Link AKC Usage and Privacy Policy

This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) explains how your personal information is collected, used and disclosed by Smart Tracking Technologies, LLC d/b/a Link AKC and its affiliates (referred to as “Link AKC,” “us”, “we” or “our”) when you (a) visit our website, available at linkakc.com and any linkakc.com sub-domains (our “Site”) and use the LINK AKC mobile application (“LINK AKC App”) (together, the “Digital Services”), (b) purchase, activate and use your LINK AKC™ smart collar product, including the hardware product and its accessories (“Accessories”) (together, “Smart Collar”) and the cellular service required to activate and use certain key features of the Smart Collar (the “LINK AKC Service Plan”), (c) engage with us via our social media sites and platforms, including, but not limited to, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (our “Social Media Channels”), or (d) participate in our social media promotions. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we collect, use, maintain, store, protect, and share that information. References to the Smart Collar in this Privacy Policy will include your access to and use of the software of any kind (“Product Firmware”) embedded in your Smart Collar under our EULA;

THIS PRIVACY POLICY REQUIRES THE USE OF BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS TO RESOLVE ALL DISPUTES ARISING UNDER IT, RATHER THAN JURY TRIALS OR CLASS ACTIONS.

By accessing or using the Digital Services, purchasing or placing orders through the Site and the LINK AKC App, activating and using your Smart Collar including through the LINK AKC Service Plans, engaging with us via our Social Media Channels, participating in our social media promotions, or by submitting your name, e-mail address or any other information to us, you acknowledge that you have read, understand and agree to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and forms a part of our Terms of Service and Sale. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not engage with us in any of these ways.

This Usage and Privacy Policy may change from time to time (see Changes to Our Usage and Privacy Policy below). Your continued use of our Site, engagement with our Social Media Channels, or participation in our social media promotions after We make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check our Site and this Usage and Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It

We may collect several types of information from and about users through the Digital Services and Social Media Channels, and through your activation, use and operation of your Smart Collar, including the features enabled by the LINK AKC Service Plans. We may also use third-party service providers to collect information from you on our behalf. Information collected includes information:

• By which you may be personally identified, such as name, postal address, e-mail address, or telephone number ("Personal Information"); and/o
• That is about you but individually does not identify you, such as IP address, profile information, aggregate user data, and browser type ("Non-Personal Information").

Certain information may not be Personal Information when standing alone (e.g., your IP Address), but may become so when combined with other information (e.g., your name).

You may give other people access to the Smart Collar, use of the LINK AKC Service Plans and to the account that you create with us when you register for a LINK AKC Service Plan (“Link AKC Account”), such as family members or someone who walks or otherwise cares for your dog (“Friends and Family”). You are solely responsible for any of your Friends and Family’s actions or failures to act in connection with the Smart Collar or your LINK AKC Account, and all of information collection practices set forth in this Privacy Policy will also apply to all Friends and Family.

a. Information You Volunteer

We may ask you to provide certain Personal Information through the Digital Services or Social Media Channels in order for you to use certain features, create an account with us using the Digital Services, or add your name and e-mail address to our e-mail distribution list via a submission form on the Digital Services. The LINK AKC App also allows you to store in your LINK AKC Account certain content about you and your dog that may contain Personal Information. Personal Information we may ask you to provide or that you may choose to store includes:

• Your first and last name, telephone number, e-mail address, mailing address, physical address and company name;
• Any Personal Information contained in the content uploaded, saved and stored by you in your LINK AKC Account or LINK AKC App, such as your dog’s activity data, goals, Adventures and veterinary records;
• Information you provide when you enter a contest or promotion sponsored by us, when you use our interactive features, and when you report a problem with our Site;
• Records and copies of your correspondence (including e-mail addresses), if you contact us; and
• Your responses to surveys or quizzes that We might ask you to complete for research purposes.

