Mikibo - Privacy

Mikibo Privacy Policy

Last updated 26 September 2006

At Mikibo, we recognize that privacy is important, so we design and operate our services with the protection of your privacy in mind. We want you to understand what information we gather from you and how this information is used and protected.

This Privacy Policy and Agreement ("Privacy Policy") discloses the privacy practices of Mikibo. By using Mikibo, you agree, without limitation or qualification, to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

This Privacy Policy applies to information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, address, or email address, and that is not otherwise publicly available.

At anytime, if you believe we have not adhered to this Privacy Policy, please let us know and we will make every effort to review and correct the problem. We also welcome your questions and comments about this privacy statement.

WHAT IS NOT COVERED BY THIS PRIVACY POLICY?

This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that Mikibo does not own or control, or to people that Mikibo does not employ or manage. If you access a third party website from a link on Mikibo, any information you reveal on that site is not subject to this Privacy Policy. You should consult the privacy policy of each website you visit.

Mikibo collects non-personally identifiable information on our site visitors collectively including which sections of the site are most frequently visited, how often and for how long. Mikibo may use third-party tracking services that use cookies and log files to track non-personal information about visitors to Mikibo in aggregate form. Mikibo utilises this information to improve and enhance our services by monitoring the areas on the site which are most popular to you. Aggregated demographic, or other non-personal information may be shared with third parties such as advertisers and partners to provide them with an overview of how Mikibo visitors use mikibo.com.

Sponsors, partners or advertisers on mikibo.com or in emails, special promotions, or newsletters we send you may also use their own cookies or web beacons when you click on their advertisement or link to their website or service, or even if the advertisement simply appears on a page or in an email that you are viewing. We do not control third parties' use of cookies or web beacons, or how they manage the non-personal information they gather through them. Please review the privacy policy of other sites you visit or link to from our site to understand how these other sites use cookies and how they use the information they collect through the use of cookies or web beacons.

This Privacy Policy does not protect you when you use Mikibo public forums. You should be aware that any information (including personal and health-related information) shared in a website public forum (such as a message board, online meetings, posting, chat room/event, or similar electronic public venues) is not protected by this Privacy Policy. Such postings will be seen by Website members and/or guests and third parties not related to Mikibo. What you write could be used by others in ways we are unable to control or predict. You should think carefully before disclosing any personal information in any public forum.

This Privacy Policy does not protect you when you send business information, ideas, concepts or inventions to Mikibo.

WHY DOES MIKIBO COLLECT DATA?

Mikibo collects data from our members so that we are able to provide customized services, content and advertising. Mikibo also uses data to improve our services, contact you, conduct research, and provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients.

WHAT DATA DOES MIKIBO COLLECT?

Mikibo may store any information you enter on mikibo.com or give us in any other way. You may provide information when you request or acquire a product or service from Mikibo or its related companies, complete a poll or questionnaire, enter a competition, participate in forums or when you communicate with Mikibo by e-mail, telephone or in writing (for example if you contact customer service or provide feedback). Mikibo offers services that require registration and/or submission of personal information. You can choose not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to take advantage of many of our features. Providing Mikibo with your personal information is strictly voluntary.

Mikibo asks you for some personal information when you register as a member and when you use mikibo.com. When you register, the personal information Mikibo collects includes (but is not limited to) name, email address, birth date, gender, and zip code. Once you register with Mikibo and sign in to our services, you are not anonymous to us.

From time-to-time we may provide you the opportunity to participate in contests, sweepstakes, promotions, polls or surveys. If you participate, we will store your responses with your personal details. Participation in these contests, sweepstakes, or surveys is completely voluntary and you therefore have a choice whether or not to disclose this information.

Testimonials are effective tools in communicating the benefits of Mikibo. Participation in testimonials is strictly voluntary and you are free to refuse to participate. If you do choose to participate, however, you should be aware that we may use your name, likeness, statements, quotes, and other personal information.

Mikibo may invite users to participate in usability studies, surveys, and other types of qualitative and quantitative research to help us better design our site, plan new features to add to our products and services, target advertising and help us understand our users' wants and needs. Mikibo also conducts research using data from our internal records.

If you register on our Website and provide us with personal information, we may link non-personal, aggregated tracking data with your online personal information. We may also supplement the Personal Information we collect from you with non-personal or personal information from other, third party sources. All information about you will be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

WHAT ABOUT EMAIL PRIVACY?

