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We care about your privacy. We want to tell you in detail about the policies and
practices which we have adopted to protect your privacy so that you can feel
confident about how we handle the personally identifiable information
('personal information') you entrust to us, and understand how we manage your
personal information to offer you the best possible products, services and
experiences. The server(s) that make(s) this site available, and databases
where information may be stored, may be located outside the country from which
you accessed this site, but we will collect, process and use personal
information only in accordance with this policy. The personal information made
available to us may, therefore, be transmitted abroad.
While we do not intend to make changes to our policies very often, it is always
a good idea to double check when you visit our site to be sure that you have
read and agree with our most current policy statement. We will not make any
changes that have retroactive effect unless legally required to do so.
The content on our sites may include, among other items of interest,
entertainment, games, recipes, surveys, sweepstakes, and contests, and may also
include advertising and opportunities to shop online. We may also provide
information on our company and our products, and may also offer opportunities
to apply for employment. We hope that you enjoy our site and will come back
often to visit!
Please take a moment to review our policy in detail. To assist you, we offer
this short summary.
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We use your personal information to fulfill your requests and serve you better.
We do not share your personal details with outside third parties without your
consent.
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We will only send you materials you have indicated you want to receive
according to your preferences, and we will honor your opt-out requests.
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We use cookies and web beacons to help us understand the features that apply to
visitors, provide better functionality, and offer you personalized content.
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We adopt careful procedures to protect your personal information, and use
special care to protect credit card data you give us when you shop online.
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We do reserve the right to use or disclose your personal information in certain
circumstances, such as to satisfy a legal request or protect our property.
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When do we collect personal information?
We collect personal information, such as names, addresses, Email addresses,
hobby or activity information, demographic information (age, gender, etc.),
taste or preference information, and the like, when voluntarily submitted by a
visitor. Visitors may choose to submit personal information online to enter
contests, to obtain information or submit a comment, to register for a loyalty
program or chat room, or to place an order. We may also obtain contact lists,
demographic, and other information from other sources. For the convenience of
our customers and to better serve you, we combine the data. You can update or
correct your contact information or change your preferences about receiving
offers and information from us at any time.
We make a special effort to advise children to get parental permission before
providing information or ordering anything online, and urge parents to
supervise their children's online use. We may ask for age information from
children so that we can provide age-relevant content and fulfill certain legal
obligations; if we learn we are dealing with a young child, we may ask for the
Email address of a parent and make an effort to contact them to determine if
the child has permission to provide information to us. Although many of our
sites are intended only for teens or adults, we have special policies in place
for young children, which are described in the Special Note to Parents.
What do we do with your personal information?
We collect personally identifiable information to enter you in contests and
notify you of results, to Email you with updates and news, to respond to your
questions or comments, to register you for certain features, to provide
personalized content, information, and/or to send out brochures, coupons,
samples, offers and other information on our products or our company. We ask
visitors providing Email addresses to let us know if they would like further
information or updates from us or our site; only those who request it will
receive follow-up Email or other communications from us. We may also ask if
you would like to receive information about other products available from
members of our family of companies. Only those who expressly ask to receive
such information online will get it. If we are not sure of your preferences we
may ask you about them. We also offer visitors an "opt-out" option at any time
they wish to cease receiving e-mails or other information from us.
Sometimes our brands will make offers, coupons and information, including
catalogues, available to you via mail. For example, when customers place an
online order in our catalogue stores or sign up for one of our catalogues
online we may add them to the list to receive that catalogue. We may also use
lists we have received from third parties or public sources to send you this
information, and, as is routinely done in the catalogue business, may exchange
names and addresses (but not Email addresses absent consent) of our catalogue
customers with other catalogue companies who may also contact you by mail. You
may "opt-out" of receiving offline communications from our brands at any time.
As is customary in many businesses, we may purchase and use opt-in Email lists
to contact potential customers. We will honor opt-out requests and ask those
providing lists to give us assurances that Email contact information is
provided only for those consumers who have expressed a desire to receive offers
and information by Email.
Personal information is used solely by us, and our affiliates, agents or
business partners who help make this site and its content and the products and
services at this site, available to you in order to respond to your requests
(like fulfilling online shopping orders or offering a sweepstakes or
promotion), and to better serve you, consistent with this policy. Data may be
shared or combined between current or future affiliates, subsidiaries or other
related entities of our company to enhance efficiency and minimize duplication
of contacts with you. In addition, we may occasionally ask you if we may share
information with other trusted third parties. We will let you know at the time
the information is collected if such third-party sharing is anticipated, will
identify the types of businesses at the area of collection, will describe the
information we will share (like your mail or Email address) and will only
share data if you agree. We will share personal data only with those who have
agreed to follow careful policies.
How do we use "cookies" and Web beacons?
What are cookies?
