Privacy Policy
Effective date: July 2021
Last updated: August 15, 2021
Your privacy and trust are important to us. We are committed to protecting your personal information and your right to privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how SME Business Review™ (we refer to this as "SME Business Review", "we", "us", or "our") collects information from you on smebusinessreview.com (hereinafter the "website" or "service"), how it is used, and what rights you have in relation to it. The term "you" refers to anyone who uses, visits and/or views the website.
Please read this privacy policy carefully as it will help you understand what we do with the information that we collect.
What information do we collect?
Personal information you disclose to us
The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Website. Generally, we collect the following categories of personal information:
Personal Information Provided by You. When you access the website, you may provide certain personally identifiable information including but not limited to your name, email address, avatar image. This information is collected when you register on the website, subscribe to a newsletter, contact us, provide comments or any other feedback or enter any other information on the website to communicate with us. From time to time, we may also collect information that you submit when you participate in any online surveys that we may post on our website.
Social Media Login Data. We may provide you with the option to register with us using your existing social media account details, like your Facebook, Google, Twitter or Github account. If you choose to register in this way, we will collect the information described in the section called "How do we handle your social logins?" below.
Information automatically collected
We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use or navigate the website. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address (or proxy server), log and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access website and which we record in log files, browser and device characteristics, operating system name, language preferences, device name, information about your activity in the website (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, searches and other actions you take such as which features you use) and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our website, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.
Information collected from other sources
In order to enhance our ability to provide relevant marketing, offers and services to you and update our records, we may obtain information about you from other sources, such as joint marketing partners, affiliate programs, data providers, social media platforms, as well as from other third parties. This information includes mailing addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, social media profiles, social media URLs and custom profiles, for purposes of targeted advertising and event promotion. If you interact with us on a social media platform using your social media account (e.g. Facebook or Twitter), we receive personal information about you such as your name, email address, and gender. Any personal information that we collect from your social media account depends on your social media account’s privacy settings.
All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.
How we use and process your information
We use personal information collected via our website for a variety of business purposes described below. We process your personal information in reliance on our legitimate business interests, and/or for compliance with our legal obligations, including to:
- Provide, deliver and administer our website
- For internal research and development purposes for new content, products, and services, and to improve, test, and enhance the features and functions of our website
- Send you offers, advertising, and marketing materials, including to provide personalized advertising to you
- To respond to your inquiries and solve any potential issues you might have with the use of our website
- To enforce our terms, conditions and policies for business purposes, to comply with legal and regulatory requirements
- For the purposes of managing our account and keeping it in working order
- As part of our efforts to keep our website safe and secure (for example, for fraud monitoring and prevention)
- We may use your information to develop and display personalized content and advertising (and work with third parties who do so) tailored to your interests and to measure its effectiveness
How we share information
We only share information with your consent, to comply with laws, to provide you with services, to protect your rights, or to fulfill business obligations with the following categories of third parties:
- Cloud computing services
- Data backup and security
- Advertising, direct marketing and lead generation
- Web analytics
- Website hosting
- Social media service and advertising
Transfer of information
Our servers are located in the United States. If you are accessing our website from outside United States, please be aware that your personal information may be transferred outside of your home country and may be stored in and accessed from multiple countries.
How long we keep your information
We keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. No purpose in this policy will require us keeping your personal information for longer than the period of time in which users have an account with us.
Security of information
The security of your personal information is important to us. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security, and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from website is at your own risk.
How we handle social logins
Our website offers you the ability to register and login using your social media accounts (Facebook, Google, Github or Twitter). Where you choose to do this, we will receive certain profile information about you from your social media provider. The profile information we receive may vary depending on the social media provider concerned, but will often include your name, email address, profile picture as well as other information you choose to make public on such social media platform. We will use the information we receive only for the purposes that are described in this privacy policy. Please note that we do not control, and are not responsible for, other uses of your personal information by your third-party social media provider. We recommend that you review their privacy policy to understand how they collect, use and share your personal information, and how you can set your privacy preferences on their services.
Children's privacy
Our website generally provides information solutions and, as such, it is intended for professionals and/or individuals over eighteen (18) years of age. We do not target children and do not knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13). When a user discloses personal information on our website, that user is representing to us that he or she is at least eighteen (18) years of age.
Cookies and other tracking technologies
We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to access or store information. Specific information about how we use such technologies and how you can refuse certain cookies is set out in our Cookie policy that is unalienable part of this Privacy policy.
Your privacy rights
In certain circumstances, local data protection laws (such as the GDPR) may give you rights with respect to personal information if you are located in or are a resident of that country, state, or territory (including if you are located in the EU/EEA). These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; and (iv) if applicable, to data portability. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. To make such a request, please use our contact details to get in touch with us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Please note however that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal, nor will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent. If you are a resident in the European Economic Area and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.
California privacy rights
If you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year.
The California Code of Regulations defines a "resident" as:
- every individual who is in the State of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and
- every individual who is domiciled in the State of California who is outside the State of California for a temporary or transitory purpose
All other individuals are defined as "non-residents".
If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit a verifiable consumer request in writing to us using the contact information.. Only you as the person registered with the California Secretary of State can make such verifiable consumer request related to your personal information or someone you authorize to act on your behalf.
Your verifiable consumer request must provide sufficient information that allows us to verify that you are the person you are claiming to be or that you are the authorized representative of such person about whom we had collected personal information. You must describe your request with enough details such as your first and last name, your address and country that allow us to properly understand the request and respond to it. Please note we cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information unless we first verify your identity or authority to make such a request and confirm that the personal information relates to you. We will make all attempts to respond to your request within 30 days of receipt.
This privacy notice for California residents supplements the information included in the previous sections of this privacy policy.
If this definition of "resident" applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information.
You have the right to:
- Know whether your personal information is sold or disclosed to third parties
- Say no to the sale of your personal information
- Access your personal information, which we will provide within 30 days of such request
- Know what personal information is collected from you and how it is used as explained in the sections above
- Have your personal information deleted
- Data portability and right to request your personal information and use it for your own purposes
Please be advised we do not sell your personal information to third parties.
Changes to this privacy policy
This privacy policy is effective as of July 1, 2021, and will be updated and modified as needed. You are responsible for visiting this page periodically to check for future updates to this policy. Any modifications to this privacy policy will be effective upon our publishing of the new terms, and your continued use of our website after the posting of any updates constitutes your acceptance of our modified privacy policy.
How to contact us about this privacy policy
For any comments, concerns, complaints or questions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us.