Updated August 2012
We own and operate the Custom Audience Platform, an on-demand digital-media infrastructure agencies use to target the right audience on the right sites at the right time. We use high-indexing targeting combined with audience-segment discovery to determine which behavioral data will perform best out of more than 30,000 segments. However, we are committed to protecting the privacy of online consumers. This notice explains our online technology and information-collection practices.
We do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) from users. We have worked with our third-party ad-serving technology provider DoubleClick to ensure that we adhere to the privacy guidelines created by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). DoubleClick does not collect any PII on users, and it uses cookies in the ad-delivery process only. For more information about DoubleClick's privacy policy, please refer to (http://www.doubleclick.com/privacy/)
We acquire inventory and user-level data information solely from companies that are approved-partner companies within the aboutads.info initiative. If you no longer wish to receive advertising based on your interests or other web-browsing behavior, you may opt out of receiving these ads by following the steps below:
Once you press submit, OPT-OUT COOKIES will be stored in your preferences in your browser. An opt-out cookie in your browser tells sites NOT to deliver such advertising in the future. For those companies participating in this program, there is a minimum five-year life span on opt-out cookies. If they are deleted at any point, you can repeat the process above.
We collect anonymous information through the use of cookies and pixel tags that are industry-standard technologies used by many major websites. No personally identifiable information is collected or used in this process.
Cookies. A cookie is a small data file that is sent to your browser, which then may be stored on your hard drive. When you view one of our online advertisements, you are assigned a number known as a cookie that is unique but does not identify you personally. The cookie is recorded and stored on your computer in the web browser's cookie file
Pixel Tags. To make certain that ads served by us are targeted correctly, partner websites in the network place our pixel tags on their sites. These tags are not personally identifiable nor do they collect personal information. They are used to match a visitor’s browsing behavior to a segment profile designated for targeting ads to visitors
When you are on one of our customer’s websites (includes advertisers and website owners), the website, using cookies (see below), collects certain nonpersonal information from you, including but not limited to your browser type (for example, Internet Explorer or Mozilla) and your operating system (for example, Windows or Linux). In addition, we collect information about your browsing behavior, such as the date and time you visit the websites, the content areas or pages of the websites that you visit (for example, "sports section'' or ''technology section''), the ads you click on, and other clickstream data, none of which will include personal information about you.
We use the anonymous information collected to customize the advertisements you see on participating websites and to analyze if the advertising resulted in a desired action such as sales. This is often referred to as behavioral targeting. In order to serve you appropriate ads, we will temporarily assemble nonpersonal, behavioral, and technical information to create very large audience segments. These segments represent data that has been aggregated into large anonymous groupings.
An example of this usage is listed below:
You visit movie-theater content sites in the network of our partner sites, and a cookie is stored on your computer. This data allows us to place you into the "moviegoer" segment. This segmentation is anonymous and does not include any PII about you. The segment data would then be used to show an advertisement for a new movie launch, for example, to you when you visit another website in our network. Segment assignments may change over time as new web-surfing data is collected and used. We then use this segmentation to report on advertising delivery and effectiveness to the advertiser.
Our DoubleClick ad server stores all anonymous data (non-PII) in user cookies, and not on any servers. These cookies have a lifetime of three years and can be blocked or deleted by users within their browsers. Or you may opt out using our opt-out process. DoubleClick's explanation of data security and its associated policies are listed.
We do not provide any personal information to marketers when you interact with or view a targeted ad. The user information that we collect to create segments and profile information for our service is not shared with any third party. At the same time, our advertiser customers cannot correlate or merge any network segment information with information they may collect, process, or store in connection with their site, including personal information. PII provided by you may be used by advertiser customers at a later time, as part of their customer relationship management (CRM) programs, for example.
There are two ways you can stop cookies from being stored on your computer and, therefore, stop us from storing and using this anonymous information:
Opting out of our cookie will create an environment within your browser in which neither we nor DoubleClick (which extends to all other DoubleClick publishers and networks) will recognize your browser from previous visitation or online behavior. Blocking all cookies in your browser may prevent sites from recognizing you—even those you wish would do so automatically. You must opt out in the manner you desire for each browser you use. If you use multiple computers (for example, home and office) or multiple browsers (for example, IE and Firefox), you must opt out of each browser on each computer. Should you delete your cookies within a browser, purchase a new computer, or download a new browser or version of a browser, you will need to opt out again to ensure your opt-out status is current.
We use the Evidon assurance service to comply with the cross-industry Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising managed by the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA): (http://www.aboutads.info). As part of this service, our online advertisements are sometimes delivered with icons to help you choose and control how your data is supplied and used.
In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13.
We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it frequently. If we make material changes to our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes here. Our goal is to ensure you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time, and such changes will be effective immediately upon posting to this website. Under certain circumstances (for example, in connection with certain material changes, including changes to our online-behavioral-advertising-data-collection-use policies and practices), we may also elect to notify you of changes or updates to our Privacy Policy or to request your consent for such changes through additional means (for example, by posting a notice on the front of our website or sending you an email message).
If you have any questions about this privacy statement or our website practices, or have any concerns about your dealings with our website, please contact us.
