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Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

Introduction

Welcome to FlexGrade, LLC’s (“FlexGrade”) privacy policy.

FlexGrade respects your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy will inform you as to how we look after your personal data (including when you simply visit our website regardless of where you visit it from) and tell you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

This is the Privacy Policy (“Policy”) for the websites operated by or on behalf of FlexGrade (“we” or “us”) and hosted at pages on the following domain: www.flexgrade.io (“Site”). This Policy describes our general privacy policy and practices in relation to FlexGrade’s Site (navigating the Site, white paper downloads, event registrations, webinars, demo requests, pricing requests, or providing your personal information to us at our corporate events), including how we process personal information provided to us when you use our website, request our products or services, or otherwise contact us, such as via phone, email, mail, or chat. This policy does not cover information we process as a processor (e.g. personal information of customers).

General Information

Who is the Controller?

The controller for the Site is FlexGrade, LLC (“FlexGrade”), and its data protection officer can be reached at legal@flexgrade.io.

What “Personal Data” does FlexGrade collect?

When using the Site, we may collect and process the following information about you:

Information provided directly by you

  • Direct Identifiers and Contact Information (such as your name, company name, email address, postal address, state/province, country, and telephone number) that you provide by completing forms on the Site or social media channels we operate, including information about you if you register as a user of the Site, such as profile photographs, images or video content, information about you that you upload or submit to the Site, or information you provide to us when requesting information or material from us;

  • Information and other details of any transactions made by you through the Site including financial and billing information, account numbers, billing name and address, birth year, credit card number (“Billing Information”) provided by you when making transactions through the Site;

  • Internet Activity Information: We may collect your IP address, browser information, device information, your location, and which pages you visit on our website. When you visit our website, we automatically collect this information through “cookies” or related technologies like pixels. Information contained in communications you send to us, for example to report a problem or to submit queries, concerns or comments regarding the Site (or its content) or the services (for more information on this please visit our Cookie Policy);

  • Other additional information that you provide to us when attending our corporate webinars, meetings, conferences, or other outreach events.

Information about you collected from third parties

We may also process your personal information that we have validly obtained from third parties.

Why does FlexGrade need your Personal Data?

We will collect and use your information as described in this Policy and as permitted by applicable laws, including in circumstances where it is necessary: (i) to provide or fulfill services requested or consented to; (ii) for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into such a contract; (iii) for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are a subject; or (iv) to pursue our legitimate interests.

For example, we may collect and use your information for the following purposes:

  • To perform the services you requested or consented to. For example, if you fill out a “Contact Me” web form, we will use the information provided to contact you about your interest in the services. This data processing is necessary to provide or fulfil a service requested by or for you.

  • We also utilize social media across various channels to stay connected and engage with you. In addition, we analyze how our company page is used on social media so that we can design and optimize it in line with requirements based on the insights gained.

  • To plan and host events. For example, corporate events, host online forums and social networks in which event attendees may participate, and populate online profiles in relation to these events,

  • The data processing is necessary to provide or fulfil a service requested by or for you.

  • For marketing purposes. For example, we may use your information to further discuss your interest in the services and to send you information regarding FlexGrade and our group companies promotions, events, products, or services. We will only send you marketing communications and updates about our products, services, and events with your consent, where required by law or otherwise in our legitimate interests provided these interests do not override your right to object to such communications. As further described below, you can withdraw your consent at any time.

  • In order to keep you up-to-date/request feedback. Within an existing business relationship between you and us, we may inform you, where permitted in accordance with local laws, about its products or services (including webinars, seminars or events) which are similar or relate to such products and services you have already purchased or used from us. Furthermore, where you have attended a webinar, seminar or event of FlexGrade or purchased products or services from us, we may contact you for feedback regarding the improvement of the relevant webinar, seminar, event, product, or service. You can object to further marketing at any time by checking and updating your contact details within your account, and/or selecting the “unsubscribe” link located on the bottom of FlexGrade’s marketing emails. Additionally, you may send a request to legal@flexgrade.io. As described further below, you have the right to contact us at any time to object to the further processing of your information for the purposes of direct marketing to you, including any profiling related to such marketing.

  • For operating and improving FlexGrade’s Site and your customer experience. For example, with your consent we may collect and analyze data on your use of our website and process it for the purpose of improving our online customer experience. Data collected could include data about your device, such as unique device identifiers, information about your mobile phone or other mobile device(s), browser types, browser language, operating system, and the state or country from which you accessed the Site. Data collected could also include information related to the ways in which you interact with the Site, such as referring and exit pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks and domain names. This data allows us to understand our customers, their interaction with our website and improve our website to better serve our customers. We may use third-party analytics providers and technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting and analyzing this information. Please see our Cookie Policy for more details. Data processing for analytical, operational improvement, and/or customer benchmarking purposes is a legitimate business interest.

  • For customizing the Site with location-based information, advertising, and features. For example, with your consent, we may collect advertising cookies. As another example, if you enable location-tracking on your mobile device and it shows you are close to a FlexGrade corporate event, we may reach out to you and let you know you should visit our nearby If you access the Site through a mobile device and you do not want your device to provide us with location-tracking information, you can disable the GPS or other location-tracking functions on your device, provided your device allows you to do this. This data processing is necessary to provide or fulfil a service requested by or for you, and can be disabled by you.

  • Protection of FlexGrade and For example, we may disclose your information to:
    (i) comply with legal obligations; (ii) enