What information do we gather about you?

The information we gather falls into two categories: 1) personal information you voluntarily supply when you subscribe, order, complete a survey, register for an online discussion, enter a contest or provide your e-mail address and 2) tracking information collected as you navigate through our Site.

Personally Identifiable Information

Registration for our Web sites

Anyone can view the Site, but a free registration process is required to access the full range of information and services we offer. The Site requires that you supply a unique e-mail address and demographic information (zip code, age, sex, household income to register. By using the Site, you are agreeing to the terms of our Member Agreement accessible on the applicable Halifax Site your are using).

Contests, Sweepstakes and Special Offers

On occasion, we collect personal information from readers in connection with optional sweepstakes, contests or special offers. If this information is to be shared with a third party other than a Halifax company, we will notify you at the time of collection. If you do not want any personal information shared, you may always decline to participate in the sweepstakes, contest or special offer.

Reader Surveys, Reader Panels and Market Research

We may collect personal information from readers in connection with voluntary surveys. Data may be collected on our Web sites, on the phone or through the mail. The information you provide in answer to optional survey questions may be shared, but only in the aggregate, with advertisers and partners unless we notify you otherwise at the time of collection.

Mobile Messaging Service

We may elect to offer certain text messaging services (the "SMS Service"). We use the information collected from your interaction with the SMS Service solely for the purposes of improving the SMS Service. The information will not be provided, sold, licensed, rented, assigned or disclosed, except as required by law. We will not use your phone number to initiate a call or SMS text message to you without your express prior consent. Your wireless carrier and other service providers also collect data about your SMS Service usage: their practices are governed by their own privacy policies.

We collect the mobile phone number you use to send us a text message and the content of the messages sent between you and the applicable Halifax company. When you send a text message to us or through our Site, we log the incoming phone number, the wireless provider associated with the number, and the date and time of the transaction. The only information we automatically collect is that related to the use of our Mobile Services. We use this data to analyze the message traffic in order to operate, develop and improve our SMS Service.

Non-personally Identifiable Information

Information Collected by Us using Technology

As is standard practice on many Web sites, we use "cookies", Web Beacons and other similar technologies to recognize you and provide personalization, as well as to help us understand, where our visitors are going and how much time they spend there. You will not be able to access certain areas of our Web sites, including the Site, if your computer does not accept cookies from us. We reserve the right to place a cookie on your computer with a unique anonymous number to ensure that your browser does not see the same ad over and over again, to sequence ads in a series and to measure the number of unique visitors that have viewed a particular ad or visited a particular Web page. For more detailed information about our use of cookies, see the "Cookies" section on the Registration FAQ.

Information Collected by Third Parties using Technology

Some of the services and/or advertisements on certain of our Web sites (including the Site) are delivered or served by third-party companies that may place or recognize cookies or Web Beacon to track certain non-personally identifiable information about our Web site users. For example, in the course of serving certain advertisements, some advertisers may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser, in order to collect certain non-personally identifiable information about your visits to our Web sites and other Web sites. In many cases, this information could be used to show you ads based on your interests on other Web sites.

We do not have access to, nor control over, advertisers' or service providers' cookies or how they may be used.

What do we do with the information we gather about you?

Statistical Analysis

We may perform statistical, demographic and marketing analyses of subscribers, and their subscribing and purchasing patterns, for product development purposes and to generally inform advertisers about the nature of our subscriber base. We also use such information to allow advertising to be targeted, in aggregate, to the users for whom such advertising is most pertinent.

Products and Service Message from Us

From time to time, we may provide subscribers with information and offers about other products and services offered by us, including subscriptions and other premium products and services. This information will only be shared internally. If you do not wish to receive such information and offers, you may opt-out. To opt-out of offers by mail please go here.

Banner Advertising

We may use behavioral, demographic and preference information to allow advertising on our Web sites to be targeted, in aggregate, to the users for whom they are most pertinent. This means users see advertising that is most likely to interest them, and advertisers send their messages to people who are most likely to be receptive, improving both the viewer's experience and the effectiveness of the ads. We will disclose information to third parties only in aggregate form.

User Generated Content (Message Boards, Forums, Reader Reviews and Chats)

We offer message boards for readers in a number of areas throughout our Web sites. The message boards are currently hosted and managed by trusted third party service providers. Any information you disclose when posting to a message board, along with your message board screen name or ID, becomes public and may be used by us for online and offline promotional or commercial uses in any and all media. Chats are also currently hosted by trusted third party service providers , and any posting to a chat becomes public as soon as they are published online. For more information, see the Terms of Service.

E-Mail Newsletters

If you choose to receive them, we will periodically send you e-mail newsletters or promotional e-mail about services we offer and our advertisers. For details about e-mails we send, please see the next section, "What Is Our E-mail Policy?".

What is our e-mail policy?

We comply fully with the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. We will not share, sell, rent, swap or authorize any third party to use your e-mail address without your permission. If you feel you have received an e-mail from us in error, please contact us using the Contact Us feature on our Site.

