Privacy Policy
Your privacy and the security
of your personal information are very important to us. We want you to be as
comfortable as possible visiting our Website and using our Online Products. We
are dedicated to protecting the privacy of those who visit our Website and use
our Online Products. This Privacy Policy governs the Canadian websites operated
by us (collectively, our "Website") and our Online Products, and
explains how we collect your personal information on our Website, or through
our Online Products, how we protect such information, and the choices you have
concerning the use and disclosure of such information. Please read this Privacy
Policy carefully.
We may amend this Privacy
Policy from time to time. We will post any changes to this Privacy Policy here
so that you will always know what information we gather, how we might use that
information, and whether we will disclose that information to anyone. Please
refer back to this Privacy Policy on a regular basis. By using our Website or
any of our products, offerings, features, tools or resources that we provide on
our Website (collectively, our "Online Products"), you agree to the
terms of this Privacy Policy.
Please remember that this
Privacy Policy applies only to information collected by our Website.
WHAT INFORMATION ABOUT ME
IS COLLECTED ON OUR WEBSITE OR THROUGH OUR ONLINE PRODUCTS?
We collect two types of information: personally identifiable information and
non-personally identifiable information.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information.
When you become a registered
user of our Website, subscribe to one of our current Online Products, or in
connection with other Online Products we may make available on our Website from
time to time, we also may collect information that by itself cannot be used to
identify or contact you, such as demographic information (like age, profession
or gender) and physical information (like current weight) ("Non-Personally
Identifiable Information"). Non-Personally Identifiable Information may
also include user IP addresses, browser types, domain names, and other
anonymous statistical data involving the use of our Website. Non-Personally
Identifiable Information is used to help us understand the characteristics of
people who use our Website and to improve and market our Website in general and
our Online Products in particular. In the event that we link any Non-Personally
Identifiable Information with Personally Identifiable Information, we will
treat such information as Personally Identifiable Information and only use such
information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Information from Other Sources.
We may also supplement the
information we collect with information from other sources to assist us in
evaluating and improving our Website and Online Products, to determine your
preferences so that we can tailor our Website and Online Products to your
needs, and/or to study nutritional, weight-loss, behavioural and fitness
questions in general.
WHERE AND WHEN IS INFORMATION COLLECTED ON OUR WEBSITE OR THROUGH OUR ONLINE
PRODUCTS (INCLUDING THROUGH THE USE OF COOKIES AND ACTION TAGS)?
We may collect information (including information that is Personally
Identifiable Information) from you in different manners and at different places
and times on our Website, such as when you register for our Website or
subscribe to one of our Online Products. We also may collect information from
you in connection with, or through, other Online Products we may make available
on our Website from time to time. The following is a description of the areas
and/or manner in which we primarily collect information about you.
Becoming a Registered User and Subscription.
In order to access certain
Online Products on our Website, such as message boards, weight-loss tools and
food database, you must first complete certain steps to become either a
registered user or a subscriber. During these steps, you may be required to
provide us with information (including Personally Identifiable Information)
such as name, postal code and email address, and, if you subscribe to one of
our Online Products, credit card and billing information. This information is
used to help us understand the characteristics of people who use our Website,
to improve our Website and our Online Products, to contact users about
requested Online Products and/or for subscription billing purposes. It is
optional for you to provide demographic information (such as profession and
number of children), but providing this information is encouraged so we can
provide a more personalized experience on our Website such as by providing you
with information that we think would be of interest to you.
Cookies and Action Tags.
We also collect
Non-Personally Identifiable Information passively using "cookies" and
"action tags."
"Cookies" are small
text files that are placed on your computer in order to identify (i) your Web
browser (ii) the activities of your computer on our Website and (iii) your
activity in connection with our advertisements and other marketing and
promotional efforts. Cookies may be used to:
personalize your experience on our Website (e.g., to
dynamically generate content on web pages specifically designed for you),
assist you in using our Online Products (e.g., to save
you time by not having to reenter your name upon each visit to our Website),
and
allow us to statistically monitor how you are using
our Website for purposes of improving our online offerings.
We also may use cookies to
conduct marketing and promotional efforts, tailor certain advertisements to
your browser that we think may be of interest to you, or to determine the
popularity of certain content.
You do not have to accept
cookies to use our Website, however, you may not be able to use certain
products, offerings, features, or resources of our Website (including our
Online Products) if you do not accept cookies. Although most browsers are
initially set to accept cookies, you may reset your browser to notify you when
you receive a cookie or to reject cookies generally. Most browsers offer
instructions on how to do so in the "Help" section of the toolbar.
