PRIVACY POLICY
SettleShark takes your privacy seriously and is sensitive to potential concerns about how we use the personal information we collect from and about you. In addition to this Privacy Policy, we have internal policies and practices designed to keep your personal information secure and to ensure that information about you is only used consistent with this Privacy Policy. We actively apply principles of privacy by design and have a privacy team that is committed to helping to ensure that your personal information is safe and is handled properly.
This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process, and disclose personal information of consumers. It applies both to your use of the SettleShark.com website and any other ways in which you may interact with SettleShark, such as when you speak to us on the phone. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your personal information. Information for California residents and individuals located in the European Union are also included within this policy.
This Privacy Policy is incorporated into our Terms of Use and therefore governs your use of SettleShark’s services. By using SettleShark’s services, you accept the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@settleshark.com. If you are a consumer with a disability and are having trouble accessing this Privacy Policy, you may request to receive this Privacy Policy by emailing info@settleshark.com.
Information We Collect About Consumers.
In this section of the Privacy Policy, we explain what types of Personal Information we may collect about consumers. The Personal Information collected depends on the type of interaction we have with a consumer (such as calling, visiting our website, or using one of our mobile apps), the types of products a consumer considers or purchases, and what information SettleShark’s customers choose to share with us. This section includes all of the information that we may collect about consumers but we will rarely collect all of these types of information about any single person.
As used in this Privacy Policy, Personal Information means information that relates, and is capable of being linked, to a particular person. It does not include de-identified or aggregate information.
SettleShark potentially collects the following categories of information about consumers, some of which may be collected or maintained in a manner such that it can be considered Personal Information:
Identifiers: Examples of the types of identifiers that SettleShark may collect include real names, nicknames, postal addresses, online identifiers, Internet Protocol addresses (“IP addresses”), email addresses and account numbers,
Other types of information: Examples of other types of information include physical characteristics or descriptions of you, telephone number, financial information including credit card and debit card numbers. It also includes additional information provided to SettleShark directly by you, such as when you complete a questionnaire, answer a survey, or receive a financial consultation. This category includes information identified as Personal Information in California Civil Code Section 1798.80(e) that is not otherwise categorized.
Commercial information: Examples of the types of commercial information that SettleShark may collect includes records of business and other property owned, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered from SettleShark or our partners, and other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
Internet information: Examples of the types of internet or other electronic network activity information that SettleShark may collect includes browsing history, search history, information about the device the consumer is using to access our website or applications, and information regarding a consumer’s interaction with SettleShark’s or our partners’ websites, applications, or advertisements. We may also collect information from visitors to our website such as browser settings, operating systems, referring/exit pages, and clickstream data. When we send you an email, SettleShark may also collect information, including about how you interact with that email.
Geolocation information: SettleShark may collect information about where a consumer resides or is otherwise located.
Audio and visual information: SettleShark may make audio recordings of calls with consumers.
Professional and employment-related information: Examples of the types of professional and employment-related information SettleShark may collect includes information about professional status and affiliations, employment history, and employment status.
We do not collect biometric or education information that is maintained by an educational institution or party acting on an educational institution’s behalf. We also do not collect inferences about consumers, although as described below, may we may internally create inferences based on the information that we do collect.
Where We Collect Information About Consumers.
In this section of the Privacy Policy, we explain where and how we collect data about consumers. We receive information about consumers from several categories of sources. To learn more about which categories of information we collect from which source, please refer to the chart in the section below entitled Summary of SettleShark’s Practices Regarding Consumer Information.
Consumers: The vast majority of the information that SettleShark collects comes directly or indirectly from the consumer that it relates to. Information that is collected directly from you is information that you provide when you complete a form online. We may also collect information indirectly about you when you interact with our website, through the use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Indirect collection is described in more detail in the section below called "How SettleShark Uses Cookies and Similar Technologies."
Business Partners and Affiliates: We may collect information about you from our business partners and affiliates. An example of the type of information that we may receive from business partners and affiliates is information about the product you purchased from them after you indicated an interest in an offer that SettleShark presented to you.
