FranchisingCandidates.com Privacy Statement

 

Last updated: April 9, 2019

 

The Privacy Statement that follows describes the collection, use and disclosure of information practices pertaining to FranchisingCandidates.com, including any cobranded partner pages powered by FranchisingCandidates.com (the "Site"), which is owned and operated by FranchisingCandidates.com (collectively "FranchisingCandidates.com", "we", "us" or "our"). By accessing, using or registering on the Site, you accept and agree to this Privacy Statement. FranchisingCandidates.com provides a variety of online services to assist individuals, companies, and other interested parties with buying and selling businesses and franchises.

 

This Privacy Statement does not describe the collection, use and disclosure of information through means other than the Site (e.g., offline) or the collection, use and disclosure practices of any third party. For information on a third party's information collection, use and disclosure practices, please review the privacy policy on the applicable third party's website. Also, please note that this Site may contain links to other websites. We are not responsible for the websites, content or privacy practices of any third party. By using this Site, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Statement and agree that you are bound by Terms of Use on FranchisingCandidates.com, which form a legally binding contract between you and us.

 

Collection of Personally Identifiable Information on FranchisingCandidates.com

 

You are not required to provide any personally identifiable information to visit the Site. We automatically collect Usage Data (as described below) and may collect ZIP codes and other information in connection with your use of the Site (e.g., the type of business for sale you are searching). We collect personally identifiable information only when you provide it. You may be required to provide personally identifiable information to use certain services or to fulfill certain requests. In addition, you may submit personally identifiable information in other ways, including: (a) participating in online surveys, promotions, contests and sweepstakes; (b) subscribing to newsletters, editorial content, or promotional content sent via email (which have opt-out instructions if you wish to unsubscribe); (c) submitting content to the Site; and (d) in connection with other products, services, features, or requests made available through the Site, for example the Franchise Request features. The types of personally identifiable information collected will depend on the nature of the submission or the features of the Site used, but could include your name, address, phone number, and/or email address.

 

Passive Information Collection

 

The Site automatically collects information and may also customize your visit through technical means, including the following:

 

1. Cookies: Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer's hard drive by computers (or servers) to identify your computer.
2. Web Beacons: Web beacons (also known as pixel tags, Internet tags, clear GIFs, or single-pixel GIFs) are electronic images embedded into a Web page.
3. IP Address Logs: We also log Internet Protocol (IP) addresses -- the location of your computer on the Internet.

 

Cookies allow us to recognize you when you visit the Site, to personalize your experience and generally to serve you better. For example, if you enter your name, address or ZIP code on one of the Site's forms, it may be stored in a cookie so you do not have to enter it again on other forms on the Site. Cookies and Web beacons (which may be placed by us or a third party tracking utility partner) can tell us what advertising you have seen on the Site, which allows us to offer you a more diverse selection of advertising information and may also be used together to measure the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns. Cookies, Web beacons and IP addresses are also used to compile data regarding Site usage (what Web site you came from, what pages of the Site you visit, how long you were on the Site, what type of browser you are using, what Web site did you go to, etc.). This type of tracking does not identify you personally. Web beacons may also be included in emails sent by the Site to determine when and if such emails are opened or forwarded. You can disable cookies or otherwise manage them through tools provided with your browser software and with third-party software packages. If you turn off cookies, many of the Site's features will not work as well or at all. Anonymous information regarding usage of our Site and services that is collected and/or aggregated by or on behalf of us through the use of such technical means or otherwise is referred to in this Privacy Statement as "Usage Data." The use of third party cookies is not covered by this Privacy Statement. We do not have access or control over these cookies.

 

Collection of Information by Third Parties

 

As noted above, our distribution partners and other third party vendors may collect information about you when using the Site through the use of cookies and Web beacons. For example, third-party advertising companies, such as Google, use cookies to serve advertisements about goods and services that may be of interest to you across the Internet based on your past visits to the Site and other websites. The Site also uses third-party vendors to collect statistical information regarding Site usage. These third-party vendors may note some of the pages you visit on the Site through the use of Web beacons. In the course of serving advertisements to you, these third-party advertising companies may also place or recognize a unique "cookie" on your computer to allow them to recognize Web beacons and otherwise improve advertising effectiveness. The Google Analytics feature implemented and used on this Site includes remarketing display advertising where Google uses a cookie to remember information about your visit and deliver more relevant ads. In addition, the Site may share statistical and behavioral data about visitors to our Sites with these third-party advertising companies for the purpose of managing and targeting advertisements on the Site and/or on other websites. Visitors can opt-out of Google's use of cookies by visiting Google's Website

 

Use of Information Collected

 

Personally Identifiable Information. Personally identifiable information collected by us through your use of the Site may be stored on servers or in a cookie on your computer and may be used by us for any of the following purposes:

