PLS Inc. (d/b/a Pearl National Home Certification, Inc.), a Delaware corporation (referred to in this Pearl Privacy Policy as “Pearl”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your privacy, and we are committed to protecting it through compliance with this Pearl Privacy Policy (this “Privacy Policy”). This Privacy Policy is part of the Pearl Terms of Use Agreement.
Introduction. This Privacy Policy describes the types of information we may collect through your use of the Pearl System and our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and sharing that information. This Privacy Policy applies to all information that we collect through the Pearl Websites, the Pearl Apps, and the Pearl System. The Pearl System does not include products or services offered or provided by contractors, inspectors, real estate agents, or other third parties. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information that other users of the Pearl System collect about you through your use of the Pearl System (such as information that is shared when a Pearl Partner Connection (defined below) exists between your Home Record and Pearl Network Partners). This Privacy Policy does not apply to information that you provide to third parties or that we may collect from you or about you in other ways, including through e-mails you may send to us or through third parties.
Updates to Privacy Policy. As technology changes and as our business grows and develops, we may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes to this Privacy Policy will be made and will become effective as described in the Terms of Use.
Children Under Age 13. We are committed to protecting the privacy of children under the age of thirteen (13) years (each a “Child” and collectively, “Children”). Access to and use of the Pearl Websites, the Pearl Apps, and the Pearl System by Children is prohibited by the Terms of Use. The Pearl System is not designed for or marketed to Children, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information (as defined below) from Children. If we learn we have collected or received Personal Information from a Child, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a Child, please contact us at: [email protected].
Definitions. As used in this Privacy Policy:
“Personal Information” means personally-identifiable information (information relating to an individual that can be used to identify, locate, or contact that individual, alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information), such as: name, home or physical address, e-mail address, phone number, or personal characteristics (such as photos), and any Sensitive Information (as defined below), or any other information about an individual that we collect through the Pearl System and maintain in personally identifiable form in combination with other personally-identifiable information. However, the address of a home and other Home Data does not constitute Personal Information unless it is combined with an individual’s name, phone number, e-mail address, or other identifying information about such individual.
“Sensitive Information” means Social Security numbers, passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers, credit or debit card numbers, insurance policy numbers, login or authentication credentials (such as passwords) (“Login Credentials”), or other similar information.
“Non-Personal Information” means information or content other than Personal Information, including, for example: (a) Home Data, (b) aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information about our users, and (c) other information that does not identify any individual.
“Pearl Partner Connection” means information shared between a homeowner and service providers, including, but not limited to, home contractors and real estate agents. This Pearl Partner Connection enables the transfer and update of information pertinent to home records by multiple interested parties. The Pearl Partner Connection for any home record will always be at the ultimate control of the homeowner who may establish or terminate such connections at will.
Types of Information Collected.
Visitor Information. We may automatically collect information about you when you use the Pearl Websites, the Pearl Apps, and the Pearl System, such as the materials you access, the amount of data transferred, the links you follow, the amount of time you spend interacting with content, and other information about your interactions with the Pearl System, as well as certain standard information that your browser sends to every website that you visit, including your Internet Protocol (IP) address, operating environment (such as browser type and version, browser plugins installed, operating system version, regional and language settings, screen size and/or resolution, window size, and page size), access dates and times, and referring websites. We may also collect diagnostic information, including without limitation device hardware and operating system information, device state information, unique device identifiers, information relating to how the Pearl Websites and the Pearl Apps function on the devices you use to access the Pearl System. We may share such diagnostic information and other Non-Personal Information with our service providers to diagnose and improve the Pearl System. The Pearl System may use cookies, web beacons, and other technologies for a variety of purposes, such as saving and retrieving information about you, your visit, and assisting in displaying relevant promotions and advertising to you. We may use such technologies to share Non-Personal Information with third parties or to retrieve Non-Personal Information from third parties. [At this time, the Pearl System does not respond to “Do Not Track” signals sent to us by your browser.]
Online Analytical Tools. We may, from time to time, use online data analytics tools to collect information about your use of the Pearl System, which help us track page content and click/touch, movement, scroll, and keystroke activity about your use of the Pearl Websites and Pearl Apps, and provide content that is relevant to you and optimized for the devices that you use (such as smartphones and tablets.) These tools may include “Google Analytics” (including Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting features) and Inspectlet. We respect and value your privacy, and we never combine the information collected through the use of these tools with Personal Information. We use the information we receive from these tools only to improve the Pearl System and our content and marketing.
