THE SOCIETY FOR THE PROTECTION OF INSECTS

Privacy Policy

Society for the Protection of Insects, Inc. Privacy Policy

Last Modified: January 20, 2024

Society for the Protection of Insects, Inc. (“SPI”) respects privacy, and we know that many care about how information is used and shared. This Privacy Policy applies to the SPI website www.protectinsects.org, to all associated subdomains, online services, and mobile applications, and to those sites listed in the paragraph below labeled “Additional Websites Subject to the Privacy Policy” (collectively, the “Sites”). By visiting any of the Sites, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you disagree with any of the terms herein, please immediately discontinue use of the Sites.

What Information We Collect

When you visit the Sites, SPI and its service providers may collect Personal Information that you provide, such as your name, address, email address, and payment information. “Personal Information” is information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable person.

In addition, SPI and its service providers use a variety of techniques to gather other information about your use of the Sites, including, among other things, your IP address, browser type, mobile device type, content visited while on the Sites, and the duration of your visit to the Sites. “ Other Information ” is any information that does not reveal your specific identity or does not directly relate to an individual.

If you submit any Personal Information relating to other people to us or to our service providers in connection with the Sites, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

How We Collect Information

SPI and its services providers collect Personal Information that you provide while using the Sites, either directly or through other user actions, including, without limitation, any Personal Information provided or otherwise obtained while the Sites web pages are open. For instance, SPI gathers information when you fill out forms on the Sites, including, for example, e-newsletter sign-up forms, donation forms, surveys and advocacy action alerts. We may also use analytics that enable us to obtain your Personal Information based on your use of the Sites, including, for example, your clicks on Sites pages and page elements as well as information entered into the Sites’ html form fields, regardless of whether the form is submitted. We may supplement the information we collect from you with information we collect from and about you from other online and offline sources, such as public databases, social media platforms and from people with whom you are friends or otherwise connected on social media platforms. For example, if you choose to connect your social media account to your Site account, certain Personal Information from your social media account will be shared with us. This may include Personal Information that is part of your profile or your friends’ profiles.

We and our service providers may collect Other Information in a variety of ways, including:

• We use “cookies” to help us monitor traffic and collect information about use of the Sites. Cookies are pieces of data placed on your device when you visit the Sites that help us recognize you when you come back to the Sites, allowing us, for instance, to remember the email address and password you use when you log in on a specific computer. SPI uses the aggregated information collected from cookies to measure the number of visits to the Sites, the average time spent on the Sites, the identity and number of pages viewed, aid in interest-based advertising with our partners, and to gather other traffic data and information that allows us to improve the Sites. We also use the information for security purposes, to facilitate navigation, to display information more effectively, and to personalize your experience while using the Sites. Cookies further allow us to select which of our content is most likely to appeal to you and display it while you are on the Sites.
• SPI also uses a variety of third-party web and mobile app analytics and optimization services to improve the Sites and enhance the visitor experience. For examples, the Sites use web analytics services that may record mouse clicks, mouse movements, scrolling activity, text you type in the Sites, and similar activity. The Sites do not use these services to collect any personally identifiable information not otherwise provided by you in using the Sites, and they do not track your browsing habits across other third-party websites on our behalf.
• We also use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and other, similar technologies to collect information about Site use anonymously and reports website trends, without identifying individual visitors. You can learn about Google’s practices by going to https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/ , and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout .
• We may also use a third-party service provider called SAS Solutions, which uses cookies and other technologies to help us analyze how visitors use the Sites, and which may record mouse clicks, mouse movements, scrolling activity, text you type in the Sites, and similar activity. The Sites do not use this service to collect any personally identifiable information not otherwise provided by you in using the Sites.
• We may use third-party advertising companies to serve advertisements that may be of interest to you when you access and use the Sites and other websites, based on information relating to your access to and use of the Sites and other websites. To do so, these companies may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser (including through use of pixel tags). We may also send anonymized and/or securely hashed data to our vendors to determine the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns. If you would like more information about this practice and to learn about your choices in connection with it, please visit https://optout.networkadvertising.org/ and https://www.aboutads.info/ .
• We may use pixel tags and other similar technologies to, among other things, track the actions of users of the Sites, measure the success of our marketing campaigns, and compile statistics about use of the Sites and response rates.
• We may use Adobe Flash technology (including Flash Local Shared Objects (“Flash LSOs”) and other similar technologies to, among other things, collect and store information about your use of the Sites. If you do not want Flash LSOs stored on your computer, you can adjust the settings of your Flash player to block Flash LSO storage using the tools contained in the Website Storage Settings Panel . You can also control Flash LSOs by going to the Global Storage Settings Panel and following the instructions (which may include instructions that explain, for example, how to delete existing Flash LSOs (referred to “information” on the Macromedia site), how to prevent Flash LSOs from being placed on your computer without your being asked, and (for Flash Player 8 and later) how to block Flash LSOs that are not being delivered by the operator of the page you are on at the time). Please note that setting the Flash Player to restrict or limit acceptance of Flash LSOs may reduce or impede the functionality of some Flash applications, including, potentially, Flash applications used in connection with the Sites or our online content.
• Certain information is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Macintosh), screen resolution, operating system name and version, device manufacturer and model, language, and Internet browser type and version.
• We may collect your IP address, which is a number that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet Service Provider. An IP address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever a user accesses the Sites, along with the time of the visit and the page(s) that were visited. Collecting IP addresses is a common practice and is done automatically by many websites, applications and other services. We use IP addresses for purposes such as calculating usage levels, helping diagnose server problems, and administering the Sites.
• When you download and use our mobile applications (each, an “App”), we may track and collect App usage data, such as the date and time the App on your device accesses our servers and what information and files have been downloaded to the App based on your device number.
• We may collect the physical location of your device by, for example, using satellite, cell phone tower or Wi-Fi signals. We may use your device’s physical location to provide you with personalized location-based services and content.
• Information that you provide, such as your preferred means of communication, does not personally identify you unless it is combined with your Personal Information.
• We may aggregate Personal Information. Aggregated information does not personally identify you or any other user of the Sites (for example, we may aggregate Personal Information to calculate the percentage of our users who have a particular telephone area code).

How We Use Collected Information

SPI may use your Personal Information:

• To send you information about SPI or SPI partners.
• To personalize your interactions with SPI, such as to customize your web and email content based on your interests, send you requests to participate events in your area and otherwise target content and communications to you.
• To respond to inquiries and fulfill your requests, such as to process donations, renew your membership, or send you information about a project, as well as to provide membership services.
• To send administrative information to you, such as information regarding the Sites and changes to tour terms, conditions, and policies.
• To allow you to participate in sweepstakes, contests, and similar promotions and to administer these activities. Some of these activities have additional rules, which could contain additional information about how we use and disclose your Personal Information.
• To facilitate social sharing functionality.
• For our purposes, such as data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, developing new products and services, enhancing, improving or modifying the Sites, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns, and operating and expanding our activities, some of which may be shared or used by our vendors and their technologies and tools.

Your Personal Information may be disclosed:

• To our partners, our approved vendors, and their service providers.
• To our third party service providers and online advertising entities who provide services such as website hosting, data analysis & campaign measurement, payment processing, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, auditing, and other similar services.
• To third-party sponsors of sweepstakes, contests, and similar promotions.
• By you, on message boards, chat, profile pages, blogs, and other services to which you are able to post information and materials. Please note that any information you post or disclose through these services will become public and may be available to users of the Sites and to the general public. We urge you to be very careful when deciding to disclose your Personal Information, or any other information, on the Sites.
• To your friends associated with your social media account, to other website users and to your social media account provider, in connection with your social sharing activity, such as if you connect your social media account to your Site account or log-into your Site account from your social media account. By connecting your Site account and your social media account, you authorize us to share information with your social media account provider, friends associated with your social media account, and other website users, and you understand that the use of the information we share will be governed by the recipients’ privacy policy(ies). If you do not want your Personal Information shared with other users or with your social media account provider, please do not connect your social media account with your Site account, and do not participate in social sharing on the Sites.
• To a third party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our operations, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).