 

• To confirm or fulfill a request that you make (e.g., in order to send you franchise information you have requested, we will share your contact information with a participating franchisor).
• To communicate with you regarding the Site service (e.g., the Site may send you emails or alerts you have requested or request that you participate in a survey).
• To send promotional materials, newsletters, or other content via email, targeted advertising, or otherwise, unless you have indicated that you do not wish to receive such materials.
• To improve your user experience.
• To manage relationships with distribution partners, brokers, franchisors, advertisers and other third parties to which the Site may disclose personally identifiable information pursuant to this Privacy Statement (e.g., to provide reporting to advertisers, to provide customer support, and to resolve disputes).
• For Site administration, analysis, research, development, optimization and other internal purposes, including, without limitation, to compile Usage Data.
• Usage Data: Usage Data is used by the Site for administrative, analytical, research, optimization and other purposes. For example, the Site may use statistical analyses of Usage Data in order to measure interest in the various areas of the Site, for development purposes and to inform advertisers and partners in aggregate and anonymous terms about users who click on their advertising or other messages. IP Addresses are also used for systems administration and troubleshooting purposes.
• With respect to promotional materials and newsletters that the Site may send via email from time to time, the Site will not continue to send you such communications if you ask us not to by following the unsubscribe instructions in each promotional email from the Site or by a request sent to our company. However, you agree that the Site may send to you, and you cannot opt out of, communications of a transactional or relationship nature, including, but not limited to, communications regarding fraudulent or illegal activity, account status, changes to this Privacy Statement or the Site's Terms of Use, as well as communications to confirm, fulfill and follow up on your registration, service or a request submitted through the Site.

 

Sharing of Information

 

The Site may share personally identifiable information that you provide with third parties in the following cases:

 

• Distribution partners. The Site may share your personally identifiable information with its distribution partners on the condition that such partner's disclosure and use of the information is consistent with this Privacy Statement.
• Requests. The Site maintains relationships with third party providers for some of the products and services offered through the Site. If you request information or services through the Site, you agree that the Site may share personally identifiable information and Usage Data as may be necessary to provide such information to or perform such services for you. In some cases, the information that you provide through the Site may be collected directly by a third party or its designee (e.g., through forms hosted by such third party or on a page framed with the Site's branding). Personally identifiable information also may be shared with the specific third parties that can respond to your requests in the form of reporting and other follow-up communications. The subsequent use or disclosure of any information collected by or provided to third parties is subject to their privacy policies and practices.
• Direct Marketing. Except as provided herein, it is the Site's policy not to disclose personally identifiable information of our customers to third parties specifically for the third parties' direct marketing purposes. If you are 18 years of age or older and have affirmatively agreed to receive third party direct marketing materials, the Site may share your personally identifiable information with third parties for direct marketing purposes. Although the Site will endeavor to notify all third-party direct marketers that the information provided to them is confidential, the subsequent use or disclosure of information is subject to those third parties' privacy policies and practices.
• Service Providers. The Site may work with third parties that provide services on its behalf. Examples include providers of analytical, development, promotional, research, email and communication, review moderation, and other services. For example, the Site may ask that a third party conduct an online survey or sweepstakes or send newsletters or advertising on its behalf. In such cases, the Site requires that the third party maintain your personally identifiable information as confidential and use the information only to perform the services specified by the Site and not for their own promotional purposes.
• Other. The Site expressly reserves the right to release any personally identifiable information or other information you provide to third parties under the following circumstances: (a) when required by law or legal process, (b) to investigate and/or take action against illegal activity, suspected abuse, or unauthorized use of the Site's services, (c) to protect the property or safety of our users or others, (d) to enforce our Terms of Use and (e) in connection with any sale or other transfer of ownership of all or a part of FranchisingCandidates.com or any of related businesses. If you make any personally identifiable information publicly available on the Site (e.g., by posting a listing which contains personally identifiable information), anyone may see and use such information and we are not responsible for such use. The Site reserves the right to share any personally identifiable information you post on the Site with third parties with your prior consent. To the extent the Site does so, the subsequent use and disclosure of such information is subject to the privacy policies and practices of those third parties.

 

Please note that the messages that the Site sends to you to confirm, fulfill, or follow up on a request may incidentally include promotional material or other content from the Site or its partners. In the case of these messages, the Site is not sharing your personally identifiable information with those third parties. The Site reserves the right to share Usage Data with any third party for any reason.

 

Use of Email Tools

 

You may NOT use the Email the Broker, Email a Listing service or other email services that we offer to send spam (i.e. unsolicited commercial email) or otherwise send content that would violate FranchisingCandidates.com's Terms of Use. We may monitor, track or save the use of this feature, in our sole discretion. If you send an email using the Email a Listing to a Friend service to an email address that is not registered in our system, we do not use that email address for any purpose other than to send your email, and for us to automatically send your friend a one-time email inviting him or her to visit the site. FranchisingCandidates.com stores this information for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email and for tracking the success of our referral program. We also do not rent or sell these email addresses of un-registered users.

