Privacy Policy

The Effective Date of this Privacy Policy is April 28, 2015.

This Privacy Policy applies to the web sites, features, applications, widgets or online services that are owned or controlled by KBS Research, LLC (KBS) and that post a link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, “Sites,” and individually, a “Site”). This Privacy Policy only covers information collected at the Sites and does not cover any information collected at any other web site or offline by KBS (unless specifically stated). This Privacy Policy describes KBS’s information collection practices at the Sites, such as the types of information KBS collects regarding visitors to the Sites and how we may use that information. Please review this Privacy Policy carefully. In addition, please review the Sites’ Terms of Use, which governs your use of the Sites. Please note that certain features or services referenced in this Privacy Policy may not be offered on the Sites at all times.

THIS SITE IS INTENDED FOR USERS AGE EIGHTEEN (18) AND OLDER. By using the Sites, you acknowledge that you are at least 18 years old. Note that the Sites are not intended for children and the Sites do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If KBS discovers that it has inadvertently collected personal information from anyone younger than the age of 18, it will delete that information.

OVERVIEW
WE FULLY DESCRIBE OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES BELOW IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. THIS OVERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THIRD PARTY ADVERTISERS AND ANALYTICS PROVIDERS, AND OUR USE AND SHARING OF YOUR INFORMATION, BUT PLEASE REVIEW OUR FULL PRIVACY POLICY BEFORE USING OUR SITE.

Collection, Use and Sharing of Information

The Sites collect both Personal and non-Personal Information. The Sites primarily use information from visitors in connection with your relationship with us and our brands, including having you participate in online features we offer and to communicate information and offers. Please review the “Information We Collect Through The Sites” and “How We Use the Information Collected.” Note that we do not share your Personal Information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes without your consent (opt-in or opt-out); however, we may share your Personal Information under certain limited circumstances. For more details, please review the section below entitled “Information We Collect Through The Sites” and “How We Use the Information Collected.”

Note that special terms apply to some features that may be offered through certain Services, like subscription-based services, rules for particular contests or sweepstakes or other features or activities. These terms are posted in connection with the applicable service or product offering. Any such terms are in addition to these Terms, and in the event of a conflict, prevail over these Terms.

Third Party Services and Advertising

Currently, we do not display third party advertisements on our Sites. However, we work with third party service providers to serve advertisements for KBS and KBS brands on other web sites, within mobile apps, and elsewhere online, and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Sites and to determine the effectiveness of our advertisements. These third parties may set and access their own tracking devices (including Information We Collect Through The Sites” and “How We Use the Information Collected”) and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you and your visits to this or other web sites. Such information may be used to display targeted ads to you elsewhere online. For more information, please review the “Third Party Analytics Providers, Ad Servers and Similar Third Parties” section below. Some of these companies are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) or the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising.

You may want to visit networkadvertising.org or aboutads.info which provides information regarding targeted advertising and information regarding how to “opt-out” from targeted advertising provided by participating companies.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT THROUGH THE SITES
AND Information You Provide to the Sites

KBS may ask you to provide “Personal Information” (information that identifies you as a specific individual, such as your name or e-mail address), and other information about you, such as demographic information (your age, gender, ZIP code or similar information), payment information, or certain information about your preferences, and interests. If we combine these types of other information about you with Personal Information, we will treat the combined information as Personal Information under this Privacy Policy. Please note that information submitted to the Sites via a “Contact Us,” “Ask an Expert,” or other similar function may not receive a response. We will not use the information provided via these functions to contact you for marketing purposes unrelated to your request unless you agree otherwise, and we will not publish your message on the Sites without your consent.

Community Forums and User Content

The Sites may provide you the opportunity to participate and post content publicly in forums, through interactive features and through other communication functionality (“Community Forums”). You may choose, through such features or otherwise, to submit or post product reviews, photographs, videos, questions, comments, suggestions or other content, (collectively, “User Content”). Please note that certain information, such as your name, may be publicly displayed on the Sites along with your User Content. Please note that your use of Community Forums is subject to the “User Content Policy” that is found in the Sites’ Terms of Use, as well as other provisions of the Sites’ Terms of Use. Participation on the Sites may also be possible through Social Features, which may involve sharing certain of your information with a third party.

Note that anything you post to a Community Forum is public — others will have access to your User Content and may use it or share it with third parties. If you choose to voluntarily disclose Personal Information, that information will be considered public information and the protections of this Privacy Policy will not apply.

Send to a Friend Features

If you send a friend a communication from the Sites, the information you provide (e.g., name and e-mail address) is used on a one-time basis to facilitate the communication and is not used for any other marketing purpose unless we obtain consent from that person.

