HowStuffWorks.com has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses our online information gathering and dissemination practices.
Our overall policy is extremely simple: If we collect information from you, we use it only for the purposes for which it was collected, and the other limited purposes outlined below. We will not sell or share your personally identifiable information with any third party (except our parent company and its other wholly owned subsidiaries; and except in a transfer of our business assets).
With respect to the Web pages that are co-branded with LycosZone, the Lycos Privacy Policy and the LycosZone Children's Privacy Notice (both accessible at the bottom of each LycosZone page) govern all aspects of privacy on those pages. HowStuffWorks.com does not collect any personally identifiable information from those pages, and is not responsible for the data collection/usage policies or practices of Lycos. HowStuffWorks.com is also not responsible for any advertising that appears on the LycosZone pages.
Here are the details of our privacy policies. This statement may change over time -- please review it periodically.
Types of Information Collected; Uses of Information
We collect some non-personally identifiable information automatically and some in our registration forms and online surveys. Non-personally identifiable information might include your IP address, the type of browser or operating system you use, the domain name from which you linked to our site, your zip code, your age, your income level and other general demographic information. We use this non-personally identifiable information to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site; and we may share it with our affiliates, or with our other business partners on an aggregated basis.
Our site's registration form and online surveys may also request or require users to give us personally identifiable information (like their name, telephone number, home address and e-mail address). We may use the information from our registration forms and surveys to contact the user, but users may opt-out of receiving future mailings (see the choice/opt-out section below). We will not sell or disclose your personally identifiable data to any third party that is not an affiliate of HowStuffWorks.com unless: (i) we transfer of our business assets (as further described below); (ii) we first obtain permission from you; (iii) we need to share it with agents or contractors who perform services for us; or (iv) we are required by law to disclose it.
Transfer of Business Assets
As we continue to develop our business, we may be acquired, merge with another business, or acquire or buy other businesses or assets. In such transactions, both personally and non-personally identifiable information will likely be one of the transferred assets.
Cookies
We may use "cookies" to determine whether you have visited our site previously and to save and remember any preferences that you set while using our site. Our cookies cannot retrieve any other data from a hard drive or obtain an e-mail address. Although a user has the ability to modify most browsers to either accept all cookies, notify the user when a cookie is sent, or reject all cookies, it may not be possible to utilize certain services at HowStuffWorks.com if cookies are rejected.
Links
This site contains links to other sites. HowStuffWorks.com is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such Web sites.
Public Forums
This site makes chat rooms, forums, message boards, and/or news groups available to its users. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information. By posting information, you also give HowStuffWorks.com the unlimited right to use and republish the information as we see fit.
Security
While there is no such thing as "perfect" security on the Internet, we will take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of your personally identifiable information. This site has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. However, we do not assume any liability for third-party usage of your personal information, whether obtained legally or illegally from our system.
Children
HowStuffWorks.com does not seek to collect any information from children under the age of 13. If any child provides us with personally identifiable information, a parent or guardian may notify us and such information will be deleted from our records.
Choice/Opt-Out
Our site provides users the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us and our partners at the point where we request information about the visitor. This site gives users the following options for removing their information from our database to not receive future communications or to no longer receive our service:
- You can visit the following URL: http://science.howstuffworks.com/remove.htm
- You can send mail to the following postal address, giving us your name and e-mail address (so that we can identify you), and the information you would like us to remove:
HowStuffWorks.com, c/o Convex Group, Inc.
One Capital City Plaza
3350 Peachtree Road, Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30326
Correct/Update
This site gives users the following options for changing and modifying information previously provided:
- Visit http://science.howstuffworks.com/register.htm
- Send mail to the following postal address:
HowStuffWorks.com, c/o Convex Group, Inc.
One Capital City Plaza
3350 Peachtree Road, Suite 1500
Atlanta, GA 30326
Contacting the Web Site
If you have any questions about this privacy statement, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this Web site, you can contact:
Web Administration Department
HowStuffWorks.com c/o Convex Group, Inc.
One Capital City Plaza
3350 Peachtree Road, Suite 1500
Atlanta, Georgia 30326
Click here to send an e-mail message
