Privacy Policy
Last Revised: November 10, 2020
Codesters, Inc. (“Codesters”) is committed to protecting your privacy. We have prepared this Privacy Policy to describe to you our practices regarding the Personal Data (as defined below) we collect from users of our website, located at www.codesters.com (the “Site”) and online services (“Services”). IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING CHILDREN UNDER 13: This Privacy Policy generally applies to the users of our Services. If however, a user identifies themselves as under the age of 13 (a “Child” or “Children”), we will collect, use and share the Child’s information as described in the subsection below entitled “A Special Note About Children”.
IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING SCHOOLS: This Privacy Policy does not govern your Child’s educational institution’s (“School”) collection, use, or disclosure of personal information through the Site or Service, and we are not responsible for any such collection, use, or disclosure. Parents, please contact your child’s School to understand the School’s privacy practices. 1. Questions; Contacting Codesters; Reporting Violations. If you have any questions or concerns or complaints about our Privacy Policy or our data collection or processing practices, or if you want to report any security violations to us, please contact us at the following address or phone number:
Codesters
228 Park Ave S, Ste 84521
New York, NY 10003
Attn: Chief Executive Officer
646-232-1025
[email protected]
2. User Consent. By submitting Personal Data through our Site or Services or if you are a parent or legal guardian (“Parent”) permitting your Child to submit Personal Data through our Site or Services, you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and you expressly consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your or your Child’s Personal Data, as applicable, in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Children may only use the Site and Services with prior consent, which has been provided to Codesters in accordance with the section entitled “A Special Note about Children”.
3. A Note to Users Outside of the United States. If you are a non U.S. user of the Site, by visiting the Site and providing us with data, you acknowledge and agree that your Personal Data may be processed for the purposes identified in the Privacy Policy. In addition, your Personal Data may be processed in the country in which it was collected and in the United States, where laws regarding processing of Personal Data may be less stringent than the laws in your country. By providing your data, you consent to such transfer.
4. Types of Data We Collect. “Personal Data” means data that allows someone to identify or contact you, including, for example, your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, as well as any other non-public information about you that is associated with or linked to any of the foregoing data. “Anonymous Data” means data that is not associated with or linked to your Personal Data; Anonymous Data does not, by itself, permit the identification of individual persons. We collect Personal Data and Anonymous Data, as described below.
(a) Information Users Provide to Us. We may request and collect certain information when you visit our Site.
• We may collect Personal Data from you, such as your first and last name, password, username, school name, and e-mail address when you create an account to log in to our Services (“Account”).
• We retain information on your behalf, such as files and messages that you store using your Account.
• If you provide us feedback or contact us via e-mail, we will collect your name and e-mail address, as well as any other content included in the e-mail, in order to send you a reply.
• When you create or post content (coding projects, images, sounds, messages, comments or any other kind of content) on our Site, the information contained in your posting will be stored in our servers and other users will be able to see it.
• We may also collect Personal Data at other points in our Site that state that Personal Data is being collected.
(b) Google ID. We may allow you to use your Google ID to set up an Account. If you wish to use your Google account you are taken to the Google website to login to your account and this information is then shared with us for the sole purpose of setting up your Account.
(c) Information Collected via Technology.
• Information Collected by Our Servers. To make our Site and Services more useful to you, our servers (which may be hosted by a third party service provider) collect information from you, including your browser type, operating system, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address (a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you use the Internet, which may vary from session to session), domain name, and/or a date/time stamp for your visit.
• Log Files. As is true of most websites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes IP addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (“ISP”), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data. We use this information to analyze trends, administer the Site, track users’ movements around the Site, gather demographic information about our user base as a whole, and better tailor our Services to our users’ needs. For example, some of the information may be collected so that when you visit the Site or the Services again, it will recognize you and the information could then be used to serve advertisements and other information appropriate to your interests. Except as noted in this Privacy Policy, we do not link this automatically-collected data to Personal Data.
• Cookies. Like many online services, we use cookies to collect information. “Cookies” are small pieces of information that a website sends to your computer’s hard drive while you are viewing the website. We may use both session Cookies (which expire once you close your web browser) and persistent Cookies (which stay on your computer until you delete them) to provide you with a more personal and interactive experience on our Site. This type of information is collected to make the Site more useful to you and to tailor the experience with us to meet your special interests and needs.
• Pixel Tags. In addition, we use “Pixel Tags” (also referred to as clear gifs, web beacons, or web bugs). Pixel Tags are tiny graphic images with a unique identifier, similar in function to Cookies, that are used to track online movements of web users. In contrast to Cookies, which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, Pixel Tags are embedded invisibly in Web pages and e-mails. Pixel Tags also allow us to send e-mails in a format users can read, and they tell us whether e-mails have been opened to ensure that we are sending only messages that are of interest to our users. We may use this information to reduce or eliminate messages sent to a user. We do not tie the information gathered by Pixel Tags to our users’ Personal Data.
• Do Not Track Signal. We currently respond to “do not track” signals from web browsers.
