This Privacy Policy describes the commitment at Bluehost Inc. (“Bluehost”) to the privacy of visitors to the Bluehost website located at www.BlueHost.com and of its customers (“Subscribers”). Except as required by law or as otherwise provided herein, Bluehost will take commercially reasonable steps to ensure your right to privacy. Bluehost is committed to developing long lasting relationships that are built on trust and would never intentionally violate that trust.
- #Who We AreBluehost provides cloud-based solutions, including web-hosting, domain name and related products and services, to businesses, individuals, non-profit organizations and others. As part of the The Endurance International Group, Inc. (“Endurance”) corporate family, Bluehost is able to provide a variety and range of products and services to help Subscribers with their technological needs. To learn more about the Endurance corporate family, visit: http://www.enduranceinternational.com
- #Information We Collect
- Subscriber Information.Subscribers are asked to provide certain personal information when they sign up for Bluehost services including name, postal address, email address, telephone number, and billing information (such as a credit card number). In addition, to register a domain name, Subscribers are asked to provide this information for the registrant, administrative contact, technical contact and billing contact of the domain name (collectively, “Domain Name Registration Information”), for submission to the appropriate domain registry or registration database. Subscribers may also be asked to complete an online form that collects information about demographics, product usage and preferences, along with other information that will help us improve our products and services.
- Social Media.Bluehost’s website includes social media features (such as the Facebook “Like” button). These features may collect your IP address and which page you are visiting on our website, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets may be hosted by a third party or directly on Bluehost’s website. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the feature.
- Cookies and Tracking.Bluehost uses different types of cookies (which are electronic collections of information stored on a local computer that are used by websites to keep track of visitors and registered users and to relate one computer transaction to a later one) and other methods of uniquely tracking visitors for different purposes. For example, some cookies are “required cookies” which are necessary for Bluehost’s website to work. In addition, cookies are used to provide Bluehost’s existing Subscribers with the opportunity for continued savings and increased convenience as described in more detail below.
- Cookies for Improving Our Web Site.Bluehost uses “performance cookies” to inform Bluehost of a repeat visit. However, these cookies do not tell Bluehost who a visitor is, the visitor’s name, email address, or passwords.
- Cookies for Banner Rewards Program.To offer Bluehost Subscribers continued savings, Bluehost uses cookies to help monitor the traffic generated from Bluehost banners and logo buttons displayed on Bluehost Subscribers’ websites.
- Cookies for Subscriber Account Management.For Bluehost Subscribers, Bluehost uses “functional cookies” to store user names for added convenience. For example, the cookie would contain a piece of identifying information such as a customer ID, username, or session ID that would be used to look up the customer ID. Bluehost offers password-protected, web-based management tools as part of its webhosting packages. By storing a Subscriber’s username in a cookie, the Subscriber will not have to fill out form fields each time he or she manages the account. (The cookie does not store passwords.)
- Cookies for Advertising.Bluehost may also utilize “advertising cookies” to track referrals from internal and external affiliates, as well as advertising campaigns. Bluehost may also use a third party service provider to send emails that you have agreed to receive. Pixel tags and cookies may be used in those email messages to help Bluehost measure the effectiveness of its advertising and to enable Bluehost to provide more focused marketing communications to you.
- Customer Surveys.Bluehost may periodically conduct customer surveys. Participation in our customer surveys is voluntary. However, we encourage Subscribers to participate in these surveys because they provide Bluehost with important information that helps improve the types of services we offer and how we provide them to you. Your personal information, if provided, will remain confidential, even if the survey is conducted by a third party service provider on our behalf.
- Collection by Linked Websites.Bluehost may provide links to some third party websites as a convenience. Please exercise care when visiting linked websites. The linked websites have separate and independent privacy statements, notices and terms of use which we recommend you read carefully. When you visit or make purchases through these third party sites, you may be asked to provide personal information, such as your name, address, email address, phone number, and credit/debit card information. Please note that in such cases, you are providing information to a third party and Bluehost has no control over such third party’s use of any information you provide and, therefore, Bluehost has no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the third party that operates a linked website may collect, use, disclose, secure or otherwise treat your personal information. Except as provided herein, Bluehost will not provide any of your personal information to any third parties without your consent.