"Action tags," also
known as web beacons or gif tags, are a web technology used to help track
website usage information, such as how many times a specific page has been
viewed. Action tags are invisible to you, and any portion of our Website,
including advertisements, or e-mail sent on our behalf, may contain cookies
that are associated with action tags that our located on our Website. Unlike
cookies, action tags are not placed on your computer.
By using cookies and action
tags together, we are able to gain valuable information to improve our Website
and our Online Products and measure the effectiveness of our advertising and
marketing campaigns. We do not disclose any of your Personally Identifiable
Information to our advertising partners through the use of cookies or action
tags.
Finally, please note that
advertisers and other third parties may also use their own cookies or action
tags when you click on their advertisement or link to their website or service,
on or from our Website. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use by such
third-party websites or providers of third-party advertising.
Referral Programs.
Through third-party referral
program operators and others, we offer referral programs whereby referral
websites can earn commissions through the referral of subscribers or other
purchasers to our Website. To track the earning of such commissions, and to
determine the effectiveness of the referral programs, the users who become
subscribers to our Online Products or purchasers through such referral websites
are tracked using technologies that do not include Personally Identifiable
Information (such as cookies and/or action tags). Our program operators and the
referral websites themselves can only access non-Personally Identifiable
Information such as data relating to the number of impressions served, the
number of transactions completed, and their resulting earnings. They cannot access
our customers' personal data.
If you choose to apply to be
a referral website, we use the data you provide strictly for conducting
business with you. We have entered into certain agreements with third-party
program operators for the purpose of administering our referral programs.
Should you become a referral website of ours through one of our third-party
program operators, any information you provide to them is subject to their
privacy policies.
Other than as set forth
above, we do not share personally identifiable information with other
companies, apart from those acting as our agents in providing our
product(s)/service(s), and which agree to use it only for that purpose and to
keep the information secure and confidential. Also, our parent, subsidiary and
affiliate companies, entities into which our company may be merged, or entities
to which any of our assets, products, sites or operations may be transferred,
will be able to use personal information. We will also disclose information we
maintain when required to do so by law, for example, in response to a court
order or a subpoena or other legal obligation, in response to a law enforcement
agency's request, or in special cases when we have reason to believe that
disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal
action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with
(either intentionally or unintentionally) our rights or property. Users should
also be aware that courts of equity, such as U.S. Bankruptcy Courts, might have
the authority under certain circumstances to permit personal information to be
shared or transferred to third parties without permission.
We may share aggregate
information, which is not personally identifiable, with others. This
information may include usage and demographic data, but it will not include
personal information.
WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT?
In general, we use the information collected on our Website and through our
Online Products to help us understand who uses our Website and Online Products
and how they are used, to personalize your experience (such as by providing you
with information we think may be of interest to you), to assist you in using
our Online Products, to improve our Website and Online Products, and for
subscription billing purposes, if applicable.
We may share or sell your
Information, including your nonpublic personal information, for compensation
with third parties; such third parties may include, but are not limited to, our
affiliates, marketing companies, advertising agencies, data compilers,
advertisers, data companies, data brokers, and, to the extent permitted by law,
individual reference and look-up service programs. Such Information may be used
by such third parties to provide you with information, advertisements,
commercial communications and materials on products and services that may be of
interest, for direct marketing or any other business.
If you become a registered
user of our Website or subscribe to one of our Online Products, we may use your
information to send you a welcoming email that may confirm your user name and
password. If you "opt-in" we may send you electronic newsletters,
contact you about Weight Loss products, services, information and news that may
be of interest to you, and provide you with targeted feedback. If you no longer
desire to receive these communications, we will provide you with an option to
change your preferences. In addition, if you identify yourself to us by sending
us an email with questions or comments, we may use your information (including
Personally Identifiable Information) to respond to your questions or comments,
and we may file your questions or comments for future reference. We may also
use the information collected to send you important service announcements and
updates regarding our Website or Online Products or, if you are a subscriber,
about your billing account status. You will not be able to unsubscribe from
these service announcements and updates as they contain important information
relevant to your use of our Website and/or our Online Products.
We may also use the
information gathered on our Website and through our Online Products to perform
statistical analysis of user behavior, to analyze and evaluate issues relating
to nutrition, weight loss, behavior and fitness, or to evaluate and improve our
Online Products. We may link some of this information to Personally
Identifiable Information for purposes such as understanding the characteristics
of people who use our Website, to improve and market our Website in general and
our Online Products in particular or to assist you in your personal weight loss
efforts.
WHEN DO WE DISCLOSE INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES?
We may share or sell your
Information, including your nonpublic personal information, for compensation
with third parties; such third parties may include, but are not limited to, our
affiliates, marketing companies, advertising agencies, data compilers,
advertisers, data companies, data brokers, and, to the extent permitted by law,
individual reference and look-up service programs. Such Information may be used
by such third parties to provide you with information, advertisements,
commercial communications and materials on products and services that may be of
interest, for direct marketing or any other business.
