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Last Updated: 4/19/2023

CompareNetworks, Inc., its affiliates, brands, and subsidiaries ("CompareNetworks", “Company,” "we" “our”, or "us") values your privacy and takes its data protection and privacy responsibilities seriously. We are based at 395 Oyster Point Blvd, STE 300, South San Francisco, CA 94080, and SEQanswers (www.seqanswers.com) is a brand of CompareNetworks.

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes how CompareNetworks collects, uses, discloses, and otherwise processes the personal information we collect when you visit any of our websites, including https://www.seqanswers.com/, or any other websites we own or control that post or link to this Policy (collectively, the “Sites”), download or use our applications, platforms, or other products and services that display or include a link to this Policy, or otherwise interact or engage with us or the services available through our Sites (collectively, the “Services”).

In addition to the information contained in this Policy, if you are a resident of the European Union (“EU”) or United Kingdom (“UK”), please see “Special Information for EU and UK Residents” below for further information relevant to you.

By visiting the Sites, or using any of our Services, you agree that your personal information will be handled as described in this Policy. Your use of our Services and any dispute over privacy, is subject to this Policy and our Terms of Use, available at [URL], including their applicable terms governing limitations on damages and the resolution of disputes.

WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND WHEN AND WHY WE USE IT

HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

HOW WE DISCLOSE AND SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION

MARKETING PREFERENCES

TRANSFERRING PERSONAL INFORMATION GLOBALLY

SECURITY AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING MECHANISMS

CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

CONTACT US

SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR EU AND UK RESIDENTS


WHAT PERSONAL INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND WHEN WE USE IT

In this section you can find out more about:

  • The types of personal information we collect; and
  • When we collect personal information.

When We Collect Personal Information

We collect personal information from or about you if you:

  • Visit or use our Sites or Services on an unregistered or registered basis (“Site Users”);
  • Participate in one of our events, contests, or sweepstakes (“Participants”); or
  • Work with us as a business partner (“Business Partners”).

collectively ("you").

Personal Information We Collect

As further described below, the personal information we collect about you varies depending upon the circumstances in which you interact or engage with us, including if you are an unregistered or registered Site User, Participant, or Business Partner. Depending on the Services you use and how you use them, we collect personal information directly from you, automatically through your use of the Sites and Services, and from other, third-party sources.

Personal Information Collected Directly From You. You can visit our Sites and use certain features without registering. However, certain features of our Services may require you to register or to otherwise provide us with your personal information. Depending upon your use of our Services and our interactions with you (i.e., if you are a Site User, Participant, or Business Partner), we may collect the following personal information through your use of our Services:

  • Registration and Profile Information. When you register for an account with us, we collect your first and last name, email address, password, company/institution name, type of institution (i.e., the respective industry), job role/title or position, and country of residence. We also collect information related to your subscription preferences and the types of newsletters you wish to receive.
  • Communications and Interactions. If you contact us or otherwise communicate with us, including if you submit information using any forms available via our Sites or Services, we collect the nature of the communication, your message, your name, your email address, and other information you so choose to provide in connection with your communication, in order to both respond to you and improve our Services. When you email, call, or otherwise communicate with us and with members of our team, we collect and maintain a record of your contact details, communications, and our responses.
  • Reviews, Testimonials, and Feedback. If you submit a review, testimonial, or otherwise provide comments or feedback on our Site or via our Services, we collect the information contained within the postings, which may include personal information. Additionally, if you use a blog or forum on our Sites, we collect any personal information you submit via these blogs or forums. Please note that if you submit personal information via comments, feedback, testimonials, or through our blogs or forums, it can be read, collected, or used by other users of our Services, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. We only post customer comments or testimonials on our website that may contain personal information, if you have first consented. We request such consent via e-mail prior to posting the comment or testimonial to post the reviewer’s name along with their comment or testimonial. To update or delete your comments or testimonials, or to otherwise request removal of your personal information from our blog, please contact us at [email protected].
  • Referral Information. If you choose to use our referral service to e-mail a friend an article or blog post from our Sites, we collect your friend's name and e-mail address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time e-mail inviting them to visit the page you recommended. We store this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time e-mail and tracking the success of our referral program. Your friend may contact us at [email protected] to request that we remove this information from our database.
  • Marketing, Contests, and Promotions. When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and other contact information, including to provide you with promotional information about our Services. If you participate in sweepstakes, contests and promotions that we offer, you will be asked to provide your name and email address; and in some cases, we may ask survey questions, the answers of which may include other personal information.
  • Events, Preferences, and Other Requests. When you participate in one of our surveys or questionnaires, we may collect information such as user satisfaction or other information related to your use of our Services. We also may collect information about your preferences, including communications preferences and other preferences you provide when interacting with us. Additionally, if you participate in our events, including if you register for or attend an event that we host or sponsor, we may collect information related to your registration. We also may collect any other preferences or requests that you submit to us related to your use of our Services.