Information Third Parties Provide About You

We may receive information about you from third parties. For example, if you are on another web site and you opt-in to receive information from KBS, that web site will forward your contact and other information to us so that we may contact you as requested.

Third parties may also provide information about you in connection with our Social Features.

We also may supplement the information we collect with outside records from third parties in order to provide you with information, services or goods you have requested, to enhance our ability to serve you, to tailor our content to you and to offer you opportunities to purchase products or services that we believe may be of interest to you. We may combine the information we receive from those other sources with information we collect through the Sites. In those cases, we will apply this Privacy Policy to the combined information.

Information We Collect Automatically As You Access and Use the Sites

In addition to any Personal Information or other information that you choose to submit to the Sites, we and our third party service providers, including any third party content, advertising, and analytics providers, may use a variety of technologies that automatically or passively collect certain information about your use of the Sites whenever you visit or interact with the Sites (“Usage Information”). Usage Information may include the browser and operating system you are using, the URL or advertisement that referred you to our Sites, the search terms you entered into a search engine that led you to our Sites (if applicable), all of the areas within our Sites that you visit, and the time of day you visit the Sites, among other information. Usage Information also includes the IP address or other unique identifier (“Device Identifier”) for any computer, mobile phone or other device (any, a “Device”) used to access the Sites. A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device, and our servers identify your Device by its Device Identifier. Some mobile service providers may also provide us or our third party service providers with information regarding the physical location of the Device used to access a Site.

We may use Usage Information for a variety of purposes, including enhancing or otherwise improving the Sites and our products and services. The Usage Information we collect is generally non-identifying, but if we associate it with you as a specific and identifiable person, we treat it as Personal Information.

Note that your browser settings may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” signal to websites and online services you visit. There is no consensus among industry participants as to what “Do Not Track” means in this context. Like many websites and online services, KBS currently does not alter its practices when it receives a “Do Not Track” signal from a visitor’s browser. To find out more about “Do Not Track,” please visit https://www.allaboutdnt.com.

The methods used to collect Usage Information may include the following:

Cookies. A cookie is a data file placed on a Device when it is used to visit a Site or otherwise access our online content. Cookies may be used for many purposes, including, without limitation, remembering you and your preferences, tracking your visits to our web pages, and for displaying offers related to your prior activity on the Sites. A Flash cookie is a data file placed on a Device via the Adobe Flash plugin that may be built-in to or downloaded by you to your Device. Flash cookies may be used for various purposes, including, without limitation, enabling a Flash feature and remembering your preferences. For more information about Flash and the privacy choices Adobe offers, visit www.macromedia.com. If you choose to disable cookies or to adjust your Flash privacy settings on your Device, some features of the Sites may not function properly.

Web Beacons. Small graphic images or other web programming code called web beacons (also known as “1×1 GIFs” or “clear GIFs”) may be included in our web pages and e-mail messages. Web beacons may be invisible to you, but any electronic image or other web programming code inserted into a web page or e-mail can act as a web beacon. Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a number of purposes, including, without limitation, to count visitors to the Sites, to monitor how users navigate the Sites, to count how many e-mails that were sent were actually opened or to count how many particular articles or links were actually viewed.

Embedded Scripts. An embedded script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Sites, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your Device from our web server or a third party service provider, is active only while you are connected to the Sites, and is deactivated or deleted thereafter.

In addition, we may use a variety of other technologies that collect similar information for security and fraud detection purposes.

SOCIAL FEATURES

Functionality on the Site may permit interactions that you initiate between the Site and a third party web site or service (“Social Features”). Examples of Social Features include enabling you to “like” or “share” Site content to other web sites or services or to “like” or “share” our page on a third party service; to log-in using your username and password for a third party site or service; and to otherwise connect the Sites to a third party web site or service. If you choose to share content or to otherwise post information through the Sites to a third party site or service, or vice versa, that information may be publicly displayed. Similarly, if you post information on a third party platform that references a KBS product (e.g., by using a Twitter hashtag associated with a KBS Brand product in your tweet), your post may be published on our Sites in accordance with terms of that third party. Also, both KBS and the third party may have access to certain information about you and your use of the Sites and the third party site or service. In addition, we may receive information about you if other users of a third party web site give us access to their profiles and you are one of their “connections” or information about you is otherwise accessible through your “connections” web page, profile page, or similar page on a social networking or other third party web site or interactive service.

The information we collect in connection with Social Features is subject to this Privacy Policy. The information collected and stored by the third party remains subject to the third party’s privacy practices, including whether the third party continues to share information with us, the types of information shared, and your choices with regard to what is visible to others on that third party web site or service.

HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION COLLECTED

KBS may use information collected through the Sites, including your Personal Information and Usage Information, to: (1) allow you to participate in features we offer or to provide related customer service, including, without limitation, to respond to your questions, complaints or comments; (2) tailor content, recommendations and offers we display to you on the Sites and elsewhere online, including identifying KBS Brand products that may be of interest to you and in locating KBS Brand products online or in local stores; (3) process a transaction you initiate; (4) provide you with information, products or services that you have requested or agreed to receive or that we otherwise believe will interest you; (5) send you special offers from us, our advertisers, or third-party business partners; (6) process your registration with the Sites, including verifying your e-mail address is active and valid; (7) improve the Sites, our products and services and for internal business purposes; (8) contact you with regard to your use of the Sites and, in our discretion, changes to Site policies; and (9) for purposes as disclosed at the time you provide your information, with your consent, and as further described in this Privacy Policy.

HOW AND WHEN WE DISCLOSE INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES

KBS may share non-personally identifiable information, such as aggregated user statistics, with third parties in our discretion. We do not share Personal Information with third parties for those third parties’ marketing purposes unless we first provide you with the opportunity to opt-in or opt-out of such sharing. We may share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, as disclosed at the time you provide your information, with your consent, as described in this Privacy Policy, and in the following circumstances:

When You Agree to Receive Information From Third Parties or Request That We Share Your Information

You may be presented with an opportunity to receive information and/or marketing offers from one or more third parties. If you agree at that time to have your Personal Information shared, your Personal Information will be disclosed to that third party (or parties) and will be subject to the privacy policy and practices of that third party. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of third parties, and, if you later decide that you no longer want to receive communications from a third party, you will need to contact that third party directly. You also may request, sometimes through your use of an interactive feature or third party application, that we share information about you with a third party, and we will typically do so under those circumstances.

Third Parties Providing Services on Our Behalf

We may use third party service providers to perform certain services on behalf of the Sites, such as web site hosting, accepting job applications, providing web site usage analytics, sending email or other communications, providing marketing assistance and data analysis, providing consumer affairs services, fulfilling and processing orders, or performing other administrative services. We may provide these service providers with access to your Personal Information so that they can carry out the services they are performing for you or for KBS. Some of these service providers may collect information on the Sites directly from you on our behalf; in such cases, these service providers are not permitted to use your Personal Information for their own use.

Sweepstakes, Contests and Promotions

We may offer sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions (any, a “Promotion”) that may require registration. By participating in a Promotion, you are agreeing to the official rules that govern that Promotion, which may contain specific requirements of you, including, except where prohibited by law, allowing the sponsor(s) of the Promotion to use your name, voice, likeness or other indicia of persona in advertising or marketing associated with the Promotion. If you choose to enter a Promotion, your Personal Information may be disclosed to third parties or the public in connection with the administration of such Promotion, including, without limitation, in connection with winner selection, prize fulfillment, and as required by law or permitted by the Promotion’s official rules, such as on a winners list.

Administrative and Legal Reasons

We may transfer and disclose information, including your Personal Information, Usage Information, and your Device Identifier, to third parties: (i) to respond to subpoenas or other legal process or if in our opinion such disclosure is required by law; (ii) at the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation; or (iii) to enforce the Site’s Terms of Use or other applicable Site policies; or (iv) to respond to an emergency or otherwise to protect the safety, rights, property or security of KBS, third parties, Site visitors, or the public. We may also use Device Identifiers to identify users, and may do so in cooperation with copyright owners, Internet service providers, wireless service providers or law enforcement agencies in our discretion.

Business Transfers

KBS may share your information, including Personal Information, with its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, primarily for business and operational purposes. KBS may also disclose and transfer your information, including Personal Information: (i) to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of a particular Site or applicable database; or (ii) if KBS (or any of its affiliated, parent, or subsidiary companies) assigns its rights regarding any of your information to a third party; or (iii) in connection with a corporate merger, consolidation, restructuring, the sale of certain of KBS’s ownership interests, assets, or both, or other corporate change, including, without limitation, during the course of any due diligence process.

THIRD PARTY ANALYTICS PROVIDERS, AD SERVERS AND SIMILAR THIRD PARTIES

Although the Sites currently do not display ads from third parties, KBS works with network advertisers, ad agencies, analytics service providers and other vendors to provide us with information regarding traffic on the Sites, including pages viewed and the actions taken when visiting the Sites; to serve our advertisements on other web sites, within mobile apps and elsewhere online, and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Sites and the effectiveness of our advertisements. For example, if you click on an advertisement for KBS or one of our products, our service provider(s) may be able to tell us the advertisement that you clicked on and where you were viewing the advertisement. Our service providers may collect certain information about your visits to and activity on the Sites and other web sites and services, and may use this information to target advertising to you.