If you purchase or place orders through our Digital Services for products and services, such as a Smart Collar or LINK AKC Service Plan, Personal Information we may ask you to provide includes:

• Your first and last name, e-mail address, billing and shipping address, credit card information and any other information necessary to complete the transaction.

b. Information Collected Automatically

We may automatically collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns, including:

• Details of your visits to our Site, including purchase history, traffic data, location and geographic data, logs, other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Site.
• Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.
• Information about your mobile and other device(s), including whether or not you access the Digital Services from more than one device, and if you have an active LINK AKC Service Plan, information about your usage of the cellular network in connection with the Smart Collar.
• Navigational data like Uniform Resource Locators ("URLs") may be used to gather information regarding the date and time of your visit and the information for which you searched and viewed.
• Cookies (or browser cookies). The technologies We use for automatic data collection or analysis include cookies. By accessing or using the Site, you agree to our use and third parties' use of cookies and other tracking technologies as described in this Usage and Privacy Policy. A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. We may use both session cookies (which expire once you close your web browser) and persistent cookies (which stay on your computer until you delete them) to provide you with a more personal and interactive experience on our Site. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your internet browser help file directions and You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. If you choose to disable cookies, please note that some parts of the Site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.
• Flash Cookies. Certain features of our Site also may use local stored objects (or Flash cookies) to collect and store information about your preferences and navigation to, from and on our Site. Flash cookies are not managed by the same browser settings as are used for browser cookies.
• Web Beacons. Pages of our Site and our e-mails may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags and single-pixel gifs) that permit Link AKC, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an e-mail and for other related statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain Site content and verifying system and server integrity).
• Third-party Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies. Some content, including advertisements, on the Site and our e-mails may be served by third parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers and application providers. These third parties may use cookies (alone or in conjunction with web beacons or other tracking technologies) to collect information about you. The information they collect may be associated with your Personal Information or they may collect information, including Personal Information, about your online activities over time and across other online services. They may use this information to provide you with interest-based (behavioral) advertising or other targeted content.

We do not control these third parties' tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly.

• We use or may use the data collected through tracking technologies to: (a) remember information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Site; (b) provide custom, personalized content and information, including targeted content and advertising; (c) identify you across multiple devices; (d) provide and monitor the effectiveness of our Digital Services and the LINK AKC Service Plans; (e) monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, usage, and demographic patterns on our Site; (f) diagnose or fix technology problems; and (g) otherwise to plan for and enhance our services.
• Social Media Features and Tools. Our Digital Services may contain links to websites operated by third parties, and may include social media features such as Facebook and Twitter buttons (such as “Like,” “Tweet” or “Pin”). When accessed by you, these third-party sites may collect information about you if you click on a link, and may automatically record information about your browsing behavior every time you visit a site that has a social media button. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the feature, not by this Privacy Policy. We do not control what information these third parties collect. Please review your privacy settings on your social media sites and think carefully before clicking on links which may take you to a third-party website. In addition, Link AKC allows you to share certain information such as your profile information, dog’s profile information, and dog’s location, ambient temperature and activity data with other users through your use of the LINK AKC App, including by enabling users you select to view certain data based on your visibility settings. You may also share an adventure you create with other users through use of our “Adventure” feature. Please regularly check your settings to ensure you are aware of what data will be shared with other users of the LINK AKC App through our social features.
• Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. To learn how you can manage your Flash cookie settings, visit the Flash player settings page on Adobe's Site (http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/sett...). Again, if you disable or refuse cookies or Flash objects, please note that some parts of the Site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.
• Analytics. We use third-party analytics services to better understand how users interact with the Site. These services provide Non-Personal Information, including but not limited to, data on how online users reached the Site, what actions they took on the Site, how long they spent on the Site, and where users went online when they left our Site. Our customer support service provider may gather analytics information from you which may consist of the feature and functions of the customer support service you use, your domain name, your username and IP address and additional information required to detail the operation of the function and the problem or issue, which may include elements of Personal Information.
• To the extent We receive any Personal Information of yours from any third-party sites or service providers, the collection and use of the Personal Information will be in accordance with the terms of this Usage and Privacy Policy.

