privacyPolicy

Table of Contents
1. Purpose of Privacy Policy.
2. A Special Note About Children
3. Information We Collect
4. Our Use and Disclosure of Your Information
5. Control of Your Password
6. Third Party Collectors of Information
7. Security
8. Confidentiality of Dispute Resolution Process
9. Links to Other Sites
10. Choice/Opt Out
11. Opting Out of Cookies

1. Purpose of Privacy Policy

SquareTrade is committed to maintaining the privacy of all individuals and companies that access SquareTrade's web site, for purchasers of the SquareTrade CarePlan; who become Members of SquareTrade Seal Program, Care Plus Feature; and who participate in our Dispute Resolution process. As part of the normal operation of our site we collect and, in some cases, disclose information about you. This Privacy Policy describes the information we collect about you and what may happen to that information.

SquareTrade is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to building trust in the Internet by having member organizations such as SquareTrade disclose information practices. TRUSTe operates as a third-party "watch dog" by auditing our privacy practices to make sure that we are in compliance with TRUSTe's privacy standards. This document discloses the privacy practices for www.squaretrade.com. When you visit a Web site displaying the TRUSTe trustmark, you can expect to be notified of:

What personally identifiable information of yours is collected;
What organization is collecting the information;
How the information is used;
With whom the information may be shared;
What choices are available to you regarding collection, use and distribution of the information;
What kind of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under SquareTrade's control; and
How you can correct any inaccuracies in the information.

Questions regarding this statement should be directed to SquareTrade by sending email to privacy@squaretrade.com or 575 Market Street, 10th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. If SquareTrade does not respond to your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, please contact TRUSTe at http://truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php.

2. A Special Note About Children.

Children are not eligible to use our services and we ask that minors do not submit any personal information to us. If you are a minor, you can use this service only in conjunction with your parents or guardians.

3. Information We Collect.

In various forms -- SquareTrade CarePlan purchase information, the Care Plus Seller application, the online Seal application process, User Registration, Case Submission and the Response page -- we may collect information from you as follows:

SquareTrade Care Plus/CarePlan Service Contract Information. For individuals-first and last name, email address, daytime telephone number, as well as product purchase and serial number information. For Sellers-first and last name, email address, marketplace User ID, address and telephone number.

Public Seal Information (Some or all of this information will be displayed on your Seal, and may also be disclosed to buyers who have been involved in a transaction with you.) For individuals - first name, last name, email address, marketplace user ID, address, daytime telephone number, applicable license number. For companies - company name, address, years in business, email address, applicable license number, marketplace user ID, Key Customer Service Contact's name, address and telephone number. You will also be able to select whether or not some information, such as your address and daytime telephone number are displayed on the Seal.

Private Member Information (information which we may collect for Seal Application processing) For individuals - telephone number, sales revenue, fax number, web address, credit card number and payment details, date of birth, social security number; For companies - sales revenue, fax number, DUNS number, business references.

Public eBay Information For eBay Seal Members (pending, currently active, suspended or cancelled) we collect public eBay information including sales, feedback and listing information. We may manipulate this publicly available information to produce meaningful statistics with eBay sales metrics. We may also collect similar information for users of our Dispute Resolution Services.

User Registration Information (may be collected for people using Dispute Resolution Services who are not applying for a Seal) Full name, marketplace user ID, email address, phone number. Your registration information can be updated by clicking on Update Profile on the Sign In page.

Case Information (specifics about the problem being filed and responded to) Includes the transaction information submitted on the filing form, both parties' email addresses and marketplace identifications, and the type of dispute identified in the filing form.

In the course of your participating in a Dispute Resolution process we collect:

Settlement Discussion Information (information you submit in the course of discussing settlement or resolution of your case) All potential settlements or resolutions proposed during filing and responding, correspondence submitted on our secure Web Site or to us during Direct Negotiation and mediation process, all communications from the mediator and from the other party, and any recommended resolutions not accepted.

If you send us personal correspondence, such as emails or letters, we may collect such information into a file specific to you.

At the conclusion of the Dispute Resolution process we may record the following Resolution Behavior Information about you and associate it with your User Registration Information and your Member Number,(if you are a Seal Member):

If you file a case, whether you:

If someone else files a case pertaining to you, if you:

Resolution Information
If you resolve a case, the Resolution or the Settlement Agreement, and the time and date stamp of your signature.

All case records are confidential. All of the information we gather is stored in a secure database.

Tracking
There are two ways to maintain user experience throughout a "transaction" on SquareTrade's site. One is by identifying a user by their IP address, and the other is by setting a cookie. Since some users use proxy services to access the Internet (and do not have a fixed IP address), SquareTrade uses cookies for all users.

