Alert Privacy Policy

English | Català | Deutsch | Español | Français

Last revised on October 1, 2012

We at MicroStrategy Enterprises, Inc. ("we" or the "Company") respect your privacy and value the relationship we have with you. This Privacy Policy is designed to show you what information about you we collect through the web-based Alert application (the “Web Application”), the related mobile device software application (the “Mobile Application”), the Alert-powered Brand Applications developed by Alert Brands (“Brand Applications”) and the Alert website at alert.com (together with the Web Application, the Mobile Application and the Brand Applications, the "Service"), and how we use and share that information.

Information We Collect About You

The Service enables you to receive personalized and exclusive content from those people, companies and other organizations that have agreed to participate in the Service (“Alert Brands”) and that you “Like” on Facebook and/or whose Brand Application you have installed. The Service also gives you access to a collective intelligence feature that enables you, all other users of the Service and all Alert Brands to perform powerful and interesting analyses of the Service’s entire user base (the “Collective Intelligence Feature”). In order to facilitate these processes, the Service may collect certain personal information from you. This information includes:

Facebook Information

“Facebook Information” consists of information that is provided by you or other users to Facebook or is associated by Facebook with a particular user. When you use the Service, we may collect any Facebook Information you have made visible to "Everyone" on Facebook as well as the information Facebook designates as your publicly available information. This includes your:

name
profile picture
gender
current city
networks
friend list
pages

When first using the Service or when electing to connect a Brand Application to the Alert Network, you will be asked to grant the Service access to additional Facebook Information that you are allowed to share under Facebook’s policies. Currently, we ask that you share the following information:

your contact information, including your email address, phone number and mailing address
items you have "liked"
your profile information, including your birthday, hometown and current city
posts in your newsfeed
photos and videos you have uploaded to Facebook
your calendar of events
your custom friend lists
your online presence
your "check-ins" and friends' "check-ins"
information about your friends

Even if you have not explicitly allowed us access to any of your Facebook Information, we may collect information about you when your friends on Facebook allow access to and use the Service, subject to your Facebook settings. We may also send you emails and post on your Facebook Wall in connection with your use of the Service. Your use of Facebook in general and your relationship with Facebook are subject to Facebook’s own Privacy Policy and Facebook’s other terms and policies, which we strongly recommend that you review before you start using the Service. We do not control and are not responsible for Facebook’s processing of your information.

Service Information: We may also collect information other than Facebook Information based upon your use of the Service (“Service Information”). Service Information may include information we receive from you in connection with your requests for customer support, your user feedback or other communications you direct to us. Service Information may also include information related to your use of the Service, including from which Alert Brands you choose to receive content, how you use such content, what items you purchase using the Service and how you pay for your purchases made through the Service.

Information We Collect When You Access the Service on a Mobile Device: When you use the Mobile Application on your mobile telephone or other mobile device, we may collect your unique device identifier, Mac address, IP address and location (“Mobile Information” and together with Facebook Information and Service Information “User Information”).

Information Collected by Third Parties

Certain information that you are prompted to provide in connection with your usage of the Service will not be collected by us, but by third parties. Such data will not be subject to this Privacy Policy but will instead be subject to the privacy policies of the applicable third party, which we strongly recommend that you review. Examples of personal data that you may provide to other parties in connection with your use of the Service include:

Mobile Log-In Information: To log into the Mobile Software, you must input your email address and Facebook password. This Facebook login information is collected directly by Facebook as part of the login process and does not pass through our servers.
Alert Brand Information: An Alert Brand may collect information from you through its website or Brand Application. Any such information that you agree to provide to an Alert Brand will be subject to such Alert Brand’s privacy policies and we do not control and are not responsible for any Alert Brand’s processing of such information.
Information Collected by Third Party Providers of Payment Services: If you make a purchase through the Service, you may be directed to a third party provider of payment services (e.g. PayPal) that requests certain payment-related personal information from you, such as your credit card number. This personal information is collected directly by the third party service provider and does not pass through our servers. We do not control and are not responsible for such service provider’s processing of your information.
Information That May Be Collected by Other Third Party Sites: The Service may provide you with links to other web sites, Facebook pages or applications (“Third Party Sites”). We do not control and are not responsible for the processing of your information by any Third Party Sites.

How We Use Your User Information

The Company will only use your User Information for the following purposes:

to enable those Alert Brands that you “Like” on Facebook at the present time or in the future or whose Brand Applications you have presently installed or install in the future to provide you with personalized and exclusive news, offers and other content
to enable other users of the Service and Alert Brands to use the Collective Intelligence Feature to analyze the User Information for the Service’s entire user base, provided that your User Information will only be accessible through the Collective Intelligence Feature in aggregate form, anonymized form, or after removing your and your Facebook friends’ names, photos, videos and contact information
to post on your Wall or to send you emails regarding your use of the Service
to provide technical support and to respond to your inquiries
to communicate about new features or promotions of the Service
to prevent fraud or potentially illegal activities and to enforce our Terms of Use
to solicit your feedback to improve the Service and your experience using it
to administer and improve the Service
to comply with legal requirements and prevent harm or loss
to keep track of your activity levels and location in order to improve the level of service you receive from the Service (we may use your Mobile Information for this purpose)
to enable third parties to deliver targeted advertising
to promote the Service and other products and services of ours and our affiliates, including in private and publicly available product demonstrations and in communications with social media partners, media outlets and other third parties, provided that your User Information will only be used in such promotions in aggregate form, anonymized form, or after removing your and your Facebook friends’ names, photos, videos and contact information

