Privacy Policy

Our Privacy Policy under the Privacy Act 1993 follows:

At Hootie Limited, we take the privacy of your information seriously. We take a number of steps to ensure that the information you provide us while using our site is kept confidential, including steps to ensure that such information is not disclosed to any third parties, other than those agents appointed by us from time to time.

You are not compelled to provide the information requested however this may prevent you from using some of the premium features available through our website. The provision of your personal information assists us to ensure that all site users are genuine and avoid fake registrations.

Notwithstanding this, by using our site, you must be aware that third parties such as advertisers may separately request or gain access to your personal information. Under no circumstances will Hootie Limited be responsible or liable for such access or use of your personal information.

Website Security

Our servers are monitored by secure firewalls however it is impossible to guarantee fully secured data transmission on the Internet due to the presence of unethical practices like hacking. Due to the Internet being prone to hacking attempts and our website being no exception, we do not guarantee the security of the data you wish to send to or receive from our website.

Our team of web developers is always on the job to prevent such incidents from happening and our website undergoes regular quality checks to eliminate the presence of spyware or malware in our web pages. You should do your part by being aware of the risks of clicking on unknown links and avoiding them when unsure of their authenticity. Feel free to notify us if you witness any suspicious activity by other participants as it helps us to track these culprits faster and take effective action.

As noted above, although all reasonable steps will be taken to protect the information you voluntarily provide while using this site, we will not be held responsible for the actions of any third parties whatsoever.

What information do we collect?

When you first register on our website, we will ask you for specific contact information which may be your first and last names, your email address, your telephone number or your address. Information is also updated when customers and readers visit our website on a daily basis. Such additional information may include:

• Additional personal information which may be extracted through the voluntary registration form or any transactions or purchases you complete through our website;
• Aggregated data, which tracks data traffic to our website and and provides us with demographic information regarding the people who visit our sites;.
• Cookies which are those small pieces of information which are transferred to your hard drive for record-keeping, and help us personalize the website for the customers and our readers.

The personal information collected will be held by us or on your behalf and by any other agent as we may appoint from time to time. Under no circumstances will we disclose your personal information to any of our Readers, nor will we disclose the personal information of our Readers to our customers (unless otherwise compelled to do so by law).

Why do we collect information from you?

We collect your personal information for a number of reasons including ensuring we keep complete and updated membership forms to ensure you have the best possible experience when using our site. As noted, we will use all reasonable precautions to maintain the security of your information and will not provide this to third parties without your consent, or unless compelled to do so by law. Some other reasons we may collect your personal information include:

• Collection of your personal information enables us to fine tune our website to ensure you have an enjoyable browsing experience and to ensure that we are keeping up to date with your requirements and demands. Your personal information will help give you that customized experience.
• For maintenance of our customer records and to enable us to maintain records relating to Readers you connect with, your payment history and feedback ratings.
• Where you choose to participate in any of our giveaways or sweepstakes, your personal information enables us to communicate these opportunities with you, and to contact you if you are one of our lucky prize winners.
• To enable us to send you periodic newsletters and marketing research surveys to inform you about the latest news and developments with our site, and what you can expect from us in the coming months.
• To enable us to properly and thoroughly investigate any complaints that you may have arising from your use of our site, including investigation of any misconduct of our Readers or misuse of our site, and to assist us in answering any queries you may have;

When could my personal information be disclosed to other parties?

By accepting the terms and conditions of our site and by entering your details into our registration form, you agree that Hootie Limited may disclose the following information:

• We may release your personal information if compelled to by law;
• If you win any of our giveaways or sweepstakes, we reserve the right to publish certain personal information. The information that will be published will be detailed in full in the terms and conditions for that prize draw so always refer to these before you agree to participate.
• If we decide to amalgamate or sell our business, your personal information may be disclosed to the intended purchaser. In such case, we will make sure that the information continues to be used, for reasons which are permissible under this privacy policy, by the new owners of the information.
• Aggregated data and non personal and non identifying data may be retrieved and provided to third parties to assist with the ongoing development and upgrade of our website or for other purely statistical purposes.

How do I change or request a change to my personal information?

You may amend your personal data via your user log on at any time. You may also request us to change or update your personal information from time to time (although we will require proof of identity prior to amending any information).

If you have any concerns about your personal information being available online, do feel free to contact us to discuss your concerns. In some instances, we may be able hide some of the information you have shared with us if you feel it is too sensitive.

Changes to our privacy policy

The privacy policy can be changed at any point of time under our sole discretion as we constantly try and evolve the policy with the emerging trends in privacy concern. We update the privacy policy online whenever we have a new one. A date is placed adjacent to the hyperlink highlighting ‘Privacy Policy Terms’. This has been done in order to ensure our users are fully aware of the previous privacy policy we followed and its latest updates. This document is the representation of our privacy policy as of 1st December 2013.

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