Account and Service-Related E-mail:

We reserve the right to send you e-mail relating to your account status. This includes order confirmations, renewal/expiration notices, notices of credit-card problems, other transactional e-mails and notifications about major changes to the Site and/or to our Privacy Policy. If you have registered for online discussions or other services, you may receive e-mail specific to your participation in those activities.

E-mail Newsletters:

We offer e-mail newsletters. If you no longer wish to receive a specific newsletter, follow the "unsubscribe" instructions located near the bottom of each newsletter.

Promotional E-mail:

If you chose to receive them during the registration process, we may periodically e-mail you messages about products and services that we think may be of interest to you. You can choose not to receive messages in the future by following the "unsubscribe" instructions located near the bottom of each e-mail. From time to time, we may obtain e-mail addresses from third party sources to be used for promotional e-mails. You can choose not to receive messages in the future by following the "unsubscribe" instructions located near the bottom of each e-mail.

Survey E-mail:

If you have not opted out, we may send you an e-mail inviting you to participate in user surveys, asking for feedback on the Site and existing or prospective products and services, as well as information to better understand our users. User surveys greatly help us to improve our Web site, and any information we obtain in such surveys will not be shared with third parties, except in aggregate form.

E-mails From You:

If you send us e-mails, you should be aware that information disclosed in e-mails may not be secure or encrypted and thus may be available to others. We suggest that you exercise caution when deciding to disclose any personal or confidential information in e-mails. We will use your e-mail address to respond directly to your questions or comments.

E-mail This Article Feature:

Readers may use this feature to send links to articles to others through e-mail. The e-mail address(es) that you supply to this service will only be used to send the requested article.

With whom do we share the information that we gather?

If you have registered to one of our sites, we will not sell, rent, swap or authorize any third party to use your e-mail address or any information that personally identifies you without your permission. We do, however, share information about our audience in aggregate form.

If you are a print subscriber to a Halifax publication and you subscribed either by mail, phone or online, we may exchange or rent your name and mailing address (but not your e-mail address) with other reputable companies that offer marketing information or products through direct mail. If you prefer that we do not share this information, you may opt-out by support@halifaxmediagroup.com.

Service Providers

We contract with other companies to provide services on our behalf, including credit-card and billing processing, shipping, e-mail distribution, list processing and analytics or promotions management. We provide these companies only with the information they need to perform their services. These service providers are restricted from using this data in any way other than to provide services for us, and they may not share or resell this data.

We reserve the right to disclose your opt-out information to third parties so they can suppress your name from future solicitations, in accordance with applicable laws. We may occasionally release personal information as required by law, for example, to comply with a court order or subpoena. (For more information, see the "Compliance with legal process" section of this policy.)

Transfer in the Event of Sale or Change of Control.

If the ownership of all or substantially all of our business changes or we otherwise transfer assets relating to our business or the Site to a third party, such as by merger, acquisition, bankruptcy proceeding or otherwise, we may transfer or sell your personal information to the new owner. In such a case, unless permitted otherwise by applicable law, your information would remain subject to the promises made in the applicable privacy policy unless you agree differently.

How do I change or update my personal information?

Manage your account at Member Center: You may review and update your membership or account information and access your transaction history in the Member Center for the applicable Site. There are a number of things you can do in the Member Center to ensure your personal information is accurate and up to date. For one, you can update the information you provided during the free registration process, sign up for our e-mail newsletters and manage your home and email newsletter delivery options. To gain access to the areas of the Member Center containing personal information, you will be asked to enter your password. If you do not remember your password, you can reset your password. If you need further assistance, please contact us by visiting the Contact Us page on the applicable Site you are using.

How do I opt-out from receiving promotional offers?

E-mail Promotions

Follow the unsubscribe options at the bottom of the e-mail.

Is my information protected?

Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy and ensure the appropriate use of information, we have put in place physical, electronic and managerial procedures to protect the information we collect online. However, since the Internet is not a 100% secure environment, we cannot guarantee, ensure, or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. There is no guarantee that information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. It is your responsibility to protect the security of your login information. Please note that e-mails and other communications you send to us through our Site are not encrypted, and we strongly advise you not to communicate any confidential information through these means.

Other Information: Compliance with Legal Process

We will share personal information with third party companies, organizations or individuals outside of Company if we have a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to:

• Meet any applicable law, regulation, subpoena, legal process or enforceable governmental request.
• Enforce applicable Terms of Use or Member Agreements, including investigation of potential violations.
• Detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues.
• Protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of Company, our users, customers or the public as required or permitted by law.

Other Information: Children's Information

If you are under the age of 13, please do not attempt to register with us at this Site or provide any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will promptly delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from a child under the age of 13, please contact us through the Contact Us page on the applicable Halifax Site.

Other Information: Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time. Any such changes will be posted on this page. If we make a significant or material change in the way we use your personal information, the change will be posted on this page thirty (30) days prior to taking effect. Registered users will be notified via e-mail. We will not reduce your rights under this Privacy Policy without your consent to the extent required by and in accordance with applicable law.