To enhance the dispute resolution experience and training of mediators, SquareTrade tracks information, including details of the case, the transaction, the problem, communications that a user had with the other party and with the SquareTrade Mediator.

In order to help us improve the site user experience you agree that we may use personally identifiable information about you to, analyze site usage, improve our content and product offerings, and customize our site's content, layout and services. We also track how users navigate the site by assigning cookies to site visitors. This data is NOT connected with user registration and hence, is NOT PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE. This means that while we know how many people have visited a particular page on the site, we do not know WHO these people are.

If you reject all cookies, you will not be able to use SquareTrade's services that require you to "sign in" or "register". However, you can still use SquareTrade to obtain general information.

SquareTrade cookies are inactive once a user leaves our site. If you are still uncomfortable with the SquareTrade cookies, you can always delete and/or disable your cookies after your SquareTrade session is over.

4. Our Use and Disclosure of Your Information.

We internally use all information we collect for the following reasons:

Provide you with a CarePlan and customer service.
Verify Seal Members' identities, on application and over time.
Contact a Seal Member or license holder if applicable, if a case is filed concerning you.
Bill for the Seal, Product Protection Plan, and Mediation services.
To add value to the Seal services.
To resolve the problem at hand.
To further improve the Dispute Resolution process.
To provide notice of additional SquareTrade services.
Report to a party in interest (marketplace, company, license holder, service contract administrator or third party ultimately responsible for a transaction) Dispute Behavior, Product Protection Plan purchase or Seal acquisition.

Additionally, if you apply for a seal or participate in a Dispute Resolution process we disclose information as follows:

TO	WHAT
Upon application for a SquareTrade Seal:
Public	When you become a member of the SquareTrade Seal Program and display any SquareTrade Seal, you will want the world to know that you are making smarter, safer, easier online shopping. Accordingly, we will treat it as public information that you, known by your SquareTrade Seal Member Number, have become a member of a SquareTrade Seal Program. Also, your Public SquareTrade Seal Information will be available to the public, the license holder and the marketplace.
Upon participation in a Dispute Resolution process:
SquareTrade Mediator	In order to help you resolve a problem, the mediator will learn your User Registration Information, all your Case Information, and Settlement Discussion Information. Also, in order to assist SquareTrade with the training of SquareTrade Mediators, SquareTrade will remove all personally identifiable information about You but will use all other information collected during the Process to teach and train mediators.
Marketplace	If you are transacting within an e-commerce Marketplace, the Marketplace will not know anything about your case other than what is otherwise publicly available, except that Case Information, Resolution Behavior Information and any signed - Settlement Agreement may be disclosed to the Marketplace for enforcement or compliance purposes only. SquareTrade may also disclose aggregate Case Information, but it will NOT be connected to you in any personally identifiable way.
Party in Interest	If you are transacting within an e-commerce marketplace as an authorized representative of a third party, we reserve the right to communicate and disclose to the Party in Interest all information relating to the case, including but not limited to private as well as public information for enforcement, compliance or settlement purposes.
Regulatory Body	If you are transacting within an e-commerce marketplace based upon a license issued by a regulatory or licensing body ("Regulatory Body"), the Regulatory Body will be entitled to information that is publicly available, as well as Case Information, Resolution Behavior Information and any signed-Settlement Agreement for enforcement or compliance purposes.
Court or law enforcement entity	SquareTrade will only disclose information if required to do so by a Court. For criminal or civil fraud investigations SquareTrade will disclose information without providing You notice. In this instance SquareTrade will only disclose the Case Filing Page and Response, My Cases Page, Resolution Page and Settlement Agreement.
Other party	Everything you set forth in your case submission form, including your email address will be seen by the other party. Your SquareTrade Mediator will assume that information you disclose during the mediation can be shared with the other party unless you specify otherwise.
Public	Part of smarter, safer, easier online shopping is letting the public know your Resolution Behavior Information. We will associate, your email address, and if you are a SquareTrade Member your Member Number with this information.
Upon applying or paying for a SquareTrade Service or Membership:
Marketplace	If you register for eBay as part of your SquareTrade application, SquareTrade may provide personal information about you and your transactions back to the marketplace. Specifically, under certain circumstances where you authorize us to create an eBay account on your behalf, we will provide your personal information including your payment information to eBay. We will, in these cases, ask for your authorization to do this during the application process.
Third party bank or credit card processor	In order for SquareTrade to process your application for membership or to collect service fees, your bank and/or credit card information will be shared with our third party bank or credit card processor.
Third party identity verification service	In order for SquareTrade to process your application for Seal membership, or occasionally to maintain your Seal membership, your Public and Private Seal Member Information may be shared with our third party identity verification provider, Equifax, Inc.
Court or regulatory body	SquareTrade will cooperate with law enforcement inquiries, as well as other third parties to enforce laws, particularly in the case of fraud. We can (and you specifically authorize us to) disclose any information about you (including Public Seal Information and Private Member Information such as your name, address, Social Security number) to law enforcement or other government officials, as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate in connection with a fraud investigation. Additionally, in the event that SquareTrade suspends your Seal membership for violation of the SquareTrade Standards, or is required to honor its Buyer Protection Policy against you, we reserve the right to notify parties in interest, credit rating agencies, license holders or Regulatory Bodies.
Upon purchase of a Product:
Sellers	When you purchase an item, we will notify the Seller on your behalf that you have been offered a SquareTrade Product Care Plan and share your eBay buyer ID and Product Care Plan purchase history with the seller. No other information will be shared with Sellers.
Third Party Insurer, Administrator or Repair Facility	If you purchase a SquareTrade Product Care Plan for your merchandise from SquareTrade, SquareTrade will provide your contact information and information about your purchase to the Administrator of the service contract. We may also provide your contact information to a Repair Facility in the event that your item requires repair. We will use industry standard encryption practices to transfer the data to protect your privacy.
Third Party Bank or Credit Card Processor	In order for SquareTrade to process your Product Protection Plan, your bank and/or credit card information will be shared with our third party bank or credit card processor. It will not be shared with the third party Administrator of the Product Protection Plan.
Court or Law Enforcement Entity	SquareTrade will only disclose information if required to do so by a Court. For criminal or civil fraud investigations SquareTrade will disclose information without providing You notice.

