Welcome, and thank you for your interest in MetaLocator (“Fatica Consulting L.L.C.”,”Fatica Consulting L.L.C. D/B/A MetaLocator”,”MetaLocator”, “we,” or “us”), our web site at https://www.metalocator.com (the “Site”), and all related subdomains, web sites, downloadable software, mobile applications (including tablet applications), and other services provided by us and on which a link to this Privacy Policy is displayed, and all other communications with individuals though from written or oral means, such as email or phone (collectively, together with the Site, our “Service”).
1. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) describes the information that we gather on or through the Service, how we use and disclose such information, and the steps we take to protect such information. By visiting the Site, or by purchasing or using the Service, you accept the privacy practices described in this Policy.
This Policy is incorporated into, and is subject to, the MetaLocator Terms of Use. Capitalized terms used but not defined in this Policy have the meaning given to them in the MetaLocator Terms of Use.
Definitions
“Client” means a customer of MetaLocator having a valid license and having agreed to our Terms of Use.
“Client Data” means data, reports, addresses, and other files, folders or documents in electronic form that a User of the Service stores within the Service.
“Personal Data” means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person.
“Public Area” means the area of the Site that can be accessed both by Users and Visitors, without needing to log in.
“Restricted Area” means the area of the Site that can be accessed only by Users, and where access requires logging in.
“User” means an employee, agent, or representative of Client, who primarily uses the restricted areas of the Site for the purpose of accessing the Service in such capacity.
“End User” or “Visitor” means an individual other than a User, who uses the public area, but has no access to the restricted areas of the Site or Service.
2. The Information We Collect on the Service:
We collect different types of information from or through the Service. The legal bases for MetaLocator’s processing of personal data are primarily that the processing is necessary for providing the Service in accordance with MetaLocator’s Terms of Service and that the processing is carried out in MetaLocator’s legitimate interests, which are further explained in the section “How We Use the Information We Collect” of this Policy. We may also process data upon your consent, asking for it as appropriate.
2.1 End-User provided Information. When you use the Service, as an End User or as a Visitor, you may provide, and we may collect Personal Data. Examples of Personal Data include name, email address, mailing address, mobile phone number, and credit card or other billing information. Personal Data also includes other information, such as geographic area or preferences, when any such information is linked to information that identifies a specific individual. You may provide us with Personal Data in various ways on the Service. For example, when you register for an Account, use the Service, upload Client Data, interact with other users of the Service through communication or messaging capabilities, or send us customer service -related requests.
2.2 Information Uploaded by Users. A User may store or upload Client Data into the Service. Client Data should be uploaded to MetaLocator for the sole purposes of providing the Service. MetaLocator will use the data for the sole purposes of providing the Service. MetaLocator will not share, sell, disclose or publish Client Data except as for the sole purposes of providing the Service. MetaLocator has no direct relationship with the individuals whose Personal Data it may host as part of Client Data. Each Client is responsible for providing notice to its customers and third persons concerning the purpose for which Client collects their Personal Data and how this Personal Data is processed in or through the Service as part of Client Data.
2.3 “Automatically Collected” Information. When a User or Visitor uses the Service, we may automatically record certain information from the User’s or Visitor’s device by using various types of technology, including cookies, “clear gifs” or “web beacons.” This “automatically collected” information may include IP address or other device address or ID, web browser and/or device type, the web pages or sites visited just before or just after using the Service, the pages or other content the User or Visitor views or interacts with on the Service, and the dates and times of the visit, access, or use of the Service. We also may use these technologies to collect information regarding a Visitor or User’s interaction with email messages, such as whether the Visitor or User opens, clicks on, or forwards a message. This information is gathered from all Users and Visitors.
2.4 Integrated Services. You may be given the option to access or register for the Service through the use of your user name and passwords for certain services provided by third parties (each, an “Integrated Service”), such as through the use of your Google or Facebook account, or otherwise have the option to authorize an Integrated Service to provide Client Data, Personal Data or other information to us. By authorizing us to connect with an Integrated Service for the purposes of accessing or registering for the Service, you authorize us to access and store your name, email address(es), date of birth, gender, current city, profile picture URL, and other information that the Integrated Service makes available to us, and to use and disclose it in accordance with this Policy. By authorizing us to connect with an Integrated Service for the purposes of providing Client Data, such as Google Drive, you authorize us to access the only the specific data file(s) you chose during the connection process. You also authorize us to continue to access that data file, or files, including any changes, until you revoke access, or terminate your account.
