BIG UNIVERSE PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: June, 2010

Big Universe, Inc. (“Big Universe”, “we” or “us”) takes your privacy seriously. Please read this Privacy Policy (“policy”) to learn about the kinds of personal information we may gather during your visit to the Big Universe website, why we gather such information, how we may use it, and how you can manage your personal information.

By visiting the Big Universe website, you are accepting the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this policy, please exit this website immediately. We may modify or amend the terms of our policy from time to time in which case we will notify you by either prominently posting a notice of such changes on our website or by directly sending you a notification. Your continued use of this site after such changes have been made indicate your agreement to comply with the modified policy. Because this policy creates a binding agreement between you and us, we recommend that you bookmark this page and return to it often to ensure you are in compliance therewith.

If you have any questions about this policy or don’t see your concerns addressed here, please contact us via our online form here.

What This Privacy Policy Covers

• This policy covers how Big Universe treats personal information that Big Universe collects and uses including information related to your past use of Big Universe products and services. Personal information is information about you that is personally identifiable like your name, email address, occupation, and other information that can be used to identify, locate, or contact you.
• This policy does not apply to the practices of companies that Big Universe does not own or control, or to people that Big Universe does not employ or manage.

What Information Is Collected

• Big Universe collects personal information about you when you register with Big Universe, when you use Big Universe products or services, when you visit Big Universe pages or the pages of certain Big Universe partners, and when you enter promotions or sweepstakes.
  
• When you register with Big Universe, we ask for information such as your name, email address, occupation, reason for signing up, school/district, and phone number. When you register with Big Universe and sign up for our services, you are not anonymous to us.
  
• Big Universe automatically receives and records information on our server logs from your browser, including your IP address, Big Universe cookie information, and the page you request. For more information about cookies, see the section labeled “Cookies and Spyware” below.
• Big Universe does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of thirteen (13). Any information about a child can only be entered and managed by an educator, parent and/or guardian for account management and child's literacy progress monitoring purposes. If you are under 13 years of age, you may only visit this site with your educators, parents and/or guardians and you may not send any information about yourself to Big Universe. If you are an educator, parent or guardian that has become aware that your child has provided Big Universe with personal information, then please contact Big Universe via our online form here, and Big Universe will purge such information from its files.  If Big Universe itself becomes aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will purge such information from its files.
• For the purposes of aggregate level reporting and troubleshooting a user problem, we track when you sign in and out, books you read, quizzes you take, books you create, edit and add to your bookshelf, and publisher websites you visit.
  

How Information is Used

• General Use. Big Universe uses information for the following general purposes: to customize content you see on our website, to fulfill your requests for products and services, to improve the services offered through this website, to contact you to notify you about new products, special offers, new website features and to conduct research.
• Personal Information Display. Your first and last name are only displayed within your account management options when you are signed in. A child's first and last name can only be viewed and managed by the student's educator, parent or guardian.
• Created Books. Your created books are privately stored under your account and can only be viewed by you unless you choose to publish it to Big Universe at which point it must be reviewed and approved by the Big Universe before it can appear on the general website. A child/student can only publish created books to their educator, parent or guardian's accounts; the educator, parent or guardian can subsequently submit it to Big Universe for publishing.
• Use of Aggregate Data. Big Universe uses non-personal, aggregate data to help it determine how people use parts of its website and who its users are so it can improve its website and ensure it is as appealing as possible for its target audiences. An example of such non-personal information is the number of users who visited this website during a specific period.
• Thirty Parties. Big Universe does not rent, sell, or share personal information about you with other people or non-affiliated companies except to provide products or services you've requested, when we have your permission, or under the following circumstances:
  • Aggregate Data. Big Universe may share aggregate data with its partners and others as it deems appropriate or necessary.
  • Third-Party Agents. Big Universe occasionally has third-party agents, subsidiaries, affiliates and partners that perform function on its behalf such as sales, analytics, credit-card processing, providing customer service, fraud protection, and the like. These entities have access to the personal information of educators, parents and guardians as needed to perform their functions and are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of that personal information; a child's information in our system is NEVER shared with third-party agents.
  • Emergency Situations. Big Universe may also use or disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to applicable law or comply with legal process served on Big Universe or its website; (b) protect and defend Big Universe’s rights or property (including the website), or other users; (c) act under emergency circumstances to protect the personal safety of Big Universe’s staff, its affiliates, agents, users, or the public.

Cookies and Spyware

• Big Universe does not use or install spyware or use spyware to retrieve information from your computer.
• Like many web sites, however, Big Universe uses “cookies,” which are files stored on your computer’s hard drive by your browser. Cookies help Big Universe to identify account holders and to optimize their experience on the Big Universe website. Most browsers accept cookies automatically but allow you to disable them. Big Universe recommends that you do not disable cookies to help you take advantage of the full benefits of the Big Universe website.
• Big Universe lets other companies that show advertisements on some of our pages set and access their cookies on your computer. Other companies' use of their cookies is subject to their own privacy policies, not this one. Big Universe, therefore, recommends that you carefully review the privacy policy for each website that you visit. Advertisers or other companies do not have access to Big Universe's cookies.

Your Account Information and Preferences

• You can always edit your Big Universe Account Information to correct or update personal information that you have provided to us. You can also customize your account using our avatars and backgrounds.
• We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to the Big Universe service, such as service announcements, administrative messages and the Big Universe Newsletter, that are considered part of your Big Universe account, without offering you the opportunity to opt out of receiving them.
• You can delete your Big Universe account by contacting us via our online form here.