Publicly/Commercially Available Information: We may collect information related to you from publicly available sources of information, including government records and commercially available sources of consumer information. Examples of the type of information we may collect from publicly available sources are whether your entity is in good standing with a Secretary of State or whether you have recently expressed interest in purchasing a product that SettleShark sells.
How We Use the Information We Collect About Consumers.
In this section of the Privacy Policy, we explain our commercial and business purposes for collecting information about consumers. SettleShark uses the information that it has collected about consumers, for the purposes listed below. In some instances, we may combine information that we have collected from multiple sources in order to fulfill these purposes. SettleShark potentially uses each category of information that we collect for each of these purposes.
If, in the future, SettleShark wishes to use information about you in a manner that is not consistent with the purposes outlined below, we will seek your consent prior to the expanded use if and where we are legally required to do so.
Providing Products and Services: SettleShark collects information for the purpose of providing products and services. We may also use information to respond to inquiries from potential customers who are interested in learning more about our products and services. Examples of the types of uses of consumer information for these purposes include producing and delivering documents purchased by consumers, administering the SettleShark website, and displaying content based on consumer preferences.
Security: SettleShark collects information for the purpose of ensuring that we maintain appropriate security over computer networks and our physical facilities. We may also collect information for the purposes of detecting fraud or other suspicious activities.
Meeting Legal Requirements: SettleShark collects information in order to meet our legal obligations such as responding to subpoenas for information.
Marketing: SettleShark collects information for use in marketing to current and prospective customers. More information about how you can control the marketing you receive from SettleShark is located in the sections "How SettleShark Uses Cookies and Similar Technologies" and "How You Can Control The Information SettleShark May Have About You."
Product Development: SettleShark collects information for use in improving our existing products and developing new products.
Analytics: SettleShark collects information for use in performing various types of analytics. For example, SettleShark uses information to analyze how visitors interact with our website, where visitors to our website arrive from and exit to, and gaining insights into the types of consumers that may be interested in our products and services. We may also use information to develop inferences from the information we collect regarding consumer preferences, characteristics, predispositions, behaviors, and attitudes.
Operational Purposes: SettleShark collects information for use for our operational purposes, and the operational purposes of our service providers and business partners. For instance, SettleShark may use information for maintaining our website and other infrastructure, training and quality assurance, for conducting surveys or sweepstakes, to promote our brand, and to use in connection with our relationships with service providers and business partners.
Sharing with Business Partners: SettleShark collects information in order to provide business partners’ information in connection with consumers who have either expressed interest in hearing from the business partner or who have purchased a bundled product through SettleShark.
Financial Reporting: SettleShark collects information for use in various types of financial reporting and other similar internal uses. Examples of the types of financial reporting that SettleShark may use consumer information in connection with are internal budgets and projections, calculation of compensation, and reporting to investors.
Business Transfers: If SettleShark undertakes or is involved in any merger, acquisition, reorganization, sale of assets, bankruptcy, or insolvency event, then we may sell, transfer or share some or all of our assets, including information related to consumers in connection with the transaction or in contemplation of the transaction (such as conducting due diligence). If such an event occurs, your information may be treated like any other SettleShark asset and sold, transferred, or shared with third parties, or used in ways not contemplated or permitted under this Privacy Policy. In this case, you will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our site of any change in ownership or uses of your Personal Information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your Personal Information.
In addition to the purposes listed above, SettleShark may also use de-identified or aggregate data that is not capable of being linked to any individual consumer for additional purposes not listed above.
How We Share Consumer Information and Who We Share It With.
In this section of the Privacy Policy, we explain who we share consumer information with and under which circumstances we may do so. To learn more about which categories of information are shared with which third parties, please refer to the chart in the section below entitled Summary of SettleShark’s Practices Regarding Consumer Information.
Service Providers: SettleShark may share information about consumers with Service Providers who assist us with completing the business purposes outlined in the “How We Use the Information We Collect About Consumers” section. These companies are not authorized to use the information we share with them for any other purpose other than providing services to SettleShark or to you.
Business Partners and Affiliates: SettleShark may share information with business partners and affiliates in limited circumstances.