You should check your privacy settings on each Integrated Service to understand what information that Integrated Service makes available to us, and make changes as appropriate. Please review each Integrated Service’s terms of use and privacy policies carefully before using their services and connecting to our Service.
- How We Use the Information We Collect
We use the information that we collect in a variety of ways in providing the Service and operating our business, including the following:
3.1 Operations
We use the information – other than Client Data – to operate, maintain, enhance and provide all features of the Service, to provide the services and information that you request, to respond to comments and questions and to provide support to users of the Service. We process Client Data solely in accordance with the directions provided by the applicable Client or User.
3.2 Improvements
We use the information to understand and analyze the usage trends and preferences of our Visitors and Users, to improve the Service, and to develop new products, services, feature, and functionality. Should this purpose require MetaLocator to process Client Data, then the data will only be used in anonymized or aggregated form.
3.3 Communications
We may use a Visitor’s or User’s email address or other information – other than Client Data – to contact that Visitor or User (i) for administrative purposes such as customer service and account management related to the Client Data or Personal Data posted on the Service or (ii) with updates on promotions and events, relating to products and services offered by us. You have the ability to opt-out of receiving any promotional communications as described below under “Your Choices.”
3.4 Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use automatically collected information and other information collected on the Service through cookies and similar technologies to: (i) personalize our Service, such as remembering a User’s or Visitor’s information so that the User or Visitor will not have to re-enter it during a visit or on subsequent visits; (ii) provide customized content, and information; (iii) monitor and analyze the effectiveness of Service (iv) monitor aggregate site usage metrics such as total number of visitors and pages viewed; and (v) track your utilization of the MetaLocator product. You can obtain more information about cookies by visiting http://www.allaboutcookies.org.
3.5 Analytics
We use Google Analytics to measure and evaluate access to and traffic on the Public Area of the Site, and create user navigation reports for our Site administrators. Google operates independently from us and has its own privacy policy, which we strongly suggest you review. Google may use the information collected through Google Analytics to evaluate Users’ and Visitors’ activity on our Site. For more information, see Google Analytics Privacy and Data Sharing.
We also use an internal analytics package to measure and evaluate access to and traffic on the Public Area of the Site, and create user navigation reports for our Users. Visitor data is anonymized in the internal analytics package and can not be used to identify a natural person. We do not use any of this information to identify Visitors or Users. Client may request that specific visitor profiles within the internal analytics package be deleted or modified. Access to this analytics data is only available to Client and Site administrators.
We take measures to protect the technical information collected by our use of Google Analytics. The data collected will only be used on a need to know basis to resolve technical issues, administer the Site and identify visitor preferences; but in this case, the data will be in non-identifiable form. We do not use any of this information to identify Visitors or Users.
3.6 Client Data
MetaLocator will use the Client Data for the sole purposes of providing the Service. MetaLocator will not share, sell, disclose or publish Client Data except as for the sole purposes of providing the Service. MetaLocator will store a copy of the Client Data for the sole purposes of providing the Service.
- To Whom We Disclose Information
Except as described in this Policy, we will not disclose the Personal Data or Client Data that we collect or store on the Service to third parties without the consent of the applicable Visitor, User or Client. We may disclose information to third parties if you consent to us doing so, as well as in the following circumstances:
4.1 Unrestricted Information
Any information that you voluntarily choose to include in a Public Area of the Service, such as a MetaLocator Interface or User uploads, will be available to any Visitor or User who has access to that content.
4.2 Service Providers
We work with third party service providers who provide citation management, website, application development, hosting, maintenance, and other services for us. These third parties may have access to, or process Personal Data or Client Data as part of providing those services for us. We limit the information provided to these service providers to that which is reasonably necessary for them to perform their functions, and our contracts with them require them to maintain the confidentiality of such information. See Exhibit 2 of our Data Processing Agreement for a list of vendors.
4.3 Non Personally Identifiable Information
We may make certain automatically-collected, aggregated, or otherwise non-personally-identifiable information available to third parties for various purposes, including (i) compliance with various reporting obligations; (ii) for business or marketing purposes; or (iii) to assist such parties in understanding our Clients’, Users’ and Visitors’ interests, habits, and usage patterns for certain programs, content, services, and/or functionality available through the Service.
4.4 Law Enforcement, Legal Process and Compliance
We may disclose Personal Data or other information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with applicable laws, in response to a facially valid court order, judicial or other government subpoena or warrant, or to otherwise cooperate with law enforcement or other governmental agencies.
