This privacy statement was last updated on May 24, 2018. MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) has created this privacy statement in order to disclose our information gathering and dissemination practices for this Web site, www.ereleases.com and any associated, additional and/or successor websites (collectively the “Site”).
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba “eReleases”) abides by the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data. Upon reading this privacy statement, you will know:
1. What personally identifiable information of yours or third party personally identifiable information is collected from you through the Web site.
2. The organization collecting the information.
3. How the information is used.
4. With whom the information may be shared.
5. What choices are available to you regarding collection, use and distribution of the information.
6. The kind of security procedures that are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under MEK Enterprises LLC (dba “eReleases”)’s control.
7. How you can access and correct any inaccuracies in the information collected about you.
Questions regarding this statement should be directed to the MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) site coordinator by sending an email message to [email protected] or writing to us at the following address:
5024 Campbell Blvd., Suite D
Baltimore, MD 21236
To return to the MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) home page, please click here:
https://www.ereleases.com.
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) Privacy Statement
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) –
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) is the sole owner of the information it gathers on its site. MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) will only share your information with outside parties in ways that are described in this privacy statement or if we are required to do so by law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary in order to conform to the edicts of the law, cooperate with Partners or law enforcement agencies, or comply with a legal process served on our Web site. Demographic information collected from visitors to our website includes IP address, ISP, computer system used, browser used, and where the visitor originated (i.e., a search engine, website link, banner advertisement, etc.).
What Information is Collected and How it is Used?
* Free PR Guides *
There are over a dozen free PR guides available on this site. We collect contact information such as first and last name, email address and phone number. This information, which is stored on our third-party professional newsletter service, is used to send those who signed up a free newsletter as well as other special offers through email. No email messages are sent until the visitor has opted in by clicking on a confirmation link which has been sent via email. All email messages contain an unsubscribe link which enables the recipient to stop future emails from eReleases.
* Free Newsletter Sign Up (PR Fuel newsletter) *
We collect contact information such as first and last name, mailing address, email address, phone number, fax number, and company information such as company name and Web site URL. This information, which is stored on our third-party professional newsletter service, is used to send those who signed up the free guide as well as other special offers through email.
* Contact Us /Non Profit Qualification / White Label Reseller Program / PR Partner Program *
We use a contact form located on these pages to allow you to contact us directly with any questions or comments you may have. We read every message sent in and try to reply promptly to every one. This information is used to respond directly to your questions or comments. We may also file your comments to improve the site and program, or review and discard the information. Your personal information is only shared with third parties with your explicit permission.
* Email, Chat, and Contact Forms *
We use Google/G Suite to process all internal email and communication with our customers. Google’s privacy policy is located at https://ssl.gstatic.com/policies/privacy/pdf/20180525/853e41a3/google_privacy_policy_en.pdf.
Customers that email us, or use any of the contact forms on our websites, will have their email address, IP address, and any data provided in the contact form or body of the email stored in G Suite archives and in our help desk third-party service provider, HelpScout. The HelpScout privacy policy is located at https://www.helpscout.net/company/legal/privacy/.
We use Olark to provide live chat and live support services. Any data provided during a live chat session with one of our team members will be recorded and logged in an email that is sent to our HelpScout help desk. This includes your name, email address, and IP address. The Olark privacy policy is located at https://www.olark.com/privacy-policy.
Olark uses cookies and other methods to tailor chat sessions to the individual. For more details see the cookies section in the Olark privacy policy.
We use AnswerDash to provide quick self-service support for user questions. Some questions submitted may be published in the AnswerDash interface. The AnswerDash privacy policy is located at http://www.answerdash.com/privacy.
We keep all email and chat communication indefinitely to help us provide support and improve our services. Individuals can request copies of any previous correspondence with us at any time.
* Publishing Content (Comments, Pages, Posts, Forums) *
All of our published pages are managed by our team and hosted by Amazon Web Services – this includes website hosting, backups, web database, file storage, APIs, and log files. The Amazon Web Services privacy policy is located at https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/.
Our published pages use WordPress.org, or, for our order system at order.ereleases.com, our proprietary system. The WordPress.org privacy policy is located at https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/.
Your Profile Picture (Gravatar), Display Name, Website (URL) (if any) and Biographical Info (if any) may be visible to visitors to the website (e.g. if you leave a comment, forum post, or contribute an article/post).
If you author an article/post, your Username, User ID, Profile Picture (Gravatar), Display Name, Website (URL) (if any) and Biographical Info (if any) are provided to any visitor using the website’s REST API interface.
