Introduction

This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their 'Personally Identifiable Information' (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with SouthWharf.com. SouthWharf.com collects and processes your information to provide, improve, and develop our
services and features with the interest of our users.

What we collect

Most of the information we collect is provided by you. When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, phone number, zip code or other details to help you with your experience.

Collected from you or with your permission. We collect a variety of information when you provide it to us directly. Some examples are below:

  • Registering for an event.
  • Making a purchase.
  • Signing up for our newsletter.
  • Responding to a survey or marketing communication.
  • Browsing the website or using certain features on the site.

Collected from your browser and device. Like the majority of online services, we automatically collect technical information from your browser when you visit or use SouthWharf.com or read a message from us. The data collected includes:

  • Device data which tells us about the device you’re using, what type and model it is, its operating system and version. Your device and software settings affect what information your device makes available to us.
  • Log data which is automatically recorded by our servers based on data sent by your browser. This typically includes the date and time you visited, the browser version you used (and its settings), the URLs you came from and go to, your IP address and protocol, and how you used SouthWharf.com (for example, which links you clicked on).
  • Data which comes from “cookies” (small data files stored on your computer or mobile device) help us recognize you, remember your preferences, and learn more about you. You can configure your browser to reject cookies, but doing so could prevent you from utilizing some of our services. See “Cookies” below.

Collected from third parties and public sources. We engage third-party service providers and partners to provide us with information, and we also use publicly-available sources, such as:

  • Vendors provide us with map information in order to deliver directional and geolocation features for our company’s physical locations.
  • Public sources, such as census data, street addresses and property lot maps to provide us with information that helps us understand the area and deliver content to reflect this.

Cookies

Cookies are small bits of code that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer's hard drive through your web browser that enables their systems to recognize your browser and remember certain information. For example, it stores your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services.

We use cookies to operate and improve SouthWharf.com, specifically:

  • To compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can streamline site experiences and offer better tools in the future.
  • Third-Party Cookies:
    • Tracking Pixels. Our advertising partners may use tracking pixels, or similar technology, to measure the success of sponsored posts or other advertising products they use. A “tracking pixel” is a tiny piece of invisible code placed on a webpage or in an email and is used in combination with a cookie to link activity back to the user; the advertiser includes it so it can measure interaction with the content (for example, clicking to view an offer). This information helps us assess whether sponsored posts and other advertisements are relevant and interesting to our users.
    • Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics, including Google Analytics cookies, to collect anonymous traffic data to help us analyze how members and visitors access and use SouthWharf.com, and for other Analytics services relating to website activity and usage. (Learn about how Google uses data from Google Analytics here: [https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites]; You can also opt out from Google Analytics here: [https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en].

Opting Out. You are able to refuse or restrict the use of cookies in your browser settings. However, limiting or refusing cookies may affect your ability to use SouthWharf.com.

How we use information

We use the information we have to help us provide, improve, develop, and market our services.

Provide, improve and develop services. We use information to improve our features on SouthWharf.com:

  • To help you share content on social platforms and via email.
  • To understand the demographics of the users we serve.
  • To respond to your messages.
  • To evaluate new features on SouthWharf.com.
  • To diagnose and resolve problems.
  • For our own marketing activities, such as carrying out analysis to create statistics on and insights into the use of our services.

Advertising. We use information to help develop advertisements. Data allows us:

  • To measure the effectiveness of advertisements.
  • To help personalize advertising offers based on responsiveness and demographics of users.

We may customize advertising offerings you see based on information from SouthWharf.com. For example, if you search on SouthWharf.com for a particular product, we might show you advertisements for a similar product on your social platforms.

How we protect your data

We do not use vulnerability scanning and/or scanning to PCI standards. We only provide articles and information. We do use Malware Scanning on the server side. We implement a variety of security measures when a user enters, submits, or accesses their information to maintain the safety of their personal information. Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems. All persons are required to keep information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.

Your rights

You have a number of rights to the data collected about you. Below outlines them:

Rectify, restrict, limit, delete. You have the right to rectify, restrict, limit, or delete most of your SouthWharf.com information by contacting us. See the “Contact” below.

Revoke consent. Where you have previously provided your consent to processing your information, you have the right to withdraw it at any time. If you withdraw your consent to the use of your information, we may not be able to provide certain services to you.

Concerns. If you wish to raise a concern with us about the usage of your information, you have the right to do so. See the “Contact” below.

Third-party data sharing

We share information with service providers, affiliates, partners, and other third parties where it is necessary to provide the services or for any other purposes described in the Policy.

Marketing and spam. We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your Personally Identifiable Information to outside parties unless we provide users with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving our users, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release information only when it is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect ours or others' rights, property or safety.

Advertising. You always have a choice as to whether or how you interact with an advertisement (for example, by clicking to learn more about an offer). When interacting with an advertisement on SouthWharf.com or partner platforms, we may note your interaction as part of tracking the overall effectiveness of the advertisement.

Third party service providers. We may share your personal information to help us provide, improve, and develop our services. These third parties are contractually required to use it only to provide their service to us and cannot use it for their own purposes. For example, we use a company to help test and analyze the performance of our website. They may not use the data we’ve collected.

Data retention

We may retain information on our server logs and in our database for as long as necessary to provide the best service to our users and customers.

Miscellaneous

California Online Privacy Protection Act. CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law's reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared. - See more here: [https://consumercal.org/about-cfc/cfc-education-foundation/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa-3/].

According to CalOPPA, we agree to the following:

  • Users can visit our site anonymously. Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page or, as a minimum, on the first significant page after entering our website.
  • Our Privacy Policy link includes the word 'Privacy' and can easily be found on the page specified above.
  • You will be notified of any Privacy Policy change on our Privacy Policy Page.
  • You can change your personal information by emailing us.


COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act). When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States' consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children's privacy and safety online. We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.

Fair Information Practices. The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States, and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information. In order to be in line with the Fair Information Practices, we will take the following responsive action should a data breach occur:

  • We will notify you via email within 7 business days.
  • We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.

CAN SPAM Act. The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations. We collect your email address in order to send information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions. To be in accordance with CANSPAM, we agree to the following:

  • To not use false or misleading subjects or email addresses.
  • Identify the message as an advertisement in some reasonable way.
  • Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters.
  • Monitor third-party email marketing services for compliance, if one is used.
  • Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly.
  • Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email.

If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, follow the instructions at the bottom of each email, and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.

Do Not Track Signals. We do not honor Do Not Track signals, because no web standard for them has been defined at this time.

Amendments. Over time we reserve the right to make changes to our Privacy Policy, so please review it periodically.

Contact

South Wharf
218 Elm Street
South Dartmouth, MA 02748
508-990-1011

info@southwharf.com

Lasted edited 05-25-18