- #Use of InformationBluehost uses information it collects primarily to provide and collect payment for its cloud-based solutions and other services. Passively collected information, such as information collected from or about your device including through the placement or reading of cookies or other tracking technologies is used to provide a customized experience as you use Bluehost’s services.
- Subscriber Contact/Account Information.The information collected from Subscribers is used to manage each Subscriber’s account (such as for billing and account management purposes) and to promote other products or services that Bluehost believes may be of interest to its Subscribers. Bluehost may also generate non-identifying and aggregate profiles from information that Subscribers provide during registration (such as the total number of Subscribers in a given category, but not their names). As explained in more detail below, Bluehost may in certain instances use this aggregated and non-identifying information to promote advertisements that appear on Bluehost’s website and in connection with its services. Any such aggregated and non-identifying information that Bluehost collects, and any analysis of such information that it produces, is proprietary information of Bluehost.
- Analytics/Statistics.Bluehost uses information gathered from its website analytics (for example, User IP addresses) to help diagnose problems with Bluehost servers, and to administer and optimize Bluehost’s website. Bluehost also gathers broad demographic information from this data to help improve its website and make your browsing and purchasing experience more responsive, efficient, or enjoyable. Any statistics gathered by Bluehost are proprietary property of Bluehost.
- Responses to Email InquiriesWhen Subscribers send email inquiries to Bluehost, the return email address (and other personal information provided in the inquiry) is used to answer the email inquiry received.
- Customer Surveys.Bluehost may use the contact information provided in customer surveys to follow up on survey answers. Bluehost may also contact you to highlight the changes Bluehost makes in response to your feedback.
- #Sharing of Information
- Confidentiality.With the exception of other members of the Endurance corporate family and trusted business partners who work with or on behalf of Bluehost, and are subject to specific confidentiality agreements, Bluehost will not provide or sell to any third party your personal information and will keep all Subscriber information confidential, subject to the following:
- Service Providers.Upon registration for Bluehost services, certain Subscriber information may be transferred to trusted affiliated or unaffiliated third parties that help Bluehost provide certain services or that provide certain services on Bluehost’s behalf. For example, Subscriber information may be transferred to Bluehost’s affiliated registrar, FastDomain (WHOIS Domain Name Registration Information), or to unaffiliated third parties that help Bluehost provide email services or SSL certifications.
- Co-marketing Activities.Some services are offered or promoted in conjunction with a Bluehost partner or sponsor. For example, Bluehost may partner with other corporate affiliates of Endurance or with trusted non-affiliated partners for co-promotions of a particular product or service. Bluehost may share certain Subscriber contact information but no billing information with Bluehost’s partner or sponsor in order to provide the relevant services or to run the promotion. If Bluehost shares Subscriber information with partners and sponsors, Bluehost requires that they maintain the Subscriber information in confidence, and use the information solely for purposes of providing the services or carrying out the agreed upon promotion.
- Online Advertisements.Bluehost does not share personally identifiable information about individual users with advertisers. Bluehost may display online advertisements and share aggregated and non-identifying information about Subscribers collected through the registration process or through online surveys and promotions with certain advertisers. This aggregated and non-identifying information may be used to deliver tailored advertisements. For example, an advertiser may tell Bluehost the audience it wants to reach (e.g., males between 25 and 55 years of age) and provide Bluehost with an advertisement tailored to that audience. Based upon the aggregated and non-identifying information collected by Bluehost, Bluehost may then display the advertisement to the intended audience.
- Customer Surveys.In addition to sharing survey information with service providers confidentially as described above, Bluehost may share aggregated, non-personally identifying information obtained from customer surveys within the Endurance corporate family or with third parties.
- Law Enforcement.Bluehost will respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes, and will utilize Subscriber information as necessary to establish or exercise Bluehost’s legal rights or defend against legal claims. Additionally, Bluehost will share information to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person, violations or suspected violations of Bluehost’s Terms of Service, or as otherwise required by law.
- Domain Registration.In certain jurisdictions or pursuant to the rules of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (“ICANN”) or certain registries, Domain Name Registration Information has to be made available and accessible to the public through a “WHOIS” search. The WHOIS database is a publicly accessible database that lists the Domain Name Registration Information for a particular domain name, the name server(s) to which the domain name points, and the domain name’s creation and expiration date. The Domain Name Registration Information you provide is hosted by Bluehost or a third party service provider and is made available to the public through WHOIS searches. Bluehost may deposit your Domain Name Registration Information with a third-party escrow provider to comply with ICANN requirements. At times, Subscribers may receive solicitations that result from searches of the publicly available WHOIS database by other companies or individuals. Any such solicitations or SPAM do not come from Bluehost and Bluehost does not control the use of WHOIS information by third parties.