Personal Information We Collect Automatically. We and our service providers automatically collect personal information related to your use of our Services and interactions with us and others, including through the use of cookies, pixel tags, and other similar technologies. The personal information we and our service providers may automatically collect includes:

  • Device and Browsing Information. We collect information such as IP addresses, date and time of access, type of web browser, general location information as determined by users’ IP address, operating system and interface, language and version of browser software, session information (such as download errors and page response times) for the purpose of system administration in analysing such aggregated information to improve the quality and services of our Sites. As further described below, this information is used to personalize your experience on our Sites and also used as feedback to improve our Services – see our Cookie Policy for further information.
  • Activities and Usage. We also collect activity information related to your use of the Services, such as information about the links clicked, searches, features used, items viewed, time spent within the Services, files uploaded, and products and items you view.

To the extent permitted by law, we may combine this information with other information that we have collected about you. For more information about our use of cookies and other similar technologies, please see the “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” section below.

Personal Information Collected From Other Sources. We may collect and receive personal information about you from other sources, such as from business partners, advertising networks, data analytics providers, social networks, Internet service providers, operating systems and platforms, government entities, public databases, data brokers, and vendors and service providers who provide services on our behalf.

HOW WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION

In this section you can find out more about:
  • How we use personal information.

We collect, use, disclose and otherwise process the personal information we collect about you for the following purposes:

  • Services and Support. To provide and operate our Services, communicate with you about your use of the Services, provide troubleshooting and technical support, respond to your inquiries, communicate with you about the Services, provide customer care services, to maintain our client relationship management systems, and for other similar support purposes.
  • Analytics and Improvement. To better understand how users access and use the Services and our other products and offerings, and for other research and analytical purposes, such as to evaluate and improve our Services and business operations, to develop our Services and its features, and for internal quality control and training purposes.
  • Customization and PersonalizationIncluding to tailor content we send or display on our Sites and Services; to offer personalized help and instructions; to tailor your Site experiences; and otherwise personalize your experiences with the Services.
  • Marketing and Promotions. For marketing and promotional purposes. For example, to send you information about our Services, such as newsletters and other marketing content, including information about our events, technologies, and new offerings, as well as any other information that you sign up to receive.
  • Research and Surveys. To administer surveys and questionnaires, such as for market research or user satisfaction purposes.
  • Planning and Managing Events. For event planning and management purposes, including webinar planning and registration, attendance, and contacting you about relevant events and Services.
  • Security and Protection of Rights. To protect the Services and our business operations, and to protect our rights or those of our stakeholders; to prevent and detect fraud, unauthorized activities and access, and other misuse, including to verify the legitimacy of your account and to avoid fraudulent accounts being created; to inform you about system issues; where we believe necessary to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety or legal rights of any person or third party, or violations of our Terms of Use.
  • Compliance and Legal Process. To comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations, including as part of a judicial proceeding; to respond to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal process; or as part of an investigation or request, whether formal or informal, from law enforcement or a governmental authority. We also use personal information to detect investigate, report, and seek to prevent fraud and anti-money laundering, for example through know-your-customer checks, AML screening and other identity checks and to meet our obligations under any contracts we have with you; and to conduct credit and fraud checks on your business and certain officers of your business, such as directors.
  • Auditing, Reporting, and Other Internal Operations. To conduct financial, tax and accounting audits; audits and assessments of our operations, privacy, security and financial controls, risk, and compliance with legal obligations; our general business, accounting, record keeping and legal functions, and to maintain appropriate business records and enforce company policies and procedures.
  • General Business and Operational Support. To assess and implement mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, bankruptcies, financings and other business transactions and to administer our business, accounting, auditing, compliance, recordkeeping, and legal functions.

