Privacy Policy

2023-10-26

Welcome to ThriftMyLife.com! Protecting your privacy is a top priority for us. We, at ThriftMyLife.com, are wholly committed to safeguarding the personal information of our esteemed community of users. This Privacy Policy elucidates how ThriftMyLife.com, including any other digital properties that link to this document (collectively referred to as the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, utilizes, discloses, and otherwise processes personal information in connection with our websites (the “Sites”), mobile applications (the “Apps”), and the wide array of content, services, products, and other features and functionalities offered on or through these Sites and Apps (collectively, the “Services”).

Our Digital Offerings: The Sites, Apps, and Services We pride ourselves on providing a variety of digital platforms, including but not limited to, an array of websites (collectively, the “Sites”), mobile applications (collectively, the “Apps”), and a plethora of content, services, products, and features designed to enhance and personalize your online experience. When we refer to “Services” in this Privacy Policy, we mean this entire collection of offerings that are available to you via both the Sites and Apps.

Applicability of This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies across all digital properties that form part of the ThriftMyLife.com family and directly link to this document. Your personal information is valuable, and when you choose to share it with us through your interaction with our Services, via the Sites or Apps, it is crucial for you to understand how we handle, use, and protect this information. This Privacy Policy aims to provide transparent disclosure of our practices in these realms, furnishing you with the knowledge required to make informed choices about your interactions with our Services.

In essence, whether you are navigating through our content, utilizing our Apps, or engaging with the myriad of other features and functionalities we offer, this Privacy Policy is crafted to elucidate our unwavering commitment to maintaining your privacy and safeguarding your personal information. We encourage you to read this document thoroughly, as it is an integral part of our commitment to you, our valued user community.

What Lies Ahead? In the subsequent sections of this Privacy Policy, we will delve into the specifics of how we handle your personal information. We will detail the types of personal information we collect, elucidate the purposes behind our use of this information, and explain the circumstances under which we may disclose it. Furthermore, we will provide insights into the rights and choices available to you with respect to your personal information.

So, without further ado, welcome to ThriftMyLife.com, where your privacy stands as our paramount concern.

Manage Your Information

Email Preferences

To globally opt-out of receiving marketing emails from all of our brands, click on the link below and complete the form as instructed.

Update Email Preferences

Delete Your Data

To permanently erase your personal information from our records, follow the link below.

Update Data Preferences

Control Over Your Data

For additional methods to delete, opt-out, or manage your personal data, refer to the “What Controls Do I Have Over My Information?” section of this Privacy Policy.

What Personal Information Do We Collect?

Information You Provide to Us

The nature and amount of personal information we collect from you may vary based on your interactions with our Services and the details you choose to provide voluntarily. We may collect this information directly from you or through your use of the Services. Examples include:

  • Contact Information: This may include your name, address, email, and other similar contact details. It could also encompass details related to event or conference registration, your communication preferences, and any photos or videos taken at events.
  • Inquiry Information: Any data you provide through forms, surveys, emails, or phone calls. This also encompasses details provided when subscribing to our newsletters.
  • Account Information: Details like your name, username, account ID, date of birth, profile data, saved or favored items (e.g., articles), transaction history, subscription details, course enrollments, and results from any interactive tools we offer.
  • Financial Information: Payment details including credit/debit card numbers, bank account details, and billing and shipping addresses.
  • Demographic Information: Information such as your age, gender, race, income, marital status, and details about your household.
  • Health or Fitness-Related Information: This could include data about your physical activity, dietary preferences, weight-loss goals, and other wellness-related information.
  • User-Generated Content: Any personal data you choose to disclose when participating in forums, discussions, or other interactive areas of our Services. Remember, this information can be accessed by others, so avoid sharing sensitive personal data.
  • Contest, Sweepstakes, and Survey Information: Data provided during contests or sweepstakes, responses to surveys or questionnaires, and any testimonials you might give.
  • Inferences About Your Preferences: Information about your interests, favorites, purchasing habits, and lifestyle choices.

By engaging with our Services and providing this information, you empower us to deliver a more personalized and enriching user experience on ThriftMyLife.com. Please refer to the later sections of this Privacy Policy for detailed information on how we use, share, and protect your personal information.

