism, the BBB EU PRIVACY SHIELD, operated by the Council of Better Business Bureaus. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint, or if your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed, please visit http://www.bbb.org/EU-privacy-shield/for-eu-consumers for more information and to file a complaint. This service is provided free of charge to you.

If your Privacy Shield complaint cannot be resolved through the above channels, under certain conditions, you may invoke binding arbitration for some residual claims not resolved by other redress mechanisms. See Privacy Shield Annex 1 at www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=ANNEX-I-introduction.

ProvenFranchises.com commits to periodically review and verify its compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles and to remedy any issues arising out of failure to comply with the Privacy Shield Principles. ProvenFranchises.com acknowledges that its failure to provide an annual self-certification to the U.S. Department of Commerce will remove it from the Department’s list of Privacy Shield participants.

 

CHANGES IN THE PRIVACY POLICY

The Effective Date at the top of this page indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised. Unless applicable law prevents or a change is needed to protect the privacy or security of our uses, we will notify you before any material change takes effect so that you have time to review the changes before they are effective.