We also reserve the right to disclose Personal Data or other information that we believe, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to (i) take precautions against liability, (ii) protect ourselves or others from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful uses or activity, (iii) investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations, (iv) protect the security or integrity of the Service and any facilities or equipment used to make the Service available, or (v) protect our property or other legal rights, enforce our contracts, or protect the rights, property, or safety of others.
4.5 Change of Ownership
Information about Users and Visitors, including Personal Data, may be disclosed and otherwise transferred to an acquirer, successor or assignee as part of any merger, acquisition, debt financing, sale of assets, or similar transaction, as well as in the event of an insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership in which information is transferred to one or more third parties as one of our business assets and only if the recipient of the User or Visitor Data commits to a Privacy Policy that has terms substantially consistent with this Privacy Policy.
Client Data may be physically or electronically transferred to an acquirer, or successor or assignee as part of any merger, acquisition, debt financing, sale of assets, or similar transaction, as well as in the event of an insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership in which information is transferred to one or more third parties as one of our business assets, for the sole purpose of continuing the operation of the Service, and only if the recipient of the Client Data commits to a Privacy Policy that has terms substantially consistent with this Privacy Policy.
- Your Choices
5.1 Access, Correction, Deletion, Transfer
We respect your privacy rights and provide you with reasonable access to the Personal Data that you may have provided through your use of the Services. If you wish to access or amend any other Personal Data we hold about you, or to request that we delete or transfer any information about you that we have obtained from an Integrated Service, you may contact us as set forth in the “How to Contact Us” section. At your request, we will have any reference to you deleted or blocked in our database.
You may update, correct, or delete your Account information and preferences at any time by accessing your Account settings page on the Service. Please note that while any changes you make will be reflected in active user databases instantly or within a reasonable period of time, we may retain all information you submit for backups, archiving, prevention of fraud and abuse, analytics, satisfaction of legal obligations, or where we otherwise reasonably believe that we have a legitimate reason to do so.
You may decline to share certain Personal Data with us, in which case we may not be able to provide to you some of the features and functionality of the Service.
At any time, you may object to the processing of your Personal Data, on legitimate grounds, except if otherwise permitted by applicable law. If you believe your right to privacy granted by applicable data protection laws has been infringed upon, please contact MetaLocator’s Data Protection Officer at legal@metalocator.com. You also have a right to lodge a complaint with data protection authorities.
This provision does not apply to Personal Data that is part of Client Data. In this case, the management of the Client Data is subject to the Client’s own Privacy Policy, and any request for access, correction or deletion should be made to the Client responsible for the uploading and storage of such data into the Service.
5.2 Navigation Information
You may opt out from the collection of navigation information about your visit to the Site by Google Analytics by using the Google Analytics Opt-out feature. Visitors may opt out from the collection of navigation information about your visit by using MetaLocator’s Opt-out feature.
5.3 Opting out from Commercial Communications
If you receive commercial emails from us, you may unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions contained within the email or by sending an email to the address provided in the “How to Contact Us” section.
Please be aware that if you opt-out of receiving commercial email from us or otherwise modify the nature or frequency of promotional communications you receive from us, it may take up to ten (10) business days for us to process your request. Additionally, even after you opt-out from receiving commercial messages from us, you will continue to receive administrative messages from us regarding the Service.
MetaLocator has no direct relationship with the Client’s customers or third party whose Personal Data it may process on behalf of a Client. An individual who seeks access, or who seeks to correct, amend, delete inaccurate data or withdraw consent for further contact should direct his or her query to the Client or User they deal with directly. If the Client requests MetaLocator to remove the data, we will respond to the request within thirty (30) days. We will delete, amend or block access to any Personal Data that we are storing only if we receive a written request to do so from the Client who is responsible for such Personal Data, unless we have a legal right to retain such Personal Data. We reserve the right to retain a copy of such data for archiving purposes, or to defend our rights in litigation. Any such request regarding Client Data should be addressed as indicated in the “How to Contact Us” section, and include sufficient information for MetaLocator to identify the Client or its customer or third party and the information to delete or amend.
- Third-Party Services
The Service may contain features or links to web sites and services provided by third parties. Any information you provide on third-party sites or services is provided directly to the operators of such services and is subject to those operators’ policies, if any, governing privacy and security, even if accessed through the Service. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of third-party sites or services to which links or access are provided through the Service. We encourage you to learn about third parties’ privacy and security policies before providing them with information.
- Privacy Shield
MetaLocator’s US entity Fatica Consulting L.L.C. complies with the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union to the United States. Fatica Consulting L.L.C. has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov
In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, MetaLocator commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. EU individuals with inquiries or complaints regarding our Privacy Shield policy should first contact MetaLocator’s Data Protection Officer at legal@metalocator.com.