Information Automatically Collected

General

Just like many other digital platforms, we at ThriftMyLife.com, along with our third-party partners, automatically gather information about your device and how you interact with our Services. This is done through the use of various tracking technologies such as cookies, pixels, SDKs, APIs, scripts, and location-identifying technologies. The information collected in this manner includes but is not limited to:

  • Device Data: This encompasses details like your IP address, operating system, device type and version, browser specifics, and other related data. It also includes the URL you came from, the referring page, the date and time of your visit, and any errors encountered during your time on our Services.
  • Analytics/Usage Data: We track the journey you take to and through our Services, what you do on our site (pages visited, links clicked, videos watched), and how you interact with emails we send (which links or attachments you open). We may also use third-party tools to capture detailed interaction data, such as mouse movements, keystrokes, and other activity.
  • Location Data: We may gather geographic location data from your device, with proper permissions.
  • Advertising/Ad Measurement Data: This includes data related to your interaction with ads on our Services, including views, clicks, and the use of cookies or other identifiers. This data helps us serve and measure ads more effectively.

It’s important to note that we might combine the information collected automatically with other information we have about you.

To learn about how to limit or disable cookies and other tracking technologies on your device, please see the “What Controls Do I Have Over My Information?” section below. For more on our advertising practices and those of our third-party partners, refer to the “What are Our Third-Party Data Collection and Online Advertising Practices?” section.

Third-Party Sources

We also receive personal information from various third parties, often combining it with other information we’ve collected. These third parties may include:

  • Other Users: Information about you might come from other users interacting with our Services.
  • Business Partners: This includes companies that offer products or services through our Services, as well as marketing, advertising, and analytics partners.
  • Social Media Networks: When you interact with our Services through social media, we might receive information such as your profile details and other data you allow the network to share.
  • Authentication Services: If you log in through services like Facebook or Google, we might receive information to authenticate your account and provide our Services.
  • Service Providers: Third-party service providers working on our behalf might collect personal information and share some of it with us.
  • Information Providers and Other Sources: We might obtain additional information from various third-party sources, including public databases, data providers, and as part of business transactions like mergers and acquisitions.

This comprehensive approach to data collection helps us to enhance the user experience, tailor our content and advertising, and maintain the integrity of our Services at ThriftMyLife.com. For further details on how we use, share, and protect your information, please continue reading through our Privacy Policy.

How We Use Personal Information

At ThriftMyLife.com, your personal information is utilized for a variety of reasons, ensuring that we can provide a seamless and tailored user experience. Below is an extensive outline of how we use your information:

To Fulfill Your Requests & Provide Services

  • Service Accessibility: Ensuring you have access to our Services and related Dotdash Meredith products.
  • Account Management: Managing and coordinating access to your user account.
  • User Support: Addressing your inquiries, suggestions, and providing necessary assistance.
  • Transaction Processing: Facilitating payments and other transactions.
  • Communication: Sending you important account-related notifications and messages.
  • Content Saving: Allowing you to save reading lists, recipes, and perform other searches.
  • Event Management: Managing your participation in various events, programs, contests, and promotions.

To Personalize Your Experience

  • Content Tailoring: Providing content and services that align with your interests and preferences.

For Marketing Purposes

  • Promotional Communication: Sending updates, new feature announcements, special offers, and advertising tailored to your interests.
  • Ad Targeting: Using your information to display relevant ads from us or our advertising partners.
  • Campaign Optimization: Enhancing the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising campaigns.

To Communicate with You

  • Account Notifications: Updating you on your account activities and sending transaction confirmations.
  • Subscription Management: Alerting you when subscriptions are due for renewal.
  • Newsletters & Surveys: Enrolling you in our email newsletters and sending surveys or promotional communications.
  • Contact through Various Means: Communicating via email, postal mail, telephone, text message, or push notifications.

To Improve and Develop Our Services

  • Service Optimization: Analyzing trends and statistics to enhance and tailor our services.
  • New Product Development: Creating new services or features based on user needs and preferences.

To Protect and Comply

  • Security: Protecting the integrity and security of our business, our users, and our Services.
  • Legal Compliance: Complying with laws, regulations, and legal obligations.
  • Fraud Prevention: Detecting and preventing fraudulent activities or potential crimes.
  • Corporate Transactions: Using your information in connection with business transactions like mergers, acquisitions, or asset sales.