Google’s use and sharing of information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use (http://www.google.com/analytics/tos.html) and the Google Privacy Policy (http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html). You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads using Google’s Ad Settings (https://www.google.com/settings/ads) tool. As an added privacy measure, you can use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/).
You can opt out of Mouseflow at https://mouseflow.com/opt-out/. (Opting out of Mouseflow is done on a per-device and per-browser basis, and if you change browsers or devices or delete your cookies, you will need to opt-out again.)
You can opt-out of Inspectlet at https://www.inspectlet.com/optout. Like for Mouseflow, opting out of Inspectlet is done on a per-browser basis.
Information Provided by You or Others. In order to use the Pearl System, you must create a Pearl Account. When you create and use your Pearl Account, you and your Connected Partners may provide us with a wide variety of information, such as your User Content, your Identity and Contact Information, Payment Information, Home Data related to your home, and other types of information. We will store and use such information only in accordance with the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy.
Cookie Policy. We use cookies and other similar technologies, such as HTML5 local storage, to provide the Pearl System.
Cookies and Local Storage. Cookies are small text files placed onto your device when you visit and interact with the Pearl System. Local storage is a technology that allows a website or application to store information locally on your device. These technologies enable us to provide and enhance your experience using the Pearl System.
How We Uses Cookies and Local Storage. We use these technologies to provide the Pearl System to you and to analyze and improve the Pearl System and the Pearl Products and Services. Our uses generally fall into one of the following categories:
Essential Processes and Security: To enable essential functions of the Pearl System, such as to facilitate logging you in to the Pearl System, processing and facilitating your Orders, protecting your security, and helping us fight spam, abuse, and violations of our Terms and Conditions.
Preferences: To remember information about your browser and your preferences.
Performance, Analytics, and Research: To help us understand and measure how you use the Pearl System and to improve the Pearl Products and Services.
Advertising: To help us deliver ads, measure their performance, and make them more relevant to you.
Blocking and Removing Cookies. We are committed to protecting your privacy, as described in this Privacy Policy. Most browsers allow you to modify your settings to accept or deny all cookies or to request your permission each time a website attempts to place a cookie on your device, and most browsers allow you to delete cookies that have already been placed on your device. However, the Pearl System will not function properly if you prevent it from placing cookies on your device.
Use of Non-Personal Information. We may use Non-Personal Information (including, for example, aggregated information about our users or information that does not identify any individual) for any purposes whatsoever (including without limitation, advertising, marketing, enhancing, designing, or developing products and/or services, and research), and we may share Non-Personal Information with others, including our partners, affiliates, and our service providers.
Use of Personal Information. We will only store and use your Personal Information as is reasonably necessary or appropriate in connection with your use of the Pearl System, including: (a) to contact you in connection with your use of the Pearl System, including to respond to your inquiries; (b) for authentication and identification purposes; (c) to enable us to provide the Pearl Products and Services; (d) to process your Orders and to provide you with notices about your Pearl Account and your Orders; (e) to fulfill any other purpose for which such information is provided to us by you or your Connected Partners; (f) in any other way we may describe when you provide the information; (g) to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights; (h) to provide you with relevant advertising and promotions as detailed below; (i) to ensure your compliance with the Terms of Use and/or to investigate any potential breach of the Terms of Use; and (j) to protect our networks, data, software, or business interests. You understand and agree that we may transfer, process, maintain, and store your Personal Information, your Account Information, and other information in any country (or in multiple countries), including countries other than your country of residence or the country or countries where you use the Pearl Products and Services.
We are committed to protecting your privacy and we will not sell or lease your Personal Information to any third party, and we will not knowingly disclose your Personal Information to a third party if we know or have reason to believe that the third party will use your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes. We may use the information we have collected from you to enable us to display advertisements to our advertisers’ target audiences. Even though we do not disclose your Personal Information for these purposes without your consent, if you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement, the advertiser may assume that you meet its target criteria.
