Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting HomeTips. Your privacy is important to us. We will endeavor to respect and protect it. To better protect your privacy, we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used at this site. Please read this privacy policy carefully so that you understand our privacy practices regarding:

Children under 13;
Information we do and don’t collect;
How we use the information;
Opt-out options.

Children under 13

Home Tips cares about the safety of children.
Children should always get permission from their parents before sending any information about themselves (such as their names, email addresses, and phone numbers) over the Internet, to us or to anyone else. Kids under 13 are not allowed to register with our website or to post on our site. We won’t knowingly allow anyone under 13 to provide us any personally identifying information.

Information we do and don’t collect

The information we gather on our site falls into two categories:

* Personally identifying information (such as your name, mailing address and email address) you supply when you initiate transactions, register to receive catalogs or newsletters, or use our bulletin boards if or when we have them; and

* Completely anonymous tracking information we collect as you navigate through our site.

Additionally, third-party providers featured on or linked to by our website — such as vendors of products and services offered through our site — may gather the same kinds of information.

How we use the information we collect

We use the personally identifiable information you provide about yourself to fulfill your requests for our products, programs, and services; to respond to your inquiries; to send you e-mail newsletters you have requested; and to offer you other products or services that we believe may be of interest to you– but only if you opt to receive this information.

In general, it is our policy not to share your e-mail address or any phone numbers you may provide us with any third-party organizations. We do not share our e-mail mailing list with third parties.

Please note, however, that our site also may include links to other websites, and we provide access to products and services offered by third parties. We share with these third parties such information as is necessary to provide the products or services. We will not provide your email address to such third parties unless it’s necessary to provide services you have requested, or to allow you to participate in a co-sponsored promotion. For example, we will provide your name and e-mail address to a marketing partner from which you’re purchasing goods or services, or from which you are requesting a catalog.

We also provide links to other websites, and provide access to products and services offered by third parties, whose privacy policies we don’t control. The privacy policies of these third party sites may differ from ours. If you can’t find the privacy policy of any of our provider partners through a link either from the site’s homepage or from the pages on which the products or services are offered, you should contact the provider directly for more information.

If you ever receive mailings from us that you do not wish to receive, please tell us by sending an e-mail to this address: admin[@]hometips.com. Please include your name and complete mailing address so we can remove you from our database. Additionally, you will find further opt-out instructions below in this privacy policy.

We may work with a data provider to target advertising to you personally, through online and offline methods including email, display media, video media and direct mail. These providers may use personal information that we have collected or that you have provided to locate you online, such as when you visit or log in to the website(s) or mobile applications. When you log in to or visit our website, your IP address may be combined with other de-identified data (such as a hashed, non-readable email or postal address) in order to send ads and materials to you based on your interests, preferences and attributes. To opt out of this and other interest-based advertising, please visit the industry opt-out pages operated by the DAA at http://www.aboutads.info and by the NAI at http://networkadvertising.org.

Like most Internet sites, we track the total number of visitors using different sections and pages on our Web site. Occasionally we also invite our users to anonymously share certain personal information about themselves — such as their age, income levels, hobbies and the like. In both cases, we aggregate this information and use it to gain a better understanding of our users’ interests, and to improve the quality of our sites. We also share this aggregate information with advertisers, to help them gain a better understanding of the demographics of our audience.

Users also should be aware when they voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information (e.g., user name, e-mail address) on HomeTips bulletin boards, comments, postings, or forums, that this information can be collected and used by third parties. This may result in unsolicited messages from other posters or third parties. Such activities are beyond our control.

Opt-out information

If you receive any mailing from us and no longer wish to receive such a mailing you can either follow the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of each of our newsletters or send us an e-mail to admin[@]hometips.com. Please include the words “Unsubscribe from Newsletter” in the subject line to help us handle your requests as quickly as possible.

If you have shared your name and postal mailing address with us but do not wish to receive future mailings from us or our marketing partners in the future, please tell us. We will remove your name from our files.

To do so:

* Send an e-mail to this address: admin[@]hometips.com.
Please include your name and complete mailing address so we can remove you from our databases;

* Or send us a letter to this address: HomeTips, 3715 Market St.,Ste. 205, Glendale, CA, 91208. Please include your name and complete mailing address so we can remove you from our databases.

You also can use the above addresses should you have any questions about our privacy policy.

GDPR Compliance

Okay, that was the simple version of our privacy policy. Now we’re going to get more technical in order to be in compliance with the European Union’s GDPR.

1.1    We are committed to safeguarding the privacy of our website visitors and service users.

1.2    This policy applies where we are acting as a data controller with respect to the personal data of our website visitors and service users; in other words, where we determine the purposes and means of the processing of that personal data.