HOW WE DISCLOSE AND SHARE PERSONAL INFORMATION

In this section you can find out more about how we disclose and share personal information:
  • With our Affiliates ;
  • With vendors, services providers, and third parties that help us provide our products and services;
  • With marketing and analytics services providers;
  • In support of business transactions; and
  • Government organizations and agencies, law enforcement and regulators.

We disclose or otherwise share your personal information in the manner described above, and for the purposes described below:

  • Affiliates. We may disclose the information we collect from or about you to our corporate affiliates.
  • Vendors and Service Providers. We disclose the information we collect from or about you with vendors, service providers, and third parties (including our trusted partners) who help manage our business and deliver services and products, and who perform functions on our behalf, such as IT and website hosting, marketing and marketing research providers, customer support, data storage, analysis and processing providers.
  • Business Partners.CompareNetworks partners with other businesses to offer products and services, and we may disclose your personal information to those business partners.
  • Marketing and Analytics Providers. We may also disclose your personal information, such as device and browsing, and activities and usage information, with marketing and advertising networks, data analytics providers, and other companies who provide marketing or analytics services to us. For more information see the “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” section below.

We also disclose your personal information in the following circumstances:

  • In Support of Business Transactions. If we or our affiliates are or may be acquired by, merged with, or invested in by another company, or if any of our assets are or may be transferred to another company, whether as part of a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding or otherwise, we may share or transfer the personal information we have collected from you with or to the other company. We may also disclose certain personal information as necessary prior to the completion of such a transaction or other corporate transaction, such as a financing or restructuring, to lenders, auditors, and third-party advisors, including attorneys and consultants.
  • Compliance and Legal Obligations. We may share personal information with government organizations and agencies, law enforcement, regulators to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and rules, and requests of law enforcement, regulatory and other governmental agencies, and with credit reference agencies and organizations working to prevent fraud in financial services.
  • Security and Protection of Rights. We may disclose personal information where we believe doing so is necessary to protect the Services, our rights and property, or the rights, property and safety of others. For example, we may disclose personal information to (i) prevent, detect, investigate and respond to fraud, unauthorized activities and access, illegal activities, and misuse of the Services, (ii) situations involving potential threats to the health, safety or legal rights of any person or third party, or (iii) enforce, detect, investigate and take action in response to violations of our Terms of Use. We may also disclose information, including personal information, related to litigation and other legal claims or proceedings in which we are involved, as well as for our internal accounting, auditing, compliance, recordkeeping, and legal functions.
  • Aggregate and Non-Identifiable Information. We may share in aggregate, statistical form, non personal information regarding the visitors to our Sites, traffic patterns, and Site usage with our business partners, affiliates, sponsors, advertisers or other entities.

MARKETING PREFERENCES

In this section you can find out more about:
  • How we use personal information to keep you up to date with our products and services; and
  • How you can manage your marketing preferences.

How We Use Personal Information to Keep You Up To Date With Our Products and Services

We may use personal information to let you know about our products and services or the products and services of third parties who may be our customers or partners that we believe will be of interest to you. For example, if you provide your marketing preferences in the form of topic specific eNewsletters which reflect your research and marketing interests, you may receive special offers from our partners on those topics.

We may contact you by email, post/mail, or telephone or through other communication channels that we think you may find helpful. In all cases, we will respect your preferences for how you would like us to manage marketing activity with you.

How to Manage Your Marketing Preferences

To protect privacy rights and to ensure you have control over how we manage marketing with you:

  • We will take steps to limit marketing to a reasonable and proportionate level and only send you communications which we believe may be of interest or relevance to you.
  • You can ask us to stop marketing at any time you can ask us to stop sending email marketing by following the "unsubscribe" link you will find on all the email marketing messages we send you. Alternatively you can contact us at [email protected]. Please specify whether you would like us to stop all forms of marketing or just a particular type (e.g., email).
  • For information on how you can opt out of targeted advertisements that we may send to you, see “Industry Add Choices” below.

We recommend you routinely review the privacy notices and preference settings that are available to you on any social media platforms as well as your preferences within your account with us.

SECURITY AND RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Security

We have implemented and maintain appropriate technical and organizational security measures, policies and procedures designed to reduce the risk of accidental destruction or loss, or the unauthorized disclosure or access to such information appropriate to the nature of the information concerned.

Measures we take include:

  • placing confidentiality requirements on our staff members and service providers;
  • destroying or permanently anonymizing personal information if it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected;
  • following security procedures in the storage and disclosure of your personal information designed to prevent unauthorized access to it; and
  • using secure communication transmission software (known as "secure sockets layer" or "SSL") that encrypts all information you input on our website before it is sent to us. SSL is an industry standard encryption protocol and this ensure that the information is reasonably protected against unauthorized interception.

As the security of information depends in part on the security of the computer you use to communicate with us and the security you use to protect User IDs and passwords, please take appropriate measures to protect this information.

Retention

We will retain your personal information for as long as is reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, as explained in this Policy. In some circumstances, we may retain your personal information for longer periods of time, for instance where we are required to do so in accordance with legal, regulatory, tax, accounting requirements. Further, to the extent permitted by applicable law, we will retain and use your personal information as necessary to resolve disputes, maintain appropriate business records, and enforce our agreements.

In specific circumstances we may store your personal information for longer periods of time so that we have an accurate record of your dealings with us in the event of any complaints or challenges, or if we reasonably believe there is a prospect of litigation relating to your personal information or dealings.

COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING MECHANISMS

When you visit our Sites or use our Services, we and our third-party providers use cookies, tags, and other similar tracking mechanisms to automatically collect and record certain personal information about your browsing activities and use of our Services. We use this information to, for example, analyze and understand how users access, use, and interact with our Sites, as well to identify and resolve bugs and errors in our Services, and to assess secure, protect, optimize and improve the performance of our Services, to prevent fraud and protect our Services, for analytics purposes, and to personalize content in our Services. For further details about our cookie usage, please visit our Cookie Policy.

Third Party Analytics. We use third party tools, such as Google Analytics, which are operated by third party companies, to evaluate usage of our Sites and Services. These third-party analytics companies use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect usage data about our Services to provide us with reports and metrics that help us evaluate usage of our Services, improve our Site, and enhance performance and user experiences. To learn more about Google’s privacy practices, please review the Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You can also download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Third-Party Advertising. We work with third-party ad networks, analytics, marketing partners, and others (“third-party ad companies”) to personalize content and display advertising on our Services, as well as to manage our advertising on third-party sites. We and these third-party ad companies may use cookies, pixels tags, and other tools to collect browsing and activity information within our Services (as well as on third-party sites and services), as well as IP address, unique ID, cookie and advertising IDs, and other identifiers. We and these third-party ad companies use this information to provide you more relevant ads and content within our Services and on third-party sites, and to evaluate the success of such ads and content.

