| AOL UK Privacy Policy | g | Related Articles |
| This privacy policy applies to the information that AOL (UK) Limited or data processors acting under our control may collect about you as a user of the AOL or Huffington Post UK branded sites, services, and the software we use to provide you our services (collectively the “AOL Web Services”), and other content and offerings from AOL (UK) Limited, |
This policy does not apply to information about you collected by third party websites and offerings linked to or otherwise accessible from AOL. The information collected or received by third parties is subject to their own privacy policies.
Further, AOL and its affiliates collect and process personal information from users within the European Union in connection with their various product and service offerings, which include portal services (such as AOL.co.uk) ; and advertising services (such as those offered by AOL affiliates, like AOL Advertising and Tacoda (the “AOL Advertising Network”).
In connection with these offerings, AOL Inc. AOL’s parent company, and its affiliates adhere to the EU-US Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of Notice Choice, Onward Transfer, Security, Data Integrity, Access and Enforcement, and is registered with the U.S Department of Commerce’s Safe Harbor Program
Collection of Your Personal Information
We collect or receive information about you when you register for and use the AOL Web Services. Registering with AOL and/or the Huffington Post UK is optional and we may collect information even if you do not register. Depending on how you use the AOL Web Services, your personal information (“Personal Information”) may include:
- registration-related information (such as name, addresses, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, birth date, or gender) which you may provide when you register for or log into an AOL or Huffington Post web services account, order products or Web Services from AOL, or enter prize promotions
- information about the AOL Web Services that you use, how frequently you use them (such as your use of email or instant messenger); and your responses to the offerings and advertisements presented on AOL or other features made available by AOL, including those available on third party websites
- information about the searches you perform through AOL Services and how you use the results of those searches
- personal financial information related to the use of AOL financial features (such as My Portfolios). transaction-related information (such as credit card or other preferred means of payment, billing or shipping information, or a history of products purchased through the AOL UK Lifestore)
- your customer service information (including web services account activity histories and records of your communications with our customer services team)
- records of your communications with us (whether in writing, by email or by telephone) for the training and monitoring of our staff and to improve our service
- location data and other information about mobile devices used to access and interact with AOL
- other information specifically related to your use of particular AOL services or offerings, including information that you publicly post using tools made available by AOL or
- information about your online activities – for example, your patterns of browsing, clicking, purchasing and searches you perform when using the AOL Web Services – so that we can tailor your experience of the AOL Web Services according to your apparent preferences, as expressed through those patterns of activity.
Your Personal information may be supplemented with additional information from other companies such as:
- publicly available information, information about households,
- commercially available demographic information which we obtain from third party organisations (for example Experian) in order to deliver customised advertising and/or content to you. In most cases this will involve the physical transfer of Personal Information held by AOL to that third party organisation, but strictly on the basis that such third parties will act as Data Processor on AOL’s behalf in respect of such data, and as such will have no independent rights of access to or use of the Personal Information. This means that, among other things, the third party organisation in question must securely delete/return to AOL all such data when AOL’s arrangements with that third party come to an end, and amy not use the data in any way other than as specifically instructed by AOL,
- third party social networking services (such as Facebook Connect or Twitter) when you access such third party social networks through the AOL Network, your username and connection lists for those services (for further information on this, see our ‘Social Media Interactivity’ below)
- and other information which we may append or match to your Personal Information.
AOL may also receive or collect certain technical information when you use our services. This may include: the type of browser or operating system you are using, your manner of connecting to the Internet and the name of your Internet service provider; your Internet protocol address; information about AOL services that you used prior to registering with AOL; and data relating to computer malfunctions or problems occurring when you use your computer with AOL services. Additionally, we may collect information about other software on your computer for the limited purpose of protecting your security or improving your online experience.
Social Media Interactivity
To customise your experience on the AOL Network and to simplify our registration processes, we provide you with the opportunity to access or interact with third-party services, such as Facebook and Twitter. When you login to the AOL Network through these third-party services, we may share information about you with these third-party service providers and they may share data about you with us.
When you allow us to access your data through a third-party service to create an account, we may use this data for several purposes, including:
- Creating relationships automatically within our system. For example, if you connect to us via a service with a public friend list, like Twitter, we may check to see if any people you follow on Twitter also hold AOL Network accounts. If we find a match, we will replicate your Twitter relationship with those AOL Network members, setting them to be fans, followers, or friends on the AOL Network Sites.
- Suggesting relationships. For example, if you connect via a service that has a private contact list (like Google and Yahoo!), we check for people in your contacts who are AOL Network members and suggest that you become a fan of these users. This process is not automatic; you must affirmatively choose to become a fan of these suggested users.
