Privacy Policy

Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Privacy Policy

Twin Cities Lyme Foundation understands how important the privacy of personal information is to our users. This Privacy Policy will tell you what information we collect about you and about your use of Twin Cities Lyme Foundation and its services. It will explain the choices you have about how your personal information is used and how we protect that information. We urge you to read this Privacy Policy carefully.

This Privacy Policy applies to Web sites owned and operated by Twin Cities Lyme Foundation that are intended for use by consumers (non-professionals) for non-commercial personal, family or household purposes, including https://www.twincitieslyme.org, https://www.facebook.com/TwinCitiesLyme, and including the mobile optimized versions of these sites and our Mobile Device Applications or “Apps” (we refer to these sites and Apps collectively as the “Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites”).  Except where noted, statements in this Privacy Policy with respect to the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites also apply to the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Mobile Device Applications (or “Apps”) for iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

References to “Twin Cities Lyme Foundation” mean Twin Cities Lyme Foundation, including any company that Twin Cities Lyme Foundation controls (for example, a subsidiary that Twin Cities Lyme Foundation owns). Twin Cities Lyme Foundation may share information among its subsidiaries or web sites that it owns or controls, but information collected under this Privacy Policy is always protected under the terms of this Privacy Policy.

Information Collected About You

Personal Information:

If you choose to register or update an existing member profile with Twin Cities Lyme Foundation or access certain functionality (such as the Lyme Assessment and Lyme Symptom Total Score on the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites, you may be required to submit Personal Information. “Personal Information” means information that we can use to identify or contact you, such as your name, address, telephone number or email address. Some of our interactive tools and services may request you to submit health information, which would also be considered Personal Information. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Personal Information that you submit to Twin Cities Lyme Foundation. Inaccurate information will affect your experience when using the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites and tools and our ability to contact you as described in this Privacy Policy.

Registration:

Access to some Twin Cities Lyme Foundation interactive tools and services may be limited to users who have registered. Your actions in setting up an account with a user name and password will make you a “Registered User.”  Some of our tools do not retain your Personal Information, while others store your Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You may also be asked to provide authorization for uses of personal information in addition to what is in this Privacy Policy when you use certain tools, such as providing personal information to a sponsor of the tool. Twin Cities Lyme Foundation will not make any use of your personal information beyond the permitted uses in this Privacy Policy unless you provide such additional consent in connection with the specific tool at the time you submit Personal Information in order to use the tool. If you use the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation’s Lyme Assessment and other assessment tools on the website, your information will be treated like that of a registered user under this Privacy Policy.

Newsletters & Emails to You:

At registration and at various times as you use the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites, you will be given the option of providing us with Personal Information in order to receive recurring informational/promotional newsletters – such as a newsletter relating to a specific health condition – via email from Twin Cities Lyme Foundation and/or directly from third parties. From time to time Twin Cities Lyme Foundation makes subscriptions to our newsletters available on third party websites. If you sign up for one of our newsletters on a third party site the site will provide us with your Personal Information such as your email address and we may use that information as described in this Privacy Policy as though you had provided it directly to Twin Cities Lyme Foundation.

When you sign up for our email newsletters on the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites or at any time, you can choose to opt out of receiving additional promotional newsletters from Twin Cities Lyme Foundation or our Sponsors.

You can unsubscribe from a newsletter by:

Following the directions included at the bottom of the newsletter and using the “Unsubscribe” link found in the emails.  Logging in to the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites and unchecking the newsletters you no longer wish to receive under the “My Profile” section.

Market Research:

From time to time, Twin Cities Lyme Foundation may conduct online research surveys through email invitations, pop-up surveys and online focus groups. When participating in a survey, we may ask you to enter Personal Information. The Personal Information you submit in a survey may be used by Twin Cities Lyme Foundation for research and measurement purposes, as described below, including to measure the effectiveness of content, advertising or programs. When our market research surveys collect Personal Information we will not knowingly accept participants who are under the age of 13. Market research surveys conducted by or on behalf of Twin Cities Lyme Foundation will contain a link to this Privacy Policy.