With Your Consent

  • Other Purposes: Using your personal information for any other purpose, with your consent or as explicitly informed at the time of data collection.

For detailed insights into how you can control your information and your preferences, please refer to the “What Controls Do I Have Over My Information?” section below. Additionally, to understand more about our third-party data collection and online advertising practices, you can check the “What are Our Third-Party Data Collection and Online Advertising Practices?” section of this Privacy Policy.

Sharing Personal Information: A Comprehensive Overview

1. Within Our Company Family

Dotdash Meredith Portfolio: Your personal data is accessible and utilized across our various brands and companies.

2. External Parties

At Your Discretion:

  • Social Sharing: You have the option to share your activities from our Services on social media or via email and text.

Collaborations and Partnerships:

  • Promotional Partners: We collaborate with third parties for contests, surveys, and joint promotional activities, sharing necessary information for these events.
  • Marketing and Business Partners: We exchange information with partners for advertising, analytics, and commercial purposes, which are detailed in both their privacy policies and ours.

Advertising Networks:

  • Online Advertising: We engage with third-party advertisers, sharing information to support online advertising and related analytics.

3. Public Disclosure

User-Generated Content:

  • Feedback and Comments: Publicly shared feedback or comments on our Services or social media may display your information.
  • Social Media Interactions: Engagements on social media could involve tagging and interaction with user accounts.

4. With Your Explicit Approval

  • Consented Sharing: Information may be shared with third parties when you have given consent, directed us to share, or where we have provided notice.

5. Third-Party Service Providers

  • Operational Assistance: We employ third-party vendors for various services ranging from marketing to web hosting, and your information may be shared for these purposes.

6. During Corporate Transactions

  • Business Changes: In cases of mergers, asset sales, or other corporate restructurings, your personal information may be shared or transferred.

7. Legal and Regulatory Obligations

  • Law Enforcement: We may disclose your information to legal authorities or third parties when required by law, or to protect our rights and the safety of others.

Anonymized and Aggregated Data

  • Non-Identifiable Sharing: We may also share anonymized or aggregated information that does not directly identify you.

Third-Party Data Collection and Online Advertising: Deep Dive

General Practices:

  • Collaborative Advertising: We work with third-party partners to ensure the ads you see are tailored to your interests and to optimize our advertising efforts.
  • Tools and Partners: Our network includes a variety of third parties such as advertising networks, social media companies, and other advertising tech services.

Information Collection Techniques:

  • Tracking Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, SDKs, and similar tools to recognize your device and gather information.
  • Data Collected: This can include details about your device, browsing activities, location data, and interactions with our Services.
  • Device Recognition: We collect data to recognize your device across different platforms and services.

Cross-Device Identification:

  • Shared Identifiers: We may share hashed or encrypted versions of your email address or user ID with our advertising partners.
  • Information Sharing Methods: This could involve API integrations, server-to-server transfers, or employing third-party tracking tools.

Controlling Online Ads:

  • Opt-Out Options: Refer to the “What Controls Do I Have Over My Information?” section to learn about opting out of interest-based advertising.

Social Media and Advertising:

  • Integrated Social Features: Our Services may include features from social media platforms, which have their own tracking methods and privacy policies.
  • Targeted Social Advertising: We direct advertisements to users on social media based on their interests and behavior.
  • Data Sharing for Advertising: We may share unique identifiers with social media platforms to enable targeted advertising.

Key Takeaways:

  • We engage in extensive advertising practices in collaboration with a network of third-party partners.
  • Various tracking technologies are employed to gather comprehensive data about your interactions with our Services.
  • We strive to optimize advertising relevance through data analysis and sharing with our partners.
  • You have control options available to opt out of interest-based advertising.
  • Our integration with social media platforms involves data sharing to enable targeted advertising, governed by their respective privacy policies.

Contact Information:

  • Email: [email protected]
    • For U.S. Privacy Rights Requests (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Virginia): Include “U.S. Privacy Rights Request” in the subject line.
    • For GDPR Privacy Rights Requests (European Economic Area residents): Include “GDPR Privacy Rights Request” in the subject line.
  • Mail: 225 Liberty St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10281

U.S. State Privacy Notice:

This section provides additional information for residents covered under State Privacy Laws (including Nevada for the “Notice to Nevada Residents” section). The term “State Privacy Laws” refers to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Colorado Privacy Act, Connecticut Data Privacy Act, Utah Consumer Privacy Act, and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act.

