kReef privacy policy

last revised:  December 29, 2008

The kReef Internet services (collectively, "kReef" or "the Service") are operated by Knowledge Reef Systems Inc. and its corporate affiliates (collectively, "us", "we" or "the Company"). The kReef Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we collect and use the personal information you decide to share, and help you make informed decisions when accessing or using our web site at www.k-reef.com, affiliated web sites operated by the company, the web services provided by our web sites or the mobile version thereof (collectively referred to as the "Site).

By using the kReef services or accessing the Site, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

the information we collect

When you visit the Site, you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us and Site use information collected by us as you interact with our Site.

When you register with kReef, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address, your telephone number, your address, your gender, and any other personal or preference information that you want to share. When you enter kReef, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all visitors. In addition, we store certain information from your browser using "cookies." A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. These cookies terminate once the user closes the browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to kReef. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.

When you use kReef, you may set up your personal profile, send messages, perform searches and queries, form groups, set up events, add applications, and transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you this service and offer personalized features. In most cases, we retain it so that you can return to view prior messages you have sent or easily see your resource list. When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information.

You post User Content (as defined in the kReef Terms of Use) on the Site at your own risk. Although we allow you to set privacy options that limit access to your pages, please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your pages and information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.

Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on kReef is a violation of the Terms of Use and should be reported using the form below.

If you choose to use our invitation service to tell a colleague about kReef, we will ask you for information needed to send the invitation, such as your colleague's email address. We will automatically send that person a one-time email or instant message inviting him or her to visit the Site. The Company stores this information to send this one-time invitation, to register a connection if your invitation is accepted, and to track the success of our referral program. Your colleague may contact us using the form below to request that we remove this information from our database.

The Company may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other Users of the kReef service through the operation of the service in order to provide you with more useful information and a personalized experience.

By using kReef, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.

use of information obtained by the company

When you register with kReef, you create your own profile and privacy settings. Your profile information is displayed to people in the networks specified in your privacy settings to enable you to connect with members on kReef. We may occasionally use your name and email address to send you notifications regarding new services offered by the Company that we think you may find valuable.

Profile information is used by the Company primarily to be presented back to and edited by you when you access the service and to be presented to others permitted to view that information by your privacy settings. In some cases, where your privacy settings permit it, other kReef Users may be able to supplement your profile.

Profile information you submit to kReef will be available to Users of kReef who belong to at least one of the networks you allow to access the information through your privacy settings. Your name will be available in search results across the kReef network and those limited pieces of information may be made available to third party search engines. This is primarily so your colleagues can find you and send a request. People who see your name in searches, however, will not be able to access your profile information unless they have a relationship to you (e.g. member of your networks, etc.) that allows such access based on your privacy settings.

The Company may send you service-related announcements from time to time through the general operation of the service. Generally, you may opt out of such emails from your personal account profile page, though the Company reserves the right to send you important notices about your account even if you opt out of all voluntary email notifications.

The Company may use information in your profile without identifying you as an individual to third parties. We do this for purposes such as aggregating how many people in kReef are associated with a resource to improve the resources that are recommended to you. This also includes recommending advertising and displaying promotional resources so that we can provide you the kReef service.

We may use information about you that we collect from other sources, including but not limited to newspapers and Internet sources such as blogs, instant messaging services, kReef Platform developers and other users of kReef, to supplement your profile.

sharing your personal information with third parties

kReef is about sharing information with others while providing you with privacy settings that allow you to restrict other users from accessing your personal information. We allow you to choose the information you provide to members and networks through kReef. Our network architecture and your privacy settings allow you to make informed choices about who has access to your personal information. We do not provide contact information to third party marketers without your permission. We share your information with third parties only in limited circumstances where we believe such sharing is: 1) reasonably necessary to offer the service, 2) legally required or, 3) permitted by you. For example:

