HostInCity, provides a one-stop shop for all your hosting needs (such as shared hosting, VPS hosting, Cloud hosting, and dedicated servers, on both Windows and Linux platforms), on both a managed and unmanaged basis. In this Privacy Policy, these and other services we provide will be referred to as the “Services,” and our customer will be referred to as “you.” We take privacy seriously. Because there is not one standard expectation of privacy, we have created this privacy policy to set out how we handle information that may be considered private. Our Privacy Policy is dynamic. Except in the case of an emergency, or to remedy a typographical error, if we make changes, we will provide you with thirty days’ prior written notice. After the thirty-day period has passed, you will be deemed to have accepted the changes. If the changes we make materially alter your ability to use the Services, you may terminate the affected Services by providing us with written notice of your intent to terminate, and setting out the reasons the change has materially affected your use of the Services. If we determine that the change has had this effect, you will be entitled to terminate the Services without charge or penalty.
What Is Covered
This Privacy Policy only applies to information provided to us in connection with the Services. The Services may include products and services from third-party providers (Third-Party Products). Unless they are optional, Third-Party Products are covered by this Privacy Policy. Optional Third-Party Products, and other products or services not offered by or through us that you incorporate into or use with the Services (Excluded Products), are specifically excluded from this Privacy Policy. It is your obligation to review the privacy policies relating to Optional Third-Party Products and Excluded Products, to determine how they treat your personal information and that of your customer(s).
Information Collected & Information Handling Practices
We collect personal data necessary for the performance of the contract between us and you (or an entity you represent). Specifically, we collect personal data to set up and provide services to you and other customers; to process customer payments; to improve our services; and to communicate with our customers. We collect information from a variety of sources; you may opt out of providing personal data covered by this Privacy Policy by declining to become or continue as a customer, as applicable. The types of information we collect and the ways in which we use or share that information are described below. It is important for you to know that all information we possess may be included in the sale of our business, or a portion of our business, to a third party.
Information Collected & Information Handling Practices
We collect personal data necessary for the performance of the contract between us and you (or an entity you represent). Specifically, we collect personal data to set up and provide services to you and other customers; to process customer payments; to improve our services; and to communicate with our customers. We collect information from a variety of sources; you may opt out of providing personal data covered by this Privacy Policy by declining to become or continue as a customer, as applicable. The types of information we collect and the ways in which we use or share that information are described below. It is important for you to know that all information we possess may be included in the sale of our business, or a portion of our business, to a third party.
1. Customer Information
When you sign up for Services, we collect information from you that includes your name, email-address, billing address, payment information, address information, and secondary contact information. This is referred to as the “Customer Record.” You may access your Customer Record, and make changes, through your Control Panel. We use the Customer Record to communicate with you, collect payment and to establish ownership of the Services. When you contact us for support for your services you will be asked to match certain information that is in your Customer Record. This information will be used to identify you personally. In the course of providing support to you, we may annotate the Customer Record with information disclosed while providing support.
Please note that, in some cases, we may require you to verify your identity by providing a copy of a government-issued ID, to support our legitimate business interest in guarding against fraud and malicious activity on our systems and services. This information is used only for the purpose of verifying your identity and for no other purpose, and we suggest you place a watermark on your document when sending a copy, such as “For HostInCity Order Verification Only.”
How We Use and Share Information
Customer Record information will be used to facilitate our performance of our obligations under our contract with you or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into such a contract. For that purpose, Information in the Customer Record will be provided to third-party business partners whose products are incorporated into the Services, including providers of software, SEO services, storage services, support services, payment processors, and domain registrars. It may also be provided to our marketing and advertising partners unless you opt out as described below. To improve the overall user experience, we may also send you email reminders of your incomplete or abandoned orders. Unless you opt out as described below, your email address may be shared with third parties who may use it to market to you. The Customer Record may be provided in response to a lawful request of law enforcement officials or other public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements, to, civil litigants, and as otherwise required by law, or as is necessary to protect our business.