Information Collected Through Use and Operation of Your Smart Collar

Once you activate your Smart Collar and for as long as you maintain an active LINK AKC Service Plan in good standing, your Smart Collar will automatically connect to and transmit certain data to the cellular network of our third-party wireless service carrier, currently AT&T, to enable certain features of the Smart Collar, such as location and activity level tracking. Information transmitted to the cellular network and/or collected and stored may include:

• Device Usage Information. When you access the LINK AKC App from a mobile device, we may collect unique identification numbers associated with your device or our mobile application (including, for example, a UDID, Unique ID for Advertisers (“IDFA”), Google AdID, or Windows Advertising ID), mobile carrier, device type, model and manufacturer, mobile device operating system brand and model, phone number.
• Direct Adjustments to the Smart Collar and Settings. We collect any setup information you provide and direct adjustments to the device, such as settings.
• Environmental Data. If you enable the “Temperature Alerts” feature in the LINK AKC App settings and your dog is wearing its Smart Collar, we will transmit and collect data from sensors in the Smart Collar that record data on the ambient temperature of the dog’s environment. We store this data in your LINK AKC Account and stop collecting this type of data when you change your settings to deactivate the feature.
• Location Data. If you enable the “Lost Dog” / "Track My Dog" feature in the LINK AKC App settings, we will transmit and collect location data, including GPS coordinates (e.g., latitude and longitude) or similar information regarding the location of the Smart Collar, or we may be able to approximate the Smart Collar’s location by analyzing other information, such as IP address. We store this data in your LINK AKC Account and stop collecting this type of data when you change your settings to deactivate the Lost Dog / Track My Dog feature. Please note that if you are with your dog when the dog is wearing the Smart Collar, the GPS data we collect may also indicate your location and be considered Personal Information of yours.
• Activity Data. In order for us to provide the activity level tracking features of the LINK AKC App, if your dog is wearing its Smart Collar, we will transmit and collect data on your dog’s activity levels.
• Bluetooth Data. Our Smart Collar uses Bluetooth and may broadcast an identifying signal wirelessly to connect with your Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices. The Smart Collar uses Bluetooth technology at all times to verify its proximity to the Accessory known as the “Base Unit” and to your mobile device, which allows you to operate certain features of the Smart Collar.
• Your Photos and Activities. We collect information about content you post to the LINK AKC App and Social Media Channels, including photos and videos and the maps of your Adventures with your dog that you post to the LINK AKC App and Social Media Channels, and any content you provide through in-app messages, chat, or other similar functionality that may be available ("User Content"). To share photos and video, we will access your device camera roll and camera with your permission. If you need to update your permissions, you can do so in the "Settings" area of your device. Please remember that Link AKC may, but has no obligation to, monitor, record, and store User Content in order to protect your safety or the safety of other users, to assist with regulatory or law enforcement efforts, or to protect and defend our rights and property. By using the LINK AKC App and Social Media Channels, you consent to the recording, storage and disclosure of such communications you send or receive for these purposes.
• Wi-Fi Network Information. We collect information about your use of Wi-Fi with the Smart Collar, primarily to identify the location of the Smart Collar when it is in proximity to a Wi-Fi hotspot.
• Information Collected by our Third-Party Wireless Service Carrier. Our third-party wireless service carrier may collect information related to your use of the cellular services under your LINK AKC Service Plan that is created by the cellular network, including, without limitation, the mobile identification number issued by the third-party wireless service carrier to identify you, and location information, including end user, cell site and Wi-Fi information.

How We Use Your Information

We use information that We collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:

• To present our Digital Services and Social Media Channels and their contents to you.
• To notify you about new products, programs, activities or services We offer or, in our discretion, about changes to any products, programs, activities, services or policies.
• To create a LINK AKC Account for you on our Digital Services, and with your consent, store certain billing and shipping information for future purchases.
• To process orders and purchases you make on our Site or in the LINK AKC App, to confirm your orders, process payments and deliver items to you. We do not collect or store your full credit card information. Our credit card processing service providers, Celery and Stripe, will collect and store payment card information from you when an order is placed until when it ships.
• To allow you to access customer support services and enable us to handle customer issues and requests.
• To enable certain features of your Smart Collar, such as location, temperature and activity level tracking.
• To enable you to participate in surveys, sweepstakes and other promotions, if you choose to do so.
• To send you electronic newsletters and promotional emails from Link AKC, including special offers.
• To combine your Personal Information with other information we or our service providers may obtain about you, by searching the Internet or querying third parties, in order to send you more relevant content when you consent to communications such as email newsletters.
• To notify you about changes to our Digital Services, Social Media Channels, LINK AKC Service Plans or any products or services we offer or provide through them.
• To allow you to participate in interactive features and public forums (e.g., chat features) on our Digital Services and Social Media Channels. If you create a profile, interact with others on the Digital Services in public groups and post content to public spaces, your profile information, including your name, profile photo, and other Personal Information will be available publicly to other members of the Digital Services and Social Media Channels.
• To store information about you and your preferences, allowing us to speed up, customize and improve your user experience with our Digital Services and Smart Collar.
• If you communicate with us through the “Contact Us” link or pop up chat feature to help us respond appropriately to your questions, comments or requests and store such information in order to improve your user experience with our Digital Services.
• To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it and for any other purpose with your consent.
• If you cancel your LINK AKC Account, you will retain access to, and we will continue to store, the User Content you posted and the historical data regarding your dog (e.g., activity levels) for a limited period of time. Please note that as of the date of this Privacy Policy, there is no ability for you or Link AKC to export a copy of your records, data or content stored in your LINK AKC Account from the LINK AKC App, and such information will only viewable by you when you are using the LINK AKC App under an active LINK AKC Service Plan. If you choose to store your pet’s veterinary records or other data or content in your LINK AKC Account, it is your responsibility to ensure you have accessible back-up copies of such records, data or content.

Sharing Your Information

We may share or sell Non-Personal Information (including aggregated, de-identified information) about our users with partners and the public in a variety of ways without restriction..

Do Not Track. Link AKC engages in the collection of information about a consumer's online activities over time and across third-party online services ("tracking") to the extent that such information is collected by our web analytics service, currently Google Analytics.

As of the effective date of this policy, the Google Analytics terms of service prohibit the tracking, collection or uploading any data that personally identifies an individual (such as a name, e-mail address or billing information), or other data which can be reasonably linked to such information by Google. (See //www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html) Because We do not track visitors to the Site over time and across third-party Sites outside of Google Analytics, We do not have a separate policy for responding to browser-based Do Not Track signals.

We may disclose Personal Information that we collect or you provide as described in this Usage and Privacy Policy:

• To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
• To contractors, service providers and other third parties We use to perform services on our behalf and otherwise support our business and/or the Site or Social Media Channels, including without limitation for payment processing and customer service.
• If you make an order or purchase products from our Site or LINK AKC App, we request that you provide your name, email address, billing and shipping address, credit card information and any other information necessary to complete the transaction. If you create a LINK AKC Account, your name, billing and shipping address and the last four digits of your credit card information can be stored with your consent. We do not collect or store your full credit card information. Our credit card processing service provider, Stripe, will collect and store full payment card information from you, even as a guest user, when an order is placed until when it ships. If you elect to have payment card information saved for future transactions, Stripe will store your payment information.
• To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of Link AKC’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by Link AKC about our Site, LINK AKC App, LINK AKC Service Plans and Social Media Channel users is among the assets transferred.
• To governmental agencies, law enforcement, or other companies assisting us in fraud prevention or any other governmental investigation. We may do so when: (a) permitted or required by law; (b) trying to protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud or unauthorized transactions; (c) investigating fraud which has already taken place; or (d) otherwise cooperating with a governmental investigation. The information is not provided to these companies for marketing purposes.
• To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
• To comply or to help our service providers comply, with any court order, law or legal process, including responding to any government, law enforcement or regulatory request. To the extent this provision may be construed as inconsistent with another provision of the Usage and Privacy Policy, this provision will control.
• If We believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of Link AKC, its employees, its customers or the public.
• To third parties for direct marketing purposes.
• For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
• With your consent.

Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information

Choices about How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Information you provide to us. The following mechanisms are available to provide you with the following control over your information:

• Promotional Offers from Link AKC. If you do not wish to have your e-mail address and other contact information used by Link AKC to promote our products or services, you may contact [email protected] to opt out of receiving such communications. You may also use the opt out link at the bottom of the promotional e-mail. If We have sent you a promotional e-mail, you may click on the opt out link at the bottom of the e-mail and follow the opt out directions.
• Opt Out. You may contact [email protected] to opt out of certain uses of your Personal Information, however, this may impact your ability to use certain features of the Site.
• California Residents. From time to time We may disclose certain Personal Information to third parties for direct marketing purposes. California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits users of the Site that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of such Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident, you may request (a) a list of the categories of Personal Information about you that Link AKC has disclosed to third parties for the third parties' direct marketing purposes during the calendar year preceding your request; (b) the names and addresses of such third parties; and (c) if the nature of the third parties' business cannot reasonably be determined from their names, examples of the products or services marketed, if known to Link AKC, sufficient to give you a reasonable indication of the nature of the third parties' business. To submit your request, please e-mail [email protected].

