SkillSlate Privacy Policy

By accepting the SkillSlate Terms of Use, which include the terms of this Privacy Policy, during registration or the claiming of your profile built for you by SkillSlate, you expressly consent to SkillSlate’s collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information as described in the Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”). If you do not so agree to the Privacy Policy you should not click the agreement setting forth the Terms of Use to affirm your acceptance thereof, in which case you are prohibited from accessing or using the Website. If you do not agree to any of the terms of the Privacy Policy, kindly discontinue viewing or participating in the Website immediately. If you have any questions or comments about the Privacy Policy, please contact us at contact@skillslate.com.

The Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is subject to the SkillSlate Terms of Use, which can be accessed at http://www.skillslate.com/terms.

Your use of the Website and any personal information you provide on the Website remains subject to the terms of the Privacy Policy and SkillSlate’s Terms of Use. All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined herein have the definitions set forth in the Terms of Use.

The Privacy Policy describes how we handle your personal information in connection with your use and our operation of the Website, including the kind of information we gather and how it is used. Subject to the requirements of applicable law, we strive to provide a consistent set of privacy practices throughout the global SkillSlate community. The purpose of the Privacy Policy is to help you make an informed decision about whether to use or continue using the Website.

You can browse parts of the Website without telling us who you are or revealing any personal information about yourself. Once you give us your personal information, you are no longer anonymous. If you choose to provide us with personal information, you consent to the transfer and storage of that information to our servers located in the United States. Please note that any video, image, comments, or Service description, or other Submitted Content posted at the direction of users onto the Website becomes published content and is not considered personally identifiable information subject to the Privacy Policy.

A. Changes to Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it frequently. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or by means of notice on our home page.

B. We May Collect Any of the Following Information

Collection of Personal Information

We may collect personal information used to identify you, including, but not limited to, your legal name, age, civil status, occupation; your contact information, including email address and/or telephone number; your demographic information, such as postal code, and residential and commercial addresses; your preferences and interests; and other information relevant to user surveys and/or offers. We may also collect information posted in your Profile, Feedback, and any comments or discussions you post on the Website, or any comments you provide during dispute resolution.

We also collect data from freely accessible, publicly available source to assemble profiles that contain information about the business owner and his/her services. These profiles are considered “unclaimed” until the owner of the profile claims the profile. SkillSlate has an identity verification step to ensure that unclaimed profiles are claimed by their rightful owner. If you believe your profile was claimed by someone other than you, please contact us at help@skillslate.com. Once an unclaimed profile is claimed, it is considered to be a “claimed” profile. If you would like us to delete your profile, email us at help@skillslate.com

Collection of Non-Personal Information

We may collect non-personal information such as your browser type, your ISP or operating system, the URL of the previous website you visited, and your IP address, none of which can be easily used to identify you.

Collection of Cookie Information

A cookie is a small file that asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyze web traffic or informs you about your use of a particular website. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual, tailoring its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences. When you visit the Website, we may send one or more cookies (i.e., a small text file containing a string of alphanumeric characters) to your computer that identifies your browser. You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you disable cookies you may be prevented from taking full advantage of the website because it may not function properly if the ability to accept cookies is disabled.

C. What SkillSlate Does With the Information We Gather

How Personal Information is Used

We collect your personal information to understand your needs and to provide you with a better online experience. Specifically, we may use the personal information you provide for any of the following reasons:

  • Internal record keeping;
  • To improve the Website, our products and services, and to provide the services and customer support that you want;
  • To periodically send promotional emails to the email address you provide regarding new products, special offers or other information that we think you may find interesting;
  • To contact you, via email, telephone, facsimile or mail, or for market research purposes, including, but not limited to, the customization of the Website according to your interests;
  • We may use your demographics information (i.e., age, postal code, residential and commercial addresses, and other various data) to more effectively facilitate the promotion of goods and services to appropriate target audiences.

How Non-Personal and Cookies Information are Used

We track user traffic patterns throughout the Websites. We break down overall usage statistics according to a user’s demographics, domain name, browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user’s browser). We sometimes track and catalog the search terms which users enter in our “Search” function. The tracking information helps us to determine which areas of our sites users like and do not like based on traffic to those areas. In addition, we track your entries, submissions, and status in connection with your participation in the Website as a Service Provider or Service User.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyze data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie does not give us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.