If you upload media (e.g. images) to the website (in forums, posts, or comments), you should avoid uploading images with EXIF GPS location data included. Visitors to the website can download and extract any location data included in images on the website.
Visitors using the website’s REST API interface can correlate uploaded media to a particular user. This may allow such visitors to map a user to a particular time and location if EXIF GPS location data was included in the uploaded media.
If you edit or publish an article/post, an additional cookie will be saved in your browser. This cookie includes no personal data and simply indicates the post ID of the article you just edited. It expires after 1 day.
When visitors leave comments on one of our sites we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.
Comments may require manual approval by one of our employees or site owners.
If you leave a comment on a site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies so we can recognize you as a commenter. These cookies will persist for one year.
Additional spam detection is provided by Automattic/Akismet. The Automattic privacy policy is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.
Published content and comments are stored indefinitely unless deletion/removal is requested by the original author.
* Pop-up offers *
We use https://unbounce.com/, a third party provider, to show certain site visitors special offers by use of pop-ups and/or custom landing pages. Their privacy policy is at https://unbounce.com/privacy/
* Analytics and Marketing Optimization *
We use Google Analytics for tracking visitors and aggregating information about the traffic to our websites. The Google Analytics privacy policy is located at https://policies.google.com/privacy/update. You can learn more about how to opt-out of tracking in Google Analytics at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.
We use Visual Website Optimizer to conduct research into site visitor behavior and to continuously experiment with variations of certain web pages on the site. The Visual Website Optimizer privacy policy is located at https://vwo.com/privacy-policy/.
* Email Marketing *
We may send you “system” or “transactional” email messages, such as password reset requests, credit expiration warnings, or payment notifications/receipts even if you have not opted-in to email marketing lists.
We use email marketing to communicate with customers and potential customers from time to time. All email lists and campaigns are “opt-in” meaning we will not send you these sorts of emails unless you indicated that you wish to receive them during signup or other interactions on our website.
All marketing emails sent by us will include an unsubscribe link in the footer of the email.
Emails sent to you may also include standard tracking, including open and click activities.
We use SendGrid for most system emails. SendGrid’s privacy policy is located at https://sendgrid.com/policies/privacy/. Authorize.net and Paypal are used as our payment processors, and the applicable service will send transactional email messages to you concerning any payments you make. The Authorize.net privacy policy is located at https://www.authorize.net/company/privacy/, and the Paypal privacy policy is at https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.
We use two third-party providers to send email marketing messages – AWeber and Constant Contact. Their privacy policies are located at https://www.aweber.com/privacy.htmand https://www.constantcontact.com/legal/privacy-statement.
* Online Advertising *
We use Google Adwords and Facebook Business to supply the following advertising activities – search marketing, display advertising, and marketing to visitors to the Site as well as similar audiences of users. The Google privacy policy is at https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en, and the Facebook policy information is at https://www.facebook.com/legal/FB_Work_Privacy and at https://www.facebook.com/policy.php
* Social Media Accounts *
We use various third-party providers to host social media accounts on our behalf, including but not limted to:
* Telephone Answering Service *
We use https://www.centratel.com/, a third party provider, to answer calls to our phone number at times when our office is not staffed. When callers leave after-hours messages, Centratel will record and relay to us, via email, the following information:
Centratel’s privacy policy is at https://www.centratel.com/privacy-statement/.
* Placing an Order *
When you place an order on our website, you provide us with information that will be made public to the media and posted to online databases and Web sites. This information includes a press contact, which may include a first and last name, telephone number, fax number, address, email address, company name, and Web site. This information will also appear on each press release. The user also provides billing information, including first and last name, company name, email address, address, fax number, credit card number, expiration date, and acceptance of “Terms of Agreement”. This billing information is considered privileged and we strive not to share it with any third party. However, we will share billing information with our newswire partner PR Newswire upon request, including proof that “Terms of Agreement” were accepted. Upon request, we may also share it with our credit card processor and participating banks. Authorize.net and Paypal are used as our payment processors. The Authorize.net privacy policy is located at https://www.authorize.net/company/privacy/, and the Paypal privacy policy is at https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full.
If a member of the media is unable to reach the press contact, we may use billing information to assist the media, especially if a reporter or journalist is under deadline.
When you create an account at https://order.ereleases.com, you will submit your telephone number, which eReleases requires for various verification and order processing activities prior to your press release distribution. eReleases may send occasional – less than eight per year – SMS messages to the phone number you provide. Your agreement with these terms establishes your consent to receive such SMS messages.
