Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7/11/2020

History Chip, LLC (“History Chip,” “we,” or “us”) respects your privacy. We are committed to protecting the privacy of our users and we want to provide a safe and secure user experience. We will use our best efforts to ensure that the information you submit to us remains private and is used only for the purposes set forth herein. Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information. This policy details how data about you is collected, used, and shared when you access the website historychip.com (our “Website”) and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information.

If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use our Website. By accessing or using this Website, you agree to this privacy policy. This policy may change from time to time (see Modifications). Your continued use of this Website after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates.

1. Applicability of Privacy Policy

This privacy policy applies to all information we collect from current and former History Chip users and visitors, including information collected through this Website and in email and other electronic messages between you and this Website. This privacy policy does not apply to information collected by us offline or through any other means. When you are no longer a registered user, we continue to manage your information as described in this policy.

2. Children Under the Age of 16

Our Website is not intended for children under 16 years of age. No one under age 16 may provide any personal information to or on the Website. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are under 16, do not provide any information on this Website or register on the Website. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 16 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 16, please contact us at compliance@historychip.com.

3. Information Collected

History Chip collects information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer, household, or device (“personal information”). History Chip collects data to operate effectively and provide better quality experiences. If you do not agree to our collection of the information, you may be limited or restricted in the services available to you through the Website. Where applicable, we indicate whether and why you must provide us with your personal information, as well as the consequences of failing to do so.

In particular, our Website has collected the following categories of personal information (as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) from its consumers, within the last twelve (12) months:

 

Category	Examples
A. Identifiers.	A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.
F. Internet or other similar network activity.	Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.
K. Inferences drawn from other personal information.	Profile reflecting a person's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes.

 

We obtain the categories of personal information listed above directly from you (e.g., from online registration forms you complete) or indirectly from you (e.g., by observing your browsing behavior on our Website).

Where required by law, we obtain your consent for the processing of certain personal information collected by cookies or similar technologies, or used to send you direct marketing communications, or when we carry out other processing activities for which consent may be required. If we rely on consent for the processing of your personal information, you have the right to withdraw it at any time and free of charge.  When you do so, this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent withdrawal.

3.1 Account Information

In order to share stories, post comments, and use any interactive features of the Website, you will be required to register an account. During account creation, we ask you for a username, birth month, birth year and your email address (or your parent or guardian’s email address if you are under 16 years old). We request that you select a username that does not disclose your real name or other information that could identify you. Other users can see your username, but not your age, gender, or email address

3.2 User Stories and Submissions

We collect any information you provide to us when you submit a story, write comments, or post on our forums (if available).

In addition, the Website also automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, browser type, and History Chip Cookie (defined below) information .

4. How History Chip Uses Personal Information

History Chip uses personal information it collects to:

• Register you with the Website;
• Provide, maintain, and improve the Website;
• Personalize the content we provide you;
• Provide customer service;
• Help protect the safety of our users, which includes blocking suspected spammers, investigating and addressing abuse, and enforcing the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy
• Inform you of updates to the Website, security alerts, and other support and administrative messages;
• To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations;
• Communicate with you about products, services, offers, promotions, and events, and provide other news and information we think will be of interest to you (for information about how to opt out of these communications, see “Choices” below); and
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with the Website.

We will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.

5. Website Visitors

We gather information about all registered and unregistered users collectively, such as which services users access the most. We only use such data anonymously. This information helps us determine what is the most beneficial for our users and how we can create a better overall user experience. We may share anonymized information with our partners so that they may also understand how users and visitors use the Website. We may use data stitching to aggregate datasets with datasets from multiple sources, to better track use of our services.

6. Cookies

When you utilize the Website, we along with certain business partners and vendors—may use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies (collectively, “Cookies”). We use Cookies as outlined in the “How History Chip Uses Personal Information” section. Certain aspects and features of the Website are only available through the use of Cookies, so if you choose to disable or decline Cookies, your use of the Website may be limited or not possible.

7. Do Not Track

Do Not Track (“DNT”) is an optional browser setting that allows you to express your preferences regarding tracking by advertisers and other third parties. We which? respond to DNT signals.

8. Sharing Information

When you use the Website, certain information about you and your use of the services may be shared with other users and the public. For example:

• When you submit a post or comment or other User Submissions through the Website, visitors to and users of the Website will be able to see the content of your posts and comments, the username associated with your posts or comments, and the date and time you originally submitted the post or comment. History Chip has no control over how others will use the information you share through posts or other submissions.
• When you send messages to other users, the recipients of those messages will be able to see the content of your message, your username, and the date and time the message was sent. Please use caution when sharing information about yourself to other users and third parties. History Chip has no control over how others will use the information you share with them through messages.
• When other users view your profile, they may be able to see information about your activities on the Website, such as your username, prior posts and comments, etc.

