Effective Date: September 3, 2015

This Privacy Policy is effective immediately for users registering accounts after that date and will become effective on October 3, 2015 for pre-existing users. To read the previous policy, please click here.

This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to the web sites, e-mails and mobile applications (the “Properties” or “Web Properties”) owned and operated by AutoMD, Inc. (“AutoMD” “we” or “us”), including the web site located at www.AutoMD.com. The Policy is designed to tell you how we collect and use personal information (as defined below) so you can make an informed decision about using our Properties. Please read this statement before using our Properties or submitting any personal information to us. We reserve the right to change the provisions of this Privacy Policy at any time.  We will notify you of these changes by e-mail or by posting a revised Privacy Policy on the Properties and indicating on the Privacy Policy the date it was last updated. Your use of the Properties following the posting of such changes or revised statement shall constitute your consent to any such changes. We encourage you to review our Privacy Policy whenever you visit our Properties to determine if any changes have been made and to make sure that you understand how any personal information you provide will be used.

IN ORDER TO USE AUTOMD'S PROPERTIES, SOFTWARE (INCLUDING APPLICATIONS), PRODUCTS, SERVICES (INCLUDING AUTOMD INSTA-QUOTES!) OR INFORMATION OR CONTENT CONTAINED THEREIN (REFERRED TO COLLECTIVELY AS THE “SERVICES”), YOU MUST FIRST AGREE TO THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, WHICH INCLUDE THIS PRIVACY POLICY. YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICES IF YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY, DO NOT USE THE AUTOMD PROPERTIES OR THE SERVICES.

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. BY USING THE AUTOMD PROPERTIES OR THE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY DESCRIBED HEREIN, AND ALL UPDATES THERETO AND ALL ADDITIONAL TERMS, GUIDELINES AND DISCLOSURES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.

YOU ACCEPT THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY, BY EITHER CLICKING TO AGREE TO THE TERMS OF USE OR BY ACTUALLY USING THE AUTOMD PROPERTIES OR ITS SERVICES. IN THIS CASE, YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT AUTOMD WILL TREAT YOUR USE OF THE AUTOMD PROPERTIES OR THE SERVICES AS ACCEPTANCE OF THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY, FROM THAT POINT ONWARDS.

YOU MAY NOT USE THE SERVICES AND MAY NOT ACCEPT THE AUTOMD TERMS OF USE, INCLUDING THIS PRIVACY POLICY, IF (A) YOU ARE NOT OF LEGAL AGE TO FORM A BINDING CONTRACT WITH AUTOMD, OR (B) YOU ARE A PERSON BARRED FROM RECEIVING THE SERVICES UNDER THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OR OTHER COUNTRIES INCLUDING THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU ARE RESIDENT OR FROM WHICH YOU USE THE SERVICES.

THIS AUTOMD SITE DOES NOT PUBLISH CONTENT THAT IS TARGETED TO CHILDREN

If you are under age 13, please do not attempt to use the AutoMD Properties or its Services or provide any personal information about yourself to us. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information as quickly as possible.

We strongly recommend that minors 13 years of age or older ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the Internet and we encourage parents to teach their children about safe internet use practices.

This Privacy Policy applies to all of the Properties and Services offered by AutoMD or any of its subsidiaries or affiliated companies. 

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or if you believe that we have not adhered to its terms, please feel free to contact us through our Web site or write to us at:

Privacy Policy
c/o AutoMD.com
16941 Keegan Avenue
Carson, CA 90746
USA

Or you may contact AutoMD regarding this Privacy Policy by email at:

Privacy@AutoMD.com

Information we collect and how we use it

We may collect the following types of information:

Information you provide – When you use AutoMD Services or sign up for an AutoMD Account either directly on the Properties or through the use of FaceBook, we may ask you for information which personally identifies you, such as your first and last name, address, telephone number, email address, credit card number, credit card expiration date, or other data which can be reasonably linked to such information by AutoMD (“Personal Information”). However, Personal Information does not include, and this policy does not cover, any publicly available information and public records about auto repair professionals, auto repair shops and auto repair service providers, including without limitation information obtained from licensing authorities, associations, accrediting bodies, courts, law enforcement agencies, and web sites that are available to the public. Personal Information also does not include “aggregate” information, which is data we collect about the use of the Properties or categories of users, from which any Personal Information has been removed. We collect aggregate data for a number of purposes, including helping us understand trends and user needs so that we can better consider new publications, products and services, and tailor existing publications, products and other Services to user desires. This policy in no way limits or restricts our collection of aggregate information. We may combine the information you submit under your account with information from third parties in order to provide you with a better experience and to improve the quality of our Services. You can access your AutoMD user profile to learn more about the information associated with your Account.

