Castle Information Systems – Privacy Policy
I. Scope of this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy describes the types of personal information Castle Information Systems, Inc (“Castle,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects through www.beacon.site and the Beacon App (the “App”) and any and all options and services available on or through the App or otherwise provided by us in connection with the App (the App and such options and services, collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy does not govern our collection of personal information through any website or other means, other than through or in connection with the Services.
The Services provide registered users of the Services the ability to create and share “Beacons”. A Beacon is a location on a mobile mapping service that has several elements: place, purpose and participants. A Beacon may allow users to see the estimated arrival time of other participants in a Beacon meeting. The Beacon service allows users to create, edit, delete, join, message and share the Beacon with others. Beacons may be created and shared through the mobile app either on iOS or Android platforms.
By using the Services, you explicitly accept, without limitation or qualification, our practices surrounding the collection, use, and sharing of personal information provided by you in the manner described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access, browse, or use the Services.
This Privacy Policy is effective as of December 2022.
II. Personal Information We Collect
A. Actively Collected Information
You do not have to give us any personal information to browse the Services. However, you may be asked to provide personal information to register as a user of the Services, to submit information or request information from us, or to use the Services. This information may include information such as your name, email address, location or other demographic information. Once you provide us with personal information about you, you are no longer anonymous to us. If you wish to register as a user of the Services, you will be required to share your telephone number and create a password.
The App offers users the ability to share location and travel information for safety and convenience. In order to provide the service, we use your mobile app (phone or tablet) location. We collect your location information in a secure, encrypted format. When you share your location with others, the only party that can see that information is the person or people with whom you have shared it.
The App gathers your mobile device information including phone type and operating system. We request access to your contact list, but you are not required to share that. We gather your physical location when you are using the service actively and passively. Users have the right to refuse access to active and passive location information. In order to use the services effectively we will ask you for access to your contact list. You do not need to provide access to that information. If you do provide access to your contact list, we will use it exclusively to allow you to more effectively use the Beacon service. Castle Information Services and Beacon will not:
Contact anyone on your contact list. It is your option to make that connection.
Sell or share your personal information or your contact list
B. Passively Collected Information
We may collect certain information about your use of the Services through the use of tracking technologies or by other passive means. This “passively collected” information includes, but is not limited to, the domain name of the website that allowed you to navigate to the Services, search engines used, the internet protocol (IP) address used, the length of time spent on the Services, the pages you looked at on the Services, other websites you visited before and after visiting or accessing the Services, the type of internet browser you have, the frequency of your visits to the Services, and other relevant statistics, including the following:
· Log Information. When you access the Services, our servers automatically record information that your browser or mobile app sends whenever you visit a website or a beacon. These server logs may include information such as your web request, IP address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request, and one or more cookies (small text files containing a string of characters) that may uniquely identify your browser.
· Links. The Services may include links in a format that enables us to keep track of whether these links have been followed by IP addresses. We use this information to improve the quality of the Services and Site design.
· Cookies. When you visit or access the Services, we send one or more cookies (small text files containing a string of characters) to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. We use cookies to improve the quality of the Services by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most web browsers accept cookies automatically but can be configured not to do so or to notify the user when a cookie is being sent. If you wish to disable cookies, refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that if you disable cookies, you may not be able to use some customized features on the Services.
· Physical Location. When you use the Services, Beacon provides you with information about times and locations of other users. To provide accurate information we upload and store the last physical location information of users when a Beacon is “On” or in an active state.
· Image – Users may choose to share an image of themselves to make themselves more easily identifiable to others. This is optional and users can add or delete an image at any time within the App settings.
III. How We Use Personal Information
Personal information collected through the Services may be used by Castle and its affiliates for purposes of:
· Providing the services you select through the Services;
· Responding to your questions;
· Contacting you, whether by email or postal mail, with information about the Services, or to conduct surveys regarding the Services;
· For such purposes as you may authorize at the time you submit the information;
· Auditing, research, and analysis to maintain, protect, and improve our service offerings;
· Creating a profile based on the information you have provided;
· Ensuring the technical functions of our network;
· Developing new services; or
· Compiling personal information and other information collected through the Services on an aggregate basis.
IV. Personal Information We Share
We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise share personal information collected through the Services, except as described below:
· Subsidiaries and Affiliates. We may share personal information with our subsidiaries and affiliates for the purposes for which you provided the information or as reasonably necessary for our internal administrative and business purposes.