We may also use and disclose your Personal Information as we believe to be necessary or appropriate: (a) under applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence; (b) to comply with legal process; (c) to respond to requests from public and government authorities, including public and government authorities outside your country of residence; (d) to enforce our terms and conditions; (e) to protect our operations or those of any of our affiliates; (f) to protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you, or others; and (g) to allow us to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that we may sustain.

We may use and disclose Other Information for any purpose, except where we are required to do otherwise under applicable law. If we are required to treat Other Information as Personal Information under applicable law, then we may use it for all the purposes for which we use and disclose Personal Information. In some instances, we may combine Other Information with Personal Information. If we do, we will treat the combined information as Personal Information as long as it is combined.

How Can You Control Collection of Your Information?

1. Set your web browser to inform you of when cookies are being set before a cookie is stored and refuse any request to set cookies, and do not accept cookies from SPI. Erase all SPI cookies from your hard drive.
2. Do not provide your information when prompted by the Sites.

Please note, however, that if you choose to reject or erase cookies, your ability to navigate the Sites may be limited. Further, in the event you choose not to share information, SPI will be unable to respond to your request for SPI information, enter you in any sweepstakes or contests, facilitate your action via SPI's Action Network, or send online postcards.

If you would like to request that SPI not share your Personal Information with our third-party partners and service providers for their marketing purposes, please contact us at [email protected].

Finally, if you would like to modify Personal Information you have previously provided us, please contact us at [email protected].

How Can You Stop Receiving Communications from SPI?

If you would like to opt out of receiving mailed content from SPI, please contact us at [email protected]. To opt out of marketing email, you can:

• Click on the opt out in links on the bottom of any marketing email SPI sends to you.
• Contact us at [email protected].

Does SPI Collect Information from Children?

SPI does not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13. The Sites are not directed at children under the age of 13. In the event that SPI learns that it has collected Personal Information from a child under age 13 without parental consent, we will delete that information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have collected any Personal Information from a child under 13, please contact us at [email protected].

Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits you to request information about our disclosure of your Personal Information to third parties for those parties’ own direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at [email protected].

Personal Information Collected through Meta Platforms

You have the right to ask for any Personal Information collected through use of any Meta Platforms, Inc. platform ("Meta Personal Information") to be changed or deleted at any later time. If you have questions or concerns regarding your Meta Personal Information, including requests for deletion, please contact us at [email protected].

Third-Party Services

This Privacy Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any site or service to which the Sites link. The inclusion of a link on the Sites does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us. In addition, we are not responsible for the information collection, use, disclosure, or security practices (including the data security practices) of other organizations, such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, or any other app developer, app provider, social media platform provider, operating system provider, wireless service provider, or device manufacturer.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

SPI may from time to time and at its discretion amend this Privacy Policy. The “Effective Date” legend at the top of this page indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on the Sites. Your continued use of the Sites following these changes means that you accept the revised Privacy Policy. If you would like to view prior versions of this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected].

Security 

SPI is committed to ensuring that any Personal Information we collect is secure. We have procedures and technology in place to safeguard and secure the information we collect. Records containing Personal Information are stored at secure facilities. SPI employees are provided training on how to treat your data securely. All online donation transactions are handled by Payment Card Industry (PCI)-compliant vendors. PCI refers to the technical and operational standards that businesses must follow to ensure that credit card data provided by cardholders is protected. These security standards are in place for SPI to protect your information.

Cross-Border Transfer

The Sites are controlled and operated by us from the United States and are not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country, or territory other than that of the United States. Your Personal Information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers, and, by using the Sites, you consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have different data protection rules than those of your country.

Additional Websites Subject to the Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy shall apply to the following websites and all associated subdomains:

• Protectinsects.org

Questions/Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at [email protected] and receive assistance from a SPI member services representative.