Last Updated on: May 25, 2018
Dictionary.com, LLC (“Dictionary,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to being transparent about the tracking technologies we use. This Privacy & Cookie Policy describes our practices concerning the personal information collected through our websites, including Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com (the “Sites”) and any related Dictionary products and services including the Dictionary.com mobile app available here (provision of the Sites and related products and services, collectively the “Services.”) and explains why explains how cookies, web beacons, pixel tags, clear gifs, and other similar files or technologies may be used to collect and store the information automatically collected about your computer, device, and Service usage and how you can control the use of these technologies.
If you do not accept the use of cookies, please disable them as described in the Cookie Controls.
Below we describe what information we collect when you use our Services, how we protect that information, how long we retain it, with whom we share it, and what your privacy and cookie options are. By using the Services, you consent to our collection and use of your information as described in this Privacy & Cookie Policy.
The Services are controlled and offered by Dictionary.com, LLC from the United States of America and, regardless of your place of residence, your use of them is governed by the laws of the State of California, USA. Dictionary.com, LLC makes no representations that the Services are appropriate for use in other locations or are legal in all jurisdictions. Those who access or use the Services from other locations do so at their own risk and are responsible for compliance with local law. You hereby consent to the transfer and processing of your data in the United States of America and any other jurisdiction throughout the world, which may or may not have different levels of privacy protection than those in your jurisdiction.
We will continue to evaluate this Privacy & Cookie Policy against new technologies, applicable laws, business practices, and our user’s needs, and may make changes accordingly. Please check this page periodically for updates. If we make any material changes, we will post the updated Privacy & Cookie Policy here, along with its effective date, and notify you by email or by means of a notice on the Sites. Except in connection with updates that materially change the ways in which we process your information, your continued use of the Services after our posting of changes to this Privacy & Cookie Policy means that you agree to be bound by such changes. We will provide notice in advance of the effective date with regard to any updates that materially change the ways in which we process your personal information.
The Services may provide links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control these third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy practices.
Our Services are intended for general audiences over the age of 16 years old. We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 16 years old.
You may provide personal information to us, if you choose to:
• open an account or sign up for one of our newsletters;
• sign up to receive any additional services like Dictionary.com Premium;
• submit a help request, a customer services inquiry or other inquiry to us, or fill in any other forms for the purposes of receiving our Services;
• participate in some of the features accessible via the Services (for example, message boards, chat groups, social networking, games, surveys, polls, promotions, contests, or sweepstakes);
• contact us about employment opportunities posted on the Sites; or
• otherwise use the Services in a manner that you have requested.
Depending on which of these or any other Services you use, the personal information you provide may include your name, email address, user name, home address, telephone number, demographic information (age, gender, etc.), information posted by you on sites accessed via the Services and/or information provided by you in any help request or inquiry you make to us.
There is no need to provide to us, and we strongly discourage you from, providing any sensitive information about you or anyone else including, details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership or information about your health. |
Third-parties who provide us with products and services may also place cookies, ad tags and/or beacons that collect the information outlined above in order to provide us with products and services including, analytics tools (Google Analytics), functionalities like playing video content (Brightcove) and targeted advertising. These third parties may also collect information about you from other sources and combine it with other information collected about you from third party websites not affiliated with us. For example, advertiser and advertising networks, as well as data analytics companies who service them, may participate in Online Behavioral Advertising and track your activity across various sites and/or devices where they display ads and record your activities, so they can show ads that they consider relevant to you.
Mobile Device Location Information: When you use one of our location-enabled services (for example, when you access Services from a mobile device), we may need to collect and process information about your specific GPS location (including the latitude, longitude or altitude of your mobile device) and the time the location information was recorded, and we may use that information to customize the Services with location-based information, advertising, and features. Some of these services require us to associate location data with your device ID and other information we hold about you.
Cookies are widely used in order to make websites work, or to work more efficiently, as well as to provide information to the owners of the site. We use these technologies to let you navigate between pages efficiently, remember your preferences, track your use of the Services and generally improve your experience. Ad companies we work with place cookies on your computer to track your activities across various sites so that they can display ads on our Sites and third party websites that are more relevant to you and your interests.