Should our practices with respect to processing or use of a Customer Record change, or should we desire to disclose the Customer Record to any third party not acting as our agent, we will provide you with notice (by means of an amendment to this Privacy Policy or otherwise) and provide an opportunity for you to opt out. Note that by opting in to Optional Third-Party Products, you are agreeing to allow us to share your Customer Record with the provider of such Optional Third-Party Products as needed to utilize them. To limit the use and disclosure of your personal information (i.e., to opt out), please submit a written request to privacy@hostincity.com.
2. Log Information
Each time you, your customer, or an entity accessing the Services through you, accesses the Services, we collect the IP address, the browser type, the length of time the Services were accessed, the resources used during the time accessed, and where you go on the site (Log Information). Log Information is used to bill you, to understand how our Services are used, and to optimize our network. Log Information in the aggregate (de-identified) may be used by third parties to help us market our services, and to market services to our customers in general. Log Information may be used to display advertising on our site. The Log Information may be provided to law enforcement officials, civil litigants and as otherwise required by law, or as is necessary to protect our business.
3. Cookies
We use cookies on our site. Cookies are used to keep you logged into the site, track where you have been, and in some cases display advertising to you. Cookie information is transmitted to third parties and may be used for advertising. You may disable cookies on your browser, but certain aspects of our site will not display properly without them.
4. WHOIS Information
“WHOIS” is a query and response protocol that is widely used for, among other things, checking information about ownership of a domain name.
The contact information that you provide to us to register your domain name is available for public viewing in many places. We are required to provide this information to domain name registrars. We do offer, through a third party, WHOIS privacy. WHOIS privacy services use a proxy identity in lieu of yours. However, this proxy does not mean that your information is private. Only that it will not be displayed pursuant to a WHOIS query. You can hide your domain contact information by purchasing WHOIS privacy for your domain. It is an add-on service and cannot be activated automatically with domain registration / renewal. We are required to disclose WHOIS information, including WHOIS information that is subject to WHOIS privacy, pursuant to ICANN requirements and the law.
5. Identification Tools
We may use automated identification tools like Google Analytics (Information Tools). Each of these Identification Tools work differently, however, they all collect information related to the website you came to us from, your operating system, browser type, where you go on our website, length of time on our website, and where you go after visiting our website. In addition, Identification Tools may keep you logged into our system. From time to time, we may use Identification Tools that will be used to serve advertising and other information to you after they visit our website. Because the technologies underlying Identification Tools differ, you may, or may not, be able to choose not to provide information to them.
6. Support Information; AQ and Forum Information
We offer you the ability to exchange information about our services, and your experiences with these services (Forum Information). Forum Information is publically accessible and may be indexed by search engines and other tools. You are not required to disclose information that will identify you personally in order to participate in these tools. All Forum Information may be accessed and used by third parties for purposes known and unknown to us.
7. Security Monitoring
We take the security of our network very seriously. To ensure network security, data integrity and privacy, we use programs that monitor network traffic and access to its network. These programs collect information regarding your use of our services, website and network (Traffic Information). Traffic Information may be disclosed to security monitoring firms, as required by law, and to our vendors who believe the security of either their network, or our network, has been compromised. This information may contain personally identifiable information.
8. Data Storage and Retention
Personal data will be stored on our internal business systems in the United States, on the basis of our Privacy Shield certification. Some third parties who may receive personal data under this Privacy Policy are also located outside of the European Union; all are subject to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield. We retain personal information we collect from you where we have an ongoing legitimate business need to do so (for example, to comply with applicable legal, tax or accounting requirements; to enforce our agreements; or to comply with our legal obligations). When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing, until deletion is possible.
9. Your Rights with Respect to Your Personal Data
If applicable, you have the right to:
information about the processing of your personal data; obtain access to the personal data we hold; ask for correction of incorrect, inaccurate, or incomplete personal data; request that certain personal data be erased; object to the processing of your personal data for marketing purposes and under certain circumstances; in certain cases, request the restriction of processing of your personal data; and data portability, by requesting a .json file so that you can send it to another controller; and lodge a complaint with an EU Data Protection Authority.
Where applicable, you also have the right to withdraw consent to processing your personal data at any time; provided that, in such case, you will be unable to continue as our customer and, if you represent an entity that is using our services, that entity will be required to provide substitute information to continue as our customer.