Although we use industry standard practices to protect your privacy, we cannot guarantee that your personally identifiable information or private communications will remain private, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications.

We do not sell or rent any information you provide. It is possible that SquareTrade could merge with or be acquired by another business entity. Should such a combination, you should expect that SquareTrade would share some or all of your information in order to continue to provide service. You will receive notice of such event (to the extent it occurs) and we will require that any new combined entity follow the practices disclosed in this Privacy Policy.

5. Control of Your Password.

You may not disclose your password to any third parties or share it with any third parties. If, despite the foregoing, you lose control of your password, you may lose substantial control over your personally identifiable information. Therefore, if your password has been compromised for any reason, you should immediately change your password from the home page (www.squaretrade.com). SquareTrade Seal Program Members and Care Plus Features may change their membership passwords and other personal identification information by contacting Member Services at memberservices@squaretrade.com, or by going to the Member Profile Page on the SquareTrade Web Site and login.

6. Third Party Collectors of Information.

Our policy only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. To the extent that you disclose your information to other parties, whether to the respondent of the dispute, or to the marketplace wherein the dispute arose, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the personal information you disclose to them. Since SquareTrade does not control the confidentiality policies of third parties, you are subject to the confidentiality customs and policies of that third party.

7. Security.

SquareTrade uses industry standard efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of your personal identifiable information, such as encryption and Secure Socket Layers. SquareTrade has security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of any information under our control. However, "perfect security" does not exist on the Internet.

8. Confidentiality of Dispute Resolution Process. SquareTrade is committed to maintaining confidentiality within the Dispute Resolution process. As described above, SquareTrade will collect and track information about you, the Case, the Dispute Resolution process, the settlement agreement (if any), and your Dispute Resolution behavior. We will retain this information in the strictest confidence, except as otherwise described above. If we are going to use your personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection we will notify you via email. You will have the choice as to whether or not we use your information in this different manner. In addition, if we make any material changes in our confidentiality practices that affect user information already stored in our database, we will post a prominent notice on our web site notifying users of the change. In some cases where we post the notice we will also email users, who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of the changes in our confidentiality practices.

9. Links to Other Sites.

This Web Site contains links to other web sites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are "clicking" to another web site. We encourage you to read the privacy statements of these linked sites as their privacy policy may differ from ours.

10. Choice/Opt Out.

You can choose not to receive marketing or promotional information from SquareTrade by clicking on the link in an email from SquareTrade. You may not opt out of Service-realted Announcements or customer service information if you want to use the SquareTrade Services (see below).

Service-related Announcements
We will send you strictly service-related announcements when it is necessary to do so. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance, we might send you an email.

Generally, you may not opt out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature. If you do not wish to receive them, you have the option to deactivate your account.

You can also opt out of emails by contacting privacy@squaretrade.com

Customer Service
Based upon their personally identifiable information you provide us, we will send you a welcoming email to verify your information. We will also communicate with you in response to your inquiries, to provide the services you request, and to manage your account. We will communicate with you by email.