Seattle Aquarium Society Website Privacy Statement & Terms of Use
Scope of the Privacy Policy
This website is operated by Seattle Aquarium. We refer to this organization as “Seattle Aquarium,” "we" or "our." The Seattle Aquarium understands the importance of our constituents' privacy. Our privacy policy tells you what information we collect when you visit our website; how we use, share and protect it; what choices you have about how the information is used; and how you can access and update that information. If you do not agree to this privacy policy, please do not use this website. This privacy policy applies to personally identifiable information collected on the website where this privacy policy is posted. Certain aspects of this privacy policy also apply to the personally identifiable information we collect offline.
For purposes of this privacy policy, "personally identifiable information" means information that identifies a particular individual, such as name, postal address, email address, and phone number. When other information, such as email newsletter choices, interests, etc., are directly associated with personally identifiable information, this other information also becomes personally identifiable information.
Information Collection:
Personally Identifiable Information We Collect
There are many features on this website for which no registration is required. However, if you are interested in obtaining information from the Seattle Aquarium, or in participating in certain activities on this website (such as subscribing to our e-newsletter, becoming a member of the Seattle Aquarium, making an online donation to the Seattle Aquarium, or participating in certain special initiatives), you may need to provide us with information about yourself. For example, if you make a donation to us, we ask for your name, postal address, email address, telephone number and credit card number. If you participate in an activity such as a survey or sweepstakes, we may also ask you to provide other types of information, such as gender and personal interests, which we may associate with personally identifiable information. In addition, we may combine personally identifiable information that you have provided to us with other information that is publicly available or that we receive from other reputable sources.
Other Information Collected Through Technology
In addition to information you choose to provide to us, we also collect non-personally identifiable information through technology to make our site more interesting and useful to you. For instance, when you come to our site, we collect your internet protocol ("IP") address. An IP address is often associated with the portal through which you enter the internet, like your ISP (internet service provider). Standing alone, your IP address is not personally identifiable. At times, we also use IP addresses to collect information regarding the frequency with which our visitors visit various parts of our sites. We may combine this information with personally identifiable information that you have provided to us and/or with other information that is publicly available or that we receive from other reputable sources in order to make our website and communications more targeted to your interests.
Our website also uses cookies. Cookies are small text files that are stored on a user's computer and allow websites to remember information about users. We use cookies for a variety of purposes in order to enhance the quality of our website. We use transient (also called "session ID") cookies to provide continuity from page to page. A session ID cookie expires when you close your browser. Cookies allow us to personalize your return visits to our site and to save you time during certain activities, such as making a repeat donation. You can choose to remove cookies through your browser options. However, if you do so, your ability to use some areas of our site will be limited.
Finally, our website uses a variety of technical methods for tracking purposes, including clear gifs (also known as web beacons). Clear gifs are small pieces of data that are embedded in images on the pages of websites. We use these technical methods to tell us what parts of our website you have visited or to measure the effectiveness of any searches you may do on our site. These technical methods may involve the transmission of information directly to us or to a service provider authorized by us to collect information on our behalf. We also use these technical methods in HTML emails that we send our visitors who have agreed to receive email from us, to determine whether our visitors have opened those emails and/or clicked on links in those emails. The information from use of these technical methods may be combined with information that is personally identifiable so that we can make our website, and any emails you have agreed to receive, more interesting to you.
Information Use
The Seattle Aquarium may use your personally identifiable information to deliver the products and services that you request, enhance your experience on our site, provide you with informational and/or promotional materials that you might find interesting, and for internal business analysis and other business purposes consistent with this policy. These uses may generally be categorized as relationship maintenance uses and promotional uses. We describe these uses in more detail below.
Relationship Maintenance Uses
The Seattle Aquarium uses your personally identifiable information to maintain and manage your account, deliver services that you have requested, and generally enhance your experience on our website. Collectively, we refer to these types of uses as "Relationship Maintenance Uses," and they include all the ways in which we use your personally identifiable information to maintain and manage our relationship with you that do not involve sending promotional materials. Examples of Relationship Maintenance Uses include, but are not limited to:
- Processing and tracking your e-subscriptions
- Processing and tracking your online donations to the Seattle Aquarium
- Providing the services you request
- Sending you administrative communications
- Sending you surveys
- Sending you updates to our privacy policy
- Making changes to web-based features
Promotional Uses
The Seattle Aquarium may also use your personally identifiable information to provide you with promotional information about activities, services and products offered by us, including promotional material that you have requested. (However, you may opt out of receiving promotional communications from us by email, as explained below and in the section entitled "Your Choices"). Examples of promotional uses include, but are not limited to:
- Providing you with information about educational opportunities
- Providing you with email newsletters
The Seattle Aquarium Society may provide you with promotional materials by postal mail, email, telephone or other means. You may opt out of receiving promotional communications from us by email as provided in the "Your Choices" section below. You may always opt out of receiving subsequent promotional emails by clicking on the unsubscribe link that we provide in every such promotional email message. Please keep in mind, however, that when you purchase or request products or services from the Seattle Aquarium Society, promotional materials may accompany delivery of that product or service. Any opt-outs that you may make will therefore not apply to these materials because they accompany products or services that you have requested.
Information Sharing and Disclosure
We take very seriously our responsibility to maintain your privacy with respect to your personally identifiable information. We will therefore share that information only with the following entities, and only in the manner described below.
Service Providers
The Seattle Aquarium Society contracts with other companies to provide certain services on our behalf, including credit card processing, shipping, email distribution, and promotions management. We provide these companies only with the information they need to perform their services, and they are permitted to use the information only for that specific purpose or as required by law, unless any additional use or sharing of the information is separately permitted under another provision of this privacy policy.