Word Thread, including any affiliates and subsidiaries (“Word Thread,” “we,” “us,” or “our”),
values the trust you place in us when you use our affiliated websites and online services
(collectively, our “Websites”). This Privacy Policy describes our collection, use, disclosure, and
retention of information we collect from or about you. This Privacy Policy applies to our
Websites that post or link to it, regardless of how you access or use them, including through
mobile devices.
BY USING OUR WEBSITES, YOU ARE ACCEPTING THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY
POLICY AND OUR TERMS OF USE, AND YOU ARE CONSENTING TO OUR
COLLECTION, USE, DISCLOSURE, AND RETENTION OF INFORMATION AS
DESCRIBED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY.
If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Websites. We may
make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post any changes to our
Websites. Your continued use of our Websites following the posting of any changes will mean
you accept those changes.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to information that you may submit to third-party websites or
mobile applications that may link to the Websites or be linked to on the Websites. We are not
responsible for the actions or privacy practices of third-party websites and applications; please
consult those websites and applications directly to understand their privacy practices.
INFORMATION WE COLLECT ABOUT YOU
We collect, process, and retain information from you and any devices you may use when you use
or interact with our Websites, and in other ways described below.
• Information You Give Us: We receive and store information provided to us or given to
us in any other way, including your name, mailing address, phone number, email address,
picture, date of birth, payment information, registration information, social media and
messaging platform handle, optional biographic and demographic information,
professional and licensure information, information for wallets you create or connect via
our Websites, survey responses, and any other information that you voluntarily provide.
This includes information that you share with us on third-party websites and platforms.
• Information We Automatically Collect: We receive and store certain types of
information whenever you use our Websites. Our Websites may use “cookies,” tagging,
and other tracking technologies to help enable us to enhance or personalize your online
experience. This information includes computer and connection information such as
statistics on your page views, traffic to and from our Websites, referral URL, ad data,
your IP address, device identifiers, transaction history, and your web log information.
• Location Information: When you visit our Websites or interact with our online services,
we may receive information about your location and your device, including a uniqueidentifier for your device. Location information allows us to provide location-based
services, such as advertising and other personalized content.
• Information From Social Media: When you interact with us or our Websites on a social
media platform, we may collect the personal information that you make available to us,
including your account ID, username, and other information included in your posts. If
you choose to log into your account with or through a social networking service, we and
that service may share certain information about you and your activities. When you give
us permission, we may also collect information from your social media account on your
behalf.
• Information From Other Sources: We may supplement the information we collect with
information offline or from third parties.
HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE COLLECT FROM OR ABOUT YOU
We use the information we collect from or about you to help us personalize and continually
improve your experience on the Websites, including providing our services, responding to
requests for information, analyzing and compiling trends and statistics, and communicating with
you. For information about how to manage information about you and the choices you have, see
the Your Choices section below.
We also may use information about you to:
• Provide, maintain, and improve the Websites and for internal or other business purposes;
• Fulfill your requests for information;
• Communicate with you;
• Detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be fraudulent or
illegal;
• Optimize, perform analysis, or improve our Websites, products, services, and operations;
• Provide customer support;
• Send you offers or other communications about our products and services, such as special
or promotional events, including services, products, or events for which we collaborate or
co-offer with a third party;
• Administer contests, sweepstakes, promotions, and surveys; and
• Post user-generated content provided by users.
We may use the information from one portion of the Websites on other portions of the Websites,
and we may combine information gathered from multiple portions of the Websites. We also may
use or combine information that we collect offline, or that we collect or receive from third-party
sources for many reasons, including to enhance, expand, and check the accuracy of our records.
Additionally, we may use information collected from a particular browser or device with another
computer or device that is linked to the browser or device on which such information was
collected.
We may retain information we collect from or about you for as long as reasonably required to
satisfy the purposes for which we have collected the information, or as required by law,whichever is longer. This means we will retain information about you both while you are an
active user of our Websites and after you cease to be an active user.
HOW WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH OTHERS
We share information we collect from or about you with third parties as described below. In
addition, we may share information that does not personally identify you, such as aggregate
information, de-identified information, device identifiers, or other unique identifiers with third
parties. For information about how to manage information about you and the choices you have,
see the Your Choices section below.
• Third-Party Service Providers: We engage third-party service providers to perform
functions on our behalf such as: hosting, content syndication, content management,
technical integration, marketing, analytics, customer service, fraud protection, payment
processing, fulfillment, and shipping. These third parties may have access to information
about you when needed to perform their functions.
• Business Partners: We may share information that personally identifies you with
business partners who provide products and services that we think you may be interested
in.
