Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 2018

I. INTRODUCTION

This policy describes the types of information MERGE (“MERGE,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) may collect from you or that you may provide when you visit the websites mergeboston.com, mergechicago.com, mergeatlanta.com or mergeworld.com (collectively, our “Websites”) and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. This privacy policy does not apply to any website operated by third parties.

This policy does not apply to information collected by us offline or through any other means, or by any third party, including through any application or content that may link to or be accessible from or on the Websites.

MERGE is committed to protecting your privacy. Please read this policy carefully. If any term in this policy is unacceptable to you, please do not use the Websites or provide any Personal Information (as defined below). By accessing or using the Websites, you signify your acknowledgment of this privacy policy. This policy may change from time to time (see Revisions to Our Privacy Policy below) and your use of the Websites after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check this policy periodically for updates.


II. INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU AND HOW WE COLLECT IT

We may collect several types of information from and about users of our Websites, including information:

  • by which you may be personally identified, such as name, e-mail address, telephone number, geographic location (provided using GPS, Wi-Fi, or similar technology in the device that you use to access our Websites so that we can provide content customized toy our location), background information, or any other information collected on the Websites that is defined as personally identifiable information under applicable law (“Personal Information”); and/or
  • relating to social media, if you provide us your social network identifier (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.), you acknowledge and understand that MERGE may access and use information stored in such service related to your profile or your contacts, including but not limited to photos, emails, birthdays, contacts list (or other publicly available information about your contacts) in order to enhance your communication experience. MERGE will access such information in compliance with security, privacy or other applicable restrictions. We do not store or process password or security related information; and/or
  • about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Websites and usage details.

We collect this information:

  • Directly from you when you provide it to us.
  • Automatically as you navigate through the Websites. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, connection information, service and performance-related information and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies.

Information You Give to Us. The information we collect on or through our Websites may include:

  • Information that you provide on our Websites. This includes information provided when you contact us; when you apply for a position through e-mail; when we process or respond to your inquiries related to your requests or your application; and when you provide feedback on our Websites.
  • Your responses to questions that we might ask you to complete for application purposes.

Information We Collect About You. As with many other websites, as you navigate through and interact with our Websites, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, including:

  • Details of your visits to our Websites, including traffic data, location data, logs, language, date and time of access, frequency, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Websites.
  • Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, host domain, and browser type.
  • Details of referring websites (URL). We also may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking).

The information we collect automatically is statistical data and may include Personal Information. We may also maintain it or associate it with Personal Information you provide to us or that we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Websites and to deliver a better and more personalized service, including by enabling us to:

  • Estimate our audience size and usage patterns.
  • Store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Websites according to your individual interests.
  • Speed up your experience.
  • Recognize you when you return to our Websites.

As with many other sites, our Websites may use “cookies” or other technologies to help us deliver content specific to your interests, to process your requests, and/or to analyze your visiting patterns. We may collect the following types of information about your visit including: the domain from which you access the Internet; IP address; operating system and information about the device or browser used when visiting the site; date and time of your visit; content you visited or downloaded; and website (such as google.com or bing.com) and website referral source (email notice or social media site) that connected you to the Websites. Our Websites use two types of cookies: single-session (temporary) and multi-session (persistent). Temporary cookies last only as long as your web browser is open, and are used for technical purposes such as enabling better navigation through our Websites. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods and are used for purposes including tracking the number of unique visitors to our site and information such as the number of views a page gets, how much time a user spends on a page, and other pertinent web statistics. Cookies, by themselves, will not be used by MERGE to disclose your individual identity. This information identifies your browser, but not you, to our servers when you visit the Websites. We do not respond to ‘do not track’ signals in your browser. We may also collect data by using “pixel tags,” “web beacons,” “web bugs,” “clear GIFs” or similar means (collectively, “Pixel Tags”) that allow us to know when you visit our Websites. Through Pixel Tags, we obtain non-Personal Information or aggregate information that can be used to enhance your online experience and understand traffic patterns and online movements of web users.

Information We Receive From Other Sources. This is information we receive about you if you use any of the other services we provide. We sometimes work with third parties (including, for example, third parties intermediaries with whom we partner to provide you with services, sub-contractors in technical, analytics providers, and search information providers) to evaluate usage of the Websites. For example, we may use Google Analytics, to collect analytics information about the Websites. These analytics providers may use cookies and other technologies to perform their services, and may combine the information that they collect about you on our Websites with other information that they have collected. These third parties’ use of your information will be governed by their respective privacy policies and terms of use.

In addition, we may use third-party providers to serve or track interactions on other websites. You may link to or access our Websites using other third-party websites. Use of such third-party websites is subject to the terms of use and privacy policies of those third parties. MERGE does not control the use of this technology or the resulting information and is not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties.


III. HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We may use information collected about you, including Personal Information, in the following ways:

  • To operate the Websites and perform any services associated with the Websites, which may include communicating with you.
  • To provide you with information that you have requested or to respond to your inquiries.
  • To provide you with technical support and to improve our Website and services.
  • To compile aggregated or anonymized user information for various research and analytical purposes.
  • To create databases needed to provide services, including contacts information, Personal Information, and other information.
  • To ensure that content from our Websites is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your computer or mobile phone, to allow you to participate in interactive features of our Websites (when you choose to do so), and as part of our efforts to keep our Websites safe and secure.
  • To measure or understand the effectiveness of communications we serve to you and others, and to deliver relevant communications to you and to provide you with communications from MERGE, surveys, newsletters, and other information.
  • To notify you about changes to our services or our Websites.
  • To complete any employment application or other action you request online.
  • For any purpose where you have given your consent (where legally required).
  • To manage our everyday business needs, such as auditing, administration of our services, analytics, enforcement of any corporate reporting obligations, terms or other policies, and to comply with applicable federal and state law.

IV. DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may disclose aggregated, anonymized information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction.

You agree that we have the right to disclose Personal Information that we collect or you provide as described in this privacy policy:

  • To anyone you have authorized disclosure of information in this privacy policy or any other consent or policy.
  • With our affiliated companies;
  • To service providers that assist us in the maintenance, improvement and optimization of our Websites and business.
  • To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it. For example, if you inquire about certain services, we may share your information in order to provide those services.
  • For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information or with your consent.
  • In the event of a merger or other transaction, we may share your Personal Information to a buyer or successor if MERGE is involved in a merger, acquisition or asset sale.
  • With our select licensees, affiliates, and business partners that we believe may have offers of interest to you, including for their own marketing purposes;
  • If we are under a duty to disclose or share your Personal Information in order to comply with applicable law or in response to a legal process such as a valid subpoena, warrant or court order.

This Privacy Policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information that we collect from you. Should you provide your information to other third parties using our Websites, services or through the internet or other means, different rules may apply to the third parties’ use and disclosure of the information that you disclose to them. MERGE encourages you to review the privacy policies and terms of use of these third parties prior to providing your Personal Information to them.


V. CHOICES ABOUT HOW WE USE AND DISCLOSE YOUR INFORMATION

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Information you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with 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 our Websites may then be inaccessible or may not function properly.
  • Do Not Track. We do not currently respond to “do not track” signals as we do not track users across third party websites.

VI. WHAT MEASURES WE TAKE TO SAFEGUARD YOUR INFORMATION

The security of your Personal Information is very important to us. We maintain commercially reasonable security safeguards that are designed to protect the Personal Information we collect against unauthorized use, disclosure, alteration or destruction. Notwithstanding the steps we have taken to protect your information, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, MERGE cannot guarantee or warrant that your Personal Information is under absolute security with the existing security technology.

If you have any questions about the security of our Websites or have a security concern, you can contact us at info@mergeworld.com.


VII. OUR RETENTION POLICIES & MANAGING YOUR INFORMATION

MERGE retains your information for as long as necessary to provide services, keep the Websites active or for other essential purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, or resolving disputes.

If you are not a user and wish to remove any information related to you, you can notify us by contacting us at info@mergeworld.com.


VIII. YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

If you are a California resident, you may request information about our disclosure of Personal Information to third parties or affiliated companies for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please either email us at info@mergeworld.com or contact us at:


MERGE
ATTN: [Corporate Communications]
200 E. Randolph Street
Chicago, IL 60601

You must put the statement “Your California Privacy Rights” in the subject field. We are not responsible for notices that are not labeled or sent improperly, or do not have complete information.

Non-affiliated third parties are independent from MERGE and if you wish to receive information about your disclosure choices or stop communications from such third parties, you will need to contact those non-affiliated third parties directly.


IX. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES

Our Websites may contain links or references to other websites outside of our control. Please be aware that this privacy policy does not apply to these websites. MERGE encourages you to read the privacy statements and terms and conditions of linked or referenced websites you enter. These third-party websites may send their own cookies and other tracking devices to you, log your IP address, and otherwise collect data or solicit Personal Information. MERGE DOES NOT CONTROL AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT THIRD PARTIES DO IN CONNECTION WITH THEIR WEBSITES, OR HOW THEY HANDLE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. PLEASE EXERCISE CAUTION AND CONSULT THE PRIVACY POLICIES POSTED ON EACH THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.


X. CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 13

In general, our Websites are not intended for children under 13 years of age, and typically MERGE does not knowingly collect or use any Personal Information from children under the age of 13. Children under the age of 13 should always ask their parents or guardians for permission before providing any Personal Information online. We urge parents and guardians to participate in their children’s online activities and use parental control or other web filtering technology to supervise children’s access to the internet.


XI. WHERE YOUR INFORMATION IS STORED

The Websites are intended for users in the United States. Your information will be stored and processed in the United States for statistical purposes and analysis. If you use our Websites outside of the United States, please be aware that the United States may have different laws, regulations and standards regarding data privacy from those in your own country.


XII. REVISIONS TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to change this privacy policy, or any portion thereof, at any time in our sole discretion. It is our policy to post any changes we make to our privacy policy on this page. The date this privacy policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page under the “Last Updated” notation. You are responsible for ensuring we have an up-to-date active and deliverable email address for you, and for periodically monitoring and reviewing any updates to the privacy policy. Your continued use of our Websites after such amendments will be deemed your acknowledgement of these changes to this privacy policy.


XIII. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at info@mergeworld.com