There are two broad categories of cookies:
Cookies can remain on your computer or mobile device for different periods of time. Some cookies are ‘session cookies’, meaning that they exist only while your browser is open. These are deleted automatically once you close your browser. Other cookies are ‘permanent cookies’, meaning that they survive after your browser is closed. They can be used by websites to recognize your computer when you open your browser and browse the Internet again.
TYPE OF COOKIE | WHAT IT DOES |
---|---|
Strictly Necessary Cookies | These cookies are essential to operate the Sites and provide the Services by helping us provide basic functionality such as loading and rendering pages on the Sites and enabling your navigation around the Sites and use of certain features. They are also used to identify and prevent fraud and improve security. |
Functionality Cookies | Functionality cookies record information about choices you’ve made and allow us to tailor the Sites to you. These cookies mean that when you continue to use or come back to the Sites, we can provide you with our Services as you have asked for them to be provided. For example, these cookies allow us to store language preference. They may also be used to provide certain functionality such as playing video content. |
Performance / Analytics Cookies | We use performance/analytics cookies to analyze how the Sites are accessed, used, or is performing in order to provide you with a better user experience and to maintain, operate and continually improve the Sites. For example, these cookies allow us to:
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Advertising and Tracking Cookies | As you use our Sites, you will notice that it includes advertising. We allow third party advertising companies to place cookies on our Sites. These cookies enable such companies to track your activity across various sites where they display ads and record your activities so they can show ads that they consider relevant to you as you browse the web. Cookies also allow us and third parties to know whether you’ve seen an ad or a type of ad, and how long it has been since you’ve last seen it. This information is used for frequency capping purposes, to help tailor the ads you see, and to measure the effectiveness of ads. |
Social Media Cookies | Third parties that make their applications available through/on our Sites may set their own cookies in order to track the performance of their applications or customize those applications for you. For example, when you share an article using a social media sharing button on our Sites (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram), the social network that has created the button will record that you have done this. Because of how cookies work, we cannot access these cookies, nor can the third parties access the data in cookies used by us. Some pages of our website may also contain embedded content, such as video content from YouTube, and these sites may set their own cookies. |
• Flash Cookie Controls. You can manage the use of Flash technologies with the Flash management tools available at Adobe’s website.
• Web-Beacons. You can usually prevent the operation of web-beacons by changing your web-browser cookie settings and your ad choices, or for those in emails, by switching off images in your email client or viewing emails using only the “text” display (rather than “HTML” display”). See the “Help” section of your email client for instructions. Please see the All About Cookies website for further information about managing your options.
• Mobile Apps. With respect to our mobile apps, you can stop all collection of information via an app by uninstalling the app. Also, you may be able to exercise specific privacy choices, such as enabling or disabling certain location-based services, by adjusting the permissions in your mobile device.
• Google Analytics Controls. To see an overview of privacy at Google and how to opt out of certain Google practices, visit https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy. You can prevent your data from being collected by Google Analytics by downloading the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. Opting-out is generally done by the third party dropping a cookie on your browser indicating your intent to opt-out. If you get a new device, install a new browser, erase, or otherwise alter the third party’s browser cookie file, you may clear the opt-out cookie and no longer be subject to its opt-out.
• Third Party Advertising Controls. You may exercise choices regarding certain third party advertising cookies through the following organizations:
o Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. You exercise the DAA choices regarding Interest-based Advertising here. You can also download the DAA AppChoices app for control over how information about your interests is used for in-app advertising on your mobile device here.
o European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance (“EDAA”). To learn more about the EDAA and your opt out options, see Your Online Choices.
o Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”). To learn more about the NAI and your opt out options for their members, see http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/.
Please be aware that, even if you are able to opt out of certain Interest/behavioral/targeted -based advertising, you may continue to receive other types of ads. Opting out only means that those selected members should no longer deliver certain Interest/behavioral/targeted -based ads to you, but does not mean you will no longer receive any targeted content and/or ads (e.g., from other ad networks). Dictionary is not responsible for effectiveness of, or compliance with, any third-parties’ opt out options or programs or the accuracy of their statements regarding their programs.
• Promotional Communications. You can opt-out of receiving certain promotional communications (e-mails and push notifications) from us at any time by (i) for e-mails, following the instructions as provided in e-mails to click on the unsubscribe link; and (ii) for push notifications or in-app messages, adjusting the permissions in your mobile device.