Affiliates.
We may disclose information
(including Personally Identifiable Information) about you to our Affiliates.
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, "Affiliates" means any person or
entity which directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by or is under
common control with Dr. Bill's Fav Formulas Inc., whether by ownership or
otherwise. Any information relating to you that we provide to our Affiliates
will be treated by those Affiliates in accordance with the terms of this Privacy
Policy. We may share your information (including Personally Identifiable
Information) with franchisees of Dr. Bill's Fav Formulas Inc. but only where we
indicate to you at time of information collection that such information will be
provided to a franchisee, or if we otherwise obtain your permission.
Laws and Legal Rights.
We may also disclose your
information (including Personally Identifiable Information) if we believe in
good faith that we are required to do so in order to comply with an applicable
statute, regulation, rule or law, a subpoena, a search warrant, a court or
regulatory order, or other valid legal process. We may disclose Personally
Identifiable Information in special circumstances when we have reason to
believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or
bring legal action against someone who may be violating our Terms &
Conditions or our Subscription Agreement, or to protect the safety and/or
security of our users, our Website or the general public.
Third Parties Generally.
We may provide to third
parties information about you that does not allow you to be identified or
contacted, including where such information is combined with similar
information of other users of our Website. For example, we might inform third
parties regarding the number of unique users who visit our Website, the
demographic breakdown of the registered users of our Website, or the activities
that visitors to our Website engage in while on our Website. The third parties
to which we may provide this information may include potential or actual
advertisers, providers of advertising services (including website tracking
services), commercial partners, sponsors, licensees, researchers and other
similar parties.
DOES THIS PRIVACY POLICY APPLY WHEN I LINK TO OTHER WEBSITES?
Our Website contains links to other websites not owned or operated by Dr.
Bill's Fav Formulas Inc. or an Affiliate (for example, if you "click"
on a banner advertisement, you will likely be taken off our Website), including
links to websites operated by franchisees of Dr. Bill's Fav Formulas Inc.. We
will attempt to make it obvious to you when you leave our Website and enter
these websites by opening a new browser or otherwise notifying you that you are
leaving our Website. However, please be aware that we are not responsible for
the privacy practices of such websites. We encourage you to be aware when our
Website links to other websites and to read the privacy policies or statements
of these websites. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected
by our Website.
IS THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT SECURE?
We want your information (including Personally Identifiable Information) to
remain as secure as possible. We strive to provide secure transmission of your
information from your computer to our servers through industry-standard
techniques. To help ensure the integrity and privacy of the Personally
Identifiable Information you provide to us via the Internet at the time you
elect to become a registered user or subscribe to our Online Products, we use
Secured Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology in transmitting such
Personally Identifiable Information over the Internet to our servers. We secure
the Personally Identifiable Information you provide on servers located in controlled,
secure environments, protected from unauthorized access, use, or alteration.
Only employees or agents who need access to your information to perform a
specific task or function are granted access to such information. In addition,
all Dr. Bill's Fav Formulas Inc. employees and agents must abide by this
Privacy Policy and are kept up-to-date on security practices. Any employee who
violates this Privacy Policy is subject to disciplinary action, up to and
including termination.
Notwithstanding the above commitments
to protect your information (including Personally Identifiable Information)
from loss, misuse or alteration by third parties, you should be aware that
there is always some risk involved in transmitting information over the
Internet. There is also some risk that others could find a way to thwart our
security systems. As a result, while we strive to protect your information, we
cannot ensure or warrant the security and privacy of any information you
transmit to us.
HOW WILL I KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY?
If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on our
Website so you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it,
and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to
use Personally Identifiable Information in a manner significantly different
from that stated in this Privacy Policy, or otherwise disclosed to you, at the
time it was collected, we will notify you by email or otherwise, and you will
have a choice as to whether or not we use your Personally Identifiable
Information in a new manner. We may also make non-significant changes to our
Privacy Policy that generally will not affect our use of your Personally
Identifiable Information. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy
Policy, you should not use our Website.
WHO DO I CONTACT IF I HAVE ANY PRIVACY QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or feel that we are not
abiding by the terms of our posted Privacy Policy, please contact us at:
Phone Number:
(813)650-8252
BY USING OUR WEBSITE, YOU
SIGNIFY YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS
PRIVACY POLICY, YOU SHOULD NOT USE OUR WEBSITE. YOUR CONTINUED USE OF OUR
WEBSITE FOLLOWING THE POSTING OF CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY WILL MEAN THAT
YOU ACCEPT THOSE CHANGES.
Last modified as of Feb 05,
2009