Privacy Policy: Frequently Asked Questions

What information about me is collected on our Website?

Personally Identifiable Information

Personally identifiable information is information that identifies you or can be used to identify or contact you ("Personally Identifiable Information"). Such Personally Identifiable Information may include your name, address, email address and telephone number. We may request Personally Identifiable Information from you when you subscribe to our online forms or in connection with other online forms we may make available on our Website from time to time. In all of these cases, we will collect Personally Identifiable Information from you only if you voluntarily submit such information to us. Unless you give us permission to do so, we will not sell, share, license, trade or rent your Personally Identifiable Information other than as specified in this Privacy Policy.

You do not have to provide us with any Personally Identifiable Information to visit our Website. However, if you choose to withhold requested information, you may not be able to visit all sections of our Website or use all of our online forms. In addition, we may not be able to provide you with some of the other online forms dependent upon the collection of such information.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information

When you become a registered user of our Website, subscribe to one of our current online forms, or in connection with other online forms we may make available on our Website from time to time, we also may collect information that by itself cannot be used to identify or contact you, such as demographic information (like age, profession or gender) and physical information (like current weight) ("Non-Personally Identifiable Information"). Non-Personally Identifiable Information may also include user IP addresses, browser types, domain names, and other anonymous statistical data involving the use of our Website. Non-Personally Identifiable Information is used to help us understand the characteristics of people who use our Website and to improve and market our Website in general and our online forms in particular. In the event that we link any Non-Personally Identifiable Information with Personally Identifiable Information, we will treat such information as Personally Identifiable Information and only use such information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Information from Other Sources

We may also supplement the information we collect with information from other sources to assist us in evaluating and improving our Website and online forms, to determine your preferences so that we can tailor our Website and online forms to your needs.

Where and when is information collected on our website?

We may collect information (including information that is Personally Identifiable Information) from you in different manners and at different places and times on our Website, such as when you subscribe. We also may collect information from you in connection with, or through, other online forms we may make available on our Website from time to time. The following is a description of the areas and/or manner in which we primarily collect information about you.

Cookies and Action Tags

We also collect Non-Personally Identifiable Information passively using "cookies" and "action tags."

"Cookies" are small text files that are placed on your computer in order to identify (i) your Web browser and (ii) the activities of your computer on our Website.

Cookies may be used to:

• personalize your experience on our Website (e.g., to dynamically generate content on webpages specifically designed for you),
• assist you in using our online forms (e.g., to save you time by not having to reenter your name upon each visit to our Website), and
• allow us to statistically monitor how you are using our Website for purposes of improving our online offerings.

You do not have to accept cookies to use our Website, however, you may not be able to use certain products, offerings, features, or resources of our Website (including our online forms) if you do not accept cookies. Although most browsers are initially set to accept cookies, you may reset your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie or to reject cookies generally. Most browsers offer instructions on how to do so in the "Help" section of the toolbar.

"Action tags," also known as web beacons or GIF tags, are a web technology used to help track anonymous website usage information, such as how many times a specific page has been viewed. Action tags are invisible to you, and any portion of our Website. Unlike cookies, action tags are not placed on your computer.

By using cookies and action tags together, we are able to gain valuable information to improve our Website and our online forms and measure the effectiveness of our advertising and marketing campaigns. We do not disclose any of your Personally Identifiable Information to our advertising partners through the use of cookies or action tags.

Finally, please note that advertisers and other third parties may also use their own cookies or action tags when you click on their advertisement or link to their website or service, on or from our Website. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use by such third-party websites or providers of third-party advertising.

Online Forms

We collect information, some of which may be Personally Identifiable Information, that you voluntarily provide to us when you choose to use some of our online forms (available either for free or on a subscription basis). We also collect information that you provide voluntarily through responses to special online forms such as surveys, questionnaires and the like.

What does our website do with the information it collects?

In general, we use the information collected on our Website to help us understand who uses our Website and how it is used, to personalize your online experience (such as by providing you with information we think may be of interest to you), to assist you in using our online forms, to improve our Website, and for subscription purposes, if applicable.

When does our website disclose information to third parties?

Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or as specifically agreed to by you, we will not disclose any information we gather from you on our Website.