Emails You Send to Twin Cities Lyme Foundation:

This Privacy Policy does not apply to information, content, business information, ideas, concepts or inventions that you send to Twin Cities Lyme Foundation by email. If you want to keep content or business information, ideas, concepts or inventions private or proprietary, do not send them in an email to Twin Cities Lyme Foundation.

With Whom Do We Share Your Information?

Except as described in this Privacy Policy or as specifically agreed to by you, Twin Cities Lyme Foundation will not disclose any Personal Information it gathers from you through the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites. We may only release Personal Information to third parties: (1) to comply with legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search warrant, subpoena or court order; (2) when we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request; or (3) in special cases, such as in response to a physical threat to you or others, to protect property or defend or assert legal rights. In addition, we may disclose Personal Information as described below. We may share Non-Personal Information that we have about you, including about your browsing activity on Twin Cities Lyme Foundation, with third party advertising service providers who may use this information, on our behalf, to help Twin Cities Lyme Foundation deliver advertising on the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites as well as on other sites on the Internet.

In the event of a corporate change in control resulting from, for example, a sale to, or merger with, another entity, or in the event of a sale of assets or a bankruptcy, Twin Cities Lyme Foundation reserves the right to transfer your Personal Information to the new party in control or the party acquiring assets. In the event of such a change, your Personal Information will continue to be treated in accordance with this Privacy Policy unless any changes to the Privacy Policy are made in accordance with the section below that discusses “Changes to This Privacy Policy.”

How Do We Secure and Retain Your Information?

We take reasonable security measures to protect the security of your Personal Information. Despite Twin Cities Lyme Foundation’s efforts to protect your Personal Information, there is always some risk that an unauthorized third party may find a way around our security systems or that transmissions of your information over the Internet may be intercepted.

The security of your Personal Information is important to us.  When you enter Personal Information (including personal health information in various tools on our website), we encrypt the transmission of that information or use SSL connections (Secure Socket Layer) technology.

We will retain your Personal Information as long as your account is active or needed to provide you services.  At any time, you can remove your Personal Information or instruct us to remove it, but you should be aware that it is not technologically possible to remove each and every record of the information you have provided to Twin Cities Lyme Foundation from our servers. Twin Cities Lyme Foundation tools that collect and store Personal Information allow you to correct, update or review information you have submitted by going back to the specific tool, logging-in and making the desired changes. We will also retain your Personal Information as necessary to comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes and enforce our agreements.

Children:

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. The Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites are not designed or intended to attract children under the age of 13. The Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites do not collect Personal Information from any person we actually know is under the age of 13. A parent or guardian, however, may use Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Health Manager to establish a personal health record and a Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Health Manager home page for a minor. The parent or guardian is solely responsible for providing supervision of the minor’s use of Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Health Manager. The parent or guardian assumes full responsibility for ensuring that the registration information is kept secure and that the information submitted is accurate. The parent or guardian also assumes full responsibility for the interpretation and use of any information or suggestions provided through Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Health Manager for the minor.

Contacting Twin Cities Lyme Foundation About Your Personal Information or Privacy:

Please send us an email by using the Contact Us link at the bottom of every page of our site if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the Personal Information we maintain about you.

You can also contact Twin Cities Lyme Foundation’s Privacy Office at:

Twin Cities Lyme Foundation

Post Office Box 268

Willernie, MN 55090

Email: info@twincitieslyme.org

Changes to This Privacy Policy:

We reserve the right to change or modify this Privacy Policy or any of our tools or services at any time and any changes will be effective upon being posted unless we advise otherwise. If we make any material changes to this policy we will notify you by email (sent to the email address specified when you register) and/or by means of a notice on this website prior to the change becoming effective. We encourage you to periodically review this website for the latest information on our privacy practices. If you do not accept the terms of this Privacy Policy, we ask that you do not register with us and that you do not use the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites. Please exit the Twin Cities Lyme Foundation Web Sites immediately if you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy.

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