Privacy Policy

Last Updated: December 20, 2013

Change.org, Inc. (the “Company”, “we” or “us”) has established this privacy policy to explain to you how your information is protected, collected and used, which may be updated by us from time to time. We will provide notice of materially significant changes to this privacy policy by posting notice on the Company’s website (www.change.org/about/privacy).

1. Protecting your privacy

   • The Company maintains the right to send you information via the postal mail services of your jurisdiction if such mailing is permissible pursuant to the laws of your jurisdiction. If you do not wish to receive information via the postal mail services, please contact our help desk pursuant to Section 7 below.

   • Your Personal Information (defined below) is not shared with any third parties without your consent except as noted below.

   • We do utilize tracking devices (“cookies”, “web beacons,” single-pixel gifs, etc.).

     Cookies are small files that store information about your account, web browser, computer, mobile phone, or other device. Most companies on the web use cookies to enable special features or to provide you with a better, faster, or safer experience.
     
     We use cookies to make Change.org better and easier to use; to provide you with a more personalized experience; and to protect you, others, and Change.org from malicious activity. For example, we use cookies to store your login ID (but never your password) so that it’s easier for you to log in when you return to the site. We also use cookies to confirm that you’re logged in to Change.org.
     
     We do not use cookies to create a profile of your browsing behavior on third-party sites, although we may use anonymous or aggregate data to track overall usage of Change.org.
     
     You can remove or block cookies using the settings in your browser, but in some cases, this may impact your ability to use Change.org.
     

   • Except as noted below, you have complete control over the emails you receive from us. To edit your email settings, login to your account, click on “Settings” and select “Manage Email Preferences.” Notwithstanding the foregoing the Company maintains the right at all times to contact its members for business related purposes (some examples include, but are not limited to: (i) if a user requests a new password, (ii) if the Company chooses to alert its users about an update to this Privacy Policy or its Terms of Service, or (iii) in response to an action taken by you using the Company’s products and/or services, such as signing a petition or updating your profile).

   • You have complete control over who may see your profile. To edit your privacy settings, login to your account, click on “Settings” and select “Privacy.” Please note, the initial setting for your profile is private. If you set your profile to public, anyone can view it and your profile may be indexed by internet search engines; both of these may be changed following the directions provided above.

   • Your Change.org account is password-protected. It is your obligation to safeguard your password. To update your password, login to your account, click on “Settings” and select “Change Password.”

   • The Company does not knowingly collect information from individuals under the age of 13. If we become informed that a posting has been made by a person under the age of 13, we will remove all materials posted by such individual and will delete the account used by such person to access our website.

   • Postings made on our website may include links to third party websites, and such websites will have different privacy policies than those set forth herein. We disclaim all responsibility for compliance with the privacy policies of those third party websites, and strongly urge all users to review such privacy policies.

   • The Company does not employ cross marketing techniques, although 3rd parties may choose to use the Company’s “widget” on their own respective website(s); more information regarding the “widget” can be found http://www.change.org/action-network.

2. Data we collect and store

   • As part of the registration process, we collect your name, email address, and mailing address (your “Personal Information”). We may additionally track data (including data which has been marked by the user as “Deleted”) relating to your behavior on the website, including, but not limited to, creating a campaign, signing a campaign, your general geographic region and/or your organization affiliations (your “Campaign Activity Information”). Please do not post any personal information in any public forum of Change.org which you expect to remain private, including, but not limited to, any Personal Information and/or Campaign Activity Information. We also reserve the right to collect any data about you which is publicly available; this data may be obtained by us or by a 3rd party engaged by us to collect such information. For collection of telephone numbers, please see the final paragraph of Section 3 below.

   • We do NOT collect sensitive information from our users (including, but not limited, to personal information specifying medical or health conditions, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership or information specifying the sex life of the individual); however, a visitor to the website may be able to ascertain such sensitive information by the data which you choose to display on the Company’s website(s).

   • We make good faith efforts to store all collected data in a secure operating environment that is not available to the public, although we cannot guarantee complete security. All of our collected data resides on servers in the United States.

   • Our web logs collect standard web log entries for each page served, including your IP address, page URL, and timestamp. Web logs help us to diagnose problems with our server, to administer the Company’s website, and to otherwise provide our services to you.

   • At any time you may access the data which we have stored about you by contacting our Help Desk (http://helpdesk.change.org/). If any data is incorrect, you will be allowed to make any reasonable correction, amendment and/or deletion (as long as the purportedly inaccurate data is not otherwise required to be retained by law or for any other legitimate business purpose).