We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to the Mikibo service, such as service announcements and administrative messages that are considered part of your Mikibo membership, without offering you the opportunity to opt-out of receiving them. If you do you not wish Mikibo to contact you regarding your account or your progress, please do not register on our website. You are of course free to unsubscribe to any other emails that you receive from us.

To help us make e-mails more useful and interesting, we often receive a confirmation when you open e-mail from Mikibo.

WHAT ABOUT COOKIES?

A "cookie" is a small file containing a string of characters that is sent to your computer when you visit a website. To protect your privacy your browser only permits a web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent.

Mikibo allow some other companies, called ad networks, to serve advertisements within our web pages. Ad networks include third party ad servers, ad agencies, ad technology vendors and research firms. Because your web browser must request these advertisements from the ad network's servers, these companies can set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site. Advertisers' use of their cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, not this one. Advertisers or other companies do not have access to Mikibo's cookies.

WILL MIKIBO SHARE MY INFORMATION WITH ANYONE?

Information about our customers is an important part of our business. We do not rent or sell your personally identifying information to other companies or individuals, unless we have your consent. We may share such information in any of the following limited circumstances:

- We have your consent. Other than as set out above, you will receive notice when information about you might go to third parties, and you will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.

- We provide such information to trusted businesses or persons for the sole purpose of processing personally identifying information on our behalf. When this is done, it is subject to agreements that oblige those parties to process such information only on our instructions and in compliance with this Privacy Policy and appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

- We release personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law; enforce or apply our ‘Conditions of Use’ and other agreements; or protect the rights, property, or safety of Mikibo, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. Obviously, however, this does not include selling, renting, sharing, or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information from customers for commercial purposes in violation of the commitments set forth in this Privacy Policy.

- In the event of a transfer of ownership of Mikibo such as acquisition by or merger with another company. In such transactions, customer information generally is one of the transferred business assets but remains subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Policy. Also, in the event that Mikibo, or substantially all of its assets are acquired, customer information will of course be one of the transferred assets.

- Statistics from research may be shared with our partners, prospective partners, or advertisers when these data are aggregated (not individually identifiable) or averaged across many users. Examples of aggregated data include the number of users who lost weight using Mikibo or how many users clicked on a particular advertisement.

- Mikibo may target some ads to users that fit a certain profile. Mikibo does not provide any personal information to the advertiser when you interact with or view a targeted ad. However, when you view or interact with an ad the advertiser will know that you meet the targeting criteria.

HOW IS MY INFORMATION SECURED?

Mikibo takes appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data. Access to your personally identifying information is restricted to employees who need to know that information in order to operate, develop or improve our services.

Mikibo works to protect the security of your information during transmission and in storage by following generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. Mikibo will not be held responsible for events arising from unauthorised access of your personal information.

It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Be sure to sign off when finished using Mikibo. Please notify us immediately if there is any unauthorised use of your account by any other Internet user or any other breach of security.

Mikibo may store and process personal information collected on our site in Australia, the United States or any other country in which Mikibo or its agents maintain facilities. By using our services, you consent to the transfer of your information among these facilities, including those located outside your country.

CAN I ACCESS AND UPDATE OR DELETE MY INFORMATION?

Mikibo gives you access to a broad range of information about your account and your interactions with Mikibo for the limited purpose of viewing and, in certain cases, updating that information. Mikibo endeavours to ensure that the personal information it holds is accurate, complete and up-to-date. You can update your Mikibo membership information via the ‘Personal details' section on mikibo.com.

You can delete your Mikibo membership by visiting our help page. If you delete your Mikibo membership any personally identifying information will be deleted. You should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to Mikibo from our servers. The need to back-up our systems to protect information from inadvertent loss means that a copy of your personal information may exist in a non-erasable form that will be difficult or impossible for us to locate. Nevertheless, we promise that upon receiving your request, all personal information stored in the databases we actively use for research and daily business activities, and other readily searchable media, will be disabled.

IS THIS POLICY CARVED IN STONE?

Please note this Privacy Policy will change from time to time. Our business changes constantly, and our Privacy Notice and the ‘Conditions of Use’ will change also. Regardless, we will post those changes on this page, you should check this page frequently to see recent changes. Each version will be noted at the top of the page. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account.

About Mikibo - Privacy Policy - Conditions of Use - Sitemap

Information published by Mikibo is intended to provide general information only. It does not replace, nor should it be considered an alternative to, medical advice. It is provided with the understanding that neither Mikibo, Mikibo's management, nor its contributors are engaged in offering medical services or advice. In case of illness or injury, individuals should consult their own doctor or health professional.