Privacy Policy

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 PURPOSE OF POLICY.

The Living Planet Aquarium (the "Aquarium") is committed to respecting the privacy rights of its customers, visitors and other users of the Aquarium website (the "Site"). For purposes of this Privacy Policy, "Site" shall include all Aquarium mobile applications. We created this Privacy Policy (the "Policy") to give you confidence as you visit and use the Site and to demonstrate our commitment to fair information practices and the protection of privacy. This Policy is only applicable to the Site and not to any other websites that you may be able to access from the Site, each of which may have data collection and use practices and policies that differ materially from this Policy. The Aquarium is not responsible for the privacy policies, if any, of such other websites.

1.2 NOTICE CONCERNING CHILDREN.

At the Aquarium, we are especially concerned with protecting the privacy of children who visit the Site. We fully support and are in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, though nonprofit organizations such as ours are not subject to its provisions. Please note the following:

You may consent to our collection of Personal Information from your child by sending us an e-mail identifying yourself and your child and authorizing us to collect personal information from your child. You can also reach us via e-mail at info@thelivingplanet.com.

2. INFORMATION COLLECTION PRACTICES.

2.1 WHAT BASIC INFORMATION DOES THE AQUARIUM COLLECT?

In operating the Site, the Aquarium may include registration, online surveys and other online forms that ask users to provide their names, e-mail addresses, mailing addresses and other contact information, as well as additional personal and financial information.

2.2 WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION DOES THE AQUARIUM COLLECT?

  • Automatic Collection. The Site automatically recognizes visitors’ domain names and IP addresses (the number assigned to computers on the internet). No personal information about you is revealed in this process. The Site may also gather anonymous "traffic data" that does not personally identify you for marketing purposes or for improving the services we offer. Like most major sites, we collect and analyze such information to help us improve the Site for our visitors. This helps us determine which pages you visit, how long you stay and the site you visited immediately beforehand. Your IP address is used to help identify your computer and your shopping cart and to gather broad demographic information.
  • Cookies. From time to time, we may use the standard "cookies" feature of major browser applications that allows us to store a small piece of data on your computer about your visit to the Site. We do not set any personally identifiable information in cookies, nor do we employ any data capture mechanisms on the Site other than cookies. Cookies help us learn which areas of the Site are useful and which areas need improvement. You can choose whether to accept cookies by changing the settings on your browser. However, if you choose to disable this function, your experience at the Site may be diminished and some features may not work as they were intended.
  • Personal Information Collected. In order for you to access certain services and information, make donations and to purchase tickets, memberships or other items that we offer via the Site, we require you to provide us with certain information that personally identifies you
  • ("Personal Information"). Personal Information includes the following categories of information:
    1. Contact Data (such as your name, mailing address and e-mail address);
    2. Financial Data (such as your bank account or credit card number); and
    3. Demographic Data (such as your zip code, age and income). If you communicate with us by e-mail, text message or other electronic means, or by accessing the Site through a third-party site or service, any information provided in such communication may be collected as Personal Information. In addition, if you post messages to any of our chat groups, bulletin boards or forums, or otherwise complete online forms, surveys or contest entries, any information provided in such communication may be collected as Personal Information.
  • Comments. We provide forms and links in places throughout the Site for you to send comments and ideas, to ask for more information and to report problems you may experience on the Site. Even if you e-mail us through one of our response forms on the Site, we cannot determine your e-mail address unless you include it in your response. With your permission, we may wish to post your comments on the Site. If we identify you, it will be by your first name, initials, or display name only, unless you specifically authorize otherwise.
  • Reservations, Purchases and Donations. If you make reservations, make donations to the Aquarium or purchase tickets, memberships or other items on the Site, you will be asked to provide personal and financial information so that we may process your transaction. Also, we use "cookies" stored on your computer to keep track of your shopping cart as you move through the store.
  • Suggestions. We welcome your e-mail messages and suggestions for improving the Site. We will use any personal information you send us only to respond to your message. Please note that any suggestions or ideas you submit to us will become the property of the Aquarium and can be used by us for any purpose.
  • Surveys. If you choose to participate in one of the surveys on the Site, we may ask you for certain demographic and other Personal Information. We do not share this information with others.
  • Interactive Programs. This Site will contain interactive programs in which you can participate. Any information that you provide will be stored in our system and not shared with others.