Your Privacy Rights:

As a resident of a state covered by the State Privacy Laws, you may have the right to:

  • Access: Request information about the personal data we have collected about you.
  • Deletion: Request the deletion of personal data we have collected from you.
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal data we hold about you.
  • Data Portability: Request a copy of your personal data in a portable and readily usable format.
  • Opt-Out: Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal data.
  • Limit Use and Disclosure: Limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.

Notice at Collection for California Residents

Categories/Use of PI:

  • Identifiers: Name, email, date of birth, online identifiers, etc.
  • California Customer Records: Birth date, contact information, payment information.
  • Protected Classification Characteristics: Age, gender.
  • Commercial Information: Payment, purchase history.
  • Internet/Network Information: Device information, logs, analytics data.
  • Geolocation Data: Location information from your device, IP address, Wi-Fi.
  • Profession/Employment Information: Employer, company, school information.
  • Other Personal Information: Information posted on social media, provided to us.
  • Inferences: Predictions about interests and preferences.
  • Sensitive Personal Information: Account username, password, health data, racial/ethnic origin.

“Sales” and “Shares”:

  • Possible “sale” and “sharing” of categories of personal information with advertising/marketing and analytics partners for advertising/marketing and analytics services.
  • Right to opt-out via “Your Privacy Choices” link.

Data Retention:

  • Retained as necessary for purposes outlined in this notice, unless a longer period is required/permitted by law.

Notice of Financial Incentives:

  • Financial incentives offered for collection, sale, retention, and use of PI, as per CCPA.
  • Participation is optional, with the ability to opt-in and opt-out.
  • Changes to incentive programs will be posted, and checking regularly is advised.

Notice to Nevada Residents

  • Right to opt-out of future sales of certain covered information, as per Chapter 603A of the Nevada Revised Statutes.

European Privacy Notice

Controller of your Personal Data:

  • Controller: Dotdash Meredith
  • Address: 225 Liberty St, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10281
  • Local Representative: [email protected]

Legal Basis for Using Personal Data:

  • To comply with legal and regulatory obligations.
  • For the performance of contracts or pre-contractual steps.
  • For our legitimate interests or those of a third party.
  • Where you have given consent.

Purposes and Legal Basis for Processing:

  • Providing requested products/services.
  • Responding to inquiries and providing support.
  • Marketing communications and personalized content/offers.
  • Administering events, programs, contests, and promotions.
  • Business improvement and development.
  • Data analytics and advertising.
  • Enabling affiliate/service provider activities.
  • Notifying changes to the Services.
  • Complying with legal requirements, law enforcement requests, and protecting against harm.
  • Fraud prevention and legal compliance.

International Transfers

When personal data from the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom (UK), or Switzerland is transferred outside these regions, there are potential risks due to varying levels of data protection in different countries, especially when the data is transferred to countries that do not provide the same level of protection as within the EEA, UK, or Switzerland. This includes data transfers to the United States.

To mitigate these risks, we ensure that there are adequate safeguards in place. This may involve using specific contracts approved by the European Commission that give personal data the same protection it has in Europe.

Retention of Personal Data

We are committed to retaining your personal data only for as long as it is necessary for the intended purposes. This could be for the duration that you use our Services or for longer periods where required by law, to resolve disputes, or for our business operations.

Data Subject Rights

As an individual located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have specific rights concerning your personal data:

  • Right of access: Request confirmation and details about the processing of your personal data.
  • Right to correction: Update or correct any inaccurate personal data.
  • Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data in certain circumstances.
  • Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw any given consent for processing of your personal data.
  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority: File a complaint with your local data protection authority.
  • Right to restriction of processing: Limit the ways in which we can use your personal data.
  • Right to data portability: Receive your personal data in a readable format and transmit it to another controller.
  • Right to object: Object to the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.

To exercise any of these rights, you can submit a request through our European Rights Request Form. Please keep in mind that these rights are not absolute, and exceptions may apply based on local laws and regulations.

For more information or to lodge a complaint, contact your local data protection authority. Information on how to reach them can be found here.