How We Share Your User Information

We may share your User Information in the following cases:

With Alert Brands that You “Like” or Whose Brand Application You Install: Your User Information may be shared with those Alert Brands whose Facebook pages you “Like” now or in the future or whose Brand Applications you have presently installed or install in the future, provided that your User Information will only be accessible to Alert Brands in aggregate form, anonymized form, or after removing your and your Facebook friends’ names, photos, videos and contact information. You will have the ability to stop the sharing of your User Information with any or all Alert Brands at any time by going to the “Account“ section of the Service and opting out of the applicable Alert Brands, by “Unliking” the applicable Alert Brands on Facebook or by uninstalling the Service.
With Affiliates and Third-Party Service Providers: We may disclose your User Information to our affiliates and third-party service providers to the extent permitted by Facebook. Except as otherwise set forth in this section, we will only share your User Information with any such parties in connection with the administration of the Service or for the purpose of improving your experience with the Service. Third party service providers are not authorized by us to use or disclose your User Information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or comply with legal requirements.
With Advertisers: We may disclose your User Information to advertisers in aggregated and anonymous form in order to deliver targeted advertising.
With Alert Brands and Users of the Service: We may share your User Information with all Alert Brands and all other users of the Service through the Collective Intelligence Feature to enable them to analyze the aggregate User Information of the Service’s entire user base, provided that your User Information will only be accessible through the Collective Intelligence Feature in aggregate form, anonymized form, or after removing your and your Facebook friends’ names, photos, videos and contact information.
In Connection with Promotions: We may share your User Information in order to promote the Service and other products and services of ours and our affiliates, including in private and publicly available product demonstrations and in communications with social media partners, media outlets and other third parties, provided that we will only share your User Information in such promotional efforts in aggregate form, anonymized form, or after removing your and your Facebook friends’ names, photos, videos and contact information.
With Your Consent: We may share your User Information with other third parties with your consent.
As Required by Law: We may disclose any User Information we deem necessary, in our sole discretion, to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request.
To Prevent Harm or Loss: We may disclose User Information when we believe, in our sole discretion, disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent physical harm or financial loss or in connection with suspected or actual illegal activity.
In Connection With a Sale of Our Business: We also reserve the right to transfer User Information in the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets. Should such a sale or transfer occur, we will use reasonable efforts to direct the transferee to use the User Information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy. Following such a sale or transfer, you may contact the entity to which we transferred the User Information with any inquiries concerning the processing of that information.

We do not control and are not responsible for Facebook's own use of content and information it collects in relation to this Service.

How We Protect Your User Information

We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect the User Information that we collect about you against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use. While we cannot guarantee that no accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use of your information will occur, we try to prevent such occurrences.

Transfers of User Information to Other Countries

The Company uses databases located in different jurisdictions. We may transfer User Information we collect about you to our databases outside your country of residence. Even if the laws in the country to which the information is transferred do not require us to provide adequate protection for your data, we will nevertheless seek to ensure that information transferred to such country is adequately protected.

Your Privacy Rights and Choices

You can adjust your communications and sharing preferences, including which Alert Brands have access to your personal information, by following the instructions under the “Settings” tab. Subject to applicable law, we provide you with access to the User Information we have retained about you and the ability to review, correct, update, block or delete the information where it is inaccurate. Subject to applicable law, we may limit or deny access to your User Information where providing such access is unreasonably burdensome or expensive under the circumstances. Please submit your request to the address specified in the "How to Contact Us" section below.

You may stop the Service from using your User Information at any time by uninstalling, as applicable, the Web Application, Mobile Application and/or Brand Applications that you have installed and setting your Facebook privacy settings to prevent the Service from accessing your Facebook Information through your friends. You may also stop the Service from using your Facebook Information at any time by deleting your Facebook account.

Following your de-installation of all applicable application(s), certain of your information may still be preserved in a non-personally identifiable form as part of aggregate historical data reports used by the Company.

Updates to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated periodically and without prior notice to you to reflect changes in our information processing practices or for any other purpose. We will post a notice in the Info section of the Service’s profile to notify you of any significant changes to the Privacy Policy and indicate there and at the top of the Privacy Policy when it was most recently updated.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at support@alert.com or telephone at 703-744-6529. You also may write to us at MicroStrategy Enterprises, Inc., 1850 Towers Crescent Plaza, Vienna, Virginia 22182, Attn: Office of the General Counsel. Questions or comments submitted through other means, such as Wall posts, may not be received or addressed.