• Identification and authentication: We use your identification information to verify your identity when you access and use our Services and to ensure the security of your personal information. This is so we can comply with our contractual obligations to you.
• Provide the Services: We process your personal information to provide the Services you have requested. This is so we can comply with our contractual obligations to you.
• Improving our Services: We analyze information about how you use our Services to provide an improved experience for our customers of all our Services, including product testing and site analytics. It is in our legitimate business interests to use the information provided to us for this purpose, so we can understand any issues with our Services and improve them.
• Compensating our partners: We process your personal information for purposes of calculating compensation to be paid to our third party product/service providers and distributors and to analyze usage across products, services and distribution partner/channel. It is in our legitimate interest to appropriately determine amounts to be paid to our partners and inform our product roadmap and distribution strategy.
• Communicating with you: We may use your personal information when we communicate with you, for example if we are providing information about changes to the terms and conditions or if you contact us with questions. It is in our legitimate interest that we are able to provide you with appropriate responses and provide you with notices about our Services.
• Marketing: We may use your personal information to deliver relevant advertisements to you and measure the effectiveness of the advertising we serve to you. It is in our legitimate interest to provide more relevant and interesting advertising messages and inform our marketing strategy. We may use automated decision-making to deliver tailored advertisements based on your personal information. Where necessary, we will obtain your consent before sending such marketing messages.
• Exercising our rights: We may use your personal information to exercise our legal rights where it is necessary to do so, for example to detect, prevent and respond to fraud claims, intellectual property infringement claims or violations of law or our Terms of Service.
• Complying with our obligations: We may process your personal information to, for example, carry out fraud prevention checks or comply with other legal or regulatory requirements, where this is explicitly required by law.
• Customizing your experience: When you use the Services, we may use your personal information to improve your experience of the Services, such as by providing interactive or personalized elements on the Services and providing you with content based on your interests. We may use automated decision-making to customize your experience based on your personal information.
We may also aggregate and de-identify your information in such a way that you may not reasonably be re-identified by us or any other company, and may use this information for any other purpose.
We share user information with others for various reasons. What information we make available to other companies depends on the nature of our relationships with them.
• Service Providers: We may share your information with vendors who provide services on our behalf such as voice transcription, email messaging, customer service, trouble shooting, survey providers, video players.
• Contests/Sweepstakes Partners: When you sign up to participate in a contest or sweepstakes, your information may be provided to our sweepstakes or contest advertisers, operators, or sponsors and the use of that information will be also governed by those advertisers, operators, or sponsors’ privacy policies or practices.
• Group Companies: We may share your information with our affiliates, which are entities under common ownership or control of our ultimate parent company, IAC/InterActiveCorp for security, internal reporting and regulatory compliance.
• Fraud prevention: We may disclose your information when we believe disclosure is necessary to investigate, prevent, or respond to suspected illegal or fraudulent activity or to protect the safety, rights, or property of us, our users, or others.
• Law enforcement purposes and public safety: If requested or required by government authorities, such as law enforcement authorities, courts, or regulators, or otherwise to comply with the law, we may disclose any information we have about our users. We may disclose information collected about you in order to exercise or protect legal rights or defend against legal claims. We also may be required to disclose an individual’s personal information in response to a lawful request by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
• Sale or merger of our business: We may transfer your information to a third party if we or any of our affiliates are involved in a corporate restructuring (e.g., a sale, merger, or other transfer of assets).
• Advertisers and advertising networks: Advertisers and advertising networks place ads on our Sites. These companies may collect information, such as your computer’s IP address, browser information, mobile device ID, and search queries, as you use our Site and Services. They also may use cookies and other technologies to collect this information when you use our Service as described above (Cookie & other Trackers).
We require all third parties to respect your privacy and to treat your information in accordance with the law. We only permit third parties to process your personal data for specified purposes and in accordance with our agreements with them.
Your California Privacy Rights.