These service providers may set and access their own tracking technologies on your Device (including cookies and web beacons) and may otherwise collect or have access to information about you. Some of these parties may collect Personal Information over time when you visit the Sites or other online websites and services. Cookies and web beacons, including those set by third party network advertisers, may be used to, among other things, target advertisements, prevent you from seeing the same advertisements too many times and to conduct research regarding the usefulness of certain advertisements to you. We may share Usage Information about visitors with third party advertising companies, analytics providers and other vendors for similar purposes.

While we may use a variety of service providers to perfor m advertising services, some of these companies are members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) or the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. You may want to visit www.networkadvertising.org, which provides information regarding targeted advertising and the “opt-out” procedures of NAI members. You may also want to visit or www.aboutads.info, which provides information regarding targeted advertising and offers an “opt-out” by participating companies in the DAA Self-Regulatory Program. Please note that these companies may still collect information when you are online and opting out through these mechanisms does not opt you out of being served advertising. You will continue to receive generic ads while visiting the Sites and elsewhere online.

CHANGING YOUR INFORMATION, PREFERENCES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS

The Sites may contain web pages through which you can correct or update some of the Personal Information you have provided to us through registration with the Sites or through which you may be able to unsubscribe or modify the email newsletters or similar communications we send to you. Also, users who receive a newsletter or other similar e-mails from us and who wish to remove themselves from the mailing list (i.e. opt out) can do so by following the link provided in an e-mail received. The Sites may also offer an online mechanism for changing your preferences. However, please note that we reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to your use of our Sites, service announcements, notices of changes to this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use or similar administrative or transactional messages, and these transactional account messages may be unaffected if you choose to opt-out from marketing communications. If you sign up to receive SMS or MMS messages that may be offered on the Sites, you may unsubscribe from any text messages received by replying “STOP.”

You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information you submit to us, such as your contact information either, through any online account feature offered or by contacting us. KBS will make good faith efforts to make requested changes in our active databases as soon as reasonably practicable. Note, however, that information you update or change may persist internally or for KBS’s administrative purposes. It is not always possible to completely remove or delete all of your information from our databases, and residual data may remain on backup media or for other reasons. Also, if you have made any public postings, such as in a Community Forum or through a Social Feature, these communications generally will not be removed.

THIRD PARTY CONTENT, LINKS TO OTHER SITES, AND SITE CONTENT FOUND OUTSIDE OF THE SITE

Certain content on the Sites may be hosted and served by third parties, and the Sites may contain links to third party web sites that KBS does not control. The Sites may also contain certain third-party content or applications, such as coupons or coupon-printing technology, logos, wallpapers, or other downloads or software applications. These links and applications may use a KBS or KBS Brand logo as part of a co-branding agreement, including third parties who may be selling KBS Brand products. In addition, KBS or KBS Brand widgets or other content may be included on web pages and web sites that are not associated with KBS and over which we have no control. These third parties may collect Usage Information through the use of their own cookies and web beacons, independently collect data or solicit Personal Information, and may have the ability to track your use of their sites and services. KBS is not responsible for the privacy practices employed by any third party.

EMPLOYMENT APPLICATIONS

If you apply for a job through the Sites, KBS or its service provider may ask you to provide self-identifying information (such as veteran status, gender and ethnicity) in conjunction with laws and regulations enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and other federal, state and local regulatory agencies. Providing such self-identifying information is voluntary, but if you do provide such information, KBS or its service provider may submit that information to the appropriate government or regulatory agencies to fulfill reporting requirements and use that information to defend against employment related complaints.

SECURITY

KBS takes commercially reasonable steps to help protect and secure your Personal Information. However, no data transmission over the Internet, wireless transmission or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Please note that we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information we collect. You use our Sites and provide us with your information at your own risk.

USERS RESIDING OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES AND CONSENT TO TRANSFER

The Sites are operated in the United States. If you are located in the European Union, Canada or elsewhere outside of the United States, please be aware that information you provide to us will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Sites, or providing us with any information, you consent to this transfer, processing and storage of your information in the United States, a jurisdiction in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as those in the country where you reside or are a citizen.

CHANGES TO THE PRIVACY POLICY

KBS reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy and will notify you of material changes by posting a notice and the new Privacy Policy on the Sites. We may also provide notice to you in other ways in our discretion, such as through contact information you have provided. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy. However, we will not make material changes to how we use your personal information, unless you consent to the new or revised policy or generally to such uses.

How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about these Terms or the Services, please contact us by:

Email: info(at)atrantil.com
Phone: 214-984-3724

Mail:
KBS Research, LLC
Legal Department
15660 N Dallas Parkway, Suite 700
Dallas, TX 75248

Thank you for using our Services.