- Domain Privacy.When Bluehost is threatened with suit by a third party, or any other legal action is brought to Bluehost’s attention involving Bluehost based on the anonymity of a domain name, Bluehost may seek assurance from you, the customer, concerning your promise to indemnify Bluehost and written confirmation that you have contacted the complainant and made your contact information available to the complainant. Failure to promptly provide these assurances may be considered by Bluehost to be a breach of your agreement with Bluehost and may result in deactivation of your domain name and disclosure of your contact information so that any allegations of infringement or other wrongdoing may be directly resolved between you and the complainant.
- #Your Options
- Public Forums.Please remember that any information you may disclose or post in forums or other public areas of Bluehost’s website or the Internet, becomes public information. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information in these public areas. To request removal of your personal information from Bluehost community forums or testimonials, contact Bluehost at [email protected]. In some cases, Bluehost may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case Bluehost will let you know why it is unable to do so.
- Unsubscribe/Opt-out.When you become a Subscriber of Bluehost, you are automatically subscribed to receive transactional notices about your account, email newsletters and news of special promotions offered through Bluehost and/or in conjunction with Bluehost’s partners.To unsubscribe from Bluehost newsletters and promotional mailings, please update your preferences in your Bluehost control panel or contact Bluehost support. You may also unsubscribe through the links provided in promotional email messages sent by Bluehost or on Bluehost’s behalf.
- How to Access or Modify Your Information.Bluehost allows you to access, update, and correct inaccuracies in your personal information in Bluehost’s custody and control, subject to certain exceptions prescribed by law. You may request access, updating and corrections of inaccuracies in your personal information Bluehost has in its custody or control by accessing the control panel or by contacting support via email, phone or online chat. Bluehost may request certain personal information for the purposes of verifying the identity of the individual seeking access to their records.To ensure you receive the information you need to manage your account and protect your privacy, please be sure to keep your contact and billing information up to date. You can update all account-related information directly through your control panel. Alternatively, you can contact Bluehost support.
- #Children Under 13This website is not directed towards children and Bluehost does not seek to collect any personal information from children. If Bluehost becomes aware that personal information from a child under the age of 13 has been collected, Bluehost will use all reasonable efforts to delete such information from its database.
- #Data SecurityEncryption. When a Subscriber orders from Bluehost, personal data transmissions are encrypted and all of the Subscriber’s personal information is protected. Bluehost uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), the industry standard, for encrypting all personal information, including name, address and credit card numbers.
- #Revisions to this PolicyBluehost reserves the right to revise, amend, or modify this Privacy Policy at any time and in any manner. However, if Bluehost plans to materially change how it plans to use previously collected personal information, Bluehost will provide you with advance notice prior to the change becoming effective and an opportunity to opt-out of such differing uses. Bluehost encourages you to periodically review this page for the latest information on its privacy practices.
- #Contact Us Regarding This PolicyIf you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the practices described herein, you may contact:
ATTN: Bluehost Inc. Legal Department.
560 Timpanogos Pkwy
Orem, UT 84097
Fax: 801-765-1992 or E-mail: [email protected] - #Applicable to All Reseller RelationshipsIn addition to all of the terms and conditions set forth above, the following terms apply to Bluehost Reseller relationships only.
- #Information Related to Data Collected through Resellers.Bluehost may collect information under the direction of Resellers, and Bluehost has no direct relationship with the individuals whose personal data is provided, processed or obtained by Bluehost’s Resellers. Customers who seek access, or who seek to correct, amend, or delete inaccurate data should direct their query to the Reseller’s data controller. If the Reseller requests that Bluehost remove the data, Bluehost will respond to such request within thirty (30) business days.
- #Choice.If you are a customer of one of Bluehost’s Resellers and would no longer like to be contacted by such Reseller, please contact the Reseller from whom you purchased products or services.
- #Data Retention.Bluehost retains personal data it processes on behalf of Bluehost’s Resellers for as long as needed to provide services under the relationship. Bluehost will retain and use this personal information as necessary to comply with Bluehost’s legal obligations, resolve disputes, and to enforce its agreements.