This Privacy Policy was last modified on April 4, 2013, and was first published and made effective on January 1, 2012.
Uniiverse Collaborative Lifestyle, Inc. (“Universe,” “we,” or “us”) knows that you care how information about you is used and shared. This Privacy Policy explains what information of yours will be collected by Universe when you use the Universe Service, how the information will be used, and how you can control the collection, correction and/or deletion of information. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information we collect by other means (including offline) or from other sources. Capitalized terms that are not defined in this Privacy Policy have the meaning given to them in our Terms of Use.
YOUR INFORMATION MAY BE TRANSFERRED TO – AND MAINTAINED ON – COMPUTERS LOCATED OUTSIDE YOUR STATE, PROVINCE, COUNTRY OR OTHER GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTION WHERE THE PRIVACY LAWS MAY NOT BE AS PROTECTIVE AS THOSE IN YOUR JURISDICTION. IF YOU ARE LOCATED OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES AND CHOOSE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO US, UNIVERSE TRANSFERS PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND PROCESSES IT THERE. YOUR CONSENT TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY FOLLOWED BY YOUR SUBMISSION OF SUCH INFORMATION REPRESENTS YOUR AGREEMENT TO THAT TRANSFER.
User-Provided Information: You provide us personally identifiable information about yourself, such as your name and e-mail address, if you register for a Universe Account with the Service (including by “following,” “liking,” adding the Universe application, linking your account to the Universe service, etc., on a third party website or network). You may provide us personally identifiable information in User Content you post to the Service, including without limitation by posting or booking a Listing. If you correspond with us by email, we may retain the content of your email messages, your email address and our responses. We may also retain any messages you send through the Service.
We also collect the other information that you provide as part of registration and the administration and personalization of your Universe Account profile, including without limitation your zip code (on its own) and individual preferences or demographic information. (“Non-Personally Identifiable Information”).
Non-Personally Identifiable Information may be used in conjunction with other information in a manner that may constitute personally identifiable information (for example, combining your zip code with your street address).
We may combine your personally identifiable information with Non-Personally Identifiable Information and aggregate it with information collected from other Universe Users to provide you with a better experience, to improve the quality and value of the Service, and to analyze and understand our Service. We may also use the combined information without aggregating it to serve you specifically, for instance to deliver a product to you in accordance with your account preferences.
Cookies Information: When you visit the Service, we may send one or more cookies - a small text file containing a string of alphanumeric characters - to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser and lets Universe help you log in faster and enhance your navigation through the site. A cookie may also convey information about how you browse the Service to us. A cookie does not collect personal information about you. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive after you close your browser. Persistent cookies may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the site. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser’s directions. A session cookie is temporary and disappears after you close your browser. You can reset your web browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of the Service may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled.
Log File Information: Log file information is automatically reported by your browser each time you access a web page. When you use the Service, our servers automatically record certain log file information. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type, referring / exit pages and URLs, number of clicks and how you interact with links on the Service, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed, and other such information. Log file information is not personally identifiable, however, log file information may be used in conjunction with other information in a manner that may constitute personally identifiable information.
Clear Gifs Information: When you use the Service, we may employ clear gifs (also known as web beacons) which are used to track the online usage patterns of our users anonymously. In addition, we may also use clear gifs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened by recipients. The information is used to enable more accurate reporting, improve the effectiveness of our marketing, and make Universe better for our users. Clear gif information is not personally identifiable, however, clear gif information may be used in conjunction with other information in a manner that may constitute personally identifiable information.
Device Identifiers: When you access the Service by or through a mobile device, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store one or more “device identifiers.” Device identifiers are small data files or similar data structures stored on or associated with your mobile device, which uniquely identify your mobile device and are used by us to enhance your use of the Service. A device identifier may be data stored in connection with the device hardware, data stored in connection with the device’s operating system or other software, or data sent to the device by Universe. A device identifier may convey information about how you browse the Service to us. A device identifier does not collect or share any personally identifiable information about you, however, a device identifier may be used in conjunction with other information in a manner that may constitute personally identifiable information. A device identifier may remain persistently on your device, to help you log in faster and enhance your navigation through the Service. Some features of the Service may not function properly if use or availability of device identifiers are impaired or disabled.