In any matters relating to the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework, MetaLocator is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
Under certain conditions, more fully described on the Privacy Shield website at https://www.privacyshield.gov/article?id=How-to-Submit-a-Complaint, you may invoke binding arbitration when other dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted.
MetaLocator shall comply with the Privacy Shield Principles for all onward transfers of personal data from the EU, including the onward transfer liability provisions.
- Your Wisconsin Privacy Rights
We will not share any Personal Data with third-parties for their direct marketing purposes to the extent prohibited by Wisconsin law. If our practices change, we will do so in accordance with applicable laws and will notify you in advance.
- Interest Based Advertising
Interest based advertising is the collection of data from different sources and across different platforms in order to predict an individual’s preferences or interest and to deliver to that individual, or his/her computer, smart phone or tablet, advertising based on his/her assumed preference or interest inferred from the collection of data pertaining to that individual or others who may have a similar profile or similar interests.
We work with a variety of third parties to attempt to understand the profiles of the individuals who are most likely to be interested in the MetaLocator products or services so that we can send them promotional emails, or serve our advertisements to them on the websites and mobile apps of other entities.
These third parties include: (a) advertising networks, which collect information about a person’s interests when that person views or interacts with one of their advertisements; (2) attribution partners, which measure the effectiveness of certain advertisements; and (3) business partners, which collect information when a person views or interacts with one of their advertisements.
In collaboration with these third parties, we collect information about our customers, prospects and other individuals over time and across different platforms when they use these platforms or interact with them. Individuals may submit information directly on our Sites or on platforms run by third parties, or by interacting with us, our advertisements, or emails they receive from us or from third parties. We may use special tools that are commonly used for this purpose, such as cookies, beacons, pixels, tags, mobile advertising IDs, flash cookies, and similar technologies. We may have access to databases of information collected by our business partners.
The information we or third party collect enables us to learn what purchases the person made, what ads or content the person sees, on which ads or links the person clicks, and other actions that the person takes on our Sites, or in response to our emails, or when visiting or using third parties’ platforms.
We, or the third parties with which we work, use the information collected as described above to understand the various activities and behaviors of our customers, Site visitors and others. We, or these third parties, do this for many reasons, including: to recognize new or past visitors to our Sites; to present more personalized content; to provide more useful and relevant ads – for example, if we know what ads you are shown we can try not to show you the same ones repeatedly; to identify visitors across devices, sales channels, third party websites and Sites, or to display or send personalized or targeted ads and other custom content that is more focused on a person’s perceived interest in products or services similar to those that we offer.
Our interest-based ads may be served to you in emails or on third-party platforms. We may serve these ads about our products or services or send commercial communications directly ourselves or through these third parties.
Visitors may opt out of receiving interest based advertising by advertising networks that may be delivered to them on our platform and other websites by visiting the following websites: http://www.aboutads.info/consumers; and http://www.networkadvertising.org. These features will opt a Visitor out of many – but not all – of the interest-based advertising activities in which we or third parties engage.
- Do Not Track Policy
Some browsers have incorporated “Do Not Track” features. Most of these features, when turned on, send a signal or preference to the website or online service that a user visits, indicating that the user does not wish to be tracked. MetaLocator supports the Do Not Track feature and does not track Analytics when the Do Not Track feature is enabled.
11. The Following Cookies are Used in the Site:
See our attached Cookie Disclosure
- Minors and Children’s Privacy
Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important. Our Service is not directed to children under the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under the age of 18 without obtaining parental consent. If you are under 18 years of age, then please do not use or access the Service at any time or in any manner. If we learn that Personal Data has been collected on the Service from persons under 18 years of age and without verifiable parental consent, then we will take the appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child under 18 years of age has obtained an Account on the Service, then you may alert us at legal@metalocator.com and request that we delete that child’s Personal Data from our systems.
The Service is not intended to be used by minors, and is not intended to be used to post content to share publicly or with friends. To the extent that a minor has posted such content on the Service, the minor has the right to have this content deleted or removed using the deletion or removal options detailed in this Privacy Policy. If you have any question regarding this topic, please contact us as indicated in the “How to Contact Us” section. Please be aware that, although we offer this deletion capability, the removal of content may not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of that content or information.
- Data Security
We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. We maintain appropriate administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect Personal Data against accidental or unlawful destruction, accidental loss, unauthorized alteration, unauthorized disclosure or access, misuse, and any other unlawful form of processing of the Personal Data in our possession. This includes, for example, firewalls, password protection and other access and authentication controls. We use SSL technology to encrypt data during transmission through public internet, and we also employ application-layer security features to further anonymize Personal Data.
