Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) governs the manner in which HAUS+ Company, together with its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “HAUS+”) and Third-Party Providers (as defined below) (together with HAUS+, “we”, “our”, or “us”), may collect, use, disclose, and protect your Personal Information (as defined below) gathered or provided through our websites, applications, products, services, and devices (collectively, the “Services”), and through the applications and devices of third parties. This Privacy Policy applies to any Services to which this Privacy Policy is referenced or linked.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this Privacy Policy at any time by posting such changes to this page. You should check this Privacy Policy periodically for changes. Changes are effective immediately upon posting. If you do not wish for us to process your Personal Information as provided in a revised version of this Privacy Policy, you should discontinue use of the Services. The date this Privacy Policy was last updated appears at the top of this Privacy Policy.
About Us
We respect your privacy, and are committed to informing you of how and when we collect Personal Information from you, and to safeguarding the Personal Information that you give to us or to third parties with whom we partner. Remember, your use of the Services is always subject to our Terms of Use.
About Our Third-Party Providers
HAUS+ has partnerships and business relationships with many third-party device, application, and service providers (“Third-Party Providers”). These Third-Party Providers provide HAUS+ with hardware and software that comes with or interacts with Services but that is not manufactured or owned by HAUS+ (“Products”). HAUS+, or its agent or another intermediary, may create an account for you with these Third-Party Providers so that we can provide you with fully functional Products and Services.
As a part of that account creation for you, HAUS+ may agree to the terms of service and, if required to do so, acknowledge or consent to the privacy policies of such Third-Party Providers’ Products. The latest versions of the Third-Party Providers’ terms of service and privacy policies should be available on their websites, but please contact us at info@hausplus.com if you need assistance in locating applicable terms of service or privacy policies.
You are not required to use these Third-Party Providers’ Products. If you do choose to use these Third-Party Providers’ Products, then your use may be subject to terms of service or privacy policies that HAUS+ has agreed to on your behalf when setting up the Services for you. You should review each of the applicable terms of service and privacy policies with respect to each individual Third-Party Provider Product. If you choose to reject terms of service applicable to Third-Party Provider Products, or if you do not consent to their collection and use of your personal information, some aspects and features of our Services may not be available or some functionality may be limited or unavailable.
Personal Information from Children
The Products and Services are not intended for children under the age of 13 or if you are not of a legal age to form a binding contract with us. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from these individuals. In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, any Personal Information we receive from users we believe to be under the age of 13 will be purged from our database.
How Do We Collect Information?
We collect information from you in several different ways:
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directly from you when you provide it to us;
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from third parties when you have given us permission to collect such information; and
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automatically as you use the Products and Services.
What Information Is Being Collected?
The Products and Services have the ability to collect two types of information from and about you: (1) information that you provide that may be used to personally and specifically identify or contact you (“Personal Information”); and (2) information that does not personally identify you (“Non-Personal Information”). If you are browsing our websites or using the Products or Services without registering an account or affirmatively providing Personal Information to us, you do so anonymously. Personal Information does not include information that is anonymous or aggregated. It also does not include information that cannot be associated with or cannot be used to identify a particular person.
In addition to the personal lifestyle and home preference information that you may provide, the following categories of Personal Information may be collected about you through the Products and Services, including but not limited to:
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Registration Information. When you register for a Product or Service, you may be asked for basic registration information, such as an email address, password, cell phone number, and answers to security questions.
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Identification Information. You may also be asked to provide identification information to confirm your identity, including your first and last name and phone number. Such identification information may also include certain biologic identifiers like facial features or your voice.
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Third-Party Credentials. You may also enter in certain passwords, usernames, account numbers, and other account information for third-party sites and Internet services (“Third-Party Sites”).
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Information from Third-Party Sites You Register with Us. In order to display information to you through the Products and Services and to share with parties authorized by you, we may collect, on your behalf, your account and other Personal Information from Third-Party Sites that you register under your account via the Products or Services. For example, if you register your Nest Thermostat account with us, we will access your Nest device information via our Services in order to present it to you.
