Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 8, 2023

 

At Belong For Me, Corp., we provide customized and purpose-built micro-networking and networking events that create a new sense of belonging for employees within their employer organization.

 

Belong For Me, Corp. (together “Belong For Me”, “BFM”, “CoExperiences”, “we”, “our”, and “us”) are committed to protecting the privacy of individuals who visit our website (“Visitors”) and individuals who register to use the Belong For Me Services on behalf of Belong For Me’s clients (“Users”) (collectively “you” or “your”). This Privacy Notice applies to data provided on or through the Belong For Me® website located at www.belongforme.com, the Belong For Me® web application owned and operated by Belong For Me, the Belong For Me mobile application, and the content and the services offered by Belong For Me through the website and apps, including those that include an authorized link to this Privacy Notice (collectively, the “Services”) and describes Belong For Me’s privacy practices in connection with the Belong For Me Services. It also describes the choices available to you regarding use of your Personal Information (defined below) and how you can access and update this information. Use of Personal Information collected through the Belong For Me Services shall be limited to the purposes of providing the Services for which the User or Client has engaged Belong For Me, as described in this Privacy Notice, and otherwise with your consent. Some information provided to us that may, either alone or when connected with other information to which we may have access, individually identify a Visitor, User or employee of a client and that information may be referred to in this Privacy Notice as “Visitor Personal Information,” “User Personal Information,” or “Data” (collectively, “Personal Information”).

Please read this policy carefully to understand how we handle and treat your personal information.

 

What information do we collect from our Services?

Overview

Belong For Me collects data to enable it to operate the Services effectively, and to provide you with the best experiences on our website and our networking Services. You provide some of this data to us directly, such as when you register to use our Services (whether directly through us, or indirectly through your employer enrolling you), subscribe to an email newsletter, respond to questions proposed by the Service, a survey, make an enquiry through our website or social media platforms, contact us for support, or contact us as a prospective customer, vendor, partner, supplier, or consultant. We get some of your data by recording how you interact with our website and our Services by, for example, using technologies like cookies. We also obtain and process data in the context of providing the networking Services.

 More Information:

You have choices about the data we collect. When you are asked to provide personal data, you may decline. But if you choose not to provide data that is necessary to enable us to provide the Services, you may not be able to use all or part of those Services.  The Belong For Me algorithms use your responses to personalize your networking experience and events.

The data we collect depends on the context of your interactions with Belong For Me, the choices you make (including your privacy settings), events you select to attend, and the Services you use.  The data we collect can include the following:

Name and contact information: We may collect your first and last name, email address, cell phone number, postal address including zip code, emergency contact information, and similar information

Company information: We may collect Company name, title, department, manager, and other similar information.

Networking event preferences: We may collect personal preferences of the event types that you may want to attend or not attend.

Customer information:  When you subscribe to our Services, you will control what data is collected and stored on our systems. For example, you might give us the following types of data during your use of the Services: name and email address. In such cases, we act as a data processor, in accordance with your instructions.

Device and Usage information: We may collect data about your device and how you and your device interact with Belong For Me and our Services. For example, we may collect:

  • Event data. We may collect data on your preference to the type of events you want to attend or not want to attend.
  • Use data. We may collect data about the features you use, the Services you purchase, the events you attend, and the web pages you visit.  This also includes your interactions on our website, app, and your interactions with us via social media and email.
  • Device, connectivity and configuration data. We may collect data about your device and the network you use to connect to our Services. This may include data about the operating system and other software installed on your device, including product keys. It may also include IP address, browser type, operating system, and referring URLs.

 

What do we use your information for?

 Overview

We use the data we collect to operate our business, and to provide the best experience of our Services to you.  This includes using the data to improve our Services, and to personalize your personal network experiences.  We may also use the data to communicate with you to, among other things, inform you about available upcoming networking events, provide security updates, and give you information about the Services. We may also use the data to manage your email subscriptions, improve the relevance and security of our website, respond to user enquiries, send you periodic marketing communications about our Services, and improve the relevance of our advertising.