- Populating a list of potential friends to whom you can send emails. When users share content with their friends using, for example, the forward-to-a-friend feature on the AOL Network, we may use friend lists from third-party services to create a list of contacts to whom you may choose to send the email message.
- Populating a list of potential friends to whom you can send service-specific messages. For example, we may use friend lists from a third-party service to create a list of contacts to whom you may choose to send an invitation to view an interactive slideshow.
- To enhance and personalize your experience on the AOL Network. When you are connected via a third-party service, we may access certain account information, such as your profile picture, what stories are popular in your network, and what your friends are saying about certain articles or blog posts, in order to enhance and personalize your experience on the AOL Network.
In addition, if you connect to a Facebook account, your experience on the AOL Network may be personalised. For example, you may automatically see what stories are popular in your network, and what your friends are saying about particular stories.
Please note that you may disconnect third party accounts at any time. Click here for a link to your social profile, where you may set your privacy preferences or disconnect all of your third-party service accounts. You also may be able to modify your privacy settings directly with the third-party service. To modify your Facebook privacy settings, click here. To modify your Twitter privacy settings, click here.
Please remember that we do not control the privacy practices of these third-party services. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of all third-party service providers.
How Your Personal Information is used
Your Personal information is used for purposes that include:
- to operate and improve the AOL Web Services
- to personalize the content and advertisements provided to you (including to present offers to you on behalf of business partners and advertisers)
- to fulfill your requests for products, programs, and services
- to communicate with you by electronic methods (including email, text, picture, video and sms messaging), about offers and information on the products and AOL Web Services offered by AOL or third parties and respond to your inquiries
- to conduct research about your use of AOL
- to help offer you other products, programs, or services that may be of interest
- to provide you with an open, but also civil, discussion forum on Huffington Post UK. We track user involvement in our Huffington Post UK community discussions, for example we keep track of the ratio of how many flagged comments are eventually deleted in order to award badges to our most effective commentors. For more information on this process, please see our FAQ Section about comment moderation guidelines
If we propose to use your Personal Information in a way which is not covered by this Privacy Policy, we’ll tell you how we propose to use it at the time we collect it.
In accordance with our Cookie Policy, AOL may use cookies, web beacons, or other technologies in combination with your Personal information to enhance and personalize your experience on AOL. To find out more please see:
In addition, AOL may use the Screen Name Service, or other technologies, to register or authenticate you and enable you to take advantage of services.
AOL may use information about your use of certain communication tools (for example, AOL e-mail or AOL Instant Messenger); however, AOL does not read your private online communications when you use AOL communications tools without your consent.
Where your Personal Information is stored?
AOL is a global organisation, and many of the computers and companies that process information on our behalf are based in the USA and other countries outside the European Economic Area (the "EEA"). This means that your Personal Information (which may include information you provide about your racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, or concerning health or sex life) may be transferred to, processed and held both inside and outside the EEA These countries may not have similar data protection laws to the EEA. However, if we transfer your information outside of the EEA in this way, we will take steps to ensure that your privacy rights continue to be protected in compliance with applicable data protection law and this Privacy Policy. Details of companies and countries processing your information will be provided on request, by writing to the Data Controller: Details of Data Controller
How long do we keep Personal Information?
We may retain your Personal Information as long as is necessary for the purposes for which we collected it, or for the period to which you consent under the AOL Web Services Agreement, as explained here or under the specific terms applicable to your use of the AOL Web Services, or as is otherwise required by applicable law. We may process your Personal Information for a reasonable period after your web services account is cancelled. However please note that any information that we have copied may remain in back-up storage for a longer period.
If you have purchased any paid for AOL Web Services from AOL (for example, via the AOL Lifestore), we may retain payment-related information, such as a payment card number which you supplied to us for billing purposes for an unlimited period after your paid for AOL Web Services or web services account has been cancelled for fraud prevention purposes.
Sharing of Your Personal Information
AOL does not rent or sell your Personal information (such as name, address, telephone number, screen name and debit or credit card information) to third parties for their marketing purposes. AOL may share your Personal information with third parties to provide products and services you have requested, where you have clearly indicated you would like this to happen, or as described in this Privacy Policy and our AOL Web Services Agreement.