 

Security of personal information

 

FranchisingCandidates.com's clients and their personal information are considered to be FranchisingCandidates.com's greatest asset and thus their privacy is treated with the utmost regard and respect. FranchisingCandidates.com takes every reasonable precaution to secure personal information within both its computers and its physical premises.

 

The security of your personal information is important to FranchisingCandidates.com. When you enter sensitive information on our registration or order forms, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL).

 

We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. No method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure, however. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

 

If you have any questions about security on our website, please contact us.

 

Public Member Directory

 

We will list you in our publicly accessible member directory. If you wish to request removal of your information from our directory, you can contact us directly.

 

Opting-out, editing, updating or deleting personal information

 

FranchisingCandidates.com utilizes email as a vital and primary communication channel with registered users and customers. As a registered user/customer, you hereby acknowledge and grant FranchisingCandidates.com the permission to communicate with you via email (as well as other communication channels such as phone and fax) for any purposes FranchisingCandidates.com determines to be relevant including, but not limited to, system messages, product updates, service announcements and other marketing messages. FranchisingCandidates.com will use best efforts to honor customers request to opt out of marketing messages, but under no circumstances will FranchisingCandidates.com have any liability for sending any email to its registered users/customers.

 

Users who do not wish to receive marketing emails including the FranchisingCandidates.com Bulletins, FranchisingCandidates.com promotional Emails, or Sponsor Emails are requested to contact us or select the opt-out option that is available on all email correspondence. Additionally, users may also opt out of Saved Search Email Alerts by returning to the Saved Search section and clicking on the "Remove this Search" button. We also send our users site and service announcement updates. Members are not able to un-subscribe from service announcements, which contain important information about service notices and responsibilities. FranchisingCandidates.com occasionally communicates with its users via email and phone to provide information about requested services and regarding issues related to their account. It is important to note that this communication is not used for marketing or promotional purposes. Requesting the deletion of certain types of user information may prevent users from accessing some website features.

 

You may correct or update your personal information by going to the area of the site where you submitted the information, and following the instructions to view, change or delete the information.

 

If your personal information changes, or if you no longer desire our service, you may correct, delete or update your personal information by making the change on your member profile page or by contacting us directly.

 

Global Privacy Considerations

 

Personal information collected by FranchisingCandidates.com, where applicable, is stored and processed in the United States. When you provide personal information to FranchisingCandidates.com, you consent to the processing (if applicable) and transfer of your information within the United States. We follow applicable data protection laws when transferring personal information.

 

European Economic Area Privacy Rights

 

For website users in the European Economic Area, FranchisingCandidates.com will process your personal information, where applicable, for the legitimate interests of FranchisingCandidates.com, or, when needed, with your explicit consent. If you have provided consent for the processing of your personal information, you have the right to withdraw consent at any time, which will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before your consent was withdrawn. If you wish to have more information regarding the legitimate interests assessment we have conducted in order to reach this conclusion please contact us by email.

 

You have the right to request access to and rectification or erasure of your personal information, as well as the right to restrict processing, object to processing, and under certain circumstances the right to data portability. You may do so by contacting FranchisingCandidates.com’s Privacy Officer. You have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority if you believe that we have not complied with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation with regard to your personal information.

 

Notification Procedures

 

FranchisingCandidates.com may provide notifications, whether such notifications are required by law or are for marketing or other business related purposes, to you via email notice, written or hard copy notice (including via fax), or through posting of such notice on our website, as determined by FranchisingCandidates.com in our sole discretion. FranchisingCandidates.com reserves the right to determine the form and means of providing notifications to our users, provided that you may opt out of certain means of notification as described herein. FranchisingCandidates.com is not responsible for any automatic filtering you or your network provider may apply to email notifications we send to the email address you provide us. We recommend that you add our newsletter email address to your email address book to help ensure you receive email notifications from us.

 

Changes to this Privacy Statement

 

If FranchisingCandidates.com decides to change this Privacy Statement, we will post those changes to this Privacy Statement and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

 

FranchisingCandidates.com reserves the right to modify this Privacy Statement at any time, so please review it frequently. If FranchisingCandidates.com makes material changes to this Privacy Statement, we will notify you here and by email.

 

Children

 

The Site believes that it is especially important to protect children's privacy online. The Site does not knowingly collect or use any personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 and Site does not knowingly provide any personally identifiable information, regardless of its source, to any third party for any purpose whatsoever from visitors younger than 13 years old. No information should be submitted to or posted at the Site by visitors younger than 13 years old.

 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, please contact us, thank you.