The Clearing, Inc. Website Privacy Policy
rev. 09/2024
This Privacy Policy describes how your personal information is collected, used, and shared when you visit or make a purchase from TheClearing.com or one of our website properties (hereinafter referred to as the “Site”). Included in this Privacy Policy is our AI Data Handling and Use Policy.
TYPES OF INFORMATION WE COLLECT
When you visit the Site, we automatically collect certain information about your device, including information about your web browser, IP address, time zone, and some of the cookies that are installed on your device. Additionally, as you browse the Site, we collect information about the individual web pages or products that you view, what websites or search terms referred you to the Site, and information about how you interact with the Site. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analyzing the use of the website. We refer to this automatically-collected information as “Device Information.”
We collect Device Information using the following technologies:
- “Cookies” are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org.[CG1]
- “Log files” track actions occurring on the Site, and collect data including your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, and date/time stamps.
- “Web beacons,” “tags,” and “pixels” are electronic files used to record information about how you browse the Site.
We collect Order Information from purchases you make from us:
When you use one of our forms to submit information or make a purchase through the Site, we collect certain information from you, including your name, billing address, shipping address, payment information, email address, and phone number. We refer to this information as “Order Information.”
Sensitive information such as credit card numbers are collected and processed directly by our merchant processor (e.g. Paypal or another major merchant processor). We do not store such information when it is submitted through our website or the site of our merchant processor.
We collect Other Information that you have provided to us:
Part of the use of our website includes forms that collect information that is voluntarily submitted by the user. The forms may be used to collect names, email addresses, responses to questions or solicitation of comments. We refer to this information as “Other Information.”
How do we use your Personal Information?
“Personal Information” in this Privacy Policy includes Device Information, Order Information and Other Information, and includes any information you may have provided to us via the website and/or other business dealings or transactions.
We use the Personal Information that we collect generally for our legitimate business purposes, to assure the quality of our marketing efforts, to fulfill any orders placed through the Site (including processing your payment information, arranging for shipping, and providing you with invoices and/or order confirmations), respond to any queries sent to us, and/or to follow-up with any other information you may have submitted.
Additionally, we use this Information to:
- Communicate with you;
- Screen our orders for potential risk or fraud; and
- When in line with the preferences you have shared with us, provide you with information or advertising relating to our products or services.
We use the Personal Information that we collect more generally to improve and optimize our Site (for example, by generating analytics about how our customers browse and interact with the Site, and to assess the success of our marketing and advertising campaigns). The operations may be performed by an outside data processor (“Processor”, such as Google Analytics or other similar data processors) that provides analysis and measurements of the data collected.
The Personal Information may also be used for remarketing purposes or to measure usage of any of our other websites or Internet-based properties.
SHARING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
We may share your Personal Information with a Data Processor, as described above. For example, we use Google Analytics to help us understand how our customers use the Site. You can read more about how Google uses your Personal Information here: https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/. You can also opt-out of Google Analytics here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Finally, we may also share your Personal Information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, to respond to a subpoena, search warrant or other lawful request for information we receive, or to otherwise protect our rights or fulfill our legitimate business interests.
BEHAVIORAL ADVERTISING
As described above, we use your Personal Information to provide you with targeted advertisements or marketing communications we believe may be of interest to you. This information is used to provide relevant content in order to improve the customer experience. We may do this directly or through a Data Processor.
For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) educational page at http://www.networkadvertising.org/understanding-online-advertising/how-does-it-work.
You can opt out of targeted advertising by using the following links:
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/settings/?tab=ads
GOOGLE – https://www.google.com/settings/ads/anonymous
Additionally, you can opt out of some of these services by visiting the Digital Advertising Alliance’s opt-out portal at http://optout.aboutads.info/.
DO NOT TRACK
Please note that we do not alter our Site’s data collection and use practices when we see a Do Not Track signal from your browser.
EUROPEAN RESIDENTS – YOUR RIGHTS
If you are a European resident, you have the right to access personal information we hold about you and to ask that your personal information be corrected, updated, or deleted. If you would like to exercise this right, please contact us through the contact information below.
Additionally, if you are a European resident we note that we are processing your information in order to fulfill contracts we might have with you (for example, if you make an order through the Site), or otherwise to pursue our legitimate business interests listed above. Additionally, please note that your information will be transferred outside of Europe, including to Canada and the United States.
DATA RETENTION
When you place an order or otherwise submit Personal Information through the Site, we will maintain your Personal Information for our records unless and until you ask us to delete this information.
Your Personal Information will be stored with a priority on the security and integrity of the data. The company maintains the highest level of security on its systems, ensuring control over any staff with access to it and that that access is monitored and measured.
AI VIRTUAL ASSISTANT DATA HANDLING AND USE
- Data Collection:
When you use our AI Virtual Assistant, we collect data to improve its performance and provide a better user experience. This includes interaction data, such as the content of your conversations. - Data Security:
We implement strong security measures to protect the data collected by the AI Virtual Assistant. This includes encryption (AES-256 & TLS1.2) and secure storage. Our subprocessors are also SOC-2 compliant. - Data Retention:
Data collected through the AI Virtual Assistant is retained based on our data retention policy. You can request the deletion of your interaction data at any time by contacting us directly, and we honor all deletions. - User Rights:
You can exercise your rights regarding your data by reaching out to us. We will assist with requests for data deletion and other rights as per our privacy practices. - Third-Party Sharing:
We do not share data collected by the AI Virtual Assistant with third parties, except where legally required or necessary to provide the service. Our service providers who help us operate our business are required to comply with the GDPR framework. - Subprocessors:
The privacy policies of our subprocessors can be found on the following websites:
https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use
https://qdrant.tech/legal/privacy-policy/
https://cloud.google.com/privacy/gdpr - Disclaimers
While this Virtual Assistant is a valuable tool for understanding The Clearing and the company’s capabilities it’s important to recognize its limitations. It is not intended to provide comprehensive or personalized advice in place of professional consultation. The information provided by this assistant is based on pre-set data and algorithms, and may not account for all specific details or nuances of your situation.For particularly complex inquiries or detailed assistance, please consult with our expert team or refer to additional resources. The Virtual Assistant’s responses are meant to offer general guidance and support, but may not always reflect the most current updates or developments. Always verify important details and reach out to our team directly for critical or sensitive matters. - No Warranty or Liability
The information this AI Virtual Assistant provides is on an “as is” basis, with no warranty of any kind. We disclaim any liability for reliance on the information provided by the AI Virtual Assistant, and you agree that neither the AI Virtual Assistant nor The Clearing can be held liable for any damages that may arise from its use. - User’s Acceptance Of These Terms
By using our Virtual Assistants, you accept this policy. If you do not agree to this policy, you should not use our Virtual Assistants. Users’ continued use of our Virtual Assistants following the posting of changes to this policy will be deemed their acceptance of those changes.
CHANGES
We may update this privacy policy from time to time in order to reflect, for example, changes to our practices or for other operational, legal or regulatory reasons.
CONTACT US
For more information about our privacy practices, if you have questions, or if you would like to raise an issue, please contact us by e-mail at info@theclearing.com or by mail at the address below:
The Clearing, Inc.
1250 Connecticut Ave NW
Suite 625
Washington, DC, 20036
United States