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Information Provided by You. In order to provide the Products and Services to you and to share with parties and devices authorized by you, you may upload information to the Products and Services.
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Contests and Surveys. From time to time, you may be offered an opportunity to participate in a survey or promotion. We may collect or you may submit information in connection with one of these promotions.
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Technical and Navigational Information. We collect information about your interaction with our websites such as computer browser type, pages visited, average time spent on our websites, IP address, unique identifier of the device, operating system version, and app version.
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Location Information. If you choose to use a location-enabled Product or Service, we may collect location information from your device. You may control or disable the sharing of location information via your device setting.
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Other Information. We may request or receive other Personal Information, such as feedback, questions, comments, suggestions, or ideas to provide you with other benefits or to improve upon the Products or Services. In such instances, you will be given the opportunity to provide or decline that information. Non-Personal Information collected by us is exclusively owned by us and may be used by us for any lawful purpose. We may collect the following categories of Non-Personal Information through the Products and Services, including, but not limited to:
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IP addresses, GPS coordinates, or other unique identifiers that are automatically assigned to computers, mobile, or other devices used to access the Products or Services;
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the type of browsers (Internet Explorer(R), Firefox(R), Safari(R), etc.), the operating systems (Chrome(R), Windows XP(R), Mac OS(R), etc.), and the domain name Internet service providers (Charter(R), at&t(R), etc.) used;
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data concerning usage of Products and Services (for example, temperature control preferences for HAUS+ units, whether lights are turned on or off, and voice commands that do not include any Personal Information);
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websites from which our visitors arrive to our websites; and
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the search terms entered on our websites, the specific areas within our websites visited, and the time of day and duration of visits to our websites.
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How We Use the Information We Collect
We use the information collected by the Products and Services to provide you with a highly-personalized and more enjoyable home experience. Here are some examples of how we might use information collected by the Products and Services (which may include Personal Information):
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to modify the environment of the HAUS+ to match your preferences (for example, automatically adjusting the lights for you at bed-time based on data about how your home lights are typically set);
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to provide you with Products and Services and respond to any inquiries you may have about the Products and Services;
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to contact and access Third-Party Sites you have told us we can access to get information needed by the Products and Services;
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to share Personal Information with other third parties who are affiliated, transacting or working with, or otherwise providing services on behalf of one of the parties you have authorized to receive your information (for example, we may share information with an affiliate of Nest(R) Thermostat in order to provide you with more robust Nest(R) Thermostat services);
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to analyze your usage of and to improve the Products and Services;
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to alert you to software compatibility issues and to improve the design and functionality and detect and protect against errors, fraud, or other criminal activity;
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to deliver to you any administrative notices or alerts and communications relevant to your use of the Products or Services;
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to offer you other products, programs, or services that we believe may be of interest to you;
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to perform market research, project planning, product development, troubleshooting problems, analysis of user behavior, marketing, and promotions;
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to pre-fill form fields on our websites for your convenience;
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to confirm your accounts are valid and verify your identity;
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to enforce our Terms of Use and as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy; and
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in anticipation of and otherwise in connection with an investment, a merger, a sale of substantially all of our assets, or corporate reorganization under terms of security and confidentiality customary for such a transaction.
Your Personal Information Provided to and Accessed by Third-Party Providers and Their Use
When HAUS+ creates accounts with Third-Party Providers during the set up process, HAUS+ uses a generic HAUS+ email account. In the course of using Products and Services, you can provide Third-Party Providers with your Personal Information the same way you choose to provide your Personal Information to HAUS+. You are in control of how Third-Party Providers have this access; HAUS+ is not in control of how Third-Party Providers have access to your information after you elect to open, use, or access an account with a Third-Party Provider. HAUS+ does not control how Third-Party Providers use your personal information once in their possession. Your personal information in the possession of Third-Party Providers, and their use of that information, will be governed by the terms of use, privacy policies, and other applicable policies of those Third-Party Providers.
Notwithstanding anything in this Privacy Policy to the contrary, all information in possession of Third-Party Providers or any other third party, and their use of such information, will not be subject to this Privacy Policy and HAUS+ will not be responsible for such possession or use.