If you are a resident of the State of California, under the California Civil Code, you have the right to request from companies conducting business in California a list of all third parties to which the company has disclosed personal information (as defined by California law) during the preceding year for direct marketing purposes. Alternatively, the law provides that if a company has a privacy policy that gives either an opt-out for use of your personal information by third parties for their own marketing purposes, the company may instead provide you with information on how to exercise your disclosure choice options. We qualify for the alternative option; If you are a California resident and you want to opt out of such sharing, please send your request via email or postal mail. Send an email to us at [email protected], or contact us via regular mail at: Dictionary.com, LLC, 555 12th Street, Suite 300, Oakland, CA 94607, Attn: Your California Privacy Rights c/o Privacy Administrator. All requests sent via regular mail must be labeled “Your California Privacy Rights” on the envelope or post card and clearly stated on the actual request. For all requests, please include your name, street address, city, state, and zip code (your street address is optional if you wish to receive a response to your request via email. Please include your zip code for our own record-keeping).
Legal rights applicable to personal data collected in the EEA. Pursuant to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679) (“GDPR”) natural persons (called data subjects) are afforded certain rights regarding their personal data, including the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to our use of, and receive a portable copy in a usable electronic format of your personal information. You also have the right to withdraw any consent that you have previously provided to us.
If you would like to exercise any of the rights outlined above, and the law of your jurisdiction requires us to honor that request, please send your request in writing to the address above. To assist us in processing your request in timely manner, please make your request in English if you are able to do so. Your request should include any information relevant to your request, including, without limitation: (i) your name, email and postal address; (ii) the specific right you are asserting (e.g., removal); and (iii) if you are requesting removal, a brief explanation of why you believe such information should be removed.
To help us prevent fraudulent removal requests, please also include a legible copy of a document that verifies your identity. You need not provide a government-issued document; a utility bill or similar mailing will suffice. You may also obscure parts of the document such as identifying numbers so long as the document continues to clearly identify you. If you are making the request on behalf of another person, please indicate your relationship to that person and provide evidence of your authority to make such request. All requests for removal will be reviewed by Dictionary’s legal and compliance team and we reserve the right, in compliance with applicable laws, to accept or reject, or make further inquiries regarding, any requests.
You will not have to pay a fee to access your personal data (or to exercise any of the other rights). However, we may charge a reasonable fee if your request is clearly unfounded, repetitive, or excessive. Alternatively, we may refuse to comply with your request in these circumstances.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally it may take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
We are committed to working with you to obtain a fair resolution of any complaint or concern about privacy. If, however, you believe that we have not been able to assist with your complaint or concern, you may have the right to make a complaint to the data protection authority of your country of residence.
If you are receiving the Services from outside the United States, your data will be transferred to and stored in our servers in the U.S. By using the Services, you consent to our collection and use of your data as described in this Privacy & Cookie Policy.Further, if you are receiving the Services from the European Economic Area (the “EEA”) we note your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in a country that is not regarded as providing the same level of protection for personal information as the laws of your home country, and may be available to the government of those countries under a lawful order made in those countries. However, whenever we transfer your personal data out of the EEA, we ensure a similar degree of protection is afforded to it by ensuring at least one of the following safeguards is implemented:
• Model Contracts. Where appropriate, we put in place specific contractual commitments in accordance with applicable legal requirements to provide adequate protections for your information. For further details, see European Commission: Model contracts for the transfer of personal data to third countries.
• Privacy Shield. We may also transfer data to the U.S. under the Privacy Shield framework which requires them to provide similar protection to personal data shared between the EU and the US.
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy & Cookie Policy or the manner in which your information is processed or would like to submit a request to us, please contact:Dictionary.com, LLC
Office of Data Protection
555 12th Street, Suite 300
Oakland, CA 94607
[email protected]
Dictionary.com, LLC is the controller (as provided under laws applicable to EEA jurisdictions) responsible for the personal information we collect and process. We are represented in the EU by our affiliate, IAC Search & Media UK, Ltd. Which can be contacted at [email protected].
If you have questions or concerns regarding the way in which your personal information, collected in the EEA, is processed or transferred, please contact our Data Protection Officer at:
IAC Publishing, LLC
Data Protection Officer
555 12th St, Suite 300
Oakland, CA 94607
[email protected]
DISCLAIMER: this is a sample terms of service taken from dictionary.com and does no way reflect any terms of service for use with GentooCloud.