• Flash LSOs. When we post videos, third parties may use local shared objects, known as “Flash Cookies,” to store your preferences for volume control or to personalize certain video features. Flash Cookies are different from browser Cookies because of the amount and type of data and how the data is stored. Cookie management tools provided by your browser will not remove Flash Cookies. To learn how to manage privacy and storage settings for Flash Cookies, click here: http://www.macromedia.com/support/ documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager07.html.
• Analytics Services. We use third party analytics services (“Analytics Services”) to help analyze how users use our Site and Services. We use the information we get from Analytics Services only to improve our Site and Services. The information generated by the Cookies or other technologies about your use of our Site and Services (the “Analytics Information”) is transmitted to the Analytics Services. The Analytics Services use Analytics Information to compile reports on user activity. The Analytics Services may also transfer the Analytics Information to third parties where required to do so by law, or where such third parties process Analytics Information on their behalf. Each Analytics Service’s ability to use and share Analytics Information is restricted by such Analytics Service’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. By using our Site and Services, you consent to the processing of data about you by Analytics Services in the manner and for the purposes set out above. For a full list of Analytics Services, please contact us at [email protected].
(d) Information Collected from You About Others. If you are a teacher, we allow you to invite other teachers to create an Account, we will collect your and the third party’s names and e-mail addresses in order to send an e-mail and follow up with the third party. We rely upon you to obtain whatever consents from the third party that may be required by law to allow us to access and upload the third party’s names and e-mail addresses as required above. You or the third party may contact us at [email protected] to request the removal of this information from our database. The e-mail that is sent to your friends will come from your e-mail address so that your friends know that you want to invite them to visit the Site.
5. Use of Your Personal Data (a) General Use. In general, Personal Data you submit to us is used either to respond to requests that you make, or to aid us in serving you better. We use your Personal Data in the following ways:
• facilitate the creation of and secure your Account on our network;
• identify you as a user in our system;
• provide improved administration of our Site and Services;
• provide the Services you request;
• improve the quality of experience when you interact with our Site and Services;
• send you a welcome e-mail to verify ownership of the e-mail address provided when your Account was created;
• send you administrative e-mail notifications, such as security, or support and maintenance advisories;
• respond to your inquiries related to employment opportunities or other requests; and
• send promotional materials related to our Services.
(b) User Testimonials. We often receive testimonials and comments from users who have had positive experiences with our Services. We occasionally publish such content along with the user’s Personal Data after obtaining consent from the user.
(c) Creation of Anonymous Data. We may create Anonymous Data records from Personal Data by excluding information (such as your name) that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We use this Anonymous Data to analyze request and usage patterns so that we may enhance the content of our Services and improve Site navigation. We reserve the right to use Anonymous Data for any purpose and disclose Anonymous Data to third parties in our sole discretion.
6. Disclosure of Your Personal Data. We disclose Personal Data as described below and as described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy.
(a) Users. We will share your Personal Data with other users solely for the purpose of providing the Services. If you or your Child are using the Services in connection with a School program, we may share your Child’s Personal Data with the Child’s School (as defined below) in accordance with the section entitled “A Special Note about Children”.
(b) Public Posts. When you create and post projects on our Services or make any comments, you should be aware that any Personal Data you submit there can be read, collected, or used by other users of the Services, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. We cannot control who reads your postings or what other users may do with the information that you voluntarily post, so it is very important that you do not put Personal Data in your posts. Once you have posted information publicly, while you will still be able to edit and delete it on the Site, you will not be able to edit or delete such information cached, collected, and stored elsewhere by others.
(c) Third Party Service Providers. We may share your Personal Data with third party service providers to: provide you with the Services that we offer you through our Site; to conduct quality assurance testing; to facilitate creation of accounts; to provide technical support; and/or to provide other services to Codesters. These third party service providers are required not to use your Personal Data other than to provide the services requested by Codesters.
(d) Affiliates. We may share some or all of your Personal Data with our affiliates, subsidiaries, joint ventures, or other companies under a common control (“Affiliates”), in which case we will require our Affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy.
(e) Corporate Restructuring. We may share some or all of your Personal Data in connection with or during negotiation of any merger, financing, acquisition or dissolution transaction or proceeding involving sale, transfer, divestiture, or disclosure of all or a portion of our business or assets. In the event of an insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership, Personal Data may also be transferred as a business asset. If another company acquires our company, business, or assets, that company will possess the Personal Data collected by us and will assume the rights and obligations regarding your Personal Data as described in this Privacy Policy.
(f) Other Disclosures. Regardless of any choices you make regarding your Personal Data (as described below), Codesters may disclose Personal Data if it believes in good faith that such disclosure is necessary (a) in connection with any legal investigation; (b) to comply with relevant laws or to respond to subpoenas or warrants served on Codesters; (c) to protect or defend the rights or property of Codesters or users of the Site or Services; and/or (d) to investigate or assist in preventing any violation or potential violation of the law, this Privacy Policy, or our Terms of Use.