• Sale, Assignment or Change of Control: We may change our ownership or corporate
organization while providing the Websites. We may transfer some or all information
about you in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, acquisition,
sale of assets, or any line of business, change in ownership control, or financing transaction.
Under such circumstances, we will request the acquiring party to follow the practices described
in this Privacy Policy with respect to previously collected information. Nevertheless, we cannot
promise that an acquiring party or the merged entity will have the same privacy practices or treat
information about you in the same way as described in this Privacy Policy.
• Law Enforcement, Legal Process, and Emergency Situations: We may also use or
disclose information we collect from or about you if required to do so by law or on the
good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to applicable law or comply
with legal process served on us or our Websites; (b) protect and defend our rights or
property, the Websites, or our users; (c) respond to a third party that alleges that you have
infringed their intellectual property rights; or (d) act to protect the personal safety of us,
users of the Websites, or the public.
• Public Areas, Interactive Features, and Activities: Please remember that any
information you share in public areas, including in your public profile, or on social
sharing features becomes public and anyone may take and use that information. Please be
careful about what you disclose and do not post any information that you expect to keep
private. Please consult the applicable guidelines, if any, for use of these features. We
cannot control who views information that you post in public areas of the Websites or on
third-party messaging platforms, like Discord, and are not responsible for how third
parties, including other users, may use or disclose information that you post or otherwiseshare with other users or third parties. If you are under the age of eighteen and a
registered user, you may have a content or information you have posted removed from
public display by deleting the message yourself or contacting the community manager.
• At Your Direction: Our Websites may give you the ability to share certain information
with other users or other third parties, such as by scanning your “My Code.” When you
engage these features on our Websites, you are authorizing us to share your information.
Once shared, we have no control over how those third parties will use or further disclose
your information.
HOW TO ACCESS AND UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION
If you have an account with us, you can update information you have provided by logging into
your account and editing the information. Please note that you may not be able to change some
information, like your username, after your account is established. You may be required to
provide us with sufficient information to verify your identity prior to accessing any records
containing information about you. We may not accommodate a request to change information
about you if we believe doing so would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the
information to be incorrect.
COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Like many websites, we use tracking technologies such as cookies, web beacons, and similar
technologies to record your preferences, track the use of our Websites, your interactions with our
emails, and measure exposure to our online advertisements. We may also use these technologies
to monitor traffic, improve the Websites, and make them easier to use and more relevant. Most
web browsers automatically accept cookies, but, if you prefer, you can usually modify your
browser setting to disable or reject cookies. In addition, you may also render some web beacons
unusable by rejecting or removing their associated cookies. If you delete your cookies or if you
set your browser to decline cookies, some features of the Websites may not work or may not
work as designed.
We use third-party analytics services on the Websites, including Google Analytics. These
analytics service providers use cookies or other tracking technologies to help us analyze how
users interact with and use our Websites, compile reports about activity on the Websites, and
provide us other services. The technologies may collect information such as your IP address,
time of visit, whether you are a return visitor, any referring website, general location, and other
information. We do not use these analytics service providers to gather information that
personally identifies you. The information generated by Google Analytics will be transmitted to
and stored by Google and will be subject to Google’s privacy policies. To learn more about
Google’s partner services and to learn how to opt-out of tracking of analytics by Google, click
here.
We work with third-party companies who also use these technologies to provide advertisements
on our Websites and other third-party websites. These third parties may use these technologies to
collect information about you when you use the Websites. They may collect information about
your online activities over time and across different websites and other online services. Theymay also use persistent identifiers to track your Internet usage across other websites in their
networks beyond our Websites. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based
advertising or other targeted content. While we do not knowingly provide these entities with
information that personally identifies you, such third parties may, with sufficient data from other
sources, be able to personally identify you, unknown to us. More information about how to opt-
out of these cookies is available in the Choices section below.
The cookies used on our Websites are divided into four general categories:
• Necessary: Cookies that are essential to make our Websites usable by enabling basic
functions like page navigation, access to secure areas of the Website, and whether you
have opted-out of certain non-necessary cookies. The Websites cannot function properly
without these cookies. These mandatory cookies cannot be de-selected from our consent
manager.
• Preferences: Cookies that enable our Websites to remember information that changes the
way the Websites behaves or looks, like your preferred language or region that you are in.
• Analytics and Statistics: Cookies that help us understand how visitors interact with our
Websites by collecting and reporting about your device’s interactions.
• Marketing: Used to track devices across websites to display ads that are relevant and
engaging to our visitors to show you our ads on third-party websites. You may also deny
or delete these cookies via your browser settings.
Some content, applications, and advertisements on the Websites may be served by unaffiliated
third parties. We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be
used. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices on any website not operated by
us to which our Websites links or that links to our Websites.
Your browser or device may include “Do Not Track” functionality. Our information collection,
disclosure practices, and the choices that we provide will continue to operate as described in this
Privacy Policy, whether or not a Do Not Track signal is received.
YOUR CHOICES ABOUT HOW INFORMATION ABOUT YOU IS USED AND
SHARED
In many instances, you have choices about the information you provide and how we use that
information. These choices are described below. California residents and data subjects in Europe
have additional rights as set forth in the sections entitled Notice to Residents of California and
Notice to Residents of the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
below.
• Marketing Emails: By providing us with an email address, you acknowledge that we
may use your email address to communicate with you. You can opt out of receiving
notifications, service-related communications regarding your account or yourtransactions, promotional and other marketing emails from us by using the “unsubscribe”
feature in our marketing emails.
• Interest-Based Advertising Choices: You also have choices related to interest-based
advertising. Many browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify
your browser’s setting to decline cookies if you prefer. Note that if you choose to remove
cookies, you may remove opt-out cookies that affect your advertising preferences.
Many of the third-party advertisers that place tracking tools on our Websites are members of
programs that offer you additional choices regarding the use of information about you for
advertising. You can learn more about the options available to limit these third parties’ use of
your information by visiting the websites for the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital
Advertising Alliance.
Similarly, you can learn about your options to opt-out of mobile app tracking by certain
advertising networks through your device settings. For more information about how to change
these settings, see the support information for Apple, Android, or Windows devices.
Please note that opting out of participating advertising networks services does not mean that you
will not receive advertising while using our Websites or on other websites, nor will it prevent the
receipt of interest-based advertising from third parties that do not participate in these industry
programs.
NOTICE TO RESIDENTS OF CALIFORNIA
This section is part of our Privacy Policy but applies only to residents of California. State law
provides you with certain rights to receive disclosure regarding the collection, use, and sharing of
“personal information,” as well as rights to access, delete, and restrict the sale of certain personal
information we collect about you. You or your authorized agent may submit a request to exercise
these rights by sending us an email. You have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment
for the exercise of the privacy rights conferred by applicable law.
Collection and Use of Personal Information: The general sections of this Privacy Policy
describe the types of personal information we collect, how we collect it, and how we use it. The
following is a list of categories of personal information that we may have collected from or about
consumers and the sources of that information:
• Identifiers: Name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, IP
address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers. This information is
provided by you, automatically collected when you interact with our Website, or is
provided by a third party.
• Customer records: Name, address, telephone number, education, employment, or
payment account number. This information is provided by you, automatically collected
when you interact with our Website, or is provided by a third party.• Protected classifications: Race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. This
information is provided by you, such as voluntarily disclosed as part of a job application.
• Commercial information: Records of products or services purchased, obtained, or
considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies. This information is
automatically collected based on your interactions with our Website, your purchases, and
your subscriptions.
• Internet or other electronic network activity information: Browsing history, search
history, and information regarding interactions with our Website or advertisements. This
information is automatically collected when you interact with our Website or is provided
by a third party, such as an advertising or analytics provider.
• Geolocation: General or precise location information. This is provided by you when you
provide your address or other location information, check-in at a location, or is inferred
based on your IP address.
• Professional and education data: Employer, title, professional license numbers, work
history, and educational background. This information is provided by you, such as your
conference registration or job application, or is provided by a third party.
• Inferences: Information about your preferences, characteristics, predisposition,
demographic info, attitudes, and favorites. This information is provided by you,
automatically collected when you interact with our Website, or is provided by a third
party.
We collect and use the above categories of personal information for the purposes described
above in the sections entitled How We Use Information We Collect From or About You, How
We Share Your Information with Others, and Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies.
We limit disclosures of personal information for business purposes to service providers, as
described above.
Sale of Personal Information and Right to Opt Out: State law requires companies to include
certain disclosures, including a “Do Not Sell My Personal Info” link on their websites. We do not
knowingly sell the personal information of consumers under 16 years of age. To opt-out of the
sale to third parties, please send us an email and use the cookie manager on our Website to
disable non-necessary cookies. Please note that your right to opt-out does not apply to our
sharing of data with service providers, with whom we work and who are required to use the data
on our behalf.
