This Privacy Policy was last updated on May 24, 2018.
OUR POLICY:
Welcome to the web site (the “Site”) of Hearken, Inc. (“Hearken”, “we”, “us” and/or “our”). This Site is operated by Hearken and has been created to provide information about our company, our platform for engaging end user audiences in story generation, assignment and reporting, and our related services (together with the Site, the “Services”) to our Service visitors (“you”, “your”). We, Hearken, are the data controller for the purposes of the Data Protection Legislation (defined below) for information you may give to us through this Site.
Digital newsrooms, publishers or other websites (“Publishers”) use our platform to engage their end user audiences (“End Users”) in sharing questions and commentary regarding potential news stories. For the purposes of End Users, Hearken are the data processor and therefore, for more information on how your personal information is used by Publishers, please see their respective Privacy Policies. This Privacy Policy sets forth Hearken’s policy with respect to information including personally identifiable data (“Personal Data”) and other information that is collected from general visitors to our Site (“Site Visitors”). By visiting the Site, you are accepting the policies and practices described in this Privacy Policy.
KEY TERMS:
When we refer to Data Protection Legislation we mean the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (“GDPR”) and any relevant legislation enacted in any European or European Economic Area country to give effect to the GDPR.
Personal information is information that can be used to identify or contact a specific individual, such as a name, address, telephone number, email address, etc., and also online identifiers and location data such as IP addresses and mobile device IDs.
Special category data means personal information revealing your racial or ethnic origin; political opinions; religious or philosophical beliefs; or trade union membership; genetic data; biometric data; data related to your health or data concerning your sex life or sexual orientation; and criminal convictions or involvement in criminal proceedings.
A controller is someone who decides why personal data is to be collected and how it will be used and treated.
A processor is someone who processes data on the instructions of the controller.
INFORMATION WE COLLECT:
When you interact with us through the Site, we may collect Personal Data and other information from you, as further described below:
Personal Data That You Provide as a Site Visitor: If you are a Publisher User or Site Visitor, we collect Personal Data from you when you voluntarily provide such information, such as when you contact us with inquiries, respond to one of our surveys, register for access to the Services or use certain Services. We collect the following information from you when you interact with Us via Our Site (by signing up to Our newsletter, or by booking a discovery call with Us):
- Your name;
- Your job title;
- Your organization;
- Your address;
- Your website address; and
- Your email address
When Hearken collects Personal Data as a data controller we will always provide a link to this Privacy Policy. Where Personal Data is collected and processed by Hearken as a processor on behalf of the controller (our Publishers), the Publisher will provide you with their own Privacy Policy which will set out how your data is processed by Hearken and how this will be used by the controller.
By voluntarily providing us with Personal Data, you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with this Privacy Policy. If you provide Personal Data to the Site, you acknowledge that such Personal Data may be transferred from your current location to the offices and servers of Hearken and the authorized third parties referred to herein located in the United States. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us at: privacy@wearehearken.com If you withdraw your consent to the transfer of your personal information outside the EEA, we may not be able to provide services to you.
OTHER INFORMATION:
In operating the Site, we may use a technology called “cookies.” A cookie is a piece of information that the computer that hosts our Site gives to your browser when you access the Services. Our cookies help provide additional functionality to the Site and help us analyze Site usage more accurately. In all cases in which we use cookies, we will not collect Personal Data except with your permission. On most web browsers, you will find a “help” section on the toolbar. Please refer to this section for information on how to receive notification when you are receiving a new cookie and how to turn cookies off. We recommend that you leave cookies turned on because they allow you to take advantage of some of the Service features.
Google Analytics: We may allow third party service providers to use cookies or similar technologies to collect information about your browsing activities over time and across different websites following your use of the Site. For example, we use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”). Google Analytics uses cookies to help the website analyze how users use the Site and enhance your experience when you use the Service. For more information on how Google uses this data, go to www.GOOGLE.com/policies/privacy/partners/. We have also implemented Google Analytics features based on Display Advertising (which may include Remarketing with Google Analytics, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, and Integrated services that require Google Analytics to collect data via advertising cookies and anonymous identifiers). Visitors can opt out by using Google’s Ads Settings or going to https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.
OUR USE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA AND OTHER INFORMATION:
Hearken uses the Personal Data you provide in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy. If you provide Personal Data for a certain reason, we may use the Personal Data in connection with the reason for which it was provided. For instance, if you contact us by email, we will use the Personal Data you provide to answer your question or resolve your problem. Also, if you provide Personal Data in order to obtain access to the more information on Hearken or our Services, we will use your Personal Data to provide you with access to such services and to monitor your use of such services. We will only use your Personal Data where you have consented to this or where are relying on legitimate interests (that you would like a response to your query) where you have contacted us and requested information from us.
If Hearken intends on using any Personal Data in any manner that is not consistent with this Privacy Policy, you will be informed of such anticipated use prior to or at the time at which the Personal Data is collected.
OUR DISCLOSURE OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA AND OTHER INFORMATION:
Hearken is not in the business of selling your information. We consider this information to be a vital part of our relationship with you. There are, however, certain circumstances in which we may share your Personal Data with certain third parties without further notice to you, as set forth below:
Business Transfers: As we develop our business, we might sell or buy businesses or assets. In the event of a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event, Personal Data may be part of the transferred assets.
Related Companies: We may also share your Personal Data with our Related Companies for purposes consistent with this Privacy Policy.