"Cookies" are data files that a Web site sends to your computer while you are
viewing the site. These data files include information that allows our site to
remember important information that will make your use of the site more
efficient and useful to you. Our sites use cookies for a variety of purposes.
We use cookie technology and IP addresses to obtain non-personal information
from online visitors, and also to provide registered visitors with the best
possible personalized online experience.
How do we use cookies?
Visitors to our sites use different web browsers and different computers. To
make your visits as easy as possible with the technology you use, we
automatically keep track of the type of browser (e.g., Internet Explorer,
Netscape) and operating system (e.g., Windows, Macintosh) used by a visitor,
and the domain name of the visitor's Internet service provider. We also track
the total number of visitors to our site in an aggregate form to allow us to
update and improve our site; personally identifiable information is not
extracted in this process. This data tells us if more visitors prefer certain
features or areas to others, which helps us keep our site fresh and interesting
to the majority of our visitors. We also use cookies to help prevent young
children from entering certain areas or features intended only for adults or
older teens.
How do we use cookies to personalize your experience at our sites?
Cookie technology helps us deliver content tailored to a visitor's interests,
and allows us to make ordering products, entering and participating in
sweepstakes and contests, and offering other functions at our site easier for
our visitors. Sites that offer online shopping use cookies to remember and
process the items in your shopping cart. Where permitted, we may associate
personal information with a cookie file in such instances.
What if you don´t want cookies?
If you don't want cookies, you can set your computer to warn you each time a
cookie is being sent or turn off all cookies through your browser (e.g.,
Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator). (Check your browser HELP menu to
learn the correct way to change or update your cookies.)
If you disable cookies, you may be unable to access some of the features noted
above.
What are Web beacons and how do we use them?
Some of our Web pages and Email updates may contain electronic images called
Web beacons, sometimes known as one pixel GIFs, clear GIFs or pixel tags. On
Web sites, these allow us to count visitors who have viewed our pages. In
promotional Email messages/newsletters they allow us to count how many
subscribers have read them. Web beacons allow us to develop statistical
information about the activities and features that most interest our consumers
for the purpose of providing more personalized content. They are not used to
access personally identifiable information without your consent.
What about chat rooms, message boards, or other interactive forums?
We may offer chat rooms, message or bulletin boards, or interactive areas where
visitors may post comments or information for our visitors' enjoyment. If there
is a chat room, bulletin or message board, or other interactive areas where
personal information may be posted at this site, be sure to check our chat room
rules before entering, as you will be bound by them as well as our General
Terms and Conditions. Our chat room rules will establish age and other
restrictions on participation, and outline requirements for obtaining parental
consent for young children where their participation is permitted. As you know,
anything you post online is available for the world to see. We make no
representations and undertake no obligations as to information you voluntarily
post.
Is credit card / transaction information secure?
We care about the safety and security of your transaction. We use SSL (Secure
Sockets Layer) to communicate with your browser software when you order from us
online and thereby provide us with credit card or similar information. SSL is
the industry standard security protocol, which makes it extremely difficult for
anyone else to intercept your credit card / transaction and order information
that you send us when you submit your online order. Otherwise, the transmission
of information to and from us is not encrypted or secure. We take precautions
to safeguard your credit card data in our internal systems.
What do we do to safeguard personal information?
We have instituted safeguards to check that our internal procedures meet our
high policy standards. We also use our best efforts to be sure that third
parties who work with us as our agents to make this site and its contents
available to you, and to fulfill your orders and requests, agree to protect
personal information that they must access in order to serve our site and our
visitors, and honor your preferences about contacts you receive.
What about links to other Web sites?
We may offer links to other sites outside the Mars family of companies.
However, we try to link only with Web sites that share our values. You should
always check the privacy policy of any linked Web site to understand their
personal information collection practices, including how they may use cookies.
We are not responsible for the content or information collection policies of
sites operated by other companies. If you visit another site, you should review
their privacy and other policies.
What else do you need to know?
We reserve the right to use or disclose any personal information as needed to
satisfy any law, regulation or legal request, to conduct investigations of
consumer complaints or possible breaches of law, to protect the integrity of
the site, to fulfill your requests, or to cooperate in any legal investigation.
What should you do if you have questions, wish to access, update or delete
information, or wish to opt out of receiving future communications?
If you would like us to access, update, change, or delete information we have
about you in our marketing database (subject to any applicable legal
exceptions), would like to opt out of receiving further communications from us,
or have questions about our privacy policy, please contact our Privacy
Coordinator at Privacy.Policy@Effem.com.
You may also write, fax or call our global corporate Privacy Coordinator's
office at:
Privacy Coordinator / Consumer Affairs
Mars, Inc.
800 High Street
Hackettstown, N.J. 07840, USA
Phone: 1-908-852-1000
Fax: 1-908-850-2624
Updated: January, 10, 2005
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