History Chip will not share, sell, or give away any of our users’ personal information to third parties, unless one of the following circumstances applies:

• We may share information with vendors, consultants, and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work for us. These companies may have access to your personal information as necessary to perform their functions, and they are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality of any personal information in which they come in contact as part of their services to History Chip.
• If you participate in promotions, special offers, or other events or activities in connection with the Website, we may share information with entities that partner with us to provide these offerings.
• We may share information in response to a request for information if we believe disclosure is in accordance with, or required by, any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, including, but not limited to meeting national security or law enforcement requirements.
• We may share information in response to an emergency if we believe it is necessary to prevent imminent and serious bodily harm to a person.
• We may share aggregated or anonymized information, which cannot reasonably be used to identify you.
• We may share information between and among History Chip and its current and future parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, and other companies under common control and ownership.
• We may share information with your consent or at your direction.

In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have not disclosed personal information for a business purpose or sold any personal information.

9. Sharing on Social Media

The Website may offer social sharing features or other integrated tools that let you share content or action you take using the Website with other media. Your use of these features enables the sharing of certain information with your friends, network, or the public, depending on the settings you establish with the third party that provides the social sharing feature. For more information about the purpose and scope of data collection and processing in connection with social sharing features, please visit the privacy policies of the third parties that provide these social sharing features.

10. Protection and Storage of Personal Information

Your personal information is protected by physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards in compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state regulations. We also use computer safeguards such as firewalls and data encryption. Despite our efforts to ensure security, we cannot guarantee that personal information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of our administrative, managerial, and technical safeguards. Therefore, we urge you to take adequate precautions to protect your personal data as well, including never sharing the username and password used in connection with your participation in the Website. If we learn of a system security breach, we may attempt to notify you electronically. By using the Website, you agree that we may communicate with you electronically. History Chip may post a notice on its website(s), mobile application(s), and/or other services if a security breach occurs. We may also send an email to you at the email address you have provided to us. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing. To receive free written notice of a security breach (or to withdraw your consent from receiving electronic notice of a security breach) you should notify us of your request by emailing us at compliance@historychip.com.

11. Updating Account Information

History Chip allows you to change your personal information you provided for your account at any time. To do so, simply log on to the Website with your username and password andupdate the information you submitted. If you delete your User Submissions from the Website, copies of your User Submissions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or might have been copied or stored by other Website users.

12. Opt-out Choices, Notifications, and Retention of Information

History Chip provides you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. You have the following control over your information:

Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.

Promotional Offers from the Company. If you do not wish to have your email address used by us to promote our own or third parties’ products or services, you can opt-out by logging into the Website and adjusting your user preferences in your account profile or by sending us an email stating your request to support@historychip.com. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may send us a return email asking to be omitted from future email distributions.

If you deactivate your account or request that History Chip delete your personal information, we may still retain certain information associated with your account for analytical purposes and record-keeping integrity, as well as to prevent fraud, enforce our terms and conditions, take actions we deem necessary to protect the integrity of the Website or our users, or take other actions otherwise permitted by law. 

You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will disclose to you:

• The categories of personal information we collected about you.
• The categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you.
• Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information.
• The categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information.
• The specific pieces of personal information we collected about you (also called a data portability request).
• If we sold or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, two separate lists disclosing: (1) sales, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased; and (2) disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained.

You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies. We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service provider(s) to:

1. Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
2. Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
3. Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
4. Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
5. Comply with a legal obligation.
   

To exercise the access, data portability, and deletion rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by emailing us at compliance@historychip.com.

Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.

You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a 12-month period. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. The verifiable consumer request must:

• Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative; and
• Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.

Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.

We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.

If you have an account with us, we will deliver our written response to that account. If you do not have an account with us, we will deliver our written response by mail or electronically, at your option.

Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding the verifiable consumer request's receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.

We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

In certain jurisdictions, you have the right to request access and receive information about the Personal Information we maintain about you, to update and correct inaccuracies in your Personal Information, to restrict or object to the processing of your Personal Information, to have the information blocked, anonymized, or deleted, as appropriate, or to exercise your right to data portability to easily transfer your Personal Information to another company. Those rights may be limited in some circumstances by local law requirements. In addition to the above-mentioned rights, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent supervisory authority subject to applicable law.

13. International Cross-Border Data Transfer

History Chip is based in the United States. Personal information that we collect may be transferred to and stored at partners or service providers which may be inside or outside the European Economic Area, including the United States. By submitting your personal data, you agree to such transfers.

14. Modifications

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will place any updates to this Privacy Policy on our website at Privacy Policy  . You are bound by any changes to the Privacy Policy by using the Website after such changes have been posted.

15. Contact Us

To communicate with our personnel responsible for data protection and compliance, please do so by email at compliance@historychip.com or by postal mail to:

History Chip, LLC

Attn: Compliance Officer

P.O. Box 516

Watertown, CT 06795-9988.