3. USE AND SHARING OF INFORMATION.

3.1 USE OF INFORMATION.

We may use Contact Data to send you information about the Aquarium, our products or services or promotional material from our partners or to contact you when necessary. We may also use Contact Data to solicit donations or invite you to become a member of the Aquarium. If you have provided it to us, we may use your Financial Data to verify your qualifications for certain products or services and to bill you for products and services you have requested. We may use your Demographic Data to customize and tailor your experience on the Site, displaying content that we think you might be interested in and according to your preferences.

3.2 SHARING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.

We may share certain categories of information we collect from you in the ways described in this Privacy Policy. We share Demographic Data with advertisers and other third parties, but only on an aggregate (i.e., non-personally identifiable) basis. We may share Contact Data with other companies who may send you information about their products or services, unless you have specifically requested that we not share Contact Data with such companies. We also share Contact Data and Financial Data with other businesses performing services (such as hosting, billing, fulfillment, or data storage and security) related to our operation of the Site. Those businesses have all agreed to uphold generally the same standards of security and confidentiality that we have promised to you in this Privacy Policy, and they will only use your Contact Data and other Personal Information to carry out their specific business obligations to the Aquarium. If you do not want us to share your Contact and Financial Data with any third parties, please e-mail us at info@thelivingplanet.com, but please understand that such a request will likely limit your ability to take advantage of all of the features and services we offer on the Site.

3.3 ANONYMOUS INFORMATION.

We may collect information anonymously in order to analyze Site traffic, but we do not examine this information for individually identifying information. For instance, we may use anonymous IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server, to administer the Site, or to display content according to your preferences. Traffic and transaction information may also be shared with business partners and advertisers on an aggregate and anonymous basis.

3.4 USE OF COOKIES.

We may use cookies to deliver content specific to your interests, to save your password so you don't have to re-enter it each time you visit the Site, or for other purposes. Promotions or advertisements displayed on the Site may use cookies. We do not have access to or control over information collected by outside advertisers on the Site.

3.5 DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.

We may disclose Personal Information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (1) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on the Aquarium or its subsidiaries or affiliates; (2) protect and defend the rights or property of the Aquarium or the users of the Site; or (3) act under exigent circumstances to protect the safety of the public or users of the Site.

3.6 ACCESS TO INFORMATION.

The Aquarium does not maintain any procedures for you to review or request changes to the information that we collect about you. However, you may request that we remove all information about you from our database by contacting us via email at info@thelivingplanet.com.

3.7 USER CHOICE REGARDING COLLECTION, USE AND DISTRIBUTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.

You may choose not to provide us with any Personal Information. In such an event, you can still access and use much of the Site; however you will not be able to access and use those portions of the Site that require your Personal Information. If you do not wish to receive information and promotional material from us or from our partners, you may select the appropriate "opt-out" option each time we ask you for Personal Information.

4. SECURITY.

The Site has security measures designed to prevent the loss, misuse or alteration of information that we obtain from you, but we make no assurances about our ability to prevent any resulting loss or expense to you or to any third party arising out of any such loss, misuse or alteration. Therefore, you should be careful about the personal information which you provide to us on the Site. If you have established an Aquarium online account, you must promptly notify us if you become aware that your user name or password has been compromised and we will promptly take measures to protect your Personal Information.

5. WEBSITE AREAS BEYOND THE AQUARIUM’S CONTROL.

5.1 PUBLIC FORUMS.

The Site may include interactive forums such as message boards and chat rooms. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information.

5.2 THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES.

The Site may contain links to other websites, and you may access the Site via another website or service. We are not responsible for the privacy policies, practices or content of other websites, even if linked to the Aquarium’s.

6. CONTACT INFORMATION AND POLICY UPDATES.

6.1 CONTACTING US.

If you have any questions about this Policy or our practices related to the Site, or if you would like to manage information in your online account or otherwise related to our Site, please contact us via e-mail at info@thelivingplanet.com.

6.2 UPDATES AND CHANGES.

We reserve the right, at any time, to revise this Policy simply by posting a revised Policy and without any notice to you. Any such revision will be effective immediately upon posting on the Site. It is your responsibility to review this Policy from time to time to ensure that you continue to agree with all of its terms.