Government Entities: SettleShark may share information about consumers with government entities in order to fulfill the products purchased by our customers. Certain Personal Information becomes public record when documents are filed with the federal or state government, or with a court. This Privacy Policy does not cover these or similar third-party actions.
Public Postings: SettleShark may publicly share information about consumers, such as by displaying the information on our website or having the information published in publicly available media, in a limited number of circumstances.
- We may display personal testimonials of satisfied customers received through email surveys on our website or other marketing. If you wish to update or delete your testimonial, you can contact us at info@settleshark.com.
- When consumers leave us reviews either on the SettleShark website, or on other publicly available websites, we may display these customer reviews on the SettleShark website. If you provide a review that we display and wish to update or delete it, you can also contact us at info@settleshark.com. We will delete your review at your request or if, at our discretion, we choose not to update your review as requested.
Related Parties: SettleShark may disclose consumer information with businesses controlling, controlled by, or under common control with SettleShark. If SettleShark is merged, acquired, or sold, or if some or all of our assets or equity are transferred, we may disclose or transfer consumer data in connection with the associated transactions.
In addition to the circumstances listed above, SettleShark may also share de-identified or aggregate data that is not capable of being linked to any individual consumer with additional entities not listed above.
How SettleShark Uses Cookies and Similar Technologies.
This section expands on how SettleShark uses internet technologies, such as cookies, to collect information about consumers.
Cookies. SettleShark and its partners may use the standard cookie feature of major browser applications and third-party service providers, including Google Analytics features (Remarketing, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, the DoubleClick Campaign Manager Integration and Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting), or employ internally developed cookies and tracking codes, that allow SettleShark to store a small piece of data on a visitor's computer, or any other device a visitor uses to access our website, about his or her visit to the website or use of other plug-ins exchanging information with SettleShark. We also use similar technologies, such as JavaScripts or ETags, to analyze trends, administer the website, track users’ movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in your Internet browser’s “help” directory. If you reject cookies, you may still use our site, but your ability to use some areas of our site, such order forms, will be limited.
3rd Party Tracking. The use of tracking technologies by our service providers, technology partners or other 3rd party assets (such as social media links) on the site is not covered by our Privacy Policy. These 3rd parties may use cookies, clear gifs, images, and scripts to help them better manage their content on our site. We do not have access or control over these technologies.
Partner and Affiliate Tracking. Our partners and affiliates, including Google Analytics (Remarketing, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, the DoubleClick Campaign Manager Integration, and Google Analytics and Interest Reporting), may use cookies and web beacons to collect information about your activities on this and other websites to provide you targeted advertising based upon your interests. This means that these partners and affiliates may show our ads on sites across the Internet based upon your previous visits to our website. Together with our partners and affiliates, we may use these cookies and web beacons to report how your ad impressions, other uses of ad services, and interactions with these ad impressions and ad services are related to your visits to our site.
Third Party Links
Third-Party Websites. SettleShark may maintain links to other websites and other websites may maintain links to SettleShark’s websites. This Privacy Policy applies only to SettleShark.com and not to other websites accessible from SettleShark or that you use to access SettleShark, each of which may have privacy policies materially different from this Privacy Policy. If you visit other websites, SettleShark is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. It is your responsibility to review the privacy policies of non-SettleShark websites to confirm that you understand and agree with them.
Social Media Widgets. Our website includes social media features, such as the Facebook “like” button and widgets, such as the “Share this” button or interactive mini-programs that run on our site. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our website. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.
How You Can Control The Information SettleShark May Have About You.
This section describes how you can access and control the information that SettleShark may have about you. It applies to all consumers worldwide, including individuals who have purchased from SettleShark or who believe that information about them may have been provided to us by a third party. Depending on where you reside, you may have additional rights beyond what is described in this section. If you are a resident of California or the European Union, please review the sections “Information for California Residents” and “Information for EU Customers and Visitors” for more information about your rights.