However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. We cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us or store on the Service, and you do so at your own risk. We also cannot guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. If you believe your Personal Data has been compromised, please contact us as set forth in the “How to Contact Us” section.
If we learn of a security systems breach, we will inform you and the authorities of the occurrence of the breach in accordance with applicable law.
- Data Retention
We only retain the Personal Data collected from a User for as long as the User’s account is active or otherwise for a limited period of time as long as we need it to fulfill the purposes for which we have initially collected it, unless otherwise required by law. We will retain and use information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements as follows:
the contents of closed accounts are deleted within 3 months of the date of closure;
backups are kept for 3 months unless Client has requested a longer retention period;
billing information is retained for a period of 10 years;
information on legal transactions between Client and MetaLocator is retained for a period of 10 years;
- Settings
Although we may allow you to adjust your privacy settings to limit access to certain Personal Data, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures on the Service. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users with whom you may choose to share your information. Further, even after information posted on the Service is removed, caching and archiving services may have saved that information, and other users or third parties may have copied or stored the information available on the Service. We cannot and do not guarantee that information you post on or transmit to the Service will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.
- Data Transfer
We may transfer, process and store Personal Data we collect through the Services in centralized databases and with service providers located in the U.S. The U.S. may not have the same data protection framework as the country from which you may be using the Services. When we transfer Personal Data to the U.S., we will protect it as described in this Privacy Policy.
The Service is hosted in the United States or United Kingdom. EU customers’ databases will be hosted in MetaLocator’s EU datacenter located in London, England. Regardless of the database being hosted in the EU, if you choose to use the Service from the European Union or other regions of the world with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from U.S. law, then please note that you may be transferring your Client Data and Personal Data outside of those regions to the United States for storage and processing by our service providers listed in the MetaLocator Terms of Service. We will comply with GDPR requirements providing adequate protection for the transfer of personal information from Europe to the U.S. Also, we may transfer your data to the U.S., the EEA, or other countries or regions deemed by the European Commission to provide adequate protection of personal data in connection with storage and processing of data, fulfilling your requests, and operating the Service.
- Data Controller and Data Processor
MetaLocator does not own, control or direct the use of any of the Client Data stored or processed by a Client or User via the Service. Only the Client or Users are entitled to access, retrieve and direct the use of such Client Data. MetaLocator is largely unaware of what Client Data is actually being stored or made available by a Client or User to the Service and does not directly access such Client Data except as authorized by the Client, or as necessary to provide Services to the Client and its Users.
Because MetaLocator does not collect or determine the use of any Personal Data contained in the Client Data and because it does not determine the purposes for which such Personal Data is collected, the means of collecting such Personal Data, or the uses of such Personal Data, MetaLocator is not acting in the capacity of data controller in terms of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679, hereinafter “GDPR”) and does not have the associated responsibilities under the GDPR. MetaLocator should be considered only as a processor on behalf of its Clients and Users as to any Client Data containing Personal Data that is subject to the requirements of the GDPR. Except as provided in this Privacy Policy, MetaLocator does not independently cause Client Data containing Personal Data stored in connection with the Services to be transferred or otherwise made available to third parties, except to third party subcontractors who may process such data on behalf of MetaLocator in connection with MetaLocator’s provision of Services to Clients. Such actions are performed or authorized only by the applicable Client or User.
The Client or the User is the data controller under the Regulation for any Client Data containing Personal Data, meaning that such party controls the manner such Personal Data is collected and used as well as the determination of the purposes and means of the processing of such Personal Data.
MetaLocator is not responsible for the content of the Personal Data contained in the Client Data or other information stored on its servers (or its subcontractors’ servers) at the discretion of the Client or User nor is MetaLocator responsible for the manner in which the Client or User collects, handles disclosure, distributes or otherwise processes such information.
- Changes and Updates to this Policy
Please revisit this page periodically to stay aware of any changes to this Policy, which we may update from time to time. If we modify the Policy, we will make it available through the Service, and indicate the date of the latest revision, and will comply with applicable law. Your continued use of the Service after the revised Policy has become effective indicates that you have read, understood and agreed to the current version of the Policy.
- How to Contact Us
Please contact us with any questions or comments about this Policy, your Personal Data, our use and disclosure practices, or your consent choices by email at info@metalocator.com. If you have any concerns or complaints about this Policy or your Personal Data, you may contact MetaLocator’s Data Protection Officer by email at legal@metalocator.com.