 

More Information:

Providing and improving our Services. We use data to provide and improve the Services we offer, and to perform essential business operations. This includes operating the Services, maintaining and improving the performance of the Services, developing new features, conducting research, and providing customer support. Examples of such uses include the following:

  • Providing the Services. We use data to process and carry out your events and transactions with us and vendors to provide the Services to you. In certain cases, the Services include personalized events and recommendations that enhance your experience based on the data we have about you.
  • Technical support. We use data to diagnose product problems, manage vendors, manage events, and to provide other customer care and support services.
  • Improving networking options. We use data to continually improve the networking options presented to the User.
  • Improving the Services. We use data to continually improve our website and our Services, including system administration, system security, and adding new features or capabilities.
  • Business Analytics and Operations. We use data to develop aggregate analyses and business intelligence that enable us to operate, protect, make informed decisions, and report on the performance of our business.
  • Employee Recruitment.  If you apply for a job with us, we use your data for recruitment purposes.
  • Company Promotions. We may use your data for Company promotions, surveys, or other site features.
  • Improving Advertising Campaigns. We may use your data to improve our advertising campaigns, primarily in an effort to prevent targeting of impressions via third-party channels when they are not relevant to you.
  • Sending Text Messages. We may use your data to text you regarding event updates and status.
  • Sending Periodic Emails.  We may use your data to send you periodic emails.  We may send you occasional marketing emails about our products and services, which you can unsubscribe from at any time using the link provided in the message.
  • Generally.  We use data to respond to your enquiries and requests relating to our Services, to prompt event options, to schedule events, create and administer your account, and to provide us with information and access to resources that you have requested from us.  We also use data for general business purposes, to help us improve the content and functionality of our Services, to better understand our users, to protect against wrongdoing, to enforce our Terms of Service, and to generally manage our business.
  • Communications.  We use data we collect to communicate with you, and to personalize our communications with you. For example, we may contact you to inform you when your subscription is ending, to discuss your account, to let you know when updates are available, to remind you about features of the Services that are available for your use, to update you about a support request, or to invite you to participate in a survey.

 

How do we care for and protect your information?

 

We implement a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you enter, submit, or access your personal information. We offer the use of a secure server. All supplied sensitive/credit information is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our payment gateway providers database only to be accessible by those authorized with special access rights to such systems, and are required to keep the information confidential. Your financial information (e.g. credit cards) is never stored on our servers.

 

How do we ensure that our processing systems remain confidential, resilient, and available?

 

Overview:

We implement a variety of measures to ensure that our processing systems remain highly confidential, redundant, resilient, and available.  Specifically, we have implemented processes to help ensure high availability and business continuity.  We commit to maintaining strong physical and logical access controls, and conduct regular penetration testing to identify and address potential vulnerabilities.

 

More Information:

High Availability.  Every part of the Services utilizes properly-provisioned, redundant servers (e.g., multiple load balancers, web servers, replica databases) in case of failure.  We take servers out of operation as part of regular maintenance, without impacting availability.

Business Continuity.  We keep encrypted backups of data on AWS at different datacenter locations than the production application. While never expected, in the case of production data loss (i.e., primary data stores loss), we will restore organizational data from these backups.

 

Physical Access Controls.  Belong For Me is hosted on AWS across multi-site locations. These data centers feature a multi-layered security model, including safeguards such as custom-designed electronic access cards, video surveillance, alarm systems, vehicle access barriers, perimeter fencing, metal detectors, fortified enclosures, and biometrics.  Belong For Me employees do not have physical access to AWS data centers, servers, network equipment, or storage.

 

Logical Access Controls.  Belong For Me is the assigned administrator of its infrastructure on AWS, and only designated authorized Belong For Me operations team members have access to configure the infrastructure on an as-needed basis.