We may also use any of the above-referenced information that we gather to: (a) resolve disputes, (b) collect fees, (c) troubleshoot problems, (d) prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities, (e) enforce our Terms of Use, (f) customize, measure, and improve the Website’s content and design, and (g) compare information for accuracy and verify it with third parties.

D. Optional Voluntary Information

At our sole discretion, we may offer any of the following free services, which require voluntary submission of personal information by users:

Electronic Newsletters

We may offer a free electronic newsletter to users. We will gather the email addresses of users who voluntarily subscribe. Users may remove themselves from this mailing list by following the link provided in each newsletter that points users to a subscription management page. Users may also be able to subscribe to the newsletters at the time of registration.

Polling

We may offer interactive polls to users so they can easily share their opinions with other users and see what our audience thinks about important issues, Services, and/or the Website. Opinions or other responses to polls are aggregated and are not identifiable to any particular user. We may use a system to “tag” users after they have voted, so they can vote only once on a particular question. This tag is not correlated with information about individual users.

Surveys

We may conduct user surveys from time to time to better target our content to our audience. We sometimes share the demographic information obtained from these surveys with our sponsors, advertisers and partners. We will not, however, share any of this information about specific individuals with any third party. In addition, we may combine your demographic information with information we collect from other companies to improve and personalize our services.

Email Communication

SkillSlate uses email as the primary communication channel between SkillSlate, profile owners, and consumers. SkillSlate emails are either account related or marketing related.

Account related emails communicate important account information to claimed profile owners. Claimed members cannot unsubscribe from account related emails as they are essential to delivering the core functionality of the SkillSlate service. Account related messages include, but are not limited to:

  • Messages from consumers to claimed profile owners
  • Messages from SkillSlate to claimed profile owners to confirm the profile owner’s email address
  • Messages from SkillSlate to claimed profile owners to reset a claimed profile owner’s password
  • Messages from SkillSlate to claimed profile owners regarding a new review on his/her profile
  • Messages from SkillSlate to consumers alerting him/her of a response to a review he/she had written about a SkillSlate service provider

Marketing related emails inform both claimed profile owners and unclaimed profile owners about important news, suggestions, and offers related to their SkillSlate profile or service type. Marketing messages are sent either as a response to an event for unclaimed members or when we feel a claimed or unclaimed profile holder can benefit from the information contained in the marketing message.

Claimed and unclaimed profile owners receive marketing messages from SkillSlate unless they decide to opt-out from some or all of the marketing messages. Marketing message management can be found on the account setting page for claimed profile owners (here) or can be managed by clicking “Unsubscribe” and/or “Update Subscriptions” within any marketing email.

Marketing related messages include, but are not limited to:

  • Messages from SkillSlate to unclaimed profile owners with information about how to claim their profile
  • Messages from SkillSlate to unclaimed profile owners regarding a new review on his/her profile
  • Messages from SkillSlate to consumers and or claimed or unclaimed profile owners offering products or services
  • Messages from consumers to unclaimed profile owners

E. Children

Consistent with the Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), we will not knowingly request, collect, or maintain personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without verified parental consent. No part of the Website is intended for anyone under the age of 13. If we learn that personally identifiable information of anyone under the age of 13 has been collected on the Website without verified parental consent, then we will promptly take the appropriate steps to remove this information.

F. Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Your information is stored on our servers located in the United States. We treat data as an asset that must be protected and utilize many tools (e.g. encryption, passwords, physical security, etc.) to protect your personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure. However, as you probably know, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, and other users may abuse or misuse your personal information that they collect from the Website. Although we work very hard to protect your privacy, we do not promise and cannot guarantee, and thus you should not expect, that your personal information or private communications will always remain private.

Information Disclosed to Unaffiliated Third Parties

We may disclose your personal information to prevent an emergency, to protect or enforce our rights, to protect or enforce the rights of a third party, or as required by law (e.g. to comply with a subpoena or court order). Specifically, if you post any Submitted Content we may disclose your information to a third party that alleges that you have infringed their intellectual property rights in any Submitted Content.

Information Disclosed to Third Party Service Providers

We may contract with various third parties for the provision and maintenance of the Website and our business operations. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to prevent such third parties from disclosing your personal information, except for the purpose of providing the specific services. We, however, cannot guarantee that such third parties will not disclose your personal information.

