Privacy Policy
Updated: September 7, 2007
Protecting your personal information is important and that is why we give you control of what information you give to GroupOf and what information you want to share. We also ask you to take care and use caution when providing personal information and pictures to the GroupOf community. There is no way we can be responsible for the actions of other Users with respect to activities through GroupOf.
By registering to use GroupOf, you agree (1) to comply with the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy, and (2) that GroupOf and any User may process (i.e., collect, use, etc.) your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service. Your personal information may be processed by GroupOf or User(s) in the country where it was collected as well as other countries (including the United States) where laws regarding processing of personally identifiable information may be less stringent. By using GroupOf, you are consenting to have your personal information transferred to and processed in the United States.
The Information We Collect
Personally Identifiable User Information
When you visit GroupOf you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us and Site use information collected by us as you interact with our Site. Because you may voluntarily disclose any personal information in areas of the Site, you should be careful about the information you choose to disclose. GroupOf does not control that disclosure, and is not liable in any way for anyone's use or misuse of the information in the disclosure. In other words, use caution and judgment here.
When you register with GroupOf, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, your gender, schools attended and any other personal or preference information that you provide to us.
When you enter GroupOf, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all GroupOf visitors. In addition, we store certain information from your browser using "cookies." A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. These cookies terminate once the user closes the browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to GroupOf. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.
When you use GroupOf, you may set up your personal profile, form relationships, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalized features. In most cases, we retain it so that, for instance, you can return to view prior messages you have sent or easily see your groups list. When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information.
You post Content (as defined in the GroupOf Terms of Service) on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your Content.
If you choose to create a group on our site, we will ask you for your the names and/or email addresses of people you wish to be part of your group. We will automatically send the people you identify an email inviting him or her to register on the site. GroupOf stores this information to send this email, to maintain records of who is a member of your group, and to track the success of our referral program.
GroupOf does not intentionally gather personal information about visitors who are under the age of 13, or knowingly allow such persons to register as Users.
How GroupOf Uses Information
Personally Identifiable Information
We will send you administrative messages, and email updates regarding your account, your Groups, your Events, members of your Groups, or the GroupOf Site. In some cases, we may also send you primarily promotional messages. We will not use your Address Book information for our own purposes. Profile information you submit to GroupOf will be available to users of GroupOf who belong to at least one of the groups you allow to access the information through your privacy settings (e.g., school, geography, club). GroupOf may send you service-related announcements from time to time through the general operation of the service. For instance, if a friend sends you a new message or tags you in a photo, you may receive an email alerting you to that fact. Generally, you may opt out of such emails by editing your notification settings in your account, though GroupOf reserves the right to send you notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications.
Cookies and Passive Data Collection
GroupOf uses cookie, IP address, and URL information to improve the content of the Site, the quality of our servers, to detect fraud, and to provide enhanced features to Users, where available. GroupOf uses cookies to save Users' GroupOf IDs, session validators, and on Users' browsers and hard drives, and may use them to provide tailored products and services to those Users, as they become available.
IP addresses also help us to diagnose problems with our server, to administer the Site, and to otherwise provide the GroupOf service to its users. IP addresses may be disclosed to a third party if we believe in good faith that the law or legal process requires it, or to protect the rights or property of GroupOf, its Users or the general public.
Disclosure of Your Personal Information
We do not provide contact information to third party marketers without your permission. We share your information with third parties only in limited circumstances where we believe such sharing is 1) reasonably necessary to offer the service, 2) legally required or, 3) permitted by you. For example:
- We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer. Specifically, we may use third parties to facilitate our business, such as to host the service at a co-location facility for servers, to fulfill printing and mailing requests, to validate mailing addresses, to perform people searches, to send out email updates about GroupOf, or to provide search results or links (including sponsored links). In connection with these offerings and business operations, our service providers may have access to your personal information for use for a limited time in connection with these business activities. Where we utilize third parties for the processing of any personal information, we implement reasonable contractual and technical protections limiting the use of that information to the GroupOf-specified purposes.
- We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the GroupOf service or using the GroupOf name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies.
- We let you choose to share information with marketers or electronic commerce providers through sponsored groups or other on-site offers.
- If the ownership of all or substantially all of the GroupOf business, or individual business units owned by BBN Technologies Corp., were to change, your user information may be transferred to the new owner so the service can continue operations. In any such transfer of information, your user information would remain subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Policy. GroupOf will notify Users via a posting on this site or email (in GroupOf's discretion) of such a transfer, and Users may choose to modify their registration information at that time. This means if you are concerned about your personal information migrating to a new owner, you can deactivate your account.
When you use GroupOf, certain information you post or share with third parties (e.g., a friend or someone in your network), such as personal information, comments, messages, photos, videos, Marketplace listings or other information, may be shared with other users in accordance with the privacy settings you select. All such sharing of information is done at your own risk. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, messages, photos, videos, or other items this information may become publicly available.
Security
GroupOf uses industry standard security measures to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. Although we make good faith efforts to store the information collected by GroupOf in a secure operating environment that is not available to the public, GroupOf cannot guarantee complete security. Further, while we work hard to ensure the integrity and security of our network and systems, we cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent third-party "hackers" from illegally obtaining this information. GroupOf does not assume any liability to third parties whose information may be included in your Group.
Updating or Removing User Information
Users may, at any time, choose to correct or update the information they have submitted to GroupOf, by going to their account. Users may remove their User information from GroupOf's live database by canceling their account. Even if you update or remove your information from our live database, however, your personal information may be retained in our backup files and archives.
Registered Users may remove their User information from GroupOf by canceling their account.
No Spam Policy
Our No Spam Policy and Terms of Service prohibit all Users from engaging in any activity involving the sending of email in violation of applicable law. Violations of these policies may result in immediate termination of service and legal action against any spammers.
Any unauthorized use of GroupOf computer systems is a violation of the Terms of Service and certain federal and state laws. Such violations may subject the sender and his or her agents to civil and criminal penalties.
Revisions to This Policy
Non-material changes and clarifications will take effect immediately, and material changes will take effect within 30 days of their posting on this site. If we make changes, we will post them and will indicate at the top of this page the policy's new effective date. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or through notice on our home page. We encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current privacy policy. Unless stated otherwise, our current privacy policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account.
Your California Privacy Rights
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits registered Users who are California residents to request certain information regarding disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To request such information, please email info@groupof.com or write to us at:
GroupOf
10 Moulton St.
Cambidge, MA 02138
Contacting GroupOf
Users with questions about this Privacy Policy may contact GroupOf the following ways:
Postal
GroupOf
10 Moulton St.
Cambidge, MA 02138
USE OF THE GROUPOF SERVICE SIGNIFIES YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE PRIVACY POLICY