Cookies – When you visit AutoMD, we send one or more small files, commonly known as cookies, to your computer or other device. These cookies contain a string of characters that contain information about you and your use of Services and allows our web site to recognize your browser, when you visit the web site again. We use cookies to improve the quality of our Services, including for storing user preferences, improving user experience and ad selection, and tracking user trends, such as how people use our Services. AutoMD also uses cookies in its advertising Services to help advertisers and publishers serve and manage ads on AutoMD Services.

Log information – When you access AutoMD Services via a browser, application or other client, our servers automatically record certain information. These server logs may include information such as your web request, your interaction with a Service, Internet Protocol address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser or your account.

User communications – When you send email or other communications to AutoMD, we may retain those communications in order to process your inquiries, respond to your requests and improve our Services. We may use your email address to communicate with you about our Services.

Affiliated AutoMD Services on other sites – We may offer some of our Services on or through other web sites. Personal Information that you provide to those sites may be sent to AutoMD in order to deliver the Service. We process such information under this Privacy Policy however, information collected by the other web sites is governed by their privacy policies and are thus NOT processed under this AutoMD Privacy Policy.

Third party applications – AutoMD may make available third party applications through its Services. The information collected by AutoMD when you enable a third party application is processed under this Privacy Policy, however, information collected by the third party application provider is governed by their privacy policies and are thus NOT processed under this AutoMD Privacy Policy.

Location data – AutoMD offers location-enabled Services, such as AutoMD Insta-Quotes! and Find a Shop. If you use these location-enabled Services, AutoMD may receive information about your actual location or information that can be used to approximate a location. By using location-enabled services you consent to AutoMD receiving information about your actual location or information that can be used to approximate a location. AutoMD uses third-party location enabled services for example, Google Maps which is supplied by Google, Inc., and use thereof is subject to these third-party privacy policies like Google's Privacy Statement. You may be able to disallow our use of certain location data through your mobile device or web browser settings. For example, most mobile devices provide users with the ability to disable location services in the device’s settings menu.  If you have questions about how to disable your device’s location services, we recommend you contact your mobile service carrier or your device manufacturer.

Usage and disclosure

In general, we use Personal Information we collect from you to facilitate your use of the AutoMD Services, including without limitation, to process your requests or transactions, to provide you with information, products and other Services you request, to administer and assist us with the operation of the Properties and of our business, and for the purpose for which the information was provided. For example, we may use the information we collect: 

• to send you a welcoming email and to contact you about your use of the Properties, such as for administrative purposes or to provide you with customer service;
• if you are an auto repair professional, auto repair shop or auto repair service provider, to verify your identity when attempting to claim your profile;
• to respond to your emails, submissions, comments, requests or complaints;
• to request feedback and to enable us to analyze, develop, customize and improve the Properties and our information and other Services;
• for the specific purpose for which the information was provided;
• to provide, maintain, protect, and improve our Services (including advertising Services) and develop new Services; and
• to protect the rights or property of AutoMD or our users.

In addition, we may use the information we collect to send you news relevant to auto repair, including without limitation, the auto repair profession, auto repair professionals, auto repair shops, auto repair service providers, automotive products and automotive service updates, notifications of activity in your profile, and to contact you about special events, surveys, promotions or offers and for other marketing, informational, product development and promotional purposes.

We may also receive information from third parties with whom we have business relationships, and may combine this information with the other Personal Information we have about you. In such cases, this Privacy Policy governs our use and disclosure of such information.

AutoMD processes Personal Information on our servers in the United States of America and in other countries. In some cases, we may process Personal Information outside your own country.

Other sites – This Privacy Policy applies to AutoMD Services only. We do not exercise control over the sites displayed as search results, third party sites that include AutoMD applications, products or Services, or third party links from within our various Services. These other sites may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data or solicit personal information from you. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, Google Maps is supplied by Google, Inc., and use thereof is subject to the Google Privacy Statement.

Choices

You may access your AutoMD user profile to review and edit the information stored in your AutoMD Account.

Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but generally you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some AutoMD features and other Services may not function properly if your cookies are disabled.

AutoMD may use advertising cookies and certain AutoMD Services to help advertisers and publishers serve and manage ads.