1.3    We use cookies on our website. Insofar as those cookies are not strictly necessary for the provision of our website and services, we will ask you to consent to our use of cookies when you first visit our website.

1.4    Our website incorporates privacy controls which affect how we will process your personal data. By using the privacy controls, you can specify whether you would like to receive direct marketing communications and limit the publication of your information. You can access the privacy controls by contacting us at admin[@]hometips.com.

1.5    In this policy, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to HomeTips, LLC. For more information about us, see below.

  1. Credit

2.1    This document was created using a template from SEQ Legal (https://seqlegal.com).

  1. How we use your personal data

3.1    In this Section 3 we have set out:

(a)    the general categories of personal data that we may process;

(b)    in the case of personal data that we did not obtain directly from you, the source and specific categories of that data;

(c)    the purposes for which we may process personal data; and

(d)    the legal bases of the processing.

3.2    We may process data about your use of our website and services (“usage data“). The usage data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the usage data is our analytics tracking system. This usage data may be processed for the purposes of analyzing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving our website and services OR helping to give you the information you seek.

3.3    We may process your account data (“account data“). The account data may include your name and email address.The source of the account data is you or your employer. The account data may be processed for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, ensuring the security of our website and services, maintaining back-ups of our databases and communicating with you. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.4    We may process your information included in your personal profile on our website (“profile data“). The profile data may include your name, address, telephone number, email address, profile pictures, gender, date of birth, relationship status, interests and hobbies, educational details and employment details. The profile data may be processed for the purposes of enabling and monitoring your use of our website and services. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at you request, to enter into such a contract.

3.5    We may process your personal data that are provided in the course of the use of our services (“service data“). The service data may include providing you with leads to service providers, products, or helpful information. The source of the service data is you or your employer. The service data may be processed for the purposes of operating our website, providing our services, ensuring the security of our website and services, maintaining back-ups of our databases and communicating with you. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.6    We may process [information that you post for publication on our website or through our services] (“publication data“). The publication data may be processed [for the purposes of enabling such publication and administering our website and services]. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.7    We may process [information contained in any enquiry you submit to us regarding goods and/or services] (“enquiry data“). The enquiry data may be processed [for the purposes of offering, marketing and selling relevant goods and/or services to you]. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.8    We may process information relating to our customer relationships, including customer contact information (“customer relationship data“). The customer relationship data may include your name, your employer, your job title or role, your contact details, and information contained in communications between us and you or your employer. The source of the customer relationship data is you or your employer. The customer relationship data may be processed for the purposes of managing our relationships with customers, communicating with customers, keeping records of those communications and promoting our products and services to customers. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper management of our customer relationships.

3.9    We may process information relating to transactions, including purchases of goods and services, that you enter into with us and/or through our website (“transaction data“). The transaction data may include your contact details, your card details and the transaction details. The transaction data may be processed for the purpose of supplying the purchased goods and services and keeping proper records of those transactions.The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.10  We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our email notifications and/or newsletters (“notification data“). The notification data may be processed for the purposes of sending you the relevant notifications and/or newsletters. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.11  We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us (“correspondence data“). The correspondence data may include [the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms. The correspondence data may be processed for the purposes of communicating with you and record-keeping. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business and communications with users.

3.12  We may process questions you have about home improvement and repair. This data may include questions and answers. The source of this data is you or your employer. This data may be processed in order to help you and our other visitors get the answers you and they seek. The legal basis for this processing is consent OR our legitimate interests, namely providing our visitors with help and answers OR the performance of a contract between you and us and/or taking steps, at your request, to enter into such a contract.

3.13  We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the protection and assertion of our legal rights, your legal rights and the legal rights of others.

3.14  We may process any of your personal data identified in this policy where necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, or obtaining professional advice. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper protection of our business against risks.

3.15  In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out in this Section 3, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

3.16  Please do not supply any other person’s personal data to us, unless we prompt you to do so.

  1. Providing your personal data to others

4.1    We may disclose your personal data to any member of our group of companies (this means our subsidiaries, our ultimate holding company and all its subsidiaries) insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes, and on the legal bases, set out in this policy. If we develop a group of companies in the future, we will supply a URL where you can find information about it.

4.2    We may disclose your personal data to our insurers and/or professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining or maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice, or the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

4.3    We may disclose information about page views, time on site and IP addresses to our suppliers or subcontractors  insofar as is reasonably necessary for advertising and generating revenue.

4.4    Although we don’t currently process financial transactions on the site, in the future, our financial transactions relating to our website and services may be handled by our payment services providers. We will share transaction data with our payment services providers only to the extent necessary for the purposes of processing your payments, refunding such payments and dealing with complaints and queries relating to such payments and refunds.

