Privacy PolicyLast updated: 2 December, 2009
Who controls the information we collect from or about you?Any information collected by means of the Sites, Services or Software is controlled by IAC Search & Media Europe Limited, the data controller, whose contact details are here. Back to Top What types of information do we collect?We collect certain information that cannot by itself be linked to a specific individual. For example, we collect the search queries submitted by users of the Sites, Services or Software but we do not know the names, email addresses or identities of the users submitting those queries. We may also collect certain information that is uniquely associated with you. For example, if you sign up to participate in a promotion or competition, you might provide your name, e-mail address or telephone number to us in connection with that promotion or competition. If you choose to provide such personal information to us, it could allow you to be identified. However, we do not associate any such personal information with any information relating to your search queries or use of the Sites or Services. Back to Top Exactly what information do we collect when you use the Sites, Services or Software?We receive any search query you submit through the Sites, Services or Software. Whenever you visit the Sites, we also collect the limited information that your browser makes available whenever you visit any website. This information includes: (a) your Internet Protocol (IP) address; (b) the address of the last URL you visited prior to clicking through to the Site; (c) your browser and platform type (e.g., a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform); (d) your browser language; and (e) the data in any undeleted cookies that your browser previously accepted from the Sites (see "How do we, or third parties acting on our behalf, use cookies on the Sites?" and "Do other third parties use cookies on the Sites?" below). In addition, we collect information relating to your activities on and as you leave the Sites (e.g. your click and search activity within the Sites, whether you click on initial search results, the address of the first URL you visit after you leave the Sites, etc). Back to Top Is there any other information we might collect in certain circumstances?Use of certain Services requires registration, which can require you to provide certain personal information to us. Other personal information you might choose to provide to us could include: your contact information if you participate in a promotion or competition or similar service or submit a help request or other customer services inquiry to us via email or contact us about employment opportunities posted on the Sites. The amount of information you disclose in these circumstances is completely up to you, but access to or use of some Services may be affected if you do not provide such information. Back to Top Is there any information we don't collect?The Sites, Services and Software do not: - collect or report back to us any information about other sites you visit on the Internet, except the address of the last URL you visited prior to clicking through to the Sites and the first URL you visit after you leave the Sites (see "Exactly what information do we collect when you use the Sites, Services or Software?" above); - collect or "screen-scrape" any search queries or information that you provide to any other web sites; or - collect or report back to us any data unrelated to the Sites, Services or Software. Back to Top How do we use the information we collect?We use the information we collect from or about you to provide the Services. This means that we process each search query you submit, together with information such as your IP address, to return a search results page to you. We may also share such information with third party content and advertising providers so that certain content and advertising can be included in the search results page we return to you (see "What information do we disclose or make available to third parties?" below). A search results page may include targeted advertisements in the form of sponsored links based on keywords contained within your search query. We retain your Search Data for 18 months, or such shorter period as we may specify elsewhere, for example in an End User Licence Agreement. During this period we use your Search Data: (i) to improve the quality of your experience of the Site and the quality of the Services we can provide to you; (ii) for purposes of product monitoring, product development; and (iii) to manage the use and placement of advertisements on the Sites. After expiry of the relevant data retention period, we completely and irreversibly anonymise your Search Data. We then continue to use your Search Data in anonymised form: (i) to improve the quality of your experience of the Sites and the quality of the Services we can provide to you; (ii) for purposes of product monitoring, product development; and (iii) to manage the use and placement of advertisements on the Sites. In addition, we aggregate query information for purposes of internal reporting including counting the number of queries submitted to the Sites, and we use information about our users' activities on the Sites in aggregated form to analyse general traffic flows on the Sites (e.g. where traffic comes from, how traffic flows within the Sites, whether users click on initial search results, where users go when they leave the Sites, etc). We may also use: your contact details to get in touch with you if you have chosen to participate in a promotion or competition and we need to contact you in connection with that promotion or competition or other similar service that you have signed up to receive. Similarly, if you have submitted personal information to us in connection with a customer services or other inquiry (including in relation to an employment opportunity), we may need to use that information in order to respond to you. Finally, we may if necessary use your information in connection with any legal proceedings, violation or enforcement of our Terms of Service (see "What information do we disclose or make available to third parties?" below) or request by you pursuant to this Privacy Policy (see "Can you review, change or delete any information we hold about you?" below). Back to Top Can you review, change or delete any information we hold about you?If you would like to review, change or delete any other information we may hold about you, including any Search Data but excluding any information that has been anonymised (see "How do we use the information we collect?" above), please contact IAC Search & Media Europe Limited, whose contact details are here. Before we can respond to any such request and accommodate your statutory rights with respect to information relating to you, you will need to provide details and/or documentation as we may reasonably require in order to satisfy ourselves as to the identity of the person making the request and to locate the information referred to in your request. Back to Top How do we, or third parties acting on our behalf, use cookies on the Sites?
Do other third parties use cookies on the Sites?Advertisements on the Sites, including the sponsored links that may appear on search results pages, can be served by third parties. The companies that serve these advertisements may, in the course of doing so, place or recognise a unique cookie on your computer or use other technologies such as pixel tags. This cookie or other technology allows these companies to collect information about your use of the Site and the Internet and to recognise you when you return to the Sites, so that customised advertisements can be displayed to you on the Sites as well as on other websites based on your past preferences and usage history. These companies can also display advertisements to you based on IP address information stored in the cookie they have placed (for example, advertisements for local services in geographic locations based on your IP address). In addition, third parties who survey consumer satisfaction with the Internet generally may place cookies and/or pixel tags on the Sites for research purposes. Our Privacy Policy does not cover any use of cookie data that such third parties (as described in the two preceding paragraphs) may collect from you. These third parties will treat your cookie data in accordance with their own policies as to data collection, retention and usage, and we have no control over such policies. For information on blocking or removing cookies, please see "How can you block or remove cookies?" below. Back to Top How can you block or remove cookies?If you would like to block or remove cookies or pixel tags, you can do so using your browser. Please consult your browser's "help" menu for details, but please note that if you choose to block or remove cookies, you may not be able to use some of the features of the Sites (see "How do we, or third parties acting on our behalf, use cookies on the Sites?" above) and/or you may find that the search results pages displayed to you on the Sites are less relevant than they would have been otherwise (see "Do other third parties use cookies on the Sites?" above). Back to Top Do we use your information to deliver targeted online ads to you?A targeted online ad is one displayed to you based on the content of the web pages you have visited (i.e., your browsing activity generally), information you have provided or keywords you have used in search queries. As described above (see "How do we use the information we collect?"), we use your search queries and the keywords they contain, together with your IP address and any cookie ID associated with you, to provide you with a search results page that may include targeted advertisements in the form of sponsored links. We do not otherwise use your information to display targeted online advertising to you, and we do not provide any of your information to any advertiser whose advertisement you click on or view. However, you should be aware that any such advertiser (or any company serving such advertisements) might be able to deduce certain information about you based on the fact that you have viewed or clicked on their advertisement (see "Do other third parties use cookies on the Sites?" above). We have no control over the data collection, retention or usage policies of such third party advertisers or ad serving companies. Back to Top What information do we disclose or make available to third parties?Third Party Service Providers. Some elements or parts of the Sites or Services, such as news content, shopping services or the sponsored links on our search results pages, may be supplied to us or hosted by third parties under contract. Other elements, for instance relating to a promotion or competition, may be administered by us with the assistance of a third party. In all such cases, we may disclose or make available to the relevant third parties the following information so that they can supply the relevant services: (a) your Internet Protocol (IP) address; (b) the address of the last URL you visited prior to clicking through to the Sites; (c) your browser and platform type (e.g., a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform); (d) your browser language; (e) the data in any undeleted cookies that your browser previously accepted from us; (f) the search queries you submit; and (g) information relating to your activities on and as you leave the Sites (e.g. your click and search activity within the Sites, whether you click on initial search results, the address of the first URL you visit after you leave the Sites, etc). For example, when you submit a query we transmit it (and some of the related information described above) to our sponsored link provider so that relevant advertising can be displayed in response to your query. We may also merge information about you into group data, which may then be shared on an aggregated basis with our advertisers and other third parties who provide us with research and/or analysis services. If you provide us with answers to voluntary survey questions, for example, we may present this information to our advertisers and such other third parties in the form of grouped statistics compiled from users' answers to such questions. In addition, we may occasionally allow third party auditors and/or our professional advisors to access your information as