HDS.IE - PRIVACY POLICY
August 1st, 2008
Overall privacy statement
We take your privacy seriously. Because we gather certain types of information about
our users we want to help you understand the terms and conditions surrounding the
collection and use of that information. This privacy statement discloses the types
of information we gather, how we use it, and how to correct or change it. These
privacy practices apply to the Web site that you were viewing when you clicked through
to this policy, which is operated by us directly, our partner, or our affiliate.
1. What information does HDS.IE collect?
Our primary goal in collecting personal information is to provide you with the best
and most useful content and services.
We collect personally identifiable information when you provide it to us, such as
when you register on one of our sites, when you subscribe to HDS.IE or an e-mail
newsletter or when you register to use certain services. Several of the services
that we offer on our sites, such as message boards, may require registration as
a condition of use. Once you register with one of our HDS.IE sites you are no longer
anonymous to us.
2. What is HDS.IE ’s practice regarding cookies?
Your Internet browser has a feature called "cookies" which stores small amounts
of data on your computer about your visit to any of our sites. You do not need to
have cookies turned on to visit most of our sites, although active participation
in certain areas of our sites may require cookies. Cookies alone tell us nothing
about who you are unless you specifically give us personally identifiable information
when, in which case we use the information to enhance your services in the ways
described below. You may elect not to allow cookies to be collected by adjusting
your settings on your browser.
We also automatically receive and record information from our servers and from your
browser, including your IP address, the time of your visit to pages on our site,
and information about pages you visited. Unless you have registered for one of our
products or services, the information we gather through the use of tracking technologies
cannot be matched with any personally identifiable information about you unless
you have specifically given us personally identifiable information, in which case
we use the information to enhance your services in the ways described below.
We use cookies and tracking technologies in a variety of ways, including:
Keeping count of return visits to our site or our advertisers' or partners' sites
Accumulating and reporting anonymous, aggregate (data collected in mass), statistical
information on Web site and advertisement usage Determining which features our overall
user population likes best Saving your password so you don't have to re-enter it
each time you visit our sites Display the most appropriate advertising based on
your interests We do not give any personally identifiable information to our partners
or advertisers Unless you visit the website of these companies and provide them
with personally identifiable information about yourself, these tracking technologies
tell those advertisers nothing about who you are. Our advertisers' use of tracking
technology is subject to their own privacy policies.
3. How does HDS.IE use the information?
To customize the advertising and content you see To enhance the user experience
on our site. We use tracking information to determine how well each page performs
overall based on aggregate user demographics and traffic patterns to those pages.
This helps us continue to build a better service for you. To fulfill your requests
for certain products and services, such as sending out electronic newsletters and
enabling users to participate in paid services, polls, contests, and message boards
To send you information you agreed to receive about topics we think will be of interest
to you
4. How does HDS.IE share the information
Personally identifiable information
We will make your personally identifiable information available to other companies
or people when: We have your consent to share the information We have engaged companies
to work with us or on our behalf to provide a product or service that you have requested,
such as opt-in e-mail announcements You use co-branded services. When you use a
co-branded service within sites you grant us permission to pass your registration
information back to that service partner. Their use of your information is subject
to their applicable privacy policies. We respond to subpoenas, court orders, or
legal process; or we believe that your actions violate applicable laws, HDS.IE 's
Terms of Use or any usage guidelines for specific products or services, or threaten
the rights, property, or safety of our organization, our users, or others Aggregate
information We aggregate personally identifiable information and disclose such information
in a non-personally identifiable manner to advertisers and other third parties for
marketing, promotional, and other purposes. We do not disclose to these entities
any information that could be used to identify you personally.
5. What are my options?
Users who would rather not provide any of the user data requested by our registration
process do not need to register with us. You can still view much of the content
and use many of the services offered by our sites without registering. We also give
users the following options:
Opting not to receive our electronic newsletters or those of third parties when
registering. Users who opt-in may remove themselves from mailing lists at any time
through the user option pages or by following the instructions at the end of the
e-mail they received from us;
Opting not to provide certain personal information when registering for a site,
provided, however that you may not be able to utilize certain of our products or
services without providing us with certain information.
6. How can I update my personally identifiable information?
You can correct or change the information collected during registration for any
of our sites. The instructions for doing this can be found in our FAQ. Users may
change information at any time and as often as necessary. Users who are experiencing
problems with our services or who have questions about how our services work can
contact us using the “contact us” link at the bottom of this page.
7. How will I know if the privacy policy is changed?
Any modifications to our privacy practices will be reflected first within this area
of our sites. If there is a material change in our privacy practices, we will indicate
on our sites that our privacy practices have changed and provide a link to the new
privacy statement. If we are going to be using the information collected from users
in a manner materially different from that stated at the time of collection we will
send affected users written notice by email of the change.
Privacy of children
Our network of sites is not directed to children under the age of 13. We operate
our network of sites in compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection
Act and do not permit registration by, and will not knowingly collect or use personally
identifiable information from, anyone under 13 years of age. This requirement is
clearly posted during the registration process. Questions, comments Questions regarding
this privacy statement, or regarding any other aspects of our sites, should be sent
via e-mail to admin@HDS.ie We read every message submitted and try to reply promptly
to every one. We may also file your comments to improve the site, or review and
discard the information