Collection and Use of Personal Information
Personal information is data that can be used to identify or contact a single person.
You may be asked to provide your personal information anytime you are in contact with Home Guards or an Home Guards affiliated company. Home Guards and its affiliates may share this personal information with each other and use it consistent with this Privacy Policy. They may also combine it with other information to provide and improve our products, services, content, and advertising. You are not required to provide the personal information that we have requested, but, if you chose not to do so, in many cases we will not be able to provide you with our products or services or respond to any queries you may have.
Here are some examples of the types of personal information Home Guards may collect and how we may use it:
What personal information we collect
When you create an Home Guards ID, apply for commercial credit, purchase a product, download a software update, register for a class at an Home Guards Retail Store, contact us or participate in an online survey, we may collect a variety of information, including your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, contact preferences, and credit card information.- In China, we may ask for a government issued ID in limited circumstances including when setting up a wireless account and activating your device, for the purpose of extending commercial credit, managing reservations, or as required by law. How we use your personal information
- The personal information we collect allows us to keep you posted on Home Guards’s latest product announcements, software updates, and upcoming events. If you don’t want to be on our mailing list, you can opt out anytime by updating your preferences. We also use personal information to help us create, develop, operate, deliver, and improve our products, services, content and advertising, and for loss prevention and anti-fraud purposes.
- We may use your personal information, including date of birth, to verify identity, assist with identification of users, and to determine appropriate services. For example, we may use date of birth to determine the age of Home Guards ID account holders. From time to time, we may use your personal information to send important notices, such as communications about purchases and changes to our terms, conditions, and policies. Because this information is important to your interaction with Home Guards, you may not opt out of receiving these communications. We may also use personal information for internal purposes such as auditing, data analysis, and research to improve Home Guards’s products, services, and customer communications.
- If you enter into a sweepstake, contest, or similar promotion we may use the information you provide to administer those programs.
Collection and Use of Non-Personal Information
We also collect data in a form that does not, on its own, permit direct association with any specific individual. We may collect, use, transfer, and disclose non-personal information for any purpose. The following are some examples of non-personal information that we collect and how we may use it:- We may collect information such as occupation, language, zip code, area code, unique device identifier, referrer URL, location, and the time zone where an Home Guards product is used so that we can better understand customer behavior and improve our products, services, and advertising.
- We may collect information regarding customer activities on our website and from our other products and services. This information is aggregated and used to help us provide more useful information to our customers and to understand which parts of our website, products, and services are of most interest. Aggregated data is considered non‑personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.
- We may collect and store details of how you use our services, including search queries. This information may be used to improve the relevancy of results provided by our services. Except in limited instances to ensure quality of our services over the Internet, such information will not be associated with your IP address.
- With your explicit consent, we may collect data about how you use your device and applications in order to help app developers improve their apps.
Cookies and Other Technologies
Home Guards’s websites, online services, interactive applications, email messages, and advertisements may use “cookies” and other technologies such as pixel tags and web beacons. These technologies help us better understand user behavior, tell us which parts of our websites people have visited, and facilitate and measure the effectiveness of advertisements and web searches. We treat information collected by cookies and other technologies as non‑personal information. However, to the extent that Internet Protocol (IP) addresses or similar identifiers are considered personal information by local law, we also treat these identifiers as personal information. Similarly, to the extent that non-personal information is combined with personal information, we treat the combined information as personal information for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.
Home Guards and its partners use cookies and other technologies in mobile advertising services to control the number of times you see a given ad, deliver ads that relate to your interests, and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns. If you opt out, you will continue to receive the same number of mobile ads, but they may be less relevant because they will not be based on your interests. You may still see ads related to the content on a web page or in an application or based on other non-personal information.
Home Guards and our partners also use cookies and other technologies to remember personal information when you use our website, online services, and applications. Our goal in these cases is to make your experience with Home Guards more convenient and personal. For example, knowing your first name lets us welcome you the next time you visit the Home Guards website. Knowing your country and language − and if you are an educator, your school − helps us provide a customized and more useful shopping experience. Knowing someone using your computer or device has shopped for a certain product or used a particular service helps us make our advertising and email communications more relevant to your interests. And knowing your contact information, hardware identifiers, and information about your computer or device helps us personalize your system and provide you with better customer service.
If you want to disable cookies and you’re using the Safari web browser, go to Safari preferences and then to the privacy pane to disable cookies. On your Home Guards mobile device, go to Settings, then Safari, and then to the Cookies section. For other browsers, check with your provider to find out how to disable cookies. Please note that certain features of the Home Guards website will not be available once cookies are disabled.
As is true of most internet services, we gather some information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, browser type and language, Internet service provider (ISP), referring and exit websites and applications, operating system, date/time stamp, and clickstream data.