necessary to maintain the quality and security of the Sites and/or Services and ensure its/their operation in compliance with applicable law. Appropriate confidentiality and security obligations are imposed on all third parties referred to above, including suppliers of services related to the Sites, providers of research and/or analysis services and auditors and/or professional advisors. By using the Sites, Services or Software, you give your consent to us disclosing your information or making it available to third parties as set forth above. Law Enforcement/Legal Requirements. Subject to applicable law and notwithstanding anything else in this Privacy Policy, we reserve the right: (a) to release information about any user of the Sites, Services or Software who violates (or is reasonably suspected of violating) our Terms of Service, or is involved in (or reasonably suspected of being involved in) any illegal activity, and to release such information as required by court or government order or as otherwise required by law; (b) to release information about any user of the Sites, Services or Software when we believe in good faith that such release is required to protect our rights, property, business, safety or security, other users or the public, or to respond to an emergency; and (c) to associate any personal information you might choose to provide to us with any information relating to your search queries or use of the Sites, Services or Software, if we are required by to do so by court or government order, or as otherwise required by law. Corporate Restructuring. We may transfer to a third party any information we have collected from or about you if we are or any of our affiliates is involved in a corporate restructuring or a sale, merger or other transfer of assets. By using the Sites, Services or Software, you give your consent to us transferring your information to a third party in such circumstances. Back to Top Do we transfer information to non-European jurisdictions?We may transfer your information to affiliated companies and to third party service providers located in jurisdictions which do not necessarily have data protection laws providing the same level of protection as the laws applicable within the European Economic Area. For example, we may transfer information collected from or about users of the Sites to our affiliated companies in the United States for use by them as described above in "How do we use the information we collect?". We impose appropriate confidentiality and security obligations on such companies and service providers, and by using the Sites, Services or Software you give your consent to your information being transferred to such affiliated companies and third party service providers. Back to Top What happens when you leave the Sites to go to other Internet sites?When you are on the Sites, you may be presented with links to websites owned or operated by third parties unrelated to us. If you click on any such link, for example by clicking on a sponsored link or other search result, you may be taken to a website owned or operated by a third party advertiser or another unrelated third party. Except to the limited extent described in this Privacy Policy (see "What information do we disclose or make available to third parties?" above), we do not control the data collection, retention or usage policies of any unrelated third parties. Accordingly, you should be aware that when you are on an Internet domain other than the Sites or any Qbyrd.com and Search-results.com site, third parties may collect information from or about you and/or send cookies to you and/or use your information in any number of ways. We are not responsible for any collection, retention and/or use of any information collected from or about you on any domains other than the Site and any Qbyrd.com and Search-results.com sites. Back to Top What security measures do we take to protect your information?We have appropriate security measures in place to prevent unauthorised or unlawful access to or processing of your information and to prevent any accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, such information. These measures include limiting access to your information to those personnel who need access to your information in connection with the performance of their job duties, and taking reasonable steps to ensure the reliability of any individuals who are given access to your information. Those individuals are legally bound to maintain the security and confidentiality of such information and subject to disciplinary action with sanctions up to and including dismissal for any breach of such obligation. In addition, we have in place appropriate technical and physical security measures as well as procedural safeguards. However, no security system can be 100% effective, so please be aware that we cannot completely guarantee the security of any information we may have collected from or about you. Back to Top Do you have any other questions?Questions about this Privacy Policy should be directed here. If for some reason we are unable to answer any question to your satisfaction, please be assured that we will work with the appropriate data protection authorities to ensure we fulfill our legal obligations relating to your information. Back to Top |