Privacy policy

This policy’s last update: 7/30/2024.

The Adoption Exchange Association, Inc. (“AEA,” “we,” or “us”) has developed this privacy policy (the “Privacy Policy”) to demonstrate our commitment to protecting your privacy. We encourage you to read it carefully. The Privacy Policy is intended to describe for you, as an individual who is a User of either adoptuskids.org or diligentrecruitment.org (collectively, the “Websites”), the information we collect, how that information may be used, with whom it may be shared, and your choices about such uses and disclosures. By using the Websites, you are consenting to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. All capitalized terms not defined in this Privacy Policy will carry the meaning given to such terms in our Website Terms of Use (the “Terms”), posted on each of the Websites.

What information do we collect about you?

We collect any information you enter on the Websites or give us in any other way (such as through an email or letter). The information that we collect varies, but our various forms on the Websites generally require that you provide us with your first and last name, email address, phone number, address, password, and, possibly, background information regarding your family and other information that may be important to the adoption process.

We also may use various technologies to collect information from your computer and about your activities on the Websites.

We may automatically collect information from your browser when you visit the Websites. This information would include your Internet protocol (IP) address, your browser type and language, access times, the content of any undeleted cookies that your browser previously accepted from us, and the referring website address.

When you visit the Websites, we may assign your computer one or more cookies to facilitate access to the Websites and to personalize your online experience. Through the use of a cookie, we also may automatically collect information about your online activity on the Websites, such as the web pages you visit, the links you click, and the searches you conduct on the Websites. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, please note that you may not be able to sign in or use some of the interactive features offered on the Websites.

We may use standard internet technology, such as web beacons and other similar technologies, to track your use of the Websites. We also may include web beacons in our e-mail messages or newsletters to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon. The information we may obtain in this manner would enable us to customize the services we offer to visitors of the Websites, to deliver targeted advertising and communications, and to measure the overall effectiveness of our online advertising, Content, programming, or other activities.

We may allow third-parties, including our service providers, advertising companies, and ad networks, to display advertisements on the Websites and/or to use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to collect information about Users. This information allows them to deliver targeted advertisements and gauge their effectiveness. Unless expressly stated otherwise, the Websites do not provide any personal information to these third parties.

We are using the Facebook Pixel of Facebook Inc, 1601 S. California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA (“Facebook”). This tool allows Facebook to collect or receive information from the Websites and elsewhere on the internet and use that information to target ads and provide measurement services. Facebook is able to connect the data with your Facebook account and use the data for their own advertising purposes, in accordance with Facebook’s Data Use Policy found at https://www.facebook.com/about/privacy/. This tracking also allows Facebook and its partners to show you advertisements on and outside Facebook. In addition, a cookie will be saved onto your computer for these purposes. If you want to opt out of the collection and use of information for ad targeting, you can adjust your Facebook settings (https://www.facebook.com/adpreferences/ad_settings/?entry_product=account_settings_menu) or access additional mechanisms such as those offered by the Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.aboutads.info/choices and http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/).

How do we use the information we collect from you?

Generally, we use your information for such purposes as operating the Websites, providing the services offered by the Websites, maintaining your Account and providing customer support, communicating with you, performing analysis about your use of and interest in the offerings and Content on the Websites, managing our day-to-day business, and performing functions as otherwise described to you at the time of collection.

With whom do we share information?

We will share your information with the state and local agencies as you authorize. We may share your personal information with our authorized service providers that perform certain services on our behalf. These services may include processing credit card payments (if applicable), providing customer service and marketing assistance, performing business and sales analysis, supporting the Websites’ functionality, and supporting surveys and other features that may be offered through the Website.

Any third parties to whom we may disclose personal information may have their own privacy policies which describe how they use and disclose personal information. Those policies will govern use, handling, and disclosure of your personal information once we have shared it with those third parties as described in this Privacy Policy. If you want to learn more about their privacy practices, we encourage you to visit the websites of those third parties.

We may also disclose your information in response to a subpoena or similar investigative demand, a court order, or a request for cooperation from a law enforcement or other government agency; to establish or exercise our legal rights; to defend against legal claims; or as otherwise required by law. In such cases, we may raise or waive any legal objection or right available to us, in our sole discretion. We may also disclose your information when we believe it is appropriate in connection with efforts to investigate, prevent, report, or take other action regarding illegal activity, suspected fraud or other wrongdoing; to protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of our company, the Users, our employees, or others; to comply with applicable law or cooperate with law enforcement; or to enforce our Terms and conditions or other agreements or policies. Likewise, we may disclose your information in connection with a substantial corporate transaction, such as a merger, consolidation, or asset sale, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.

