Privacy Policy


PRIVACY POLICY

At WakeScout.com (“WakeScout”) we appreciate your readership and value your personal privacy. We respect the personal nature of the information you provide us on our web site and acknowledge the importance of protecting this information. In adopting this privacy policy, our intent is to balance our legitimate business interests in collecting and using your Personally Identifiable Information (defined below) with your reasonable expectations of privacy. The policy may be revised or updated at any time and we encourage you to check back often to ensure that you are familiar with the most recent version and the terms of our policy. If you are a registered user on WakeScout, we will provide updates to this privacy policy by sending a notice to the e-mail address provided.

When does WakeScout collect my personal information? What personal information is collected?

You may provide personal information to WakeScout in the following ways: (1) by sharing your e-mail address and subscribing to e-mail newsletters or special offers, (2) by sharing personal information (such as name, street, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers) for “Connect on the Water” while seeking and/or offering pulls (rides), (3) by sharing personal images through the posting of photo(s) and/or video(s), or (4) by sharing personal information (such as name, street, e-mail addresses and telephone numbers, boat ownership, water sport disciplines you participate in) by registering, creating or updating an account (Collectively, “Personally Identifiable Information”. We may also ask for other information at other times but at no time will you be required to share any Personally Identifying Information to gain complete access to our site.

In addition to Personally Identifiable Information, we may also collect information that does not by itself identify a specific individual (“Non-personally Identifiable Information”). We may gather certain information about you based upon where you visit on our site in several ways. This information may be compiled and analyzed on both a personal and an aggregated basis. This information may include the domain name of your internet service provider, the website’s Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) that you just came from, which URL you next go to, what browser you are using, and your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address. A URL is the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web. An IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (“TCP/IP”) network, such as the World Wide Web. Networks like the Web use the TCP/IP protocol to route information based on the IP address of the destination. In other words, an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the web, allowing web servers to locate and identify your computer. Computers require IP addresses in order for users to communicate on the Internet. We also collect information in the form of the content that you submit in the course of your use of the WakeScout site (your “Content”), such as photos, reviews, and ratings of local businesses and service providers, some of which may contain Personally Identifiable Information.

We are not responsible for the policies or practices of third parties. Additionally, companies which display advertising on the WakeScout site may collect information about you when you view or click on their advertising through the use of cookies on your browser or use web beacons. WakeScout cannot control this collection of information. You should contact these advertisers directly if you have any questions about their use of the information that they collect.

How does WakeScout use my personal information?

The more we know about you, the better we are able to customize our web site to suit your personal preferences and interests. The e-mail address you provide may be used by WakeScout for any reason, such as contacting you for editorial purposes or to advise you of any changes to our site. We may also from time to time send you messages about our marketing partners’ products. Registered users will have the opportunity to opt-in to receive the WakeScout newsletter, allow WakeScout to share your Personally Identifiable Information with our affiliates and affinity marketing partners and receive special offers directly from our affiliate and affinity marketing partners.

To maintain a site that is free of charge and does not require registration, we display advertisements on our web site. We also use the information you give us to help our advertisers target the audience they want to reach. WakeScout will use its reasonable efforts to ensure no party other than WakeScout will have access to your Personally Identifiable Information, and that you will not be contacted by any party other than WakeScout, without your prior approval. The only exceptions to the foregoing are that we may use or disclose Personally Identifiable Information (i) to settle disputes or in response to legal process, for example, in response to a court order or subpoena, (ii) in response to a law enforcement agency’s request, or where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent, or take actions regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of another person, violations of our Terms of Use, or as otherwise required by law, or (iii) in the event we are acquired by or merge with another company.

We may also provide Non-personally Identifiable Information about our user’s traffic patterns, and related web site information to our advertisers or marketing partners, but these statistics do not include any Personally Identifiable Information. We will never intentionally disclose Personally Identifiable Information to them.

How can I change my preferences to opt-in and opt-out of receiving the WakeScout newsletter, allowing WakeScout to share my personal information with WakeScout’s marketing partners or receiving special offers from WakeScout’s marketing partners?

