Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 1, 2020.

This is the Privacy Policy of Interesting Engineering, Inc. and its subsidiary companies (collectively “Interesting Engineering,” “we,” or “us”), which applies to the Website located at https://interestingengineering.com/ its affiliate websites, subdomains, mobile versions and any associated applications (collectively, the “Website”).

Interesting Engineering, Inc. understands that your privacy is important to you and that you care about how your personal information is used and shared online. We respect and value the privacy of everyone who visits this Website, and will only collect and use personal information in ways that are described here (whether or not you have an account with us), and in a manner that is consistent with our obligations and your rights under the law.

In conjunction with the Terms of Service, this Privacy Policy sets out the basis on which any personal information you provide will be collected, processed, used and stored by us. Please read it carefully. By visiting this Website, you are accepting and consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy, which may be amended in our sole discretion from time to time. If you use the Website after we have published such changes, you will be agreeing to be bound by those changes. If you do not agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy at any time, you should not use the Website.

A. Registration on our Website

You must be at least the age of Majority (18 in most states of the United States; older in some jurisdictions) to register with us. While individuals under the age of 18 may utilize the Website, they must do so only with the consent and involvement of a parent or legal guardian, under such persons account and otherwise subject to this Privacy Policy. We do not knowingly collect or maintain any PII (defined below) about anyone under age of 13 nor is this information knowingly used by us for any marketing or promotional purposes.

If we become aware that you are under the age of Majority and are attempting to or have submitted personal information via the Website, we will not accept such information and we will take steps to remove such information from our records. This may involve us having to access and verify your age and other relevant details.

B. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains the following:

  1. What information we collect about you and why;
  2. How we use information about you;
  3. How your information may be shared;
  4. How we store and process information about you;
  5. When and how we communicate with you;
  6. How long we may keep personal information about you;
  7. How you can opt-out from receiving communications from us;
  8. Analysis tools and our use of cookies;
  9. Information over the Internet and other websites;
  10. Offensive or inappropriate content;
  11. Legal disclaimer;
  12. How to contact us;

1. What information we collect about you and why:

We may collect two types of information: personally identifiable information (“PII”) and information that is not personally identifiable (“Non PII”).

A. What PII Do We Collect?

  • When you register with us, we ask for information such as your name, postal address, zip code, email address, and telephone number. We also acquire your Internet protocol address and/or mobile device identification, which certain jurisdictions consider to be PII because it could be used to identify an individual or device if it were combined with other identifying information.

  • We may capture user information when users send us questions or comments via e-mail. Information collected in this manner will only be used to contact the user and/or respond to the user’s inquiry/issue. Sending us an e-mail will not enroll you on our e-mail list unless you specifically request it.

  • For purchases made on the Website, a third-party payment processor, such as PayPal, may collect your name, email address, postal address, contact details and credit or debit card information. This record will be stored and processed in the United States and other countries (see further below under “How we use information about you” and “How we store and process information about you”).

  • We take reasonable precautions to protect the confidentiality and security of your personally identifiable information by using industry recognized security safeguards such as site monitoring, secured networks and servers, firewalls and/or encryption. When we ask for sensitive information, we protect it through the use of encryption during transmission, such as SSL (Secure Socket Layer). Unfortunately, no method of transmission over the Internet is completely secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your personally identifiable information within industry standards, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

  • We may also obtain your personal information through your use of social media such as Facebook or LinkedIn, depending on your settings or the privacy policies of these social media services. To change your settings on these services, please refer to their respective privacy notices.

B. What Non PII Do We Collect?

  • We may capture Non PII such as your user agent, referring URL, browser operating system, device type, location, and/or the language option you chose in your device. Some of the information that we acquire cannot identify, distinguish or trace you or your device. Alternatively, some information could be considered PII when combined with other identifying information. However, the information is not used by us in a way that identifies, distinguishes or traces you or your device, but is instead used in a de-indentified way, often aggregated with other anonymous information about other users.

  • If your PII changes, or if you no longer choose to use our services or the Website, you can contact customer service by e-mail, telephone or postal mail at the contact information listed below to assist you with changes to your account. To the extent your account closes or becomes inactive, we will continue to protect your information as described in this Privacy Policy.

2. How we use information about you:

A. We may use the PII we collect in the following ways:

  • to contact users with updates and relevant information about our products and services because they have signed up to do so through our Website. If you would no longer like to receive promotional e-mails or other communications from us, please refer to the “How you can opt-out from receiving communications from us” Section below;

  • to provide users with personalized offers, promotions, news, events and other information relevant to them because they have signed up to do so through our Website;

  • to quickly process user requests for information and to allow us to respond efficiently to user questions;

  • to monitor Website statistics;

  • to respond to or satisfy legal requirements, such as a court order, a subpoena, or a law enforcement agency’s or other public agency’s request;

  • to help prevent the instigation of a crime, to help facilitate an investigation related to public safety, to help protect the safety of a child using our Website, to help protect the security or integrity of our Website, or to enable us to take precautions against liability;

  • to provide information to service providers or such companies who provide support for the operations of our Website and who do not use or disclose the information for any other purpose;

  • to administer a contest, promotion, survey, or other features; and

  • to allow us to disclose your information to the extent permitted by law.