We may share aggregated and nonpersonal information we collect under any of the previously mentioned circumstances. We may share aggregated information with third parties, for the purpose of conducting general operational and business analysis. For example, we may tell our state and local agencies the number of visitors to the Websites and the most popular features or services accessed. This information does not contain any personal information and may be used to develop and improve the Websites.

Does this policy govern third-party websites?

There may be places on the Websites where you may click on a link to access other websites that do not operate under this Privacy Policy. For example, if you click on an advertisement or a search result on the Websites, you may be taken to a website that we do not control. These third-party websites may independently solicit and collect information, including personal information, from you and, in some instances, provide us with information about your activities on those websites. We recommend that you consult the privacy statements of all third-party websites you visit by clicking on the “privacy” link typically located at the bottom of the webpage you are visiting.

How can you access your information?

If you register for an Account on the Websites, you have the ability to review and update your Account information online by logging into your Account. You can also review and update your Account information by contacting us directly.

You may choose to close your Account at any time by contacting support at support@adoptuskids.org. After you close your Account, you will not be able to sign in to the Websites or access any of your Account information. However, you can request a new Account at any time. If you close your Account, we may still retain certain information associated with your Account for analytical purposes and recordkeeping integrity, as well as to prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, enforce our Terms, take actions we deem necessary to protect the integrity of the Websites or its Users, or take other actions otherwise permitted by law. In addition, if certain information has already been provided to third parties as described in this Privacy Policy, retention of that information will be subject to those third parties’ policies.

What are your choices about collection and use of your information?

You can choose not to provide us with certain information, but that may result in you being unable to use certain features of the Websites because such information may be required in order for you to create an Account; to use services on the Websites; or to ask us a question.

When you register on the Websites you may be automatically set up to receive email messages and/or newsletters about the Websites. At any time you can adjust your email preferences in your Account settings.

As noted above, you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, please note that you may not be able to sign in or use some of the interactive features offered on the Websites.

If you want to opt out of the collection and use of information for ad targeting, you can adjust your privacy settings in Facebook and other applications or access additional mechanisms such as those offered by the Digital Advertising Alliance (http://www.aboutads.info/choices and http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/).

How do we protect your personal information?

We take appropriate security measures (including physical, electronic, and procedural measures) to help safeguard your personal information from unauthorized access and disclosure. We want you to feel confident using the Websites; however, no system can be completely secure. Therefore, it is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer or other internet access device.

Although we take steps to secure your information, we do not guarantee the security of your information, and you should not expect that your personal information, searches, or other communications will always remain secure. Please refer to the Federal Trade Commission’s website at https://www.ftc.gov for information about how to protect yourself against identity theft.

Your content and other user submissions

Any Content you post is governed by our Terms. If you post Content to a publicly viewable area of the Websites, that information will be publicly available and can be collected and used by others. We cannot control who reads your posting or what other Users may do with the information you voluntarily post, so we encourage you to exercise discretion and caution with respect to your personal information. Once you have posted information, you may not be able to edit or delete such information.

California disclosure

For residents of California, CA Bus. & Prof. Code § 22575 seeks disclosure of how the Websites responds to web browser “do not track” signals or other mechanisms that provide consumers the ability to exercise choice regarding the collection of personal information about their online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services. Although it’s not clear that the statute applies, and although it does not define such signals or mechanisms, we believe that an example might be a browser option allowing you to ask websites not to track you across third-party websites so that they can serve targeted or behavioral advertising to you. If your browser or similar mechanism gives the Websites a “do not track” signal, the Websites will not honor it because of the tracking described in “what information do we collect about you.”

Visiting our websites from outside the US

This Privacy Policy is intended to cover collection of information on or via the Websites from residents of the United States. If you are visiting the Websites from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. Please be assured that we seek to take reasonable steps to ensure that your privacy is protected. By using the Websites, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.

No rights of third parties

This Privacy Policy does not create rights enforceable by third parties or require disclosure of any personal information relating to Users.

Changes to this policy

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices and services. When we post changes to this Privacy Policy, we will revise the date at the top of this Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share your personal information, we will notify you by sending an email to the email address you most recently provided us in your Account, profile, or registration (unless we do not have such an email address) and/or by prominently posting notice of the changes on the Websites. We recommend that you check the Websites from time to time to inform yourself of any changes in this Privacy Policy or any of our other policies.

Updates

On November 20, 2017, we updated the policy to include information about our use of the Facebook Pixel and made other minor adjustments throughout the policy to add clarity.

How to contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our information-handling practices, or if you would like to request information about our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes, please contact us.