This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their “Personally Identifiable Information” (PII) is being used online. PII, as used in US & GDPR privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.
What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our blog, website, or app?
When ordering or registering on our site, as appropriate, you may be asked to enter your name, email address, mailing address, credit card information, or other details to help you with your experience.
When do we collect information?
We collect information from you when you register on our site, place an order, subscribe to a newsletter, enter information on our site, voluntarily complete a customer survey or provide feedback on any of our message boards or via email or when you use or view our website via your browser’s cookies.
How do we use your information?
We may use the information we collect from you when you register, make a purchase, sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
• To personalize user’s experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.
• To improve our website in order to better serve you.
• To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
• To quickly process your transactions (this includes sharing your postal address information with relevant third-party shipping companies).
• To send periodic emails regarding your order or other products and services.
When ImTheStory processes your order, it may send your data to, and also use the resulting information from, credit reference agencies to prevent fraudulent purchases.
How do we protect visitor information?
Our website is scanned on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible.
We use regular Malware Scanning.
Your personal information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. In addition, all sensitive/credit information you supply is encrypted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology.
We implement a variety of security measures when a user places an order to maintain the safety of your personal information.
All transactions are processed through a gateway provider and are not stored or processed on our servers.
What are Cookies and do we use ‘cookies’?
Cookies are text files placed on your computer to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information. When you visit our website, we may collect information from you automatically through cookies or similar technology
For further information, visit allaboutcookies.org.
We do not use cookies for tracking purposes
You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser (like Internet Explorer) settings. Each browser is a little different, so look at your browser’s Help menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.
If you disable cookies off, some features will be disabled that make your site experience more efficient and some of our services will not function properly.
However, you can still place orders.
What types of cookies do we use?
There are a number of distinct types of cookies, however, our website uses:
Functionality – ImTheStory uses these cookies so that we recognize you on our website and remember your previously selected preferences. These could include what language you prefer and location you are in. A mix of first-party and third-party cookies are used.
Advertising – ImTheStory uses these cookies to collect information about your visit to our website, the content you viewed, the links you followed and information about your browser, device, and your IP address. ImTheStory sometimes shares some limited aspects of this data with third parties for advertising purposes. We may also share online data collected through cookies with our advertising partners. This means that when you visit another website, you may be shown advertising based on your browsing patterns on our website.
Third Party Disclosure
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information unless we provide you with advance notice. This does not include website hosting partners and other parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. We may also release your information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect our or others rights, property, or safety.
However, non-personally identifiable visitor information may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses.
Third party links
We do not include or offer third party products or services on our website.
Google’s advertising requirements can be summed up by Google’s Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1316548?hl=en
We have not enabled Google AdSense on our site but we may do so in the future.
California Online Privacy Protection Act
CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require a person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting personally identifiable information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals with whom it is being shared, and to comply with this policy. – See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf
According to CalOPPA we agree to the following:
Users can visit our site anonymously
Once this privacy policy is created, we will add a link to it on our home page, or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering our website.
Our Privacy Policy link includes the word ‘Privacy’, and can be easily be found on the page specified above.
Users will be notified of any privacy policy changes:
• Via Email
Users are able to change their personal information:
• By emailing us
How does our site handle do not track signals?
We honor do not track signals and do not track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.
Does our site allow third party behavioral tracking?
It’s also important to note that we do not allow third party behavioral tracking
COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under 13, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.
We do not specifically market to children under 13.
Fair Information Practices
The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.
In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices we will take the following responsive action, should a data breach occur:
We will notify the users via email
• Within 7 business days
We will notify the users via in site notification
• Within 7 business days
We also agree to the individual redress principle, which requires that individuals have a right to pursue legally enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or a government agency to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.
CAN SPAM Act
The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.
To be in accordance with CANSPAM we agree to the following:
If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us via our contact form and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.
Additional Information for our GDPR EU customers: How do we store your data & What are your data protection rights?
ImTheStory securely stores your data on secure Siteground servers.
ImTheStory will keep your name and mailing address for 30 days unless you request we retain it for faster future checkouts. Once this time period has expired, we will delete your data. We keep data relating to the amount a customer spends for periods up to 6 years for legal reasons.
ImTheStory would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every user is entitled to the following:
The right to access – You have the right to request ImTheStory for copies of your personal data. We may charge you a small fee for this service.
The right to rectification – You have the right to request that ImTheStory correct any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request ImTheStory to complete the information you believe is incomplete.
The right to erasure – You have the right to request that ImTheStory erase your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that ImTheStory restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to ImTheStory’s processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.
The right to data portability – You have the right to request that ImTheStory transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please reach out to us via our contact form.
Changes to our privacy policy
ImTheStory keeps its privacy policy under regular review and places any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated on the 13th of July 2022.
How to contact us
If you have any questions about our privacy policy, the data we hold relating to you, or you would like to exercise one of your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to reach out to us via our contact form on our website.
Addressing your concerns
Should you wish to report a complaint or if you feel that ImTheStory has not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner, you may contact the Information Commissioner’s Office.