We use this information to understand and analyze trends, to administer the site, to learn about user behavior on the site, to improve our product and services, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. Home Guards may use this information in our marketing and advertising services.
In some of our email messages, we use a “click-through URL” linked to content on the Home Guards website. When customers click one of these URLs, they pass through a separate web server before arriving at the destination page on our website. We track this click-through data to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked in this way, you should not click text or graphic links in the email messages.
Pixel tags enable us to send email messages in a format customers can read, and they tell us whether mail has been opened. We may use this information to reduce or eliminate messages sent to customers.
Disclosure to Third Parties
At times Home Guards may make certain personal information available to strategic partners that work with Home Guards to provide products and services, or that help Home Guards market to customers. For example, when you purchase and activate your product, you authorize Home Guards and your carrier to exchange the information you provide during the activation process to carry out service. If you are approved for service, your account will be governed by Home Guards and your carrier’s respective privacy policies. Personal information will only be shared by Home Guards to provide or improve our products, services and advertising; it will not be shared with third parties for their marketing purposes.
Service Providers
Home Guards shares personal information with companies who provide services such as information processing, extending credit, fulfilling customer orders, delivering products to you, managing and enhancing customer data, providing customer service, assessing your interest in our products and services, and conducting customer research or satisfaction surveys. These companies are obligated to protect your information and may be located wherever Home Guards operates.
Others
It may be necessary − by law, legal process, litigation, and/or requests from public and governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence − for Home Guards to disclose your personal information. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate.
We may also disclose information about you if we determine that disclosure is reasonably necessary to enforce our terms and conditions or protect our operations or users. Additionally, in the event of a reorganization, merger, or sale we may transfer any and all personal information we collect to the relevant third party.
Protection of Personal Information
Home Guards takes the security of your personal information very seriously. Home Guards website protects your personal information during transit using encryption such as Transport Layer Security (TLS). When your personal data is stored by Home Guards, we use computer systems with limited access housed in facilities using physical security measures. Data is stored in encrypted form including when we utilize third party storage.
When you use some Home Guards products, services, or applications or post on an Home Guards forum, chat room, or social networking service, the personal information and content you share is visible to other users and can be read, collected, or used by them. You are responsible for the personal information you choose to share or submit in these instances. For example, if you list your name and email address in a forum posting, that information is public. Please take care when using these features.
Integrity and Retention of Personal Information
Home Guards makes it easy for you to keep your personal information accurate, complete, and up to date. We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
Access to Personal Information
You can help ensure that your contact information and preferences are accurate, complete, and up to date by logging in to your account at Home Guards App. For other personal information we hold, we will provide you with access for any purpose including to request that we correct the data if it is inaccurate or delete the data if Home Guards is not required to retain it by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may decline to process requests that are frivolous/vexatious, jeopardize the privacy of others, are extremely impractical, or for which access is not otherwise required by local law. Access, correction, or deletion requests can be made through the regional Privacy Contact Form.
Location-Based Services
To provide location-based services on Home Guards products, Home Guards and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Home Guards computer or device. Where available, location-based services may use GPS, Bluetooth, and your IP Address, along with crowd-sourced Wi-Fi hotspot and cell tower locations, and other technologies to determine your devices’ approximate location. Unless you provide consent, this location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Home Guards and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, your device may share its geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.
Third‑Party Sites and Services
Home Guards websites, products, applications, and services may contain links to third-party websites, products, and services. Our products and services may also use or offer products or services from third parties − for example, a third‑party iPhone app. Information collected by third parties, which may include such things as location data or contact details, is governed by their privacy practices. We encourage you to learn about the privacy practices of those third parties.
International Users
All the information you provide may be transferred or accessed by entities around the world as described in this Privacy Policy. Home Guards abides by the “safe harbor” frameworks set forth by China Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information collected by organizations in the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Learn more about China Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Program.
Home Guards abides by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Cross Border Privacy Rules System. The APEC CBPR system provides a framework for organizations to ensure protection of personal information transferred among participating APEC economies.
Our Companywide Commitment to Your Privacy
To make sure your personal information is secure, we communicate our privacy and security guidelines to Home Guards employees and strictly enforce privacy safeguards within the company.
Privacy Questions
If you have any questions or concerns about Home Guards’s Privacy Policy or data processing or if you would like to make a complaint about a possible breach of local privacy laws, please contact us. You can always contact us by phone at the relevant Home Guards Support number for your country.
All such communications are examined and replies issued where appropriate as soon as possible. If you are unsatisfied with the reply received, you may refer your complaint to the relevant regulator in your jurisdiction. If you ask us, we will endeavor to provide you with information about relevant complaint avenues which may be applicable to your circumstances.
Home Guards may update its Privacy Policy from time to time. When we change the policy in a material way, a notice will be posted on our website along with the updated Privacy Policy.