Confirmation of Possession of Information Related to You. Upon a verified request, and subject to the privacy interests of others and technical limitations, SettleShark will provide you with information about whether we hold any information related to you. At SettleShark’s sole discretion, unless otherwise required by law, we may in some instances correct or delete information upon a verified request. Please note, however, that in certain circumstances we may be required by law to retain your Personal Information, or may need to retain your Personal Information in order to continue providing a product or service to you or another customer.
If you would like to submit a request about your data, you may do so by emailing us at info@settleshark.com. After you submit the request, you will be asked to verify your email address and may also be asked to provide additional information in order to verify your identity.
User Access to Order Information. SettleShark will give you information about your order. This may include information about the nature and status of your order, information you provided to process your order, payment information, and contact information.
User Access to and Ability to Update Personal Information through MyAccount. You may visit your personal account profile at any time by clicking on the "My Account" link. Through My Account, you may review and update basic information about you.
Opting Out of Email. We send promotional emails and newsletters from time to time to consumers who have provided us with their email address or whose email addresses we have obtained through other sources. You can opt-out of promotional communications by using the “Unsubscribe” link and following the unsubscribe instructions in an email you receive from us or by emailing us at info@settleshark.com. We may also send service-related or transactional communications, which are not promotional. Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications. If you do not wish to receive service-related communications, you may terminate your account.
Data Retention. At minimum, we will retain your information for as long as needed to provide you services, and as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. SettleShark may maintain some or all of this data in its archives even after it has been removed from the Site.
How Secure Is the Personal Information We Collect?
Our Commitment to Data Security. We strive to make certain that our servers and connections incorporate the latest encryption and security devices. We have implemented physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. Credit card and Personal Information are transmitted by secure servers (TLS). Documents are delivered to you electronically, including through online storage platforms or email. Unfortunately, no data transmission is guaranteed to be 100% secure and we therefore cannot guarantee the security of information you transmit to or from our website or through the use of our services, and you provide this information at your own risk. ACCORDINGLY, WE DISCLAIM LIABILITY FOR THE THEFT, LOSS, OR INTERCEPTION OF, OR UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS OR DAMAGE TO, YOUR DATA OR COMMUNICATIONS BY USING OUR WEBSITE AND OUR SERVICES. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND AND ASSUME THESE RISKS.
IF YOU BELIEVE YOUR PRIVACY HAS BEEN BREACHED PLEASE CONTACT US IMMEDIATELY AT info@settleshark.com.
Information for California Residents.
If you are a resident of California, this section provides information regarding your rights, and SettleShark’s responsibilities, regarding your Personal Information.
California Resident Rights
California law allows California residents, upon a verifiable consumer request, to request that a business that collects consumers’ Personal Information give consumers access to certain information. This includes the specific pieces and categories of Personal Information that the business has collected about the consumer, the categories of sources for that information, the business or commercial purposes for collecting the information, and the categories of third parties with which the information was shared.
California residents also have the right to submit a request for deletion of information under certain circumstances. This is not an absolute right and, in some circumstances, SettleShark may decline to delete the information, such as when SettleShark has an on-going business relationship with you, when we have a continued need to use the information for purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, or when we are legally required to retain the information.
Consistent with California law, if you choose to exercise your rights, we will not charge you different prices or provide different quality of services unless those differences are related to your information.
How to Submit a Request for Access to Information or Deletion of Information
If you would like to submit a request about your data, we encourage you to submit a request by emailing us at info@settleshark.com.
After you submit the request you will be asked to verify your email address and may also be asked to provide additional information in order to verify your identity, including potentially providing a declaration under penalty of perjury. SettleShark will attempt to verify your identity by asking for information that correlates with the information that we have previously collected about you. Where this is not possible, SettleShark may request you submit additional information for verification, such as proof of residency or redacted government-issued identification. Please note that consistent with California law, we will be unable to satisfy your request until we have verified your identity.
You may also designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf. In order to designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, you must provide SettleShark with written permission for the agent to make the request on your behalf or provide us with an executed power of attorney. You will also be required to submit your valid government issued-identification, and the authorized agent’s valid government-issued identification.
Changes To This Policy.
We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes to our information practices. We encourage you to review this page periodically for the latest information on our privacy practices.
Last updated on April 1, 2021.