Your Personal information may be shared with sites and services subject to this Privacy Policy. You have choices about how your Personal information is used. AOL may be obliged to disclose the contents of your online communications, as well as other information about you as an AOL user, in the following circumstances:
- if we or an entity processing your Personal Information our behalf is compelled to do so by law in response: to lawful governmental requests or legal process (for example, a court order, search warrant or subpoena),
- in other circumstances in which AOL has a good faith belief that a crime has been or is being committed by an AOL user or that there is a physical threat to the safety of you or another person,
- or otherwise in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Please note that if you use AOL communications tools to disclose information about yourself publicly (for example, by leaving a comment on the AOL Network), others outside of AOL may obtain access to information you provide.
AOL’s offerings may include features or functionalities provided by third parties. In the process of providing such functionalities within the AOL Web Services, your browser may automatically send certain technical information to the third party provider. The use of these third-party provided features or functionalities is subject to their own privacy policies. In addition if you make any online purchase sand/or registrations from third parties whilst online with AOL, make sure that you review their privacy policies and contact them directly if you have any questions. They may have privacy policies that differ from AOL’s , and they may therefore use Personal Information which you provide to them differently.
Business partners or other third parties may receive data about groups of AOL users, but do not receive information that personally identifies you.
We may use agents and contractors in order to help operate AOL. Their use of information is limited to these purposes.
In the event that ownership of AOL was to change as a result of a merger, acquisition, or transfer to another company, your Personal Information may be transferred. If such a transfer results in a material change in the use of your Personal Information, you will be provided notice about the choices you have to decline to permit such a transfer.
Display of Advertising
Your AOL information may be used for the presentation of advertisements. AOL and its advertisers may use ad networks (including the AOL Advertising Network) to customize and display advertising on the AOL Web Services. AOL may share certain information about you as a user (such as age, post code, or other information we have collected or received) with certain ad network and service providers to help them deliver more relevant content and advertisements through their networks. These ad network and service providers may use cookies, or web beacons or similar technologies on your computer to tailor content, advertisements to your preferences, help target, measure and track your visits and the effectiveness of advertisements and promotions, using data gathered over time and across their networks of Web pages to determine or predict the characteristics and preferences of their audience and to provide security within shopping baskets or transactions. The use of cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies by the AOL Advertising Network and other ad network, content, and service providers is subject to their own privacy policies, not this one.
You can learn more about advertising displayed on AOL as well as how you can control the use of your Personal information for such advertising.
Your Choices about Your Personal Information
- AOL provides you with access to your registration information and where you have purchased any fee based Web Services, any billing information; and the ability to edit this information at My Account; as well as the ability to cancel AOL fee-based Web Services.
- Review your AOL marketing preferences and make choices about how your Personal Information may be used to provide marketing offers to you. These preferences do not apply to communications that are directly related to your registration with AOL, or the fulfillment of a specific transaction you have requested (for example, a service advisory from AOL, or an acknowledgment of a purchase order). You can change and review your marketing preferences at any time by visiting:
- Visit AOL Advertising and Privacy to learn more about your choices related to online advertising.
- Some AOL services ( AOL Search for example) may also offer you the ability to manage and control information collected or used when you use these services.
Our Commitment to Security
AOL has established safeguards to help prevent unauthorized access to or misuse of your Personal Information, but cannot guarantee that your information will never be disclosed in a manner inconsistent with this Privacy Policy (for example, as a result of unauthorized acts by third parties that violate applicable law or the policies of AOL and its affiliated providers). To protect your privacy and security, we may use passwords to help verify your identity before granting access or making corrections to your Personal Information. To learn what you can do to help safeguard your safety, security, and privacy, please visit http://help.aol.co.uk/help-safety/
Protecting Children
AOL Services are intended for a general audience, and children under the age of thirteen should not register without the consent of a parent or guardian. AOL offers services directed toward children such parentally controlled screen names. We urge all parents to educate their children about online safety and the need to protect their Personal Information. In any event, AOL does not collect any Personal Information of anyone under at the age of 13 without disclosing how that information will be used or parental consent.
How to Contact Us
If you wish to gain access to your Personal Information (as defined in the UK Data Protection Act 1998) , or if you have any questions or concerns about the AOL UK Privacy Policy or its implementation, you may contact the data controller, AOL (UK) Limited, as follows:
In writing to:
Data Protection Officer
AOL (UK) Limited
Shropshire House
11-20 Capper Street,
London, WC1E 6JA
or via email to: datainfouk@aol.com
Changes to this Privacy Policy and Additional Information
AOL may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, and so you should review this Privacy Policy periodically. If there are significant changes to AOL’s information practices, you will be provided with appropriate online notice. You may be provided other privacy-related information in connection with your use of offerings from AOL as well as for special features and services not described in this Privacy Policy that may be introduced in the future.
AOL (UK) Limited is registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number: Z5298132.