3. How your information may be shared:

Except as set forth below, we do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to third parties our users’ PII unless we receive their consent. That being said, in the following situations, we may share PII with outside parties:

  • Subsidiaries and Affiliates. We may transfer personally identifiable information to our subsidiaries and corporate affiliates;

  • Website Consultants and Service Providers. We may disclose personal information to third party consultants and service providers (such as providers of hosting, support, maintenance; third party payment processing agencies; and remedial and repair services) to the extent that they require access to our databases, or the information contained in our databases, to service us and the Website. We use Outbrain as a native advertising and content discovery platform; PubGalaxy to display advertising solutions; Playbuzz, Connatix and Truvid as a video advertising solution; StackCommerce as a native commerce platform; JW Player as a video player software; Facebook Social Share and LinkedIn as social media plug-ins; Hotjar for user engagement and web analytics and Google Analytics and Yandex Metrica for web analytics software. For more information on how your PII is used by these companies, please refer to their respective privacy policies;

  • Enforcement of Rights/Security. We reserve the right to release personal information (i) when we are under legal compulsion to do so (e.g. we have received a subpoena) or we otherwise believe that the law requires us to do so, (ii) when we believe it is necessary to protect and/or enforce the rights, property interests, or our safety, the safety of our users, or the safety of others, or (iii) as we deem necessary to resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, prevent fraud and otherwise enforce the Privacy Policy and other Website user agreements;

  • Reorganization or Sale. In the event that we merge with or become a part of another organization, or in the event that we are sold, we sell all or substantially all of our assets, or we are otherwise reorganized, the information you provide will be one of the transferred assets to the acquiring or reorganized entity;

  • To Help Protect Minor Users of Our Website. In the event that the safety of our users is threatened, and we are able to do something about that by sharing PII with third parties, we reserve the right to do so. This may be done to prevent the instigation of a crime, to help facilitate an investigation related to public safety, to help protect the safety of a child using our Website, to help protect the security or integrity of our Website, or to enable us to take precautions against liability;

  • As Otherwise Allowed by Law. We may transfer personal information to third parties where we are expressly authorized by applicable law to do so;

  • Aggregated Information. We may aggregate information that you provide with information provided by other individuals in such a manner that the information is not personally identifiable to you, and we may transfer that aggregated information to third parties;

  • We may make available services such as blogs, message boards and chat functionality to which you are able to post information and materials. Please note that any information you disclose through such services or otherwise on the Website becomes public information, and may be available to visitors to the Website and to the general public. In addition, when you choose to make a posting on such services certain personal information will be available for other users to view. We urge you to exercise discretion and caution when deciding to disclose personal information about you, or any other information, on the Website. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE BY ANY THIRD PARTY OF ANY PERSONAL INFORMATION YOU VOLUNTARILY DISCLOSE THROUGH ANY SUCH SERVICES OR OTHERWISE ON THE WEBSITE; and

  • With your express consent.

4. How we store and process information about you:

In order to communicate with you about products, local events, offers and opportunities, the information that we collect from you may be transferred to, stored, used and processed by Interesting Engineering in the United States or one of our service providers based in the United States or outside of the United States. Such entities may be engaged in, among other things: (i) preparing and sending newsletters to which you subscribe; (ii) the processing of payment details; and (iii) the provision of support services.

If you are visiting from the European Union or other regions with laws governing information collection and use that may differ from United States law, please note that you are transferring your personal information to the United States. The laws of some countries may not provide the same levels of protection of personal information as your home country, particularly if you are a resident in the European Union. By submitting your information, you agree to the collection, transfer, storage, use and processing of information about you for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. When you provide your personal information to us or our service providers or vendors, you consent to the processing of your information in the United States as the Website is operated in the United States. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that information about you is treated securely in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and that all information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers or those of our service providers.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES TREAT YOUR INFORMATION IN A MANNER THAT MAY BE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM, AND LESS PROTECTIVE THAN, THE TREATMENT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAWS OF OTHER COUNTRIES AND JURISDICTIONS. IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR INFORMATION TRANSFERRED TO THE UNITED STATES, YOU SHOULD NOT SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH US, OR MAKE USE OF THIS WEBSITE.

TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY THE LAW OF THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU ARE LOCATED, YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT YOU MAY HAVE TO REQUIRE US TO TREAT YOUR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF ANY COUNTRY OR JURISIDICTION OTHER THAN THE UNITED STATES. HOWEVER, THE FOREGOING WAIVER MAY NOT BE LEGALLY BINDING IN SOME COUNTRIES, SUCH AS THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. TO THE EXTENT IT IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING IN THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU ARE LOCATED, THIS FOREGOING WAIVER DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU.