3. How we may use your data

   We may share your Personal Information with the following third parties:

   • Affiliated third parties (for example, our database administrators) for the sole purpose of helping us do our work. These groups do not share your Personal Information or use it for any purpose other than as instructed by us.

   • If you sign a petition, please be advised that, even if you uncheck the box “Display my signature publicly”, your Personal Information may be delivered to the intended recipient of such campaign and/or the creator of such campaign either electronically or in writing; the Company does not in any manner monitor or attempt to verify the intended recipients of any campaign and/or the creator of any campaign and disclaims all liability regarding the accuracy of the intended recipient(s) of all campaigns and/or creator(s) of all campaigns. Please note further that if you choose to display your signature to a petition publicly, you are also consenting to the disclosure of your name, city, state and a link to your change.org user profile on the landing page for such petition, indicating that you have signed such petition; this information will be visible to any visitor of our website, including search engines and other organizations which provide archival internet activities (See Section 4 below).

   • If you would like to receive direct communication from the organizations you support, you may choose to have us pass your Personal Information to such organizations; please note that whenever you choose to have us pass such Personal Information to an organization, we will additionally inform the organization of the source campaign where you made this election. Please also be advised that the default settings for many of our campaigns assume that you wish to receive communications from the organizations you support; if you do not wish to receive such communications, please uncheck the box “Keep me updated by [name of organization]” (or other language of a similar nature) before signing such campaign. If you choose to receive direct communications from the organizations you support, please be advised that: (i) Change.org has no control over the content, frequency and/or any other aspect of such communications; and (ii) although we do not sell or trade our contact lists, it is fairly common practice for organizations to rent or trade the names and addresses of their donors with other organizations. Accordingly, we strongly urge you to review the terms of service, privacy policies and/or other like policies of any organization prior to consenting to our transmission of your Personal Information to such organization.

   In addition, we may utilize your Campaign Activity Information for internal purposes to help us personalize the experience for each user and to operate, maintain and improve the features and functionality of our website. Please note that if you choose to make some of your Campaign Activity Information public (such as publicly displaying your signature to a petition or making a comment in a public forum), 3rd parties will have access to such information.

   Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth herein, the Company: (1) may disclose information about its users if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; and (2) may also disclose information about its users to law enforcement officers or others, in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) enforce our Terms of Service; (b) respond to claims that any posting or other content violates the rights of third-parties; (c) or protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the Company, its users or the general public.

   In the event that the Company is involved in a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets, your information may be sold or transferred as part of that transaction. The promises in this Privacy Policy will apply to your information as transferred to the new entity.

   Special notices regarding collection and use of telephone numbers: (1) If you provide your telephone number to the Company, it will be saved in the Company's database. If you are shown a sponsored petition in which telephone numbers are collected, you will be able to elect (solely at your discretion) whether or not you'd like your telephone number transferred to such sponsor (as indicated therein). If applicable, we may also pre-populate the telephone number field for your convenience; and (2) You won't be hearing from Change.org via telephone unless you start a petition and the Company needs to contact you regarding petition issues or to potentially provide support to your campaign.

4. Archiving and display of Change.org postings by search engines and other sites

   Search engines and other websites unaffiliated with the Company may archive or otherwise make available information publicly displayed on our website.

5. International Users

   By visiting our web site and providing us with data, you acknowledge and agree that due to the international dimension of Change.org, we may use the data collected in the course of our relationship for the purposes identified in this policy or in our other communications with you, including the transmission of information outside your resident jurisdiction. In addition, please understand that such data may be stored on servers located in the United States. By providing us with your data, you consent to the transfer of such data.

6. Enforcement and Dispute Resolution

   The Company is committed to resolve complaints about your privacy and our collection or use of your personal information. We regularly review our compliance with this Privacy Policy.

   When we receive formal written complaints, we contact the complaining user regarding his or her concerns; please submit all questions or concerns by following the instructions in Section 7 below.

   The Company has further committed to cooperate with the appropriate regulatory authorities, including local data protection authorities, to resolve any complaints regarding the transfer of personal data that cannot be resolved between the Company and an individual. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint, or if your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed by the Company, please contact your local regulatory authority.
   

   All disputes resultant from this Privacy Policy shall be adjudicated pursuant to the mechanisms set forth in our Terms of Service.

   This Privacy Policy is compliant with: (i) the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of the U.S. – EU Safe Harbor Framework, and (ii) the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of the U.S. – Swiss Safe Harbor Framework.

   We self-certify compliance with:

   
   
   

7. Help Feedback

   If you need any assistance or would like to provide feedback on this document, please contact the Help Desk (http://helpdesk.change.org/) and follow the instructions.