Agents, Consultants and Related Third Parties: Hearken, like many businesses, sometimes hires other companies to perform certain business-related functions. When we employ another entity to perform a function of this nature, we only provide them with the information that they need to perform their specific function. Our current data processors, as of the last update of this Privacy Policy, are:
- HubSpot who we use for marketing and for scheduling calls with prospective or current partners associated with our Customer Relationship Management objectives. By signing up for a discovery call or requesting any gated content on Hearken’s Site, your information will be passed Hubspot for these purposes;
- SquareSpace, who host our Site www.wearehearken.com;
- Groups.io, who we use to operate our insider group “The Hearken Insiders” to share best practices with customer organizations.
- Eventbrite, who manage sign-ups for our events and webinars so that we may keep in touch with attendees before and after an event. Any information provided to Eventbrite may also be added to our Hubspot CRM system;
- Zoom, who provide our video conferencing platform for video meetings and webinars. We use the Zoom sign up function to allow participants in meetings and webinars to keep in touch before and after an event. Any information provided to Zoom may be added to our Hubspot CRM system;
Legal Requirements: Hearken may disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (i) comply with a legal obligation, (ii) protect and defend the rights or property of Hearken, (iii) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the Services or the public, or (iv) protect against legal liability.
YOUR CHOICES:
You can visit the Site without providing any Personal Data. If you choose not to provide any Personal Data, you may not be able to use certain Services (such as downloading guides or signing up for a discovery call).
EXCLUSIONS:
This Privacy Policy does not apply to any Personal Data collected by Hearken other than Personal Data collected through our Site. This Privacy Policy shall not apply to any unsolicited information you provide to Hearken through the Site or through any other means. This includes, but is not limited to, information posted to any public areas of the Site, such as forums, any ideas for new products or modifications to existing products, and other unsolicited submissions (collectively, “Unsolicited Information”). All Unsolicited Information shall be deemed to be non-confidential and Hearken shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose, and distribute such Unsolicited Information to others without limitation or attribution.
CHILDREN:
Hearken does not knowingly collect Personal Data from children under the age of 13. If you are under the age of 13, please do not submit any Personal Data through the Site. We encourage parents and legal guardians to monitor their children’s Internet usage and to help enforce our Privacy Policy by instructing their children never to provide Personal Data on the Site without their permission. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 has provided Personal Data to Hearken through the Site, please contact us, and we will endeavor to delete that information from our databases.
LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES:
This Privacy Policy applies only to the Site. The Site may contain links to other web sites not operated or controlled by Hearken (the “Third Party Sites”). The policies and procedures we described here do not apply to the Third Party Sites. The links from the Site do not imply that Hearken endorses or has reviewed the Third Party Sites. We suggest contacting those sites directly for information on their privacy policies.
SECURITY:
Hearken takes reasonable steps to protect the Personal Data provided via the Site from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, no Internet or email transmission is ever fully secure or error free. In particular, email sent to or from the Site may not be secure. Therefore, you should take special care in deciding what information you send to us via email. Please keep this in mind when disclosing any Personal Data to Hearken via the Internet.
As Hearken is a US based company, where you are based outside of the US, your personal data will be stored and processed in the US. Please keep this in mind when choosing to disclose any Personal Data to Hearken. By using our Services or providing information to us via our Site, you acknowledge that your Personal Data will be processed and stored in the US. If you withdraw your consent to your personal data being processed in the US, we may be unable to provide you with information you have requested, access to our Services or our Site.
YOUR RIGHTS:
You have certain rights under the Data Protection Legislation which can be exercised by contacting us at: privacy@wearehearken.com, including:
- the right to access the personal data held about the you by making a subject access request in accordance with the Data Protection Legislation. We may charge a reasonable fee when a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive;
- the right to have your personal data rectified if it is inaccurate or incomplete;
- the right to request to have your personal data deleted in certain specific circumstances as set out in the Data Protection Legislation;
- the right to request to restrict the processing of your personal data in certain specific circumstances as set out in the Data Protection Legislation;
- the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes or for purposes based on our legitimate interests;
- the right to ask us to not undergo automated decision making; and
- where you have provided consent, to request to withdraw such consent at any time.
There are some exceptions to the above rights that are permitted under the Data Protection Legislation.
Please note that if you choose to exercise your rights to have personal data restricted or deleted, then we may not be able to provide you with a full service.
If you are unhappy with how we deal with your Personal Information (and you are based in the EU), you have the right to complain to the relevant Supervisory Body within the EU.
RETENTION PERIODS:
We will not hold your personal information for any longer than is necessary for the uses outlined above, unless we are required to keep your personal data longer to comply with the law and any regulatory requirements. Where Hearken is the controller of personal data we will retain your data for up to 3 years after your last active interaction with our Site.
Where Hearken are the processor, we will hold your personal information until told otherwise by the controller. For more information on how your information is used by controllers, please refer to their respective Privacy Policies.
CHANGES TO HEARKEN’S PRIVACY POLICY:
The Site and our business may change from time to time. As a result, at times it may be necessary for Hearken to make changes to this Privacy Policy. Hearken reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time and from time to time without prior notice. Please review this policy periodically, and especially before you provide any Personal Data. This Privacy Policy was last updated on the date indicated above. Your continued use of the Site after any changes or revisions to this Privacy Policy shall indicate your agreement with the terms of such revised Privacy Policy.
DO NOT TRACK
Hearken does not respond to Do Not Track signals and/or other mechanisms that provide consumer choice about tracking.
ACCESS TO INFORMATION; CONTACTING HEARKEN:
To keep your Personal Data accurate, current, and complete, please contact us as specified below. We will take reasonable steps to update or correct Personal Data in our possession that you have previously submitted via the Site.
Please also feel free to contact us if you have any questions about Hearken’s Privacy Policy or the information practices of the Site.
You may contact us as follows: privacy@wearehearken.com.