Penetration Testing.  We engage an independent, third-party agency to perform penetration testing on a regular basis.  Information about security vulnerabilities that are successfully exploited through penetration testing is then used to set mitigation and remediation priorities.

 

How do we use cookies?

 

Overview:

Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the sites or service providers systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information.  You can choose to disable cookies, but if you do, your ability to use or access certain parts of our website may be affected.

 

More Information:

Belong For Me uses cookies to store session information. A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier, which is sent to your browser from a website’s computers and stored on your computer’s hard drive. We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. A “session ID cookie” expires when you close your browser. We use session ID cookies to track your login status. This cookie is only ever transmitted over HTTPS. A “persistent cookie” remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. We use persistent cookies to determine from where you were referred to our website, as well as the last user ID that you used to log in. Belong For Me may set and access Belong For Me cookies on your computer; cookies are required to use the Belong For Me® Services.

 

We use cookies and other similar identifiers to understand and save your preferences for future visits, to advertise to you on other sites, and to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.

 

You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the setting on your browser that allows you to refuse the setting of cookies. You can find information on popular browsers and how to adjust your cookie preferences at the following websites:

  • Google Chrome
  • Apple Safari
  • Microsoft Internet Explorer
  • Mozilla Firefox

 

However, if you choose to disable cookies, you may be unable to access certain parts of our site. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies and/or you have not accepted our cookies policy, our system will issue cookies when you log on to our site.

Our web pages may contain electronic images known as web beacons (also called single-pixel gifs) that we use to help deliver cookies on our websites, and to count users who have visited those websites. We may also include web beacons in our promotional email messages or newsletters, to determine whether and when you open and act on them.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

 

Overview:

We share your personal data with your consent, or as necessary to provide the Services to you such as scheduling an event in your name. We may also share your data with vendors working on our behalf to create and schedule events; when required by law or to respond to legal process; to protect our customers; to protect lives; to maintain the security of our Services; and to protect our rights or our property. We will not share, trade, or sell your data for marketing and sales purposes.

More Information:

 

We share your personal data with your consent, or as necessary to provide the Services to you.  We also share personal data with vendors or agents working on our behalf for the purposes described in this Policy. For example, companies we have hired to provide cloud hosting services, off-site backups, and customer support may need access to personal data to provide those functions. In such cases, these companies are required to abide by our data privacy and security requirements and are not allowed to use personal data they receive from us for any other purpose.

We may disclose your personal data as part of a corporate audit on the controls and processes of the company. Or, for a potential sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution, or similar event.

 

Finally, we will access, transfer, disclose, and/or preserve personal data, when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to:

  • comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, judicial orders, or subpoenas;
  • respond to requests from public or governmental authorities, including for national security or law enforcement purposes;
  • protect the vital interests of our users, customers, or other third parties (including, for example, to prevent spam or attempts to defraud users of our products, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone);
  • operate and maintain the security of our Services, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks;
  • protect the rights, interests or property of Belong For Me or third parties;
  • prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Services;
  • or enforce our Terms of Service.

 

We may use and share aggregated, de-identified, non-personal information with third parties for marketing, advertising, and analytics purposes.

 

How to Access and Control Your Personal Data

 

Overview:

You can view, access, edit, or delete of your personal data for many aspects of the Services. How you can access and control your personal data will depend on which Services you use.

You can opt out from receiving marketing communications from us by using the opt-out link on the communication

More Information:

Data Erasure.  You can request that Belong For Me delete your personal data by sending an email to support@belongforme.com with “Please delete my personal data” in the subject line. Belong For Me will verify your ability to access that email, then delete the personal data associated with your email address. We will use reasonable efforts to respond to your request within 14 calendar days, but in all events within 30 calendar days of our receipt of the request.  Please note that we retain billing and usage metadata about a company or individual as required for compliance with law and regulation.

Data Correction.  You can modify your personal data by sending an email to support@belongforme.com with “Please update my personal data” in the subject line. Belong For Me will verify your ability to access that email, then update the fields where possible within the Services. We will use reasonable efforts to respond to your request within 14 calendar days, but in all events within 30 calendar days of our receipt of the request.