· Service Providers. We work with third parties that provide services on our behalf. Such services may include website hosting, email hosting, marketing, analytics, and other such services as we may deem necessary. We may share personal information with these third parties for the purpose of enabling them to provide these services.
· Consent. We may share personal information in accordance with any consent you provide.
· Required by Law. We may disclose personal information if we are required to do so by law or pursuant to legal process, in response to a request from government officials or law enforcement authorities, or as necessary or appropriate in connection with an investigation of illegal activity.
· Certain Transactions. We may disclose or transfer personal information to third parties who acquire all or a portion of Castle’s business, whether such acquisition is by way of merger, consolidation, or purchase of all or a portion of our stock or assets, or in connection with any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding brought by or against us.
· Other Users of the Services. As discussed in “Your Choices” below, when you choose to join Beacon, the information you provide, and the information contained in the App may be viewable by other users of the Services. Castle does not exercise control over users of the Services. You acknowledge that you Transmit this information in your sole discretion, and that Castle is not responsible for the actions of users of the Services with respect to this information.
V. Aggregate Information
We may compile personal information and other information collected through the Services on an aggregate basis. This information may include, without limitation, the number of users who have registered for the Services, the volume of Information Transmitted through the Services, and demographic information about users of the Services. Such aggregate information does not identify you individually. We may use aggregate information and share aggregate information with third parties for any of the purposes specified in Section III and Section IV of this Privacy Policy, or for any other lawful purpose.
VI. Your Choices
A. Information You Provide
You can always choose whether or not to provide information through the Services. However, if you choose not to disclose certain information, you may not be able to register as a user of the Services, which may limit your access to certain portions of the Services.
B. Communications From Us
If at any time you decide that you no longer wish to receive notices from us regarding the Services, you may indicate this preference by contacting us at support@beacon.site.
C. Information
You may use the Services to share your location and/or travel information with others. All of your information and data, including user ID and precise location data is encrypted end-to-end. Castle and Beacon are unable to view this precise information due to its encrypted nature.
We strive to offer the most precise location information possible, but the nature of the information is such that sometimes location and notifications are not as accurate or timely as a user would desire.
VII. Information Storage and Security
We employ reasonable security precautions to protect personal information about you. The Services are operated from a secure environment with integrated security measures to help protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of personal information provided through the Services. These security measures include encrypted passwords and professionally hosted, security-tested infrastructure resources. However, no method of transmitting or storing data is completely secure. As a result, although we strive to protect personal information about you, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us through or in connection with the Services. If you have reason to believe that personal information is no longer secure, please notify us immediately by contacting us in accordance with the last section below.
VIII. A Special Note about Children
The Services are neither designed nor intended to attract children under the age of 13, and we do not collect personal information from any individual who we actually know is under the age of 13. We ask that children under the age of 13 not submit any personal information to us.
IX. External Links
The Services contain links to various websites that Castle does not control. When you click on one of these links, you will no longer be transacting business through the Services. Third party websites maintain their own privacy policies, and we do not exercise any control over any of the third-party websites that may be linked to the Services. If you visit a website that is linked to the Services, you should consult that website’s privacy policy before providing any personal information. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites, and we are not liable for their misuse of personal information about you.
X. United States Law
The Services were developed in, are provided from, and are legally bound by United States laws and regulations. All matters relating to the Services are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina in the United States of America. If you are located outside of the United States of America and you contact us, please be advised that any information you provide to us will be transferred to the United States of America and that by submitting information, you explicitly authorize such transfer.
XI. Updating Information
We encourage registered users of the Services to keep their personal information current. You may change personal information you have provided about you at any time by logging into the personal profile you created on the Services. This can be found under the “Contacts/Settings” tab in the app. After you enter your username and password, you can edit personal information about you.
XII. Updates to this Privacy Policy
We may change or update the Services or any of our policies and procedures without prior notice. We will post a notice on this Site to advise you of any significant changes to this Privacy Policy and indicate at the top of this statement when it was most recently updated. Your continued use of the Services signifies your continued assent to the terms of this Privacy Policy, as updated or amended at that time.
XIII. Questions Regarding this Privacy Policy
If you have any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy, please send us an email at support@beacon.site.