• Unlike most sites on the web, kReef restricts access to site information by third party search engine "crawlers" (e.g. Google, Yahoo, or MSN).
• We may provide information to service providers to help us bring you the services we offer. Specifically, we may use third parties to facilitate our business, such as to host the service at a co-location facility for servers, to send out email updates about kReef, to remove repetitive information from our user lists, to process payments for products or services, to offer an online job application process, or to provide search results or links (including sponsored links). In connection with these offerings and business operations, our service providers may have access to your personal information for use for a limited time in connection with these business activities. Where we utilize third parties for the processing of any personal information, we implement reasonable contractual and technical protections limiting the use of that information to the Company-specified purposes.
• We will occasionally provide demonstration accounts that allow non-users a glimpse into kReef world. Such accounts have only limited capabilities and passwords are changed regularly to limit possible misuse.
• We may be required to disclose user information pursuant to lawful requests, such as subpoenas or court orders, or in compliance with applicable laws. We do not reveal information until we have a good faith belief that an information request by law enforcement or private litigants meets applicable legal standards. Additionally, we may share account or other information when we believe it is necessary to comply with law, to protect our interests or property, to prevent fraud or other illegal activity perpetrated through the kReef service or using the kReef name, or to prevent imminent bodily harm. This may include sharing information with other companies, lawyers, agents or government agencies.
• We let you choose to share personal information with marketers or electronic commerce providers through sponsored groups or other on-site offers.
• We may offer stores or provide services jointly with other companies on kReef. You can tell when another company is involved in any store or service provided on kReef, and we may share customer information with that company in connection with your use of that store or service.
• Like many other web sites that interact with third party sites, we may receive some information even if you are logged out from kReef, or that pertains to non-kReef users, from those sites in conjunction with the technical operation of the system. In cases where the Company receives information on users that are not logged in, or on non-KReef users, we do not attempt to associate it with individual kReef accounts and will discard it.
• If the ownership of all or substantially all of the the Company business, or individual business units owned by the Company, were to change, your user information may be transferred to the new owner so the service can continue operations. In any such transfer of information, your user information would remain subject to the promises made in any pre-existing Privacy Policy.

When you use kReef, certain information you post or share with third parties (e.g., a member or someone in your network), such as personal information, comments, messages, photos, videos or other information, may be shared with other users in accordance with the privacy settings you select. All such sharing of information is done at your own risk. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, messages, photos, videos or other items, this information may become publicly available.

links

kReef may contain links to other web sites. We are, of course, not responsible for the privacy practices of other web sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by the Company.

third party advertising

The Company may choose to allow advertisements to appear on kReef that are sometimes delivered (or "served") directly to users by third party advertisers using advertising networks. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. These third party advertisers may also download cookies to your computer, or use other technologies such as JavaScript and "web beacons" (also known as "1x1 gifs") to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. Doing this allows the advertising network to recognize your computer each time they send you an advertisement in order to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. In this way, they may compile information about where individuals using your computer or browser saw their advertisements and determine which advertisements are clicked. The Company does not have access to or control of the cookies that may be placed by the third party advertisers. Third party advertisers have no access to your personal information stored on kReef unless you choose to share it with them.

This privacy policy covers the use of cookies by the Company and does not cover the use of cookies or other tracking technologies by any of its advertisers.

changing or removing personal information

Access and control over most personal information on kReef is readily available through the profile editing tools. kReef users may modify or delete any of their profile information at any time by logging into their account. Information will be updated immediately. Individuals who wish to deactivate their kReef account may do so on their account page. Removed personal information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of the kReef community.

Where you make use of the communication features of the service to share information with other individuals on kReef, however, (e.g., sending a personal message to another kReef user) you generally cannot remove such communications.

security

The Company takes appropriate precautions to protect our users' information. Your account information is located on a secured server behind a firewall. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card number or your password), we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). Because email and instant messaging are not recognized as secure communications, we request that you not send private information to us by email or instant messaging services. If you have any questions about the security of the Site, please contact us using the form below.

terms of use, notices and revisions

Your use of kReef, and any disputes arising from it, is subject to this Privacy Policy as well as our Terms of Use and all of its dispute resolution provisions including arbitration, limitation on damages and choice of law. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use at any time. Non-material changes and clarifications will take effect immediately, and material changes will take effect within thirty (30) days of their posting on this site. If we make changes, we will post them and will indicate at the top of this page the policy's new effective date. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or through notice on our home page. We encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current privacy policy. Unless stated otherwise, our current privacy policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account.

contact us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please let us know by using our contact form. You may also reach us by mail at 301 N. Guadalupe Street, Suite 200, Santa Fe, NM, 87501.