Your Communications Preferences.  You can choose whether you wish to receive marketing communications from us. If you receive marketing communications from us and would like to opt out, you can do so by following the directions in that communication.  Please note that these choices do not apply to mandatory communications that are part of the Services, or to surveys or other informational communications that have their own unsubscribe method.

 

Third Party Vendor Links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include third party vendor network event on our website or through our Services. If you access other websites using the links provided, the operators of these websites may collect information from you that will be used by them in accordance with their privacy policies. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We, therefore, have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome any feedback about these sites.

 

Third Party Service Vendors

We use third-party vendors to provide the Belong For Me events that you may be attending. These vendors have signed a Terms of Service Agreement and Privacy Policy that protects the data of our customers using the Services.

 

Data Retention

 

Overview:

We may retain your personal information as long as you continue to use the Services, have an account with us, have Belong For Me installed on your phone or mobile device, or for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in the policy. You can ask to close your account by contacting us at the details above, and we will delete your personal information on request.

We may, however, retain personal information for an additional period as is permitted or required under applicable laws, for legal, tax, or regulatory reasons, or for legitimate and lawful business purposes.

More Information:

We will retain your personal data for as long as necessary to provide the Services to you, or for other essential purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Because these needs can vary for different types of data in the context of the different Services we provide, actual retention periods can vary significantly. The criteria we use to determine the retention periods include:

  • How long is the personal data needed to provide the Services and/or operate our business? This includes such things such as maintaining and improving the performance of the Services, keeping our systems secure, and maintaining appropriate business and financial records. This is the general rule that establishes the baseline for most data retention periods.
  • Is Belong For Me subject to a legal, contractual, regulatory, or similar obligation to retain the data? Examples can include mandatory data retention laws in the applicable jurisdiction, government orders to preserve data relevant to an investigation, or data that must be retained for the purposes of litigation.

 

Changes to our Privacy Policy

From time-to-time we will update this privacy statement when necessary to reflect customer feedback, regulatory changes, and changes in our Services. When we post changes to this statement, we will revise the “last updated” date at the top of the statement. If there are material changes to the statement or in how Belong For Me will use your personal data, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes before they take effect or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to learn how Belong For Me is protecting your information.

 

Additional Disclosures for California Residents  

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) (as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act) grants certain rights to California residents to know, access, correct, and delete their personal data, as well as to request transparency about our privacy practices and opt-out of the sale of their personal data. We do not sell personal data. We may share personal data with third parties who are our authorized service providers and have agreed to contractual limitations and our personal data and security requirements.  These parties may only use personal data for the required purpose.

California law requires that we detail the categories of personal data that we disclose for certain business purposes, such as to service providers that assist us with securing our services, vendors who provide Belong For Me events, and such other entities as described above.  Please see the section, “What do we use your personal data for?” for this information.

To exercise your rights, please follow the instructions in the “How to reach us” section below. California residents will not be discriminated against for exercising their rights.

We may need to verify your identity and place of residence before completing your rights request, including by asking you for additional information. If you are a California resident and would like to use an agent registered with the California Secretary of State to exercise your rights, we may request evidence that you have provided such agent with power of attorney or that the agent otherwise has valid written authority to submit requests to exercise rights on your behalf.

 

How to reach us

If you have a technical or support question, please contact us at support@belongforme.com or call us at 412-634-6100 and 844-634-6100

If you have a privacy concern, complaint, or a question, or you wish to exercise your privacy  rights, please contact us by sending us an email at support@belongforme.com. We respond to all requests that we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their privacy rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

If you are contacting us to exercise your rights under the CCPA, you may email us at  support@belongforme.com. If sending us an email, please include the words “California Resident Rights Request” in your subject line.

Unless otherwise stated, Belong For Me, Corp. is a data controller for personal data we collect through the Services subject to this statement.