In addition to using and disclosing your Personal Information in the manner described above and elsewhere in Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use (including as described in the Terms of Use in connection with third party claims alleging infringement of Intellectual Property Rights), we may disclose your Personal Information:
- to your Connected Partners as described in the Terms of Use;
- to any person, entity, or organization which you consent for us to disclose your Personal Information to, including without limitation through your use of certain features of the Pearl System that enable you to share your User Content or your Claimed Home Records with other Pearl Users, your Connected Partners, or other persons;
- 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 our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which Personal Information held by us about our users is among the assets transferred.
- to any person, entity, or organization in order to facilitate the provision of the Pearl System, the processing of Orders (as defined in the Terms of Use) or the processing of payments, such as providing your name, contact information, transaction details, and Payment Information to our third party payment processors (our “Payment Processors”) when you make a payment.
- to any of the Pearl Parties, our business partners, service providers, vendors, and agents who provide hosting services, technical support services, order processing services, Payment Processors, and as is necessary or appropriate in connection with the processing and fulfillment of Orders or payments, or the operation, maintenance, and support of the Pearl System;
- to comply with any legal requirements, subpoenas, discovery requests, or court orders, to defend any legal or administrative proceedings, or as we believe in good faith is necessary to comply with any laws or legal requirements;
- as we believe is necessary or appropriate in an emergency situation, including without limitation, to prevent criminal activity, personal injury, or property damage;
- to law enforcement, financial institutions, or other appropriate authorities in connection with any investigation of suspected criminal or fraudulent activity by any person or entity; and
- if we believe it is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Pearl Parties, our users, or third parties (including, without limitation, to facilitate the enforcement of our rights under the Terms of Use).
Payment Information. We may, from time to time, use one or more third party Payment Processors, including Stripe, Inc. (“Stripe”), PayPal, Inc. (“PayPal”), and / or Braintree (“Braintree”), to process payments made in connection with the Pearl System. Your Payment Information collected through the Pearl System is transmitted directly to our Payment Processors and is not stored by Pearl. You acknowledge and agree that the processing of payments is subject to the terms and privacy policies of our Payment Processors and that we are not responsible for any acts or omissions of our Payment Processors. You acknowledge and agree that payments processed using Stripe are subject to the Stripe Terms of Service (located at https://stripe.com/us/terms) and the Stripe Privacy Policy (located at https://stripe.com/us/privacy) that payments processed using PayPal are subject to the PayPal User Agreement (located at https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full) and the PayPal Privacy Policy (located at https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full). Braintree is a PayPal service and as such, Braintree payments are also subject to the PayPal Privacy Policy above.
Security. We have implemented measures designed to secure your Personal Information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure, including the use of TLS to encrypt information you send through the Pearl Websites and the Pearl Apps. The safety and security of your information also depends on you. You are responsible for safeguarding the Login Credentials associated with your Pearl Account and notifying us immediately if you suspect your Login Credentials for your Pearl Account have been compromised. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Pearl System. The information you share in public areas may be accessed by any of our users. You are strongly cautioned to never share Sensitive Information with other users through the Pearl System. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Despite our measures to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transmitted to or through the Pearl System. Any transmission of Personal Information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures of the Pearl System or of our service providers, agents, or other third parties.
Third Party Sites. The Pearl System may contain links to other websites that are operated by third parties. Once you have clicked on a link connecting you to such third party website, you will leave the Pearl System and be taken to a website that we do not control. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any Personal Information (or other information) collected on a third party site. We suggest you read the privacy policy of the third party site before providing any Personal Information on such third party site. We are not responsible for any use by any person or entity of any information that you may provide while accessing or using any websites or services provided by a third party.
Access to and Change of Personal Information. You may contact us at any time to: (a) request the removal of the Personal Information you provided to us from our databases; and (b) update your Personal Information. However, certain information associated with Orders placed through the Pearl System may be retained permanently for legal, tax, and business reasons. In addition, because certain Personal Information may be necessary to provide the Pearl Products and Services to you, you understand that the removal of that Personal Information may require us to close your Pearl Account. When your Personal Information (or other User Content) is updated or deleted, copies of such information may remain in our backups for a period of time.
Contacting Us. You may contact us with questions relating to this Privacy Policy by using the contact information listed at: pearlcertification.com/contact-us