Information sharing

We do not sell, share, or rent any Personal Information we collect from you through the Properties in ways different from what is disclosed in this Policy, although we may provide aggregate information or other non-Personal Information to third parties without your authorization. AutoMD only shares Personal Information with other companies or individuals outside of AutoMD in the following limited circumstances:

• We may provide such information if we have your consent;
• We may provide such information to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies or other trusted businesses or persons for the purpose of processing Personal Information on our behalf. We require that these parties agree to process such information based on our instructions and in compliance with this Privacy Policy and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures; or
• We may provide such information if we have a good faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of such information is reasonably necessary to (a) satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request, (b) enforce applicable Terms of Use, including investigation of potential violations thereof, (c) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, or (d) protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of AutoMD, its users or the public as required or permitted by law.

In the event that we engage or partner with a trusted business or person, including without limitation, third party vendors, consultants or other service providers in connection with the operation of the Properties and our business (“Service Providers”), we may also share Personal Information with such Service Providers who need access to such information to carry out their work for us. For example, we may use mapping or location based services companies to provide information on services available near your location. In addition, we may offer various features through a Service Provider.

When you use these services, you are providing information directly to the third party provider of these services, and the provision of such information is subject to such third party’s own privacy policy. We are not responsible for the actions of Service Providers or other third parties or for any information you provide to these parties directly, and we encourage you to become familiar with their practices before disclosing information directly to such third parties with which you come into contact.

You should also note that Personal Information that you post to public areas of the Properties, may become publicly available. For example, information you post in your user profile or in ratings of auto repair professionals, auto repair shops and auto repair service providers, User Content (incorporated by reference from AutoMD's Terms of Use), including without limitation postings or updates to or relating to AutoMD Auto Answers, AutoMD Insta-Quotes!, AutoMD How-to-Guides, AutoMD How-to-Videos, AutoMD Reviews or AutoMD Ratings or any other Interactive Areas (incorporated by reference from AutoMD's Terms of Use), or other information that is provided for the purpose of being shared may be made publicly available and can potentially be viewed by anyone. In particular, certain information that you may provide about yourself, including without limitation, your “Image”, “Display Name”, “Location” and “About Me” information will be accessible by other users of the site and may become publicly viewable by anyone. Your posting to such public areas of the Properties constitutes your consent to share such information publicly.

The Properties may contain links to other sites or other interactive forums hosted by a third party. Please be aware that although we may participate in or utilize such other sites, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our Properties and to read the privacy policies of any web site or application that collects personally identifiable information. Similarly, if you entered our Properties through a third party’s web site or other application, we are also not responsible for the privacy practices of that third party, and you should review the privacy policy of the originating web site or application before providing any Personal Information. This privacy policy applies solely to information collected by AutoMD.

If AutoMD becomes involved in a merger, acquisition, or any form of sale of some or all of its assets, we will protect the confidentiality of any Personal Information involved in such transactions and provide notice before Personal Information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Information security

We take appropriate security measures to protect against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data. These include internal reviews of our data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures, including appropriate encryption and physical security measures to guard against unauthorized access to systems where we store personal data. Additionally, your account information is accessible online only through the use of a password.

Please be aware, however, that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. To protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information, you must keep your password confidential and not disclose it to any other person. You are responsible for all uses of the AutoMD Properties by any person using your password. Please advise us immediately by emailing us at Privacy@AutoMD.com if you believe your password has been misused. You should also note that email is not secure, and you should not send any confidential or sensitive information to us via an unsecured email.

We restrict access to Personal Information to AutoMD employees, contractors and agents who need to know that information in order to process it on our behalf. These individuals are bound by confidentiality obligations and may be subject to discipline, including termination and criminal prosecution, if they fail to meet these obligations.

Accessing and updating Personal Information

When you use AutoMD Services, we make good faith efforts to provide you with access to your Personal Information and either to correct this data if it is inaccurate or to delete such data at your request if it is not otherwise required to be retained by law or for legitimate business purposes. Therefore, whenever you believe that your contact information needs to be updated, you may do so by accessing and updating your user profile.

Enforcement

AutoMD regularly reviews its compliance with this Privacy Policy. When we receive formal written complaints, it is AutoMD’s policy to contact the complaining user regarding his or her concerns. We will cooperate with the appropriate regulatory authorities, including local data protection authorities, to resolve any complaints regarding the transfer of personal data that cannot be resolved between AutoMD and an individual.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Please note that this Privacy Policy may change from time to time. We will post any Privacy Policy changes on this page and, if the changes are significant, we may provide a more prominent notice (including, for certain Services, email notification of Privacy Policy changes).

NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

We do not disclose Personal Information to third parties for the purpose of directly marketing their services to you unless you first agree to such disclosure.  If you have any questions regarding this policy, or would like to change your preferences, you may contact us at the address listed above.