Link AKC respects the confidentiality of its customers, users and guests. We have implemented commercially reasonable measures designed to secure your Personal Information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transmitted to or through the Site, LINK AKC App or our Social Media Channels. Any transmission of Personal Information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on our Site, LINK AKC App or our Social Media Channels.

In the unfortunate event that your “personally identifiable information” (as the term or similar terms are defined by any applicable law requiring notice upon a security breach) is compromised, we may notify you in a method and manner required by law in the most expedient time reasonable under the circumstances. Delays in notification may occur while necessary measures are taken to determine the scope of the breach and restore reasonable integrity to the system(s) as well as for the legitimate needs of law enforcement if notification would impede an investigation.

The Digital Services and Social Media Channels are not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect or solicit Personal Information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to register. If you believe that we might have any personal information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at [email protected].

Our Digital Services, Social Media Channels or e-mails may contain links to other third-party sites that we do not control or maintain. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party site. If you follow a link from our Digital Services, Social Media Channels or e-mails to another site or application, that site or application’s privacy policies will govern any information that site or application collects about you. Please note when you leave any of the Digital Services, our Social Media Channels or an e-mail, and review the privacy statement at your destination before submitting any Personal Information.

If you have an active LINK AKC Service Plan, our third-party wireless service carrier, currently AT&T, will provide cellular services that allow your Smart Collar to connect and transmit data to the cellular network to enable certain features of the product. Information that our third-party wireless service carrier collects is described in Information Collected Through Use and Operation of Your Smart Collar. Please be aware that such information is owned and controlled by our third-party wireless service carrier and is not subject to this Privacy Policy.

From time to time, we may offer customers with an active LINK AKC Service Plan the use of SafetyCall’s Pet Poison Helpline®. Information you volunteer to SafetyCall, such as records of calls placed to the helpline, may include Personal Information. Please be aware that if you choose to access or use the Pet Poison Helpline® and provide information to SafetyCall, SafetyCall owns and controls the records of calls placed to the helpline and such information is not subject to this Privacy Policy.

Our Digital Services are hosted by a third-party hosting provider, Amazon Web Services, Inc. Use of your Personal Information is also subject to our hosting provider’s policies. To review this hosting provider’s policies regarding your Personal Information, please visit //aws.amazon.com... and https://aws.amazon.com/agreement/.

YOU AND LINK AKC AGREE THAT THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE FORUM AND REMEDY FOR ANY AND ALL DISPUTES AND CLAIMS RELATING IN ANY WAY TO OR ARISING OUT OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY SHALL BE FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION.

Either Link AKC or you may demand that any dispute between Link AKC and you about or involving your use of the Site, LINK AKC App, LINK AKC Service Plans or our Social Media Channels must be settled by arbitration utilizing the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) in New York, New York, USA, provided that the foregoing shall not prevent Link AKC from seeking injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NO ARBITRATION OR CLAIM UNDER THIS PRIVACY POLICY SHALL BE JOINED TO ANY OTHER ARBITRATION OR CLAIM, INCLUDING ANY ARBITRATION OR CLAIM INVOLVING ANY OTHER CURRENT OR FORMER USER OF THE SITE, LINK AKC APP, LINK AKC SERVICE PLANS OR OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS, AND NO CLASS ARBITRATION PROCEEDINGS SHALL BE PERMITTED.

Link AKC will update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “last updated” date at the top of this page. For changes to the privacy statement that we deem to be material, we will notify you by placing a prominent notice on home page of the Site. You are responsible for periodically visiting our Site and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes.

To ask questions or provide comments on this Usage and Privacy Policy and our privacy practices, please contact us at [email protected].