Location Data: When you utilize the Service by or through a mobile device, web application or other means, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store “location data,” which may include GPS coordinates (e.g. latitude and/or longitude) or similar information regarding the location of your mobile device. Location data may convey information about how you browse the Service to us. Location data does not collect or share any personally identifiable information about you, however, location data may be used in conjunction with other information in a manner that may constitute personally identifiable information. Some features of the Service, particularly location-based services, may not function properly if use or availability of location data is impaired or disabled.
Third Party Services: Universe uses third party analytics services, including but not limited to Google Analytics and Amplitude to help understand use of the Service. These services collect the information sent by your browser as part of a web page request, including cookies and your IP address. Their use of such information is governed by their Privacy Policy.
We use the personal information you submit to operate, maintain, and provide to you the features and functionality of the Service.
By providing Universe your email address (including by “following,” “liking,” adding the Universe application, linking your account to the Universe service, etc., on a third party website or network), you consent to our using the email address to send you Service-related notices, including any notices required by law, in lieu of communication by postal mail. You also agree that we may send you notifications of activity on the Service to the email address you give us, in accordance with any applicable privacy settings. We may use your email address to send you other messages, such as newsletters, changes to features of the Service, or special offers. If you do not want to receive such email messages, you may opt out or change your preferences in the account tab of your settings page. Opting out may prevent you from receiving email messages regarding updates, improvements, or offers. You may not opt out of Service-related e-mails.
Universe may use certain information about you and/or your User Content internally for purposes such as analyzing how the Service is used, diagnosing service or technical problems, maintaining security, and personalizing content.
Universe reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor the User Content you post on the Service. We reserve the right to remove any such information or material for any reason or no reason, including without limitation if in our sole opinion such information or material violates, or may violate, any applicable law or our Terms of Use Agreement, or to protect or defend our rights or property or those of any third party. Universe also reserves the right to remove information upon the request of any third party.
We use cookies, clear gifs, log file information, device identifiers, and location data to: (a) remember information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the site; (b) provide custom, personalized content and information; (c) monitor the effectiveness of our Service; (d) monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, and demographic patterns; (e) diagnose or fix technology problems reported by our Users or engineers that are associated with certain IP addresses; (f) help you efficiently access your information after you sign in; and (h) track User Content and Users to the extent necessary to comply as a service provider with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act; and (i) automatically update the Universe application on your system and related devices.
If you submit any testimonials, comments, or other messages to Universe (collectively, “Testimonials”), we may ask you for your consent to post your Testimonial on the Service, and to use your Testimonial in our promotional efforts, along with your name and photo. If you want your Testimonial removed, please contact us at support@universe.com.
Personally Identifiable Information: Universe may share your personally identifiable information with third parties for the purpose of providing and improving the Service. For instance, Universe may share your personal and financial information with our third party payment processor(s), as necessary to facilitate the creation of and booking of Listings. We may also share your relevant personally identifiable information with Buyers and Sellers, as necessary to facilitate the creation and booking of Listings. If we do this, such third parties’ use of your information will be bound by this Privacy Policy. We may store personal information in locations outside the direct control of Universe (for instance, on servers or databases co-located with hosting providers). We may also provide personally identifiable information to carefully selected business partners or other trusted entities for the purpose of providing you with information on goods or services we believe will be of interest to you. You can, at any time, opt out of receiving such communications or offers by following the instructions contained in the communications.
As we develop our business, we may buy or sell assets or business offerings. Customer, email, and visitor information is generally one of the transferred business assets in these types of transactions. We may also transfer or assign such information in the course of corporate divestitures, mergers, or dissolution.
Any personal information or content that you voluntarily disclose for posting to the Service, such as User Content, becomes available to the public, as controlled by any applicable privacy settings. To change your privacy settings on the Service, navigate to the privacy tab of your settings page. If you remove information that you posted to the Service, copies may remain viewable in cached and archived pages of the Service, or if other Users have copied or saved that information.
From time to time, we may run contests, special offers, or other events or activities (“Events”) on the Service together with a third party partner. If you participate in such Events or provide information to such third parties, you give them permission to use it for the purpose of that Event and any other use that you approve. We cannot control third parties’ use of your information. If you do not want your information to be collected by or shared with a third party, you can choose not to participate in these Events.