5. When and how we communicate with you:

We may use the information we collect to contact you by mail, email and telephone (including automated calls, and by SMS text messages and other multimedia electronic messages such as picture messaging).

We will not send you unsolicited premium rate SMS messages (which are SMS messages you pay to receive), although your service provider may impose a charge on any messages that you receive. Please check with your service provider for details.

You can unsubscribe from promotional emails and other commercial communications by following the instructions contained within the communication. Please note that due to marketing production schedules you may receive any messages already in production.

6. How long we will hold personal information about you

We will hold personal information about you on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant service, or as long as is set out in any relevant contract you hold with Interesting Engineering, subject to any applicable laws and/or regulations. In the case that you wish to cancel your registration as a member of the Website once an account is deleted, we cannot use the personal information about you other than for administrative purposes.

Where you contribute to the Website, we will generally only keep your content for as long as is reasonably required for the purpose(s) for which it was submitted.

7. How you can opt-out from receiving communications from us:

At any time you can add or remove your name from an Interesting Engineering list by contacting us at contact@interestingengineering.com.

We will endeavor to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable. Please keep in mind that if you opt-out of receiving promotional messages from this Website, we will continue to send you transactional messages and important account-related information regarding this Website or products or services offered through this Website.

8. Analysis Tools and our use of cookies

We may use cookies, log files, clear gifs, and/or similar devices to identify you, to keep track of the user’s interactions with the Website, and to and enhance certain activities available on the Website. These devices are small text or other electronic files that are used for user-identification purposes, record- keeping purposes, and to increase the ease of use of the Website. We may use persistent or not-persistent cookies. Users can remove or reject persistent cookies by following the directions provided in their Internet browser’s “help” file. If a user removes a persistent cookie or rejects persistent cookies, the functionality of the Website, or any part thereof, may be impaired or unavailable.

Third-party advertisers on the Website may use cookies and other technologies in their advertisements for statistical purposes; we have no control over cookies placed on the Website by third parties.

9. Information over the Internet and other Websites

The Internet is a global network and, therefore, there are times when information about you travels globally and may not always be completely secure. If you provide us with information over the Internet, this will be at your own risk. By using the Website, you agree and authorize us to process information in this way. However, please be assured that we use commercially reasonable procedures and security features to prevent unauthorized access to information about you.

In an attempt to provide you with increased value, the Website may contain links to third party websites. These linked websites have separate and independent privacy policies or may have no privacy policy at all. We are not responsible or liable for the content, activities or privacy policies of such linked websites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of the Website, and welcome any feedback about a linked website (including if a specific link does not work).

10. Offensive or inappropriate content

If you find any link on our Website that is offensive for any reason, you are free to contact and inform us any moment. We will consider requests to remove links but we are not obligated to or so or to respond to you directly. You acknowledge that we have not reviewed and do not necessarily endorse the content of these websites, applications, destinations or services linked to or accessible from this Website and are not responsible for the content or actions of any other sites, applications, destinations or services. Your linking to or accessing any other website, application, destination or service is at your sole risk.

11. Legal disclaimer

We are not responsible nor will be liable to you in any way for events beyond our direct control. Because of the complex and constantly changing nature of our technology and business, we cannot guarantee nor do we represent that our performance will be error free, and to the maximum extent permitted by law we will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential or punitive damages or other loss suffered by you and relating to the use or release of your personal information.

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

A California privacy law that went into effect on January 1, 2005, the “Shine the Light” law, allows California residents to obtain a list of third parties to whom a business has disclosed personal information if it shares such information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. However, if a business adopts and discloses in its privacy policy a policy of not disclosing customers’ personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless the customer first affirmatively agrees to the disclosure, the business may comply with the law by notifying the customer of his or her right to prevent disclosure of personal information and by providing a cost-free means to exercise that right.

Further, California has enacted an additional privacy law that went into effect on January 1, 2020, the “California Consumer Privacy Act,” that affords California residents the a) right to know a business’s data collection practices, including the categories of personal information it has collected, the source of the information, its use of the information and to whom it disclosed the information; b) right to receive a copy of the specific personal information collected about them during the 12 months before their request; c) the right to have such information deleted (subject to certain exceptions); d) the right to know a business’s data sale practices; and e) the right to request that their personal information not be sold to third parties.

As stated earlier in this Privacy Policy, personal information submitted at the time of registration or submission may be used for marketing and promotional purposes only with the user’s permission. Whenever a user agrees to allow us to collect personal information, we provide the user with an option to prevent such information from being shared for marketing and promotional purposes with third parties. Furthermore, you may exercise this cost-free option at any time by sending an email to contact@interestingengineering.com.

12. How to contact us

We welcome your questions, comments and concerns about privacy. Please contact us at contact@interestingengineering.com with any questions or comments you may have regarding the privacy of your information.

Interesting Engineering, Inc.

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