How We Disclose Information We Collect
(a) For the Products and Services. In addition to disclosures of your information that may occur as part of your use described above, we may disclose your Personal Information to our affiliates and other related companies, including, but not limited to, our partners, vendors, consultants, professional advisors, trusted affiliates, independent contractors, and business partners who will use the information only as necessary for them to perform or provide the Products and Services and for the specific purposes for which the information was collected. For example, if we have a co-brand partner and you access the Services as brought to you by one of those partners through a co-branded URL, your email address used for registration on the Services may be provided to that co-brand partner.
(b) As Legally Required. We may, in our sole discretion, share or disclose your Personal Information with law enforcement, government officials, or other third parties:
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to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or legal process;
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in order to investigate, prevent, defend against, or take other action regarding violations of our Terms of Use, illegal activities, suspected fraud, or situations involving potential threats to the legal rights or physical safety of any person or the security of our network or Services;
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to respond to claims that any posting or other content violates the rights of third parties;
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in an emergency, to protect the health and safety of our other customers or the general public; or
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as otherwise required or allowed by any applicable law or regulation.
(c) If We Are Bought or Sold. If HAUS+ is acquired by another company, or in the event of a merger, consolidation, change in control, transfer of substantial assets, reorganization, liquidation, or similar transaction, we may transfer, sell, or assign to third parties information concerning your relationship with us, including, without limitation, Personal Information that you provide and other information concerning your relationship with us. Such third parties will assume responsibility for the Personal Information collected by us in connection with our business operations or through our Services and this Privacy Policy will continue to apply.
How We Protect Information We Collect
We take the security of your information seriously. We use technical and administrative security measures, such as but not limited to firewalls, encryption techniques, and authentication procedures, among others, to maintain the security of your online session, the information we store and the information we share with others.
You should be aware that your information is transmitted across the Internet and that no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. You also need to take appropriate steps to protect your information. Your information may be accessed and viewed by other Internet users, without your knowledge and permission, while in transit to or from us. Please be advised that we cannot and do not ensure, represent, guarantee, or warrant the security of any information you disclose or transmit to us online and are not responsible for the theft, destruction, or inadvertent disclosure of your Personal Information.
In the unfortunate event that your Personal Information is compromised, we may notify you by email (at our sole and absolute discretion) to the last email address you have provided us in the most expedient time reasonable under the circumstances; provided, however, delays in notification may occur while we take necessary measures to determine the scope of the breach and restore reasonable integrity to the system as well as for the legitimate needs of law enforcement if notification would impede a criminal investigation. From time to time, we evaluate new technology for protecting information, and when appropriate, we upgrade our information security systems.
Third-Party Offers & Advertisements
We may advertise on our websites and through the Products and Services a number of separate products and services offered by third parties to you. These third-party offers may be complementary to your use of the Products and Services and may be personalized based on information you provide to us, we have collected about you, queries made through the Products and Services, or other information. If you choose to use these separate products and services, provide information to the third party, or allow the third party to otherwise collect information about you, their use of your information is subject to the applicable third party’s privacy policy and terms of service. You should review the practices of the third party before deciding to use their service or provide them with any information.
Third-Party Data Collection
We may use third-party service providers to help us analyze certain online activities. For example, these service providers may help us measure the performance of our online promotions or analyze our websites’ activity. We may permit these service providers to use cookies and similar technologies to perform these services. We do not share any Personal Information about you with these third-party service providers, and these service providers do not collect such information on our behalf. For example, we may use service providers such as Google Analytics(R) and Adobe’s(R) analytics services on parts of the Services to determine age, gender, interest, and other data to better serve our customers.
Blogs & Other Forums
We may offer bulletin boards, blogs, chat rooms, message boards, or similar public forums (collectively, “Forums”) where you can communicate with us or other users. Any information that you submit or post to these forums or other forums could be viewed by other viewers or may otherwise be publicly available. We strongly discourage posting of Personal Information to these forums or other forums. If you choose to post Personal Information, other viewers may use this information to send you unsolicited messages. We are not responsible for the Personal Information you choose to submit in these forums and other forums. If you would like to request the removal of your information from our Forums, please contact us using the information provided at the end of this Privacy Policy. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so.