4.5    We may disclose your inquiry data to one or more of those selected third party suppliers of goods and services identified on our website for the purpose of enabling them to contact you so that they can offer, market and sell to you relevant goods and/or services. Each such third party will act as a data controller in relation to the inquiry data that we supply to it; and upon contacting you, each such third party will supply to you a copy of its own privacy policy, which will govern that third party’s use of your personal data.

4.6    In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data set out in this Section 4, we may disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person. We may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims, whether in court proceedings or in an administrative or out-of-court procedure.

  1. International transfers of your personal data

5.1    In this Section 5, we provide information about the circumstances in which your personal data may be transferred to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

5.2    We and our other group companies have offices and facilities in the United States. The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws of this country. Transfers to this country will be protected by appropriate safeguards, namely the use of standard data protection clauses adopted or approved by the European Commission.

5.3    The hosting facilities for our website are situated in the United States. The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws of the United States. Transfers to the United States will be protected by appropriate safeguards, namely the use of standard data protection clauses adopted or approved by the European Commission.

5.4   Our advertisers and content partners are situated in countries that may be outside the European Union. The European Commission has made an “adequacy decision” with respect to the data protection laws of each of these countries. Transfers to each of these countries will be protected by appropriate safeguards, namely the use of standard data protection clauses adopted or approved by the European Commission, a copy of which can be obtained from the European Commission.

5.5    You acknowledge that personal data that you submit for publication through our website or services may be available, via the internet, around the world. We cannot prevent the use (or misuse) of such personal data by others.

Note: Visiting HomeTips site(s) from outside the United States

This Privacy Policy is intended to cover collection of information on HomeTips from residents of the United States. If you visit our website(s) 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. The data protection and other laws of the United States might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using our services, 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.

  1. Retaining and deleting personal data

6.1    This Section 6 sets out our data retention policies and procedure, which are designed to help ensure that we comply with our legal obligations in relation to the retention and deletion of personal data.

6.2    Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes.

6.3    We will retain your personal data as follows:  E-mail addresses, contact information, and IP addresses will be retained for a minimum period of 1 day following your registration, with no maximum period.

6.4    In some cases it is not possible for us to specify in advance the periods for which your personal data will be retained. In such cases, we will determine the period of retention based on the criteria of providing you with the goods, services, advertising, and information that meets your needs.

6.5    Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Section 6, we may retain your personal data where such retention is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.

  1. Amendments

7.1    We may update this policy from time to time by publishing a new version on our website.

7.2    You should check this page occasionally to ensure you are happy with any changes to this policy.

7.3    We may notify you of significant changes to this policy by email or through messaging on our website.

  1. Your rights

8.1    In this Section 8, we have summarized the rights that you have under data protection law. Some of the rights are complex, and not all of the details have been included in our summaries. Accordingly, you should read the relevant laws and guidance from the regulatory authorities for a full explanation of these rights.

8.2    Your principal rights under data protection law are:

(a)    the right to access;

(b)    the right to rectification;

(c)    the right to erasure;

(d)    the right to restrict processing;

(e)    the right to object to processing;

(f)    the right to data portability;

(g)    the right to complain to a supervisory authority; and

(h)    the right to withdraw consent.

8.3    You have the right to confirmation as to whether or not we process your personal data and, where we do, access to the personal data, together with certain additional information. That additional information includes details of the purposes of the processing, the categories of personal data concerned and the recipients of the personal data. Providing the rights and freedoms of others are not affected, we will supply to you a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but additional copies may be subject to a reasonable fee.

8.4    You have the right to have any inaccurate personal data about you rectified and, taking into account the purposes of the processing, to have any incomplete personal data about you completed.

8.5    In some circumstances you have the right to the erasure of your personal data without undue delay. Those circumstances include: [the personal data are no longer necessary in relation to the purposes for which they were collected or otherwise processed; you withdraw consent to consent-based processing; you object to the processing under certain rules of applicable data protection law; the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and the personal data have been unlawfully processed]. However, there are exclusions of the right to erasure. The general exclusions include where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

8.6    In some circumstances you have the right to restrict the processing of your personal data. Those circumstances are: you contest the accuracy of the personal data; processing is unlawful but you oppose erasure; we no longer need the personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you require personal data for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims; and you have objected to processing, pending the verification of that objection. Where processing has been restricted on this basis, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only otherwise process it: with your consent; for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest.

8.7    You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data on grounds relating to your particular situation, but only to the extent that the legal basis for the processing is that the processing is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party. If you make such an objection, we will cease to process the personal information unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing is for the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

8.8    You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes (including profiling for direct marketing purposes). If you make such an objection, we will cease to process your personal data for this purpose.

8.9    You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data for scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out for reasons of public interest.

8.10  To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal data is:

(a)    consent; or

(b)    that the processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract, and such processing is carried out by automated means, you have the right to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format. However, this right does not apply where it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others.

8.11  If you consider that our processing of your personal information infringes data protection laws, you have a legal right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do so in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

8.12  To the extent that the legal basis for our processing of your personal information is consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.

8.13  You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us.

About cookies

A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.

Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

Cookies that we use

We use cookies for the following purposes:

Authentication : We use cookies to identify you when you visit our website and as you navigate our website so that we recognize you and can help you find the information you are seeking more quickly;

Status – We use cookies to help us to determine if you are logged into our website;

Personalization – We use cookies to store information about your preferences and to personalize the website for you;

Security – We may use cookies as an element of the security measures used to protect user accounts, including preventing fraudulent use of login credentials, and to protect our website and services generally;

Advertising – We use cookies to help us to display advertisements that will be relevant to you;

Analysis – We use cookies to help us to analyze the use and performance of our website and services so that we can give you increasingly better and more relevant content;

Cookie consent – We use cookies to store your preferences in relation to the use of cookies more generally.

Cookies used by our service providers

Our service providers use cookies and those cookies may be stored on your computer when you visit our website.

We use Google Analytics to analyze the use of our website. Google Analytics gathers information about website use by means of cookies. The information gathered relating to our website is used to create reports about the use of our website. Google’s privacy policy is available at: https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/.

We use Ezoic to provide personalization and analytic services on this website, as such Ezoic’s privacy policy is in effect and can be reviewed here.

We publish Google AdSense advertisements on our website. To determine your interests, Google will track your behavior on our website and on other websites across the web using cookies. This behavior tracking allows Google to tailor the advertisements that you see on other websites to reflect your interests. You can view, delete or add interest categories associated with your browser by visiting: https://adssettings.google.com. You can also opt out of the AdSense partner network cookie using those settings or using the Network Advertising Initiative’s multi-cookie opt-out mechanism at: http://optout.networkadvertising.org. However, these opt-out mechanisms themselves use cookies, and if you clear the cookies from your browser your opt-out will not be maintained. To ensure that an opt-out is maintained in respect of a particular browser, you may wish to consider using the Google browser plug-ins available at: https://support.google.com/ads/answer/7395996.

We use Home Advisor to provide services to our visitors. This service uses cookies for identifying customers. You can view the privacy policy of this service provider at https://www.homeadvisor.com/rfs/aboutus/privacyPolicy.jsp.

Advertising

This Site is affiliated with CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Raptive (“Raptive”) for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and Raptive will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about Raptive’s data usage, click here: https://raptive.com/creator-advertising-privacy-statement/

In addition, please ensure your privacy policy includes the items below in order to comply with our ad partners’ regulatory requirements:

  • You must have a link to your privacy policy on your homepage, and the link text must include the word “Privacy.” We recommend placing the link in the site footer so that it is visible and accessible on all pages of your site.
  • Information about how Google Analytics is used on your site and a link to Google’s Privacy Policy. Please make sure the link is hyperlinked as shown. https://policies.google.com/privacy
  • Your contact information. You can include your email address or a contact form.

You can read more about ensuring your privacy policy is compliant here.

Managing cookies

Most browsers allow you to refuse to accept cookies and to delete cookies. The methods for doing so vary from browser to browser, and from version to version. You can however obtain up-to-date information about blocking and deleting cookies via these links:

(a)    https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95647?hl=en (Chrome);

(b)    https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/enable-and-disable-cookies-website-preferences (Firefox);

(c)    http://www.opera.com/help/tutorials/security/cookies/ (Opera);

(d)    https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17442/windows-internet-explorer-delete-manage-cookies (Internet Explorer);

(e)    https://support.apple.com (Safari); and

(f)    https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-10-microsoft-edge-and-privacy (Edge).

Note: Blocking all cookies will have a negative impact upon the usability of many websites.

If you block cookies, you will not be able to use all the features on our website.

Our details

This website is owned and operated by HomeTips, LLC.

Our principal place of business is at 3715 Market Street, Ste. 205, Glendale, CA  91208.

You can contact us:

(a)    by post, to the postal address given above;

(b)    using our website contact form;

(c)    by telephone, on the contact number published on our website from time to time; or

(d)    by email, using the email address published on our website from time to time.

Conclusion

The Internet is an evolving medium. If we need to change our Privacy Policy at some point in the future, we’ll post the changes here. And while the above statements and policies do not create any contractual or other legal rights in or on behalf of any party, the staff at HomeTips wishes to reiterate our opening statement:
Your right to personal privacy is important to us. We will endeavor to respect it.

Part of this document (notably the part regarding GDPR compliance) was produced and published by SEQ Legal LLP