Industry Ad Choice Programs. You can control how participating third-party ad companies use the information that they collect about your visits to our Site, and those of third parties, in order to display more relevant targeted advertising to you. If you are in the U.S., you can obtain more information and opt out of receiving targeted ads from participating third-party ad networks at aboutads.info/choices (Digital Advertising Alliance). You may also download the DAA AppChoices tool ( https://youradchoices.com/appchoices) in order to help control interest-based advertising on apps on your mobile device. Residents of the European Union may opt-out of online behavioral advertising served by the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance’s participating member organizations by visiting https://www.youronlinechoices.eu/. Opting out of participating third party ad networks does not opt you out of being served advertising. You may continue to receive generic or “contextual” ads on our Site. You may also continue to receive targeted ads on other websites, from companies that do not participate in the above programs.

Do Not Track. Currently, our Site and Services do not recognize “Do-Not-Track” requests. You may, however, disable certain tracking as discussed in this section (e.g., by disabling cookies).

CHILDREN’S INFORMATION

Our Services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13). If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 13 years old online without parental consent, we will delete such information from our records. If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe your child has given us information and you did not provide consent, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may amend this privacy notice from time to time to keep it up to date with legal requirements and the way we operate our business, and will place any updates on this webpage. Please regularly check these pages for the latest version of this notice. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we will seek to inform you by notice on our website or email.

THIRD PARTY WEBSITES

You might find external links to third party websites on our website, or we may refer you to third party websites for the purchase of any product or service. Any access to and use of such linked websites is not governed by this Policy, but instead is governed by the privacy policies of those third-party websites. We are not responsible for the information practices of such third-party websites.

CONTACT US

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Mail: CompareNetworks Inc., 395 Oyster Point Blvd, STE 300, South San Francisco, CA 94080.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints regarding our compliance with this privacy Policy, the information we hold about you or if you wish to exercise your rights, we encourage you to first contact us. We will investigate and attempt to resolve complaints and disputes and endeavor to honor your wish to exercise your rights as quickly as possible and in any event, within the timescales provided by data protection laws.

If you are a resident of the EU or UK, you have a right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority (i.e. your place of habitual residence, place or work or place of alleged infringement) at any time. We ask that you please attempt to resolve any issues with us before your local supervisory authority.

SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR EU AND UK RESIDENTS

If you are a resident of the EU or UK, the information below may apply to our processing (as data controller) of your personal information.

Legal basis for using your personal information

We will only collect, use and share your personal information where we are satisfied that we have an appropriate legal basis to do this. This may be because:

  • We need to use your personal information to perform a contract or take steps to enter into a contract with you, including, for example, to provide you with the information, products and services that you request from us (including from our trusted partners); and/or
  • We use your personal information for our legitimate interest as a commercial organization, for example, as an existing customer, to provide you with information about other products or services (including from our trusted partners) that are similar to those you have purchased or enquired about through our Services, and for all users of our Sites, we use personal information in the aggregate to understand how Site users use our Services and the resources provided on our Sites, and use this information to improve our Services. In all such cases, we will look after your personal information at all times in a way that is proportionate and respects your privacy rights and you have a right to object to processing as explained in the "Legal Rights Available to Help Manage Your Privacy” section below;
  • We need to use your personal information to comply with a relevant legal or regulatory obligation that we have; and
  • We have your consent to using your personal information for a particular activity, for example, where you subscribe for marketing purposes. If you would like to find out more about the legal basis for which we process personal information please contact us at [email protected].

Transferring Personal Information Globally

In this section you can find out more about:

  • How we operate as a global business and transfer data internationally.
  • The arrangements we have in place to protect your personal information if we transfer it overseas.

We operate on a global basis. Accordingly, your personal information may be transferred and stored in countries outside the EU/UK, including in the US, that are subject to different standards of data protection.