How We Use Technology
(a) Cookies. To help operate the Products and Services, enhance your experience, and collect information about online activity, we may place small data files on your computer or another device. These data files may be in the form of cookies, pixel tags, local shared objects, or other similar technologies. Cookies and similar technologies enable us to personalize the Products and Services for you. These technologies may allow us to store and manage your preferences and settings, to measure and analyze how you use the Products and Services and the effectiveness of our communications, to offer targeted products, programs, and services, and to help us improve our products, services, and security. Most browsers provide you with the ability to block, delete, or disable these technologies. If you choose to reject cookies or similar technologies, some Products and Services may not be available or some functionality may be limited or unavailable. Please review your browser manufacturer’s help pages for assistance with changing your settings.
(b) Device IDs. When you use the mobile application or mobile versions of our Products or Services, we may collect the unique device identifier assigned to that device by phone makers, carriers, or makers of the operating system called a Device ID. Device IDs allow app developers, advertisers, and others to uniquely identify your device for purposes of storing application preferences and other data. We may use your Device ID for security purposes. For example, if you have activated a feature that limits access to a Service from a specific device, our systems will access the Device ID from each device you attempt to access the Service with to determine if the device is the specific authorized device. Additionally, we may use Device IDs to monitor suspicious activity. For example, if we detect that a single account is being accessed from multiple devices, as determined by tracking the Device IDs that access an account, we may contact you to ensure that such access has been authorized by you.
(c) Do Not Track Notices. Without an industry or legal standard for interpreting Do Not Track Signals (“DNT”) sent to us by your browser, we do not respond to DNT signals at this time. To learn more about how DNT works, please visit http://allaboutdnt.com/.
Your Information Abroad
Information we process may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States or any other country in which HAUS+ or its affiliates, subsidiaries, service providers, or partners maintain operations. By using and providing Personal Information to us through the Products or Services, you consent to the transfer, storage, and processing of your Personal Information to any such country in order to provide the Products or Services.
Your California Privacy Rights
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits users that are residents of California to request certain information regarding our disclosures of personal information (as defined by California law) to third parties for such third parties’ direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please email us at info@hausplus.com.
Opting Out
We may send periodic alerts, weekly summaries, notifications, newsletters, promotions, or other information via email. You may choose to stop receiving alerts, notifications, summaries, newsletters, and promotions by indicating your preference in your account profile or settings. You may also follow the unsubscribe instructions in any email you receive. Please note that certain Product- or Service-related messages that we send are necessary for the proper functioning and use of the Products or Services and you may not have the ability to opt-out of those messages.
Changing or Removing Your Personal Information
Whether or not you provide Personal Information is completely your own choice. You may access, review, and update much of the information you have submitted to us at any time via the Services. To the extent applicable, your Personal Information changes (such as your email address), or if you no longer want to receive non-account specific information from us, you may update and/or remove your Personal Information.
You may choose to close or request that we delete your Services account at any time. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to remove your information from our Services. For example, some information may be retained on a backup server or media, which is necessary to help ensure the continued availability of our Services. Please note that, in certain circumstances, we may not be able to completely remove your information from our systems. For example, we may retain your Personal Information for legitimate business purposes, for account recovery purposes, as retained in our data backup systems or cached or archived pages, if it may be necessary to provide access to data previously retrieved and/or made available to third parties as authorized by you, as transferred to or shared with other parties by the third parties authorized by you, and as necessary for the third party to provide their services or products to you. Additionally, we may retain Personal Information to comply with the law, prevent fraud or future abuse, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, enforce our Terms of Use, and as permitted by applicable law. All retained Personal Information will continue to be subject to the terms of this or any successor Privacy Policy.
Contact Information
If you have questions or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, our security practices, or our information handling practices please contact us at info@hausplus.com.
Effective as of January 20, 2024.