Except as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy, Universe will not disclose personal information to any third party unless required to do so by law or subpoena or if we believe that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the law, comply with legal process served on us or our affiliates, or investigate, prevent, or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities; (b) to enforce our Terms of Use, take precautions against liability, to investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, or to protect the security or integrity of our site; and (c) to exercise or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Universe, our Users or others.
If you post a Listing, we may publish such Listing (including any associated User Content) via the Service and may enable third parties to publish your Listing on their websites through the use of an HTML “widget”. We may also display the geographical location of your Listing in the form of a map so that Universe Users can see the general area and neighborhood of your Listing, but your actual street address will not be disclosed until you enter into a confirmed transaction with another Member.
We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service, to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform services (e.g., without limitation, maintenance services, database management, web analytics, fraud detection services relating to the activity of Universe Users and improvement of the Sites and Application’s features) or to assist us in analyzing how our Service is used. These third parties may have access to your personally identifiable information; if they do, this access is only so that they may perform these tasks on our behalf and such third parties will be obligated not to disclose or use your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information: We may share non-personally identifiable information, including information obtained through tools such as cookies, log files, device identifiers, location data and clear gifs (such as anonymous usage data, referring/exit pages and URLs, platform types, number of clicks, etc.) with interested third parties to help them understand the usage patterns for certain Universe Service. Third party vendors, such as Google, may use cookies and log file information, and other data to serve ads on third party sites based on a Universe User’s prior visits to and usage of the Service.
Universe cares about the integrity and security of your personal information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Universe or guarantee that your information on the Service may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. Your privacy settings may also be affected by changes to the functionality of Universe’s distributors, such as social networks. Universe is not responsible for the functionality or security measures of any third party.
To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps (such as requesting a unique password) to verify your identity before granting you access to your account. You are responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your unique password and account information, and for controlling access to your email communications from Universe, at all times.
When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers), 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, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. If you have any questions about security on our Service, you can contact us at support@universe.com.
In the event that personal information is compromised as a result of a breach of security, Universe will promptly notify those persons whose personal information has been compromised, in accordance with the notification procedures set forth in this Privacy Policy, or as otherwise required by applicable law.
You may, of course, decline to submit personally identifiable information through the Service, in which case Universe may not be able to provide certain services to you. You may update or correct your account information and email preferences at any time by logging in to your account and proceeding to your account settings, dashboard and profile pages. You can review and correct the information about you that Universe keeps on file by contacting us directly at support@universe.com.
Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. For that reason, Universe does not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register as Users. If you are under 13, please do not send any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. No one under age 13 is allowed to provide any personal information to or on Universe. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at support@universe.com.
Identity theft and the practice currently known as “phishing” are of great concern to Universe. Safeguarding information to help protect you from identity theft is a priority to Universe. We do not and will not, at any time, request your credit card information, your Universe Account login credentials and password, or national identification numbers in a non-secure or unsolicited e-mail or telephone communication. For more information about phishing, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website at http://www.ftc.gov
Sellers are not our employees or consultants and we are not a party to any transaction between you and the seller. As a result, we cannot control their actions and cannot be held liable for any actions that they may take, including but not limited to with respect to your personally identifiable information.
We are not responsible for the practices employed by websites linked to or from the Service, nor the information or content contained therein. Please remember that when you use a link to go from the Service to another website, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Your browsing and interaction on any other website, including those that have a link on our website, is subject to that website's own rules and policies. Please read over those rules and policies before proceeding.
It is our policy to 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, or through conspicuous posting of such notice on the Service, as determined by Universe in its sole discretion. We reserve the right to determine the form and means of providing notifications to you, provided that you may opt out of certain means of notification as described in this Privacy Policy.
Universe may update its Privacy Policy from time to time, and so you should review this Policy periodically. When we change the policy in a material way, we will update the ‘last modified’ date at the top of this Privacy Policy. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this site, or your dealings with this website, please contact us at support@universe.com, or send mail to:
Uniiverse Collaborative Lifestyle, Inc.
111 Jarvis, 2nd Floor, Toronto ON, M5C 2H4