* Journalist Sign Up (to receive press releases) *
Journalists may create an account with our newswire partner at https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/registration/ in order to receive desired news. None of the data entered is stored by MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases). Our newswire partner’s privacy policy is located at https://www.prnewswire.com/privacy-policy.html.
Some MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) products are provided by MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) and a Partner. This Partner may not use your information for any purpose other than to contact you about the product or service.
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) will use any demographic data to learn more about the people and organizations that are interested in MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases)’s products and services to better target our marketing efforts. We may share aggregated demographic with outside parties to showcase the level of interest in MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases)’s products. No personal information will be shared.
Individuals, including previous customers, may also receive updates regarding the company’s products or services. If you opted-in to receive product updates or our free newsletter, MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) will use your email address and complete name to send the requested emails. To unsubscribe from these emails, see the Unsubscribe section in each email.
* Customer Satisfaction Survey
Customers’ contact information and any pertinent information, including comments, given to MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) can be used to create case studies and testimonials on the company’s products and services. MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) will use this information on the company’s website, as well as in marketing and promotional materials. Customer survey information is collected by a third party provider, Shopper Approved (https://www.shopperapproved.com/reviews/eReleases.com/), whose privacy policy appears at https://www.shopperapproved.com/privacy.php.
* Logged Files and Cookies
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site, as well as your behavior like if you completed an action or placed an order. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) uses cookies to identify which pages are being used and by whom. This helps us analyse data about webpage traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) also uses cookies from relavant third-parties (including but not limited to Google, Google Analytics, Aweber, and Commission Junction) for purposes of tracking, measuring, and analyzing visitors and customers. These purposes include, but are not limited, to: advertising, affiliate/visitor tracking, ordering processes, marketing, conversion tracking, and split-testing.
This website uses Google Analytics to help analyze how users use the site. The tool uses “cookies” to collect standard Internet log information and visitor behavior information in an anonymous form. The information generated by the cookie about your use of the website (including IP address) is transmitted to Google. This information is then used to evaluate visitors of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity.
We will never knowingly allow any third party to use the statistical analytics tool to track or to collect any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) of visitors to our site. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. Google will not link, or seek to link, an IP address with the identity of a computer user. We will not associate any data gathered from this site with any Personally Identifiable Information unless you explicitly submit identifying information via an interaction with our website or company, like completing a form, chat, etc.
Third Party Service Providers
MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) contracts with a third party to assist us in managing certain functions on our Web site, such as sending out our newsletters. MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) only provides third party service providers with the information necessary to carry out the service. Third party service providers are contractually prevented from using the information received from MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) for any purpose other than providing the intended service.
Links
The MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) Web site contains links to other Web sites. Please note that these Web sites’ privacy policies may differ from those of MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases). We encourage you to read the privacy statement of any Web site you may visit.
Your Rights Over Your Data
If you are a registered user or have left comments on our site you can request to see or download the data we have about you.
Typically for visitors that have left comments, the data will be their email address, any IP addresses assigned to them at the time of leaving the comments and the user agent strings of the browsers they used. The rest of the data is public as published by the visitors.
For registered users or paying customers, this will also include profile information and payment, press release publication, and support histories.
You can also request “to be forgotten” and we will erase any personally identifiable data we have about you. This excludes data we need for administrative or security purposes or if we are required by law to retain some of the data.
An individual who seeks access, or who seeks to correct, amend, or delete inaccurate data, should direct his/her query to https://www.ereleases.com/contact/. We will respond within a reasonable timeframe, not to exceed one week.
Choices Regarding the Use of Your Information
How to Unsubscribe from MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) Email Publications
All newsletters and press releases emailed to subscribers include unsubscribe details. Any problems should be directed to:
https://www.ereleases.com/contact/
How to Access and Update User Information
If you need to update your email address or any additional information, please contact MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) at https://www.ereleases.com/contact/
Security
Protecting your privacy and your information is a top priority at MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases). We have taken careful measures to prevent the loss, misuse, and alteration of your information. Once we receive your information that was entered into our web site, it is stored behind a firewall. All MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) employees are aware of our privacy and security policies. Your information is only accessible to those employees who need it in order to perform their jobs.
Notification of Changes
If we are going to use your personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time of collection through this Web site, we will notify you via email. You will have a choice as to whether or not we use your information in this different manner. In addition, if we make any material changes in our privacy practices that do not affect user information already collected through our site, we will post a prominent notice on our web site notifying users of the change.
Privacy Policy Compliance
If you feel that MEK Enterprises LLC (dba eReleases) has not complied with the policies outlined in this privacy statement please let us know at: https://www.ereleases.com/contact/