The following categories of personal information that are disclosed for a business purpose or
“sold” and the related categories of third parties:
• Identifiers: Name, email, unique personal identifiers, online identifiers, IP address, or
other similar identifiers to affiliates, business partners, advertising and marketing
companies, data analytics providers, and social networks.• Internet or other electronic network activity information: Information regarding your
interaction with an internet website, application, or advertisement to affiliates, business
partners, advertising and marketing companies, data analytics providers, and social
networks.
Rights Requests: As noted above, you have the right to request that we disclose what personal
information we collect, use, and sell, as well as the right to request that we delete certain
personal information that we have collected from you. You or your authorized agent may submit
a request to exercise these rights by using our Request for Information or Request for Deletion
tools or sending us an email. We will require you to verify your identity before we can act on
your request. You are required to provide your name and email address to start the verification
process.
Financial Incentives: We may run promotions from time to time and ask you to share personal
information with us. We will always give you clear notice about these types of programs when
you sign up, and participation is always voluntary. If you change your mind, you will be able to
opt-out, and if you do not participate, you will still be able to use our services.
California “Shine the Light” Rights: If you are a California resident and customer, California
law permits you to request certain information regarding the disclosure of your information
about you by us and our related companies to third parties for the third parties' direct marketing
purposes. To make such a request, please send us an email.
NOTICES TO RESIDENTS OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA,
SWITZERLAND, AND UNITED KINGDOM
This section is part of our Privacy Policy but applies only to residents of the European Economic
Area (EEA), Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. For purposes of data protection law, Word
Thread is the controller.
Purposes of Processing: As described in the other sections of our Privacy Policy, we process
your personal data to administer our Websites, process your requests, facilitate access by our
service providers and third parties, send marketing communications, respond to your requests in
connection with employment opportunities, transfer or sell our business, to combine data sets,
and for the other purposes set forth in our Privacy Policy. Also as explained above, we may also
use, transfer, and otherwise use personal data acquired from you directly or by the use of cookies
or other tracking technologies to remember your preferences, conduct analytics, and serve you
with advertising.
Legal Basis: We have several different legal grounds on which we collect and process personal
data, including (a) as necessary to perform a transaction (such as registering for a conference,
subscribing to our newsletters, inquiring about employment, or responding to your requests); (b)
as necessary to comply with a legal obligation; (c) where you have provided consent; and (d)
necessary for legitimate interest when such processing is reasonably expected by you and does
not unduly and negatively affect your privacy rights. If you would like to withdraw your consent,
please use the options that are described in the Your Choices section above. Please keep in mind
that additional basis may still exist for processing that is not based on your consent.Transfers: Your personal data may be transferred to and processed in the United States or
elsewhere in the world that may not provide the same level of data protection as your home
country. We will ensure that transfers of personal data are subject to appropriate safeguards in
accordance with applicable legal requirements to ensure that your data is adequately protected.
Your Rights: You have certain rights under applicable law. These rights include (1) to obtain
information about the processing of your personal data and a copy of your personal data that we
store; (2) to request that we update your personal data if it is inaccurate or incomplete; (3) to
request the deletion of your personal data if it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it
was collected or if you withdraw consent and no other legal basis for processing exists; (4) to
restrict the processing if you contest the accuracy of your personal data, if our processing is
deemed unlawful and you oppose deletion, or if we no longer need the personal data but must
store it to comply with our legal obligations; (5) to receive your personal data and to transfer it to
another controller; (6) to object to our processing when we process your personal data based on
legitimate interest; and (7) to lodge a complaint about our collection or processing of your
personal data with your Data Protection Authority (DPA).
If you would like to exercise rights (1) through (6), please send us an email. To verify your
identity, we may require you to provide us with personal data prior to accessing any records
about you. If you would like to file a complaint with your DPA, contact details for the DPAs in
the EEA and the UK are available at ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-
authorities/index_en.htm and for Switzerland at https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home/
the-fdpic/links/data-protection---switzerland.html.
You are not required to provide all personal data identified in this Privacy Policy to use our
Websites, purchase our services, or to interact with us offline, but certain functionality may not
be available to you. If you do not provide your personal information, we may not be able to
respond to your requests, perform a transaction with you, or provide you with marketing that we
believe you would find valuable. We do not use automated decision-making without human
intervention, including profiling, in a way that produces legal effects concerning you or
otherwise significantly affects you.
OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION
• Users Under Thirteen: Our Websites are intended for users ages thirteen and older only.
If we become aware of information in our database that was collected from a child under
thirteen, we will delete such information.
• Users Outside of the United States: If you use our Websites outside of the United
States, you understand and consent to the transfer of information we collect from or about
you to, and the collection, processing, and storage of information about you in, the United
States and elsewhere. The laws in the U.S. and these countries may be different than the
laws of your country.