We will take appropriate steps ensure that transfers of personal information are in accordance with applicable law and carefully managed to protect your privacy rights and interests and transfers are limited to countries which are recognized as providing an adequate level of legal protection or where we can be satisfied that alternative arrangement are in place to protect your privacy rights. To this end:

  • Where we transfer your personal information outside our group of companies or to third parties who help provide our products and services, we obtain contractual commitments from them to protect your personal information; or
  • Where we receive requests for information from law enforcement or regulators, we carefully validate these requests before any personal information are disclosed.

You have a right to contact us at [email protected] for more information about the safeguards we have put in place (including a copy of relevant contractual commitments) to ensure the adequate protection of your personal information when this is transferred as mentioned above.


Legal Rights Available to Help Manage Your Privacy

Subject to certain exemptions, and in some cases dependent upon the processing activity we are undertaking, you have certain rights in relation to your personal information. Click on the links below to learn more about each right you may have:

If you wish to access any of the above-mentioned rights, we may ask you for additional information to confirm your identity and for security purposes, in particular before disclosing personal information to you. We reserve the right to charge a fee where permitted by law, for instance if your request is manifestly unfounded or excessive.

You can exercise your rights by contacting us as set forth in “Contact Us” above. Subject to legal and other permissible considerations, we will make every reasonable effort to honor your request promptly or inform you if we require further information in order to fulfil your request.

We may not always be able to fully address your request, for example if it would impact the duty of confidentiality we owe to others, or if we are legally entitled to deal with the request in a different way.

Right to access personal information

You have a right to request that we provide you with a copy of your personal information that we hold and you have the right to be informed of; (a) the source of your personal information; (b) the purposes, legal basis and methods of processing; (c) the data controller’s identity; and (d) the entities or categories of entities to whom your personal information may be transferred.

Right to rectify or erase personal information

You have a right to request that we rectify inaccurate personal information. We may seek to verify the accuracy of the personal information before rectifying it.

You can also request that we erase your personal information in limited circumstances where:

  • it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected; or
  • you have withdrawn your consent (where the data processing was based on consent); or
  • following a successful right to object (see right to object); or
  • it has been processed unlawfully; or
  • to comply with a legal obligation to which the Company is subject.

We are not required to comply with your request to erase personal information if the processing of your personal information is necessary:

  • for compliance with a legal obligation; or
  • for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims;

Right to restrict the processing of your personal information

You can ask us to restrict your personal information, but only where:

  • its accuracy is contested, to allow us to verify its accuracy; or
  • the processing is unlawful, but you do not want it erased; or
  • it is no longer needed for the purposes for which it was collected, but we still need it to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or
  • you have exercised the right to object, and verification of overriding grounds is pending.

We can continue to use your personal information following a request for restriction, where:

  • we have your consent; or
  • to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; or
  • to protect the rights of another natural or legal person.

Right to transfer your personal information

You can ask us to provide your personal information to you in a structured, commonly used, machine readable format, or you can ask to have it transferred directly to another data controller, but in each case only where:

  • the processing is based on your consent or on the performance of a contract with you; and
  • the processing is carried out by automated means.

Right to object to the processing of your personal information

You can object to any processing of your personal information which has our legitimate interests as its legal basis, if you believe your fundamental rights and freedoms outweigh our legitimate interests.

If you raise an objection, we have an opportunity to demonstrate that we have compelling legitimate interests which override your rights and freedoms.

Right to object to how we use your personal information for marketing purposes

You can request that we change the manner in which we contact you for marketing purposes.

You can request that we not transfer your personal information to unaffiliated third parties for the purposes of marketing or any other purposes.

Right to obtain a copy of personal information safeguards used for transfers outside your jurisdiction

You can ask to obtain a copy of, or reference to, the safeguards under which your personal information is transferred outside of the European Union. We may redact data transfer agreements to protect commercial terms.

Right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority

You have a right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority if you have concerns about how we are processing your personal information.

We ask that you please attempt to resolve any issues with us first, although you have a right to contact your supervisory authority at any time.

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