7. Third Party Websites. Our Site may contain links to third party websites. When you click on a link to any other website or location, you will leave our Site and go to another site, and another entity may collect Personal Data or Anonymous Data from you. We have no control over, do not review, and cannot be responsible for, these outside websites or their content. Please be aware that the terms of this Privacy Policy do not apply to these outside websites or content, or to any collection of your Personal Data after you click on links to such outside websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of every website you visit. The links to third party websites or locations are for your convenience and do not signify our endorsement of such third parties or their products, content or websites.
8. Your Choices Regarding Information. You have several choices regarding the use of information on our Service:
(a) Email Communications. When you receive promotional e-mails from us, you may indicate a preference to stop receiving further communications from us and you will have the opportunity to “opt-out” by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the e-mail you receive or by contacting us directly (please see contact information above). Despite your indicated e-mail preferences, we may send you service related communications, including notices of any updates to our Terms of Use or Privacy Policy.
(b) Cookies. If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to accept Cookies from our Service for any of the purposes described above, then you can instruct your browser, by changing its settings, to stop accepting Cookies or to prompt you before accepting a Cookie from the websites you visit. Consult your browser’s technical information. If you do not accept Cookies, however, you may not be able to use all portions of the Service or all functionality of the Service. If you have any questions about how to disable or modify Cookies, please let us know at the contact information provided above.
(c) Changing or Deleting Your Personal Data. You may change any of your Personal Data in your Account by editing your profile within your Account or by sending an e-mail to us at [email protected]. You may request deletion of your Personal Data by us, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to honor your request, but please note that we may be required to keep such information and not delete it (or to keep this information for a certain time, in which case we will comply with your deletion request only after we have fulfilled such requirements). When we delete any information, it will be deleted from the active database, but may remain in our archives. We may also retain your information for fraud or similar purposes.
9. A Special Note About Children
(a) Reliance on School Consent. We are required under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), with limited exceptions, to obtain verifiable parental consent in order to collect, use or disclose personal information from Children. If a Child wants to use our Service, he/she must first obtain a course key for our Services from a teacher of the Child’s School (“Course Key”). Before a Course Key is provided to a teacher of a Child’s School, we require that the School (on behalf of the Child’s Parent) to consent to the collection, use and disclosure of personal information of the Child in accordance with this Privacy Policy. COPPA allows us to presume that the School’s authorization for the collection of a Child’s Personal Data is based upon the School having obtained the Parents’ consent.
(b) Requests through School. As required under COPPA, we allow Parents to make certain choices regarding the personal information submitted by their Children as described in this subsection. Parents should make any permitted requests with the School and have the School, as the Parent’s agent, pass on those requests to us. We may rely on the instructions that we receive from the School that we reasonably believe are given by a Child’s Parent to the School. For example, if a representative of the Child’s School contacts us, we may assume that the person calling is acting on behalf of the Child’s Parent.
(c) Children’s Information We Collect, Use and Share. In general, we collect the same information from Children that we collect from other users of the Services, and use and share such information for the same purposes. We do not require a Child to disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in an activity. In addition, we may disclose a Child’s Personal Data to the Child’s School in connection with the Child’s class for educational purposes and to allow Schools to access the Services to interact with Parents and their Children. The School may also share the Child’s Personal Data with us so that we may provide the Services to the Child for educational purposes. We may add all of this information to any other information we collect from the Child via the Service, and we may use it as described in this Privacy Policy. We also may share the Child’s Personal Data with the Child’s Parent’s Consent, or with the Child’s School or those directed by your Child’s School. We are not responsible for any errors in information the Child’s School provides to us.
(d) Parent’s Choices Regarding Children’s Information. In general, we offer Parents the same choices that we generally offer to other users with respect to the collection, use, retention and disclosure of their Child’s information. In addition, a Parent has the right to review the Child’s Personal Data, which the Parent may obtain by contacting the Child’s School. After review the Child’s Personal Data, the Parent may ask us to update or delete the Child’s Personal Data by requesting such changes through the Child’s School. A Parent may prohibit us from sharing a Child’s Personal Data with a third party by requesting such prohibition through the Child’s School. Notwithstanding any such requests, we may continue to share a Child’s Personal Data for internal purposes and enforcement purposes. If a Parent chooses to prohibit any future collection, use or disclosure of the Child’s Personal Data, the Parent may do so by terminating the Child’s Account through the School, and requesting the deletion of the Child’s Personal Data through the School. Upon receiving such request from the Child’s School, we will delete the Child’s Account information from our live databases and all information and data stored for such Account. Codesters will not have any liability whatsoever for any termination of the Account or related deletion of the Child’s Personal Data. When we delete Personal Data, it will be deleted from our active databases but may remain in our archives.
10. Changes to This Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time for any reason. We will notify you of any changes to our Privacy Policy by posting the new Privacy Policy here www.codesters.com/privacy/ and we will change the “Last Updated” date above. You should consult this Privacy Policy regularly for any changes.
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