IP Addresses: We collect your IP address when you visit our websites to help us administer these websites, and diagnose problems.
First and third-party cookies: To enable our systems to recognize your browser or device and to provide our services to you, we use cookies, web beacons and similar tracking technologies. A “cookie” is a small text file that a website places on your computer’s hard drive to collect information about your activities on the site, to keep your account secure, to help us enhance your experience when using our website, and to gain insight on how to better serve our website users.
We use both first and third-party cookies on our website. First-party cookies are those set by us, but third-party cookies are set from a domain different from the domain of the website you are visiting for our advertising and marketing platforms. We use cookies to assist with your navigation of our website; to monitor interactions on our website, including particular features on our website; to remember your site preferences; and to promulgate and send advertisements to you based on your preferences, thereby providing you with a personalized marketing experience.
We may also use Local Shared Objects, sometimes called “flash cookies”, to store information relating to your use of our websites on your computer’s hard drive to personalize and enhance your experience.
We classify cookies into the following categories:
- Strictly Necessary Cookies. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
- Analytical/Performance Cookies. These cookies are used to allow us to recognize and maintain logistical data, including the number of visitors that reach our website. These cookies assist us in improving our website functionality and response times.
- Functionality Cookies. These cookies are used to recognize users when they return to our website, so we can personalize content and remember their preferences. If you choose to disable these cookies, we will not be able to automatically set your preferences when you visit our site (e.g., your preferred language or activity program).
- Targeting Cookies. These cookies are set through our website by our marketing partners. These partners may use information obtained through these cookies about your visits to our website and other websites, in combination with information about your purchases and interests in order to provide advertisements about goods and services that appear relevant to you based on those visits and activity.
- Exercising Choices Regarding Analytics and Advertising. HCI may use Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics or other website providers for analytics services. These analytics services may use cookies and other tracking technologies to help us analyze how users use our websites. Information generated by these services (e.g., your IP address and other online data) may be transmitted to, and stored by Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics and other website providers on servers in the U.S. (or elsewhere), and these website providers may use this information for purposes such as evaluating your use of our website, compiling statistic reports on our website’s activity, and providing other services relating our websites’ activity and other Internet usage. We only retain aggregated data from Google Analytics and Adobe Analytics.
- You may exercise choices regarding the use of cookies from Google Analytics by going to tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout or downloading the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. You may exercise choices regarding the use of cookies from Adobe Analytics by going to www.adobe.com/privacy/opt-out under the section labeled “Tell our customers not to measure your use of their websites or tailor their online ads for you.”
- We may engage and work with third parties to create advertisements for our websites, and/or on third party services, and to provide analytics about the performance of our ads. Some information about your browsing of our website and certain third party services may be collected across time and services and shared with third parties to deliver ads and/or other content to you on our websites and certain third party services. We may receive information about third party services that you have visited and use it for marketing purposes—a practice sometimes termed “(re)-targeting,” “interest-based advertising,” and “online behavioral advertising” (collectively, “Interest-based Ads”). We may participate in online advertising networks and exchanges that display Interest-based Ads to you on the websites of third party services. These entities may use cookies and other tracking technologies to automatically collect information about you and your activities, such as registering a unique identifier for your device and tying that to your online activities on and off of our website. Certain companies we work with to serve Interest-based Ads participate in the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) AdChoices Program and may display within the ads an Advertising Option Icon for Interest-based Ads that links to an opt-out tool which allows you to exercise certain choices regarding targeting. You can learn more about the DAA AdChoices Program at www.youradchoices.com and its opt-out program for mobile apps at www.aboutads.info/appchoices.
- In addition, certain advertising networks and exchanges we work with to serve Interest-based Ads may participate in the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”). NAI has developed a tool that allows consumers to opt out of certain Interest-based Ads delivered by NAI members’ ad networks. To learn more about opting out of such targeted advertising or to use the NAI tool, see www.networkadvertising.org/choices.
