PRIVACY POLICY
Homestarts Incorporated is committed to protecting your privacy and support a general policy of openness about how your personal information is collected, used and disclosed. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you about the Homestarts Incorporated practices relating to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information that you voluntarily provide to us through the use of our website currently located at www.homestarts.org ("Our Website"). This Privacy Policy does not apply to information provided through the members-only section of Our Website, nor does it apply to employee personal information held by Homestarts Incorporated. This Privacy Policy also explains how you can contact us if you have a question about, want to make a change to or delete any personal information that Homestarts Incorporated may be holding about you. It is strongly recommend that you take the time to read this Privacy Policy and retain it for future reference.
1 / PERSONAL INFORMATION
For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, "personal information" means information about an identifiable individual, but does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.
2 / WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT
The personal information collected may include, but is not restricted to, the following:
Contact information (for example, your name, street address, city, province, postal code, e-mail address, telephone number and fax number) that you provide. Demographic information (for example, your age, birth date, occupation, lifestyle, household information and mushroom-related and other consumption habits) that you provide.
3 / HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your personal information will be used only for the purposes for which you voluntarily provide it to us.
These purposes include sending you, by way of e-mail or mailings, materials that you have requested such as newsletters, updates and other information items. You may ask us to stop sending you such materials at any time.
4 / WHEN WE DISCLOSE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We will not sell, license, trade or rent your personal information to or with third parties.
Homestarts Incorporated reserves the right to disclose personal information to a third party if a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order legally requires or authorizes us to do so.
5 / KNOWLEDGE AND CONSENT
Homestarts Incorporated collects personal information about you only when you voluntarily provide it. Typically, we will seek consent for the use or disclosure of your personal information at the time of collection. In certain circumstances, consent may be sought after the information has been collected but before use (for example, when we want to use information for a purpose not previously identified).
The form of consent that we seek, whether it is express or implied, will largely depend on the sensitivity of the personal information and the reasonable expectations of the individual in the circumstances.
We will not, as a condition of the supply of a product or service, require you to consent to the collection, use or disclosure of information beyond that which is required to fulfill the purposes for which the information is being provided by you. However, your voluntary provision of additional information helps us to improve and expand the educational and information services that we offer and to conduct research about mushroom-related consumption.
You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice, by contacting us.
6 / HOW WE PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Homestarts Incorporated makes all commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the personal information that you provide to us is protected against loss and unauthorized access. This protection applies in relation to information stored in both electronic and hard copy form. Access to your personal information is restricted to selected employees or representatives. In addition, Homestarts Incorporated employs generally accepted information security techniques, such as firewalls, and access control procedures to protect personal information against loss and unauthorized access.
7 / RETENTION OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Homestarts Incorporated retains your personal information only for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected and to comply with applicable laws.
For example, the information that you provide to us through contest and sweepstakes entries is retained only for the duration of the contest and any further period required to generate aggregate research about mushroom-related consumption. When you provide information about mushroom consumption or related matters, we aggregate the information before using it for research purposes, and do not retain your personal information once aggregation is complete. The information that you provide to us when you request materials from us is retained only for as long as is required to process your request.
8 / ACCESSING AND UPDATING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
Upon your request, we will make all commercially reasonable efforts to make the personal information that we hold about you available to you. In certain limited circumstances, such as where the information is prohibitively costly to provide, the information contains references to other individuals, or the information cannot be disclosed for legal or security reasons, we may not be able to make all of the information that you have requested available to you. You may request access to your personal information by contacting us.
You can help us maintain the accuracy of your personal information by contacting us and notifying us of any changes to this information.
9 / COMPLAINTS
If you have reason to believe that Homestarts Incorporated may have failed to comply with this Privacy Policy, you may make a complaint by contacting us.
10 / LINKS TO THIRD PARTY SITES
Our Website may offer links to other third party websites. You should be aware that operators of linked websites may also collect your personal information (including information generated through the use of cookies) when you link to their websites. Homestarts Incorporated is not responsible for how such third parties collect, use or disclose your personal information, so it is important to familiarize yourself with their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information.
11 / CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
Homestarts Incorporated reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time without notice. The Privacy Policy posted at any time or from time to time via Our Website shall be deemed to be the Privacy Policy currently in effect.
12 / CONTACTING US
In the event that you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or for any of the other reasons indicated above, you may contact us at the addresses noted on our contact page.