You may opt-in and opt-out: 1) of receiving e-mail messages and newsletters from WakeScout; 2) of allowing WakeScout to share your Personally Identifiable Information with WakeScout’s marketing partners; 3) of receiving special offers from WakeScout’s marketing partners, when you create a WakeScout account or by accessing the “Edit Your Account Details” link on your Account page. You may change your preferences at any time. WakeScout will use its reasonable efforts to ensure you are contacted only in a manner consistent with your stated preferences.

Security of Information

At WakeScout’s website you can be assured that your Personally Identifiable Information is secure, consistent with current industry standards. The importance of security for all Personally Identifiable Information associated with our users is of utmost concern to us. Your Personally Identifiable Information is protected in several ways. Your Personally Identifiable Information resides on a secure server that only selected WakeScout personnel and contractors have access to via password. We encrypt your Personally Identifiable Information and thereby prevent unauthorized parties from viewing such information when it is transmitted to us.

Personal information that you provide that is not Personally Identifiable Information also resides on a secure server and is only accessible via password. Since this information is not accessible from outside WakeScout you will not be asked to select a password in order to view or modify such information.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet or any wireless network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your Personally Identifiable Information, you acknowledge that: (a) there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond our control; (b) the security, integrity and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and us through this site cannot be guaranteed; and (c) any such information and data may be viewed or tampered with in transit by a third party.

Privacy Policies of Third Party Sites

Except as otherwise discussed in this Privacy Policy, this document only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. Other sites accessible through WakeScout’s web site have their own privacy policies and data collection, use and disclosure practices. Please consult each site’s privacy policy. We are not responsible for the policies or practices of third parties. Additionally, other companies which place advertising on our site may collect information about you when you view or click on their advertising through the use of cookies. We cannot control this collection of information. You should contact these advertisers directly if you have any questions about their use of the information that they collect.

Miscellaneous Privacy Issues

You must be at least 18 years old to have our permission to use this site. Our policy is that we do not knowingly collect, use or disclose Personally Identifiable Information about visitors that are under 18 years of age.

You should also be aware that when information is voluntarily disclosed (i.e. your name, email address, etc.) on our comments page, discussion forums or in any forums we may develop in the future on this site, that information, along with any information disclosed in your communication, becomes public information and can be collected and used by third parties, and may result in unsolicited messages from third parties. Such activities are beyond our control and this Policy does not apply to such information. If you do not want your comments to be viewed by third parties, you are advised not to make any submissions.

All information sharing is optional and done so at your own risk. We cannot control the actions of our site users and advise you to use your discretion in sharing information about yourself on the internet. Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your Personally Identifiable Information. Privacy is a very personal matter and we encourage you to be careful and responsible when disclosing personal information online.

 

Is there anything else I should know about my privacy and WakeScout?

We may disclose information about you and your use of this website if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to avoid liability, to comply with legal process, such as a search warrant, subpoena, statute, or court order, or to protect our rights and property, or that of our affiliates or the public. We are not required to question or contest the validity of any search warrant, subpoena or other similar governmental request that we receive.

Further, we may share information in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities or suspected fraud, or to enforce or apply the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy.

We also reserve the right to transfer information about you and your use of this website in the event of a transfer of ownership of WakeScout, such as an acquisition by or merger with another company. In such an event, WakeScout will notify you before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Information on businesses and organizations presented on WakeScout:

Information presented on WakeScout has been posted with the intention to provide as accurate information on businesses and organizations as possible. Businesses and organizations are encouraged to notify WakeScout of any inaccuracies, changes or additions required, as well as any desire to have any or all of their information removed from the site.

Terms and Modifications to this Privacy Policy

By using this website, you signify your agreement to the terms of our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these terms, you should not use the site. WakeScout may modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If a material change is made to this Privacy Policy and/or the way we use our users’ personally identifiable information, then we will post a prominent notice of the nature of such change on the first page of this Privacy Policy and also on our home page for a reasonable period of time after the change. You are responsible for reviewing this Privacy Policy periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes to it. Your continued use of the site indicates your assent to any changes to this Privacy Policy.