- Even if you are able to opt out of certain kinds of Interest-based Ads, you will continue to receive non-targeted ads. Further, opting out of one or more NAI or DAA members only means that those selected members should no longer, under the DAA / NAI rules, deliver certain targeted ads to you. This selective opting out will affect our websites and other services but does not mean you will no longer receive any targeted content and/or ads (e.g., from other ad networks).
- Also, if your browsers are configured to reject cookies when you visit this opt-out page, or you subsequently erase your cookies, use a different device or web browser(s), or use a non-browser-based method of access (e.g., mobile app), your NAI / DAA browser-based opt-out may not, or may no longer, be effective. Mobile device opt-outs will not affect browser-based Interest-based Ads even on the same device, and you must opt-out separately for each device.
- HCI is not responsible for the effectiveness of, or compliance with, any third-parties’ opt-out options or programs or the accuracy of their statements regarding their programs. However, we support the ad industry’s 2009 Self-regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising (view here) and expect that ad networks we directly engage to serve you Interest-based Ads will do so as well, though we cannot guarantee their compliance.
How to Disable Cookies. Some cookies are required for our website to function, as outlined above, and disabling them may prevent you from using certain aspects of our site. However, to protect your privacy, you may choose to change your browser settings to disable non-essential cookies. The “Help” feature on most browsers provides instructions on how to prevent your browser from allowing new cookies and how to disable cookies. For more information regarding cookies, please see www.aboutcookies.org.
Sharing Personal Information. HCI does not sell personal information; however, certain circumstances may require us to share your information.
- Service Providers and Storage of Information: We use affiliates and third-party service providers to assist us in our business, and our website may include functionality that allows certain kinds of interactions between our website, or the website of our affiliates, including third-party independent service providers, and an outside, third-party website, platform, tool, application or other service, and access or display of third-party content via our website (“Third Party Services”). These affiliates and third-party service providers collect personal information (such as eCommerce information) in connection with online payments, process payment transactions, facilitate communications, perform website analytics, utilize online targeted advertising and perform other services related to our business. Our affiliates may use your personal information for business planning purposes. Service providers are only permitted to use your information for their own purposes if that information is aggregated, statistical and de-identified, or if they have your consent.
- Advertisers: We share our customer data and website usage information about our members,visitors and applicants with selected third-parties for the purpose of targeting internet advertisements on our website and other websites that display our advertisements. Read more about Exercising Choices Regarding Analytics and Advertising above.
- Sale, Restructuring, Corporate Consolidation,and Finance: If HCI enters into a business transaction with another party that involves the sale, transfer, or merger of all or a part of our business,or involves granting security over all or part of our business, HCI may disclose your personal information to the other party only for the purposes of the pending business transaction.
- Law enforcement of legal requests: We will disclose your personal information without your consent in response to a valid subpoena, warrant or order of a judicial or governmental authority with jurisdiction. We may also disclose your personal information in response to a lawful request from law enforcement officials or other governmental authorities, or if we have reasonable grounds to believe that the information is relevant to a breach of contract or laws, or in other cases where we are permitted by law in connection with protecting our legal rights,or those of others. ]\]
- Imminent Danger to Life or Property: In matters involving an imminent danger to personal or public safety, we may voluntarily provide information to appropriate government authorities.
Security. HCI is committed to online privacy and security, and endeavors to implement commercially reasonable physical, administrative, and technical procedures to safeguard your non-public personal information both during transmission and once it is in our possession. While our security measures are intended to protect your non-public personal information, the complete security of any transmission over the public internet cannot be guaranteed. As a result, we do not warrant the security of any electronically stored information, or information you transmit to us over the Internet.
Retention of Personal Information. We keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, as may be required by law (e.g., for tax and accounting purposes), or as otherwise communicated to you. This is based on the nature of the data, why the data was collected and processed, and additional applicable legal retention requirements.