Information Disclosed to Corporate Affiliates

We may share your personal information with our corporate affiliates to help detect and prevent potentially illegal acts and to provide joint services. Our corporate affiliates will market only to users who request such services.

Information Disclosed to Law Enforcement or Government Officials

We may share your personal information, such as your name, city, state, telephone number, email address, user ID history, bidding and listing history, and fraud complaints, with law enforcement or other government officials in response to a verified request in connection with a criminal investigation or any alleged illegal activity.

Information Disclosed at Your Request

We may share your personal information with third parties to whom you explicitly ask us to send your information or if you explicitly consent to such disclosure upon receipt of a specific Service.

G. Links to other websites

The Website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over the other website to which you are directed. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide while visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

H. Controlling your personal information

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

  • You can see, review, and change most of your personal information by logging into the Website. You must promptly update your personal information if it changes or is inaccurate. Once you publicly post your Profile, or any other information onto the Website, you may not be able to change or remove it. Typically, we will not manually alter your personal information because it is very difficult to verify your identity remotely. Nonetheless, upon your request we will close your Account and remove your personal information from view as soon as reasonably possible, based on your Account activity and in accordance with applicable law. We do retain information from closed Accounts in order to comply with the law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations of any Registered User, enforce the Terms of Use, and take any other actions otherwise permitted by law that we deem necessary in our sole and absolute discretion.

  • Whenever you are asked to fill in a form on the Website, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes.

  • We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required to do so by law.

  • Pursuant to the Data Protection Act of 1998, you may request details of your personal information that we hold. If you would like a copy of such information, please contact us at support@SkillSlate.com. If you believe that any information we hold regarding you is incorrect or incomplete, please email us as soon as possible at the above address so that we can promptly make appropriate corrections.

I. Your Full Name and Use of SkillSlate Information

Your Full Name

As a Registered User of the Website you will select a Full Name. This Full Name will be displayed on your Profile and throughout the Website and is therefore available to the general public. All of your activities on the Website will be traceable to your Full Name. Notices that are sent to other Registered Users regarding suspicious activity and policy violations on the Website will refer to Full Names and specific Services. Thus, if you associate your real name with your Full Name, the people to whom you have revealed your name may be able to personally identify your Website activities.

Using Information from SkillSlate

The Website facilitates your sharing of personal and professional information with others in order to negotiate, provide, and use Services. Please respect the privacy of others. To help protect your privacy we only allow limited access to other users’ contact information during the transaction of business between users, including the negotiation and confirmation of Services. You agree to use the information of other users solely for the following purposes: (a) SkillSlate-transaction-related purposes; (b) using Services offered through the Website; and (c) other purposes that a user explicitly chooses.

Account Protection

Your password is the key to your Account. When creating your password you should use unique numbers, letters, special characters, and combinations thereof. In addition, DO NOT disclose your password to anyone. If you do share your password or your personal information with others, you are solely responsible for all actions taken via your Account. If you lose control of your password, you may lose substantial control over your personal information and be subject to legally binding actions taken on your behalf. Thus, IF YOUR PASSWORD HAS BEEN COMPROMISED FOR ANY REASON, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY NOTIFY SKILLSLATE TO CHANGE YOUR PASSWORD.

J. In the event of a Change of Control or Bankruptcy

In the event that SkillSlate undergoes a change in control, including without limitation, a merger or sale of all or substantially all of its assets, and is thus or merged with or acquired by a third party entity (a “Successor”), SkillSlate hereby reserves the right to transfer or assign the information we have collected from any users of the Website to such Successor. You will be notified by a notice on the Website of any such change in ownership or control, which may cause the transfer of your personal information.

In addition, in the event of SkillSlate’s bankruptcy, reorganization, receivership, or assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the application or laws or equitable principles affecting creditors’ rights generally, SkillSlate may not be able to control how your personal information is transferred, used, or treated.

SKILLSLATE MAY, IN ITS SOLE AND ABSOLUTE DISCRETION, CHANGE THIS POLICY FROM TIME TO TIME BY UPDATING THIS DOCUMENT. ALL AMENDED TERMS AUTOMATICALLY TAKE EFFECT 30 DAYS AFTER THEY ARE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE. YOU SHOULD CHECK THIS PAGE FROM TIME TO TIME TO ENSURE THAT YOU AGREE WITH ANY CHANGES.