Laws and Legal Rights

We may disclose your information (including Personally Identifiable Information) if we believe in good faith that we are required to do so in order to comply with an applicable statute, regulation, rule or law, a subpoena, a search warrant, a court or regulatory order, or other valid legal process.

Outside Contractors

We may employ independent contractors, vendors and suppliers (collectively, "Outside Contractors") to provide specific services and products related to our Website, such as providing credit card processing and fraud screening, and developing applications for our Website and e-mail services. These Outside Contractors may sometimes have limited access to information collected on our Website, including your Personally Identifiable Information, in the course of providing products or services to us. Access to your Personally Identifiable Information by these contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary in order for the Outside Contractors to perform their limited function for us. We also require that these contractors (i) protect the privacy of your Personally Identifiable Information in a manner consistent with this Privacy Policy, and (ii) not use or disclose your Personally Identifiable Information for any purpose other than providing us with products or services for which we contracted.

Does this privacy policy apply when I link to other Websites?

Our Website contains links to other websites not owned or operated by Islandstrust.bc.ca or an Affiliate (for example, if you "click" on other links or government links, you will likely be taken off our Website). We will attempt to make it obvious to you when you leave our Website and enter these websites by opening a new browser or otherwise notifying you that you are leaving our Website. However, please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such websites. We encourage you to be aware when our Website links to other websites and to read the privacy policies or statements of these websites. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by our Website.

Is the information collected on our Website secure?

We want your information (including Personally Identifiable Information) to remain as secure as possible. We strive to provide secure transmission of your information from your computer to our servers through industry-standard techniques. To help ensure the integrity and privacy of the Personally Identifiable Information you provide to us via the Internet at the time you elect to become a registered user or subscribe to our online forms, we use Secured Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology in transmitting such Personally Identifiable Information over the Internet to our servers. We secure the Personally Identifiable Information you provide on servers located in controlled, secure environments, protected from unauthorized access, use, or alteration. Only employees or agents who need access to your information to perform a specific task or function are granted access to such information. In addition, all Islands Trust employees and agents must abide by this Privacy Policy and are kept up-to-date on security practices. Any employee who violates this Privacy Policy is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

Notwithstanding the above commitments to protect your information (including Personally Identifiable Information) from loss, misuse or alteration by third parties, you should be aware that there is always some risk involved in transmitting information over the Internet. There is also some risk that others could find a way to thwart our security systems. As a result, while we strive to protect your information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security and privacy of any information you transmit to us.

What choices do I have regarding the collection, disclosure and distribution of Personally Identifiable Information?

Except as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy, we will only use or disclose Personally Identifiable Information for the purposes described above or as otherwise notified at the time we request such information from you or prior to any new use of such information. You may also change your preference and "opt-out" of receiving communications by changing that option in the subscriber feature of our Website, following the directions provided in association with the communication, or by contacting us using the on-line e-mail form.

Can I update or correct my personally identifiable information?

You can always contact us in order to (1) update or correct your Personally Identifiable Information, (2) change your preferences with respect to communications and other information you receive from us, or (3) delete the Personally Identifiable Information maintained about you on our systems, by accessing subscriber features or contacting the webmaster using our on-line e-mail form.

You should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to us from our system. The need to back-up our systems to protect information from inadvertent loss means that a copy of your Personally Identifiable Information may exist in a non-erasable form that will be difficult or impossible for us to locate, and information that is kept in this format is only used for our internal record-keeping purposes and will not be disclosed to any third party unless required by law. However, we promise that promptly after receiving your request, all Personally Identifiable Information stored in databases we actively use and other readily searchable media will be updated, corrected, changed or deleted, as appropriate, as soon as reasonably practicable.

How will I know if there are any changes to this privacy policy?

If we decide to change this Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on our Website so you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under circumstances, if any, we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use Personally Identifiable Information in a manner significantly different from that stated in this Privacy Policy, or otherwise disclosed to you, at the time it was collected, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice of the changes on the Website, and you will have a choice as to whether or not we use your Personally Identifiable Information in a new manner. We may also make non-significant changes to our Privacy Policy that generally will not affect our use of your Personally Identifiable Information. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, you should not use our Website.