Privacy Policy
This website, including the mobile version and any successor site(s) regardless of how accessed (collectively, the "Website"), is operated solely by Vertical Passage, Inc. ("VP"), an Ohio Corporation.
VP values our clients and consumers that use or products and services. Your privacy and trust are very important to us. We recognize that you may be concerned about our collection, use, and disclosure of the personally identifiable information ("Personal Information") that we collect when you use the Website and the services offered on the Website ("VP Services"). This Privacy Policy describes the information that we collect from you, how we collect this information, and what we do with it after we collect it. By using the Website, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you have any questions or comments regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@verticalpassage.com.
1. Information we collect
1.1. What Personal Information may we collect, and how do we use it?
We may collect information from you when you register on the site, place an order, enter a contest or sweepstakes, respond to a survey or communication such as e-mail, or participate in another site feature. When ordering or registering, we may ask you for your name, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, credit card information, or other information. You may, however, visit our site anonymously.
When you interact with our customer support through email or chat features which may be offered via third-party software, we may monitor or record the conversation to ensure the quality of our customer support. If you have a store account, we will retain the recording for as long as you have an account. If you do not have an account, we will delete the recording within 12 months or retain it if it is needed to protect our legal interests or resolve disputes between you and us.
We may request some of the personal data indicated above in furtherance of our legal obligations and legitimate interest in ensuring that users and
end customers are not the target of trade, financial, and economic sanctions and do not appear on a sanctions-related list, including lists maintained by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Union, or Her Majesty’s Treasury of the United Kingdom.
We also collect information about gift recipients so that we can fulfill the gift purchase. The information we collect about gift recipients is not used for marketing purposes.
We also collect information that relates to you but may not identify you. By using cookies and similar technology on our website, we may collect data such as information on your device, your preferences and information filled in while visiting our website, your interaction with the website, and other information used for analytical, marketing, and targeting activities (including unique visits, returning visits, length of the session, actions carried out in the webpage). Learn more about how we use cookies on our website and how to opt out of interest-based advertising by contacting us @ info@verticalpassage.com
We may use the information we collect from you when you register, purchase products, enter a contest or promotion, respond to a survey or marketing communication, browse the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
- To personalize your site experience and to allow us to deliver the type of content and product offerings in which you are most interested.
- To allow us to better service you in responding to your customer service requests.
- To quickly process your transactions.
- To administer a contest, promotion, survey, or other site feature.
- To deliver targeted advertising and promotions to you via third-party websites and applications.
If you have opted-in to receive our newsletters or other communications, you may receive periodic emails from VP. If you would no longer like to receive such promotional emails, please refer to the "How can you opt-out, remove or modify information you have provided to us?" section below. Visitors who register or participate in other site features, such as marketing programs and 'members-only' content, will be offered the choice to be on the e-mail list and receive communications from VP.
1.2. Privacy Policy Addendum Regarding Data Collection for California and Virginia Residents
The chart below describes the categories of Personal Information and Personal Data (as those respective terms are used in Section 7 and Section 8 of the Privacy Policy), as applicable, that we may collect, the purposes for such collection, and the types of entities with whom we may have shared such information. We do not sell personal data to third parties.
CATEGORIES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION |
SOURCES OF INFORMATION |
USE OF INFORMATION |
SHARING OF INFORMATION |
Identifiers, including your name, postal address, email address, and telephone number. These data types also include “personal information,” as the term is defined by the CCPA (California), and “personal data” as defined under the VCDPA (Virginia). |
We collect this information directly from you. |
We use this information to: provide, maintain, and improve our products and Services; provide customer support (including via chat, in the comment section of our blog, or other platforms, where you may reach us), operate your account with us, and invoice you. |
We share this information with Service Providers and certain other individuals and entities as described in the section above entitled “Sharing Personal Data with Third Parties.” |
Commercial information. |
We collect this information directly from you. |
We use this information to process your transactions and deliver our products to you. |
We share this information with Service Providers and certain other individuals and entities as described in the section above entitled “Sharing Personal Data with Third Parties.” |
Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as IP addresses and cookies. |
We collect this information automatically from your computer or device. |
We use this information to provide, maintain, and improve our Services and to personalize your online experience. |
We share this information with Service Providers and certain other individuals and entities as described in the section above entitled “Sharing Personal Data with Third Parties.” |
Audio Information |
We collect this information directly from you. |
We use this information to ensure the quality of our customer support. |
Not applicable. |
Professional and employment-related information. |
We collect this information directly from you. |
We collect such information if you apply for a job via our careers page and use it in connection with processing your application. |
Not applicable. |
Educational information, such as the information included in your resume. |
We collect this information directly from you. |
We collect such information if you apply for a job via our careers page and use it in connection with processing your application. |
Not applicable. |
2. Sharing personal data with third parties
In order for VP to provide you with our Services, we work with third parties who perform services on our behalf and with whom we share personal data to support our Services (“Service Providers”).
