Your Privacy

Welcome to ParentShack!

All Products and Services on ParentShack are made available subject to this Privacy Policy. By using the Products and Services, you agree, without limitation or qualification, to be bound by this Privacy Policy.

ParentShack will update this policy from time to time so please check back periodically. When such changes occur, you will see the word "updated" next to the Privacy Policy link on the front page of each site on ParentShack. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, we will prominently post such changes prior to implementing them.

What information of yours does ParentShack collect?

Our goal is to become the best family web site building service on the Internet. To achieve this goal, ParentShack must collect information so we can understand how our users visit our site and identify ways in which we can improve our offerings.

Information collected online is usually defined as being either anonymous or personally identifiable.

• Anonymous information refers to data that cannot be tied back to a specific individual. For example, ParentShack collects some information each time a visitor comes to our site so we can improve the overall quality of the visitor's online experience. ParentShack collects the visitor's IP address (e.g., whether the user is logged on from aol.com), referral data (e.g., the address of the last URL a user visited prior to clicking through to ParentShack), and browser and platform type (e.g., a Netscape browser on a Macintosh platform). ParentShack collects this user information for purposes of product monitoring and product improvement. You do not have to register with ParentShack before we can collect this anonymous information.
  
  
• Personally identifiable information refers to data that tells us specifically who you are, such as your name and postal address, which may be collected in addition to the anonymous data described above. ParentShack collects personal information in the following ways:

  a. ParentShack Registration: You are sharing personally identifiable information with ParentShack when you register with ParentShack. When you register, you will provide ParentShack with your name, postal address, e-mail address, ZIP code, telephone number, and other information. While not all of this data is required for our services to function, we are better able to customize your experience if you volunteer complete and accurate information.

  b. Correspondence: If you contact ParentShack, we may keep a record of that correspondence. We do not collect any e-mail addresses of those who communicate with ParentShack via e-mail. We use the information provided so that we may respond to the e-mail.

  c. Visits: If you visit a ParentShack web site, your visit may be logged and reported back to the site owner for traffic reporting purposes.
  
  

In addition to the personally identifiable information that ParentShack actively collects when you register, we also collect anonymous information passively using cookies. This technology plays an important role in making the Internet work, but there is much confusion among Internet users about what cookies are and how they are used.

A cookie is a small text file containing a unique identification number that is transferred from a Web site to the hard drive of your computer so that the site administrator may identify your computer and passively track its activities on the Web site. This unique number identifies your Web browser --but not you-- to ParentShack's computers whenever you visit ParentShack. A cookie will not allow a Web site to learn any personally identifiable information (such as your real name and address) that you have not otherwise disclosed.

To provide some features and to help serve you better, ParentShack generally uses cookies to:

• Remember your Web browser so we can offer and provide personalized services such as MyShack. We use cookies to store and sometimes track information about where a Web browser has visited.
  
  
• Save your passwords and preferences so that you will not have to re-enter them during your visit or the next time you visit. This information is normally saved in an encrypted form that only ParentShack can interpret.
  
  
• Measure traffic patterns. Without cookies, it could be difficult for ParentShack to know which features are more popular than others. This information helps us to better understand when to launch new services.

Since cookies are only text files, they cannot run like a program on your computer, search your computer for other information, or transmit any information to anyone.

The use of cookies is now an industry standard, and they are currently used on most major Web sites. ParentShack requires the use of cookies for the site to work. The site will not function properly if you set your browser to refuse all cookies. Most Web browsers are initially set up to accept cookies.

The following are examples of how ParentShack may use the information it collects:

• ParentShack uses the aggregate data to perform statistical analyses of the collective characteristics and behavior of our registered users and visitors, to measure user demographics and interests regarding specific areas of ParentShack and to analyze how and where best to use our resources. Without such data, we would not know which parts of ParentShack are the most popular, and we would not be able to change and update the content and services appropriately.
  
  
• ParentShack may, from time to time, use your information to contact you about changes or enhancements to Products and Services on ParentShack.
  
  
• ParentShack will disclose information about individual users to law enforcement agencies, judicial or governmental authorities, or to other individuals or entities in response to subpoena, court order, or other legal process. In matters involving a danger to personal or public safety, ParentShack may voluntarily provide information to appropriate governmental authorities
  
  

ParentShack provides its registered users the ability to access and edit the personal information in their user profiles. You can access your user profile by following these steps:

• Go directly to http://www.ParentShack.com/ You will receive a prompt to log in with your ParentShack Username and password.
• After you log in, you will be taken to the MyShack page, which contains a link to your user profile. Click on that link to view and update your profile. If you see a field that needs to be updated, change the appropriate information.
• Make the necessary changes and click the Update button to save your changes.
  
  

ParentShack has security measures in place to attempt to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of your user data under our control. Only authorized employees have access to the information you provide us. ParentShack has implemented strict rules on employees who have access either to the databases that store user information or to the servers that host our services. While we cannot guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration to data will not occur, we take many precautions to prevent such unfortunate occurrences. Any other particularly sensitive information, such as your credit card number is encrypted prior to transmission.

You are ultimately responsible for the security of your ParentShack ID and password. Please take care when using and storing them. ParentShack recommends that you do not divulge your password to anyone. You should log out of your browser at the end of each computer session to ensure that others cannot access your personal information and correspondence, especially if you share a computer with someone else or are using a computer in a public place like a library or Internet cafe.

Questions regarding this statement should be emailed to us by clicking here.

Last updated May 2, 2002.