Privacy Policy

This page states the Privacy Policy applicable to the shoplocal.com™ website (the "Website") as of May 4, 2007. Please read this page carefully. As used herein, the words “user,” “you” and “your” mean users of the Website and the words “we,” “our,” and “ShopLocal” mean ShopLocal, LLC, the owner and operator of the Website.

P3P

The Website is in compliance with the current draft of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) specification. This specification was developed to allow users to more easily evaluate the use of personal information collected by the web sites they visit. Thus, if your browser is Microsoft Internet Explorer Version 6, or later, your browser can electronically interpret the P3P version of our privacy policies.

Collection and use of non-personal information

If you visit the Website, we do not collect any personally identifiable information about you (such as your name, address, phone number or email address) unless you provide it, as described under “Collection of personal information” below. We do, however, collect non-personally-identifiable (anonymous) information about you, such as the server your computer is logged into or your browser type. Other examples of non-personally-identifiable information include:

• Your ZIP Code and/or City, State
• Your IP address (a unique number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the Web; many Web servers automatically identify your computer by its IP address).
• Your domain type (i.e., .com, .net, .edu, etc.).
• Standard information included with every communication sent on the Internet, such as browser type, operating system, browser language, service provider, and local time.

ShopLocal collects data from the Web logs of its servers -- the computers that "serve up" Web pages -- delivering the ShopLocal content. This includes information about what you view and, along with information gathered from our other users, we create "aggregate data" reports that we may disclose to third parties, including our clients with whom we have entered into an agreement to provide such information. We may also study aggregate data in order to enhance our existing services or develop new services. We will not disclose any personal information to a third party without your express prior written authorization. We can and will use IP addresses to identify a user when we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with our terms of use or to protect our service, site, customers, or others.

We use third-party advertising companies and advertising networks to serve ads to you on our behalf when you visit our Web site. These companies may use information (not including your name, address email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/optout_nonppii.asp.

Use of browser based cookies and web beacons

ShopLocal uses browser based cookies and/or flash shared objects, which are small text files placed on your computer's hard drive, and web beacons (also known as pixel tags), which are electronic images embedded into a web page, on the Website. Cookies and web beacons are used for record keeping, to track your movements when you visit the Website and to help us determine what type of information to present to you. The use of cookies and web beacons is an industry standard - you'll find them used at most Web sites. Our cookies and web beacons do not contain any personally identifiable information about you, and do not damage or alter your system files in any way. The first time you visit the Website, ShopLocal assigns you a unique, anonymous ID, which is stored in the cookie on your computer.

Collection of personal information

You must provide personal information in order to use certain optional features of the Website, including, but not limited to, e-mail alerts, coupons and sweepstakes. The manner in which we will use your personal information will be disclosed on the page through which you sign up or otherwise provide information to use the feature. We will, and by your use of these optional features you expressly authorize us to, use the information you provide in order to provide these optional features.

Unless you explicitly ask us to or as disclosed when you sign up for an optional feature, we will not share any personal information that you provide with any third party or use the information for any purpose other than to provide the specific feature that you request.

Who is collecting your information

Your information is being collected solely by ShopLocal and as discussed under "Collection and use of non-personal information" above, third-party advertising companies and advertising networks. See the discussion under "With whom your information may be shared" below concerning the circumstances under which certain of your information may be disclosed to third parties.

With whom your information may be shared

ShopLocal does not sell, trade or rent your personal information to others. We may provide information to others as follows:

(a) as discussed above under "Collection and use of non-personal information," we may provide aggregate statistics about our users, traffic patterns and related site information to our clients or for other marketing and promotional purposes.

(b) We may provide information to our affiliates for whom we have created co-branded or private label versions of the Website.

(c) We may provide information to third parties to the extent necessary to enable them to provide services on the Website, such as delivery or tracking of advertisements, or to provide information or services requested by you.

In each instance, your information would not be used in any manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy without your prior permission.

Retention of information

Any information we collect may be retained for an indeterminate period of time.

Confidentiality and Security

ShopLocal has implemented generally accepted standards of technology security in order to protect information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. Only employees of ShopLocal have access to the information we collect, and these employees are made aware of and required to comply with our privacy policy.

Links to Other Sites

The Website may provide links to an external Web site. When you click on such a link, you will leave ShopLocal. The privacy policy of the external Web site will then be in effect, not ShopLocal’s. ShopLocal does not control or makes an endorsement of any kind regarding the external site or its privacy policy. ShopLocal’s policy does not extend to anything that is inherent in the operation of the Internet, and therefore beyond ShopLocal’s control, and is not to be applied in any manner contrary to applicable law or governmental regulation. We do not control cookies from the other sites that you may link to from ShopLocal.

Children

The Website is not a commercial Web site or an online service directed to children under 13 years of age and our content and other services are not written, intended, or designed for children under the age of 13. To ensure that ShopLocal stays in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), we review the details of COPPA on a regular basis.

Changes to this privacy policy

All versions of this privacy policy are dated with the effective date (the date on which the policy was posted to ShopLocal). ShopLocal will only use the information we learn about you in the manner described in the Privacy Policy in effect when the information was collected from you. However, we reserve the right to change the terms of this Privacy Policy at any time by posting revisions to our site.

Changes in corporate structure

If ShopLocal is sold, merged or otherwise transferred to another entity, the personal information you have provided at this site may be transferred as part of that transaction. However, we will take steps to assure that any personal information is used in a manner consistent with the ShopLocal privacy policy under which it was collected.

Effect of Legal Obligations upon this Privacy Policy

ShopLocal may disclose user information in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to comply with law, to cooperate with or seek assistance from law enforcement, to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) ShopLocal’s rights or property, other ShopLocal users, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities. ShopLocal may disclose user information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it.

Effect of Privacy Policy

This privacy policy is not intended to and does not create any contractual or legal rights in or on behalf of any party. As noted above, we may revise this privacy policy from time to time in our sole discretion.

Questions

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at privacy@ShopLocal.com