Personal Information may be disclosed to a third party in connection with a merger, acquisition, asset sale, or similar transaction.
Information you have provided to us during the use of our Services, including technical usage data, is shared for business purposes in our legitimate interests with third parties who provide hosting and server co-location services as well as data and cyber security services.
Information you have provided to us during the use of our Services may be shared with third-party manufacturing services whom we engage to provide our Services to you.
Your email address and other contact details you have provided to us and your messages to our customer service are shared for business purposes in our legitimate interests with communication, email distribution, and content delivery services, as well as customer support system providers.
Information regarding your purchases and payments is shared with billing and payment processing services, fraud detection and prevention services, accounting and financial advisors, advisors so that we can provide our Services to you.
Information regarding your use of our website and other information received from cookies and similar technology is shared with web analytics, session recording, and online marketing services.
If we provide marketing to you, information on your account, purchases, and preferences can be shared with marketing services.
Insofar as reasonably necessary to defend our legal rights, we may share your personal data with our legal advisors.
We will only share personal data with Service Providers that have undertaken to comply with obligations set out in applicable data protection laws.
We may share your personal data with our affiliates (companies within our corporate family), in our legitimate interests for business purposes.
In certain circumstances, we are required to share information with third parties to comply with legal requirements or requests, as well as to protect our or a third party’s lawful interests. We will also disclose your information to third parties in and outside your country only to the extent allowed by applicable law, including:
- to a prospective purchaser or purchaser that acquires all or substantially all of us or our business;
- to a third party in the event that we sell or buy any business or undergo a merger, in which case we may disclose your information to the prospective buyer of such business; and
- to a third party if we sell, buy, merge or partner with other companies or businesses, undergo a reorganization, bankruptcy, or liquidation; or otherwise undertake a business transaction or sell some or all of our assets. In such transactions, your information may be among the transferred assets.
Customers might request the list of such third parties by writing an email to info@verticalpassage.com.
3. Retention Period
We keep your personal information for no longer than necessary for the purposes for which the personal information is processed. The length of time we retain personal information for depends on the purposes for which we collect and use it and/or as required to comply with applicable laws and to establish, exercise or defend our legal rights.
4. Data subject’s rights
If you are a User or Merchant located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, in accordance with European Union and United Kingdom data protection regulations, you have certain rights with respect to your personal data. You have certain rights in relation to your personal information. If you would like further information with respect to these rights or would like to exercise any of them, please fill out the data subject form here.
The right to access - You have the right to access any personal information that VP holds about you, and you can request a copy of your personal information, confirmation whether we are using your personal information, and details about how and why it is being used.
The right to rectification - You have the right to request that VP correct any of the information you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
The right to erasure - You have the right to request that VP delete personal data that we hold about you in certain circumstances. For further information on these circumstances, please ask us by using the details in the How to Contact Us section below.
The right to restrict processing - You have the right to request that VP restrict the processing of personal data that we hold about you in certain circumstances. For further information on these circumstances, please ask us by using the details in the How to Contact Us section below.
The right to object to processing - You have the right to object to VP’s processing of personal data that we hold about you in certain circumstances. For further information on these circumstances, you can ask us by using the details in the Contact Us section.
These rights may be limited, for example, if fulfilling your request would reveal personal data about another person, or if you ask us to delete information that we are required by law to retain, are permitted by law to retain, or have compelling legitimate interests in retaining (to the extent that applicable law permits us to retain such information based on our legitimate interests).
5. Information security
We implement multiple security measures to maintain the safety of your Personal Information. Your Personal Information is contained behind secured networks and is only accessible by a limited number of persons who have special access rights to such systems and are required to keep the information confidential. When you place orders or access your personal information, we offer the use of a secure server. All sensitive/credit information you supply is transmitted via Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and then encrypted into our databases to be only accessed as stated above.
6. International transfers of data
Your personal information may be used, stored, and/or accessed by staff operating outside the United States and European Economic Area that are working for us, other members of our group, our partners, or our suppliers.
If we provide any personal information about you to a third party operating outside of the USA and EEA, we will take appropriate measures, including, as applicable, entering into the European Commission’s Model clauses for the transfer of personal data to third countries (i.e., the standard contractual clauses) and any equivalent clauses issued by the relevant competent authority of the UK.
7. Privacy Policy addendum for California residents
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), California residents are afforded certain rights about the Personal Information (as such capitalized term is defined under the CCPA) we have collected about them, which we have described in more detail below.
We are both a “business” and a “service provider” under the CCPA, depending on how you interact with us. This section applies only to the personal information we collect in our role as a business. Where we act on a Merchant’s behalf to fulfill an order with regard to the Merchant’s customer, we are a Service Provider under the CCPA. Please read the Merchant’s privacy policy for further information on how to exercise your rights under the CCPA. The Merchant is your contact for any questions you have about how it handles your Personal Information.
The chart found in Section 1.2 of the Privacy Policy describes the categories of Personal Information that we have collected and shared over the past twelve (12) months, the purposes for such collection, and the types of entities with whom we have shared such information.
Rights under the CCPA
If you are a California resident, the processing of certain personal information about you may be subject to the CCPA. Where the CCPA applies, this section provides additional privacy disclosures and informs you of key additional rights as a California resident. We will never discriminate against you for exercising your rights, including providing a different level or quality of services or denying goods or services to you when you exercise your rights under the CCPA.
Right to Know Request
Under the CCPA, California residents have a right to request information about our collection, use, and disclosure of your personal information over the prior twelve (12) months, and ask that we provide you free of charge with the following information:
- the categories of personal information about you that we collected;
- the categories of sources from which the personal information was collected;
- the purpose for collecting personal information about you;
- the categories of third parties to whom we disclosed personal information about you and the categories of personal information that was disclosed (if applicable) and the purpose for disclosing the personal information about you; and
- the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you. Click here to request data.
Right to Delete Request
Under the CCPA, you also have a right to request that we delete personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
Right to Opt-Out of the Sale of Personal Information
You may request that we not sell your Personal Information. Please note, however, that CCPA defines “sale” very broadly and includes “selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a California consumer’s Personal Information by the business to another business or third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.” We use services that help deliver interest-based ads to you and may transfer Personal Information to business partners for their use. Making Personal Information (such as online identifiers or browsing activity) available to these companies is considered a “sale” under the CCPA.
How to Exercise Your Rights
If you are a California resident to whom the CCPA applies, you may contact us to exercise your rights:
To request or delete data contact us at info@vertical passage.com
Once we receive your request, we will review it, determine whether we can verify your identity, and process the request accordingly. We may need to collect information from you to verify your identity, such as your email address, government-issued ID, or date of birth. You may make a verifiable consumer request to access your personal information twice per twelve (12) month period. We aim to fulfill all verified requests within 45 days pursuant to the CCPA. If necessary, extensions for an additional 45 days will be accompanied by an explanation for the delay.
You may designate, in writing or through a power of attorney document, an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights. Before accepting such a request from an agent, we will require that the agent provide proof that you have authorized them to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us.
8. Privacy Policy addendum for Virginia residents
Under the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (“VCDPA”), Virginia residents are afforded certain rights regarding the data we have collected about them. This notice describes how we collect, use, and share your Personal Data in our capacity as a “Controller” under the VCDPA and the rights that you have with respect to your Personal Data, including sensitive personal data. For purposes of this section, “Personal Data” and “sensitive data” have the meanings given in the VCDPA and do not include information excluded from the VCDPA’s scope. In general, personal data is information reasonably linkable to an identifiable person.
The chart found in Section 1.2 of the Privacy Policy describes the categories of Personal Data that we collect about you. However, the type of Personal Data collected will depend upon how you interact with our Sites and the information you voluntarily provide us. Accordingly, we may not collect all of the information listed in the chart from you. In addition, we may collect and/or use additional types of information after providing notice to you and obtaining your consent to the extent the VCDPA requires such notice and consent.
Your rights under VCDPA
Right to Access Information/Correct Inaccurate Personal Data. You have the right to request access to Personal Data collected about you and information regarding the purposes for which we collect it, and the third parties and service providers with whom we share it. Additionally, you have the right to correct inaccurate or incomplete Personal Data. You may submit such a request as described below.
Right to Deletion of Personal Data. You have the right to request in certain circumstances that we delete any Personal Data that we have collected directly from you. You may submit such a request as described below. We may have a reason under the law why we do not have to comply with your request, or why we may comply in a more limited way than you anticipated. If we do, we will explain that to you in our response.
Right to Opt-Out of Sale of Personal Data to Third Parties. You have the right to opt out of any sale of your Personal Data by VP to third parties. We do not sell Personal Data to third parties for their own direct marketing purposes.
Right to Portability. You have the right to request a copy of the Personal Data that you previously provided to us as a Controller in a portable format. Our collection, use, disclosure, and sale of Personal Data are described in our Privacy Policy.
Right to Opt-Out of Targeted Advertising. You have the right to opt-out of Targeted Advertising based on your Personal Data obtained from your activities over time and across websites or applications.
Right to Opt-Out of Profiling. You have the right to opt-out of having your Personal Data processed for the purpose of profiling in the furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning you.
Right to Appeal. If we decline to take action on any request that you submit in connection with the rights described in the above sections, you may ask that we reconsider our response by sending an email to info@verticalpassage.com that you receive the decision. You must ask us to reconsider our decision within 45 days after we send you our decision.
How to Exercise Your Rights
If you are a Virginia resident to whom the VCDPA applies, you may contact us to exercise your rights:
To request or delete data contact us at info@vertical passage.com
Once we receive your request, we will review it, determine whether we can verify your identity, and process the request accordingly. We may need to collect information from you to verify your identity, such as your email address, government-issued ID, or date of birth. We aim to fulfill all verified requests within 45 days pursuant to the VCDPA. If necessary, extensions for an additional 45 days will be accompanied by an explanation for the delay. You may designate, in writing or through a power of attorney, an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights. Before accepting such a request from an agent, we will require that the agent provide proof that you have authorized them to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us.
9. Third-Party Links
To provide you with increased value, we may include third-party links on our site. These linked 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 linked sites (including if a specific link does not work).
10. Marketing
We may collect and use your personal information for undertaking marketing by email, telephone, and/or mail.
We may send you certain marketing communications (including electronic marketing communications to existing customers) if it is in our legitimate interests to do so for marketing purposes.
We will always obtain your consent to direct marketing communications where we are required to do so by law and if we intend to disclose your personal information to any third party for such marketing.
To opt-out of your e-mail subscriptions, please let us know by clicking on the “unsubscribe from this list” link in the footer of our newsletter emails. Please note that due to email production schedules, you may receive any emails already in production.
11. Changes to our policy
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page. Policy changes will apply only to information collected after the date of the change. This policy was last modified on July 27, 2023.
12. How to Contact Us
We welcome your questions, comments, and concerns about privacy. If you have any queries or complaints about our collection, use, or storage of your personal information, or if you wish to exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal information, please contact us. We will investigate and attempt to resolve any such complaint or dispute regarding the use or disclosure of your personal information.
13. Online Policy Only
This online privacy policy applies only to information collected through our website and not to information collected offline.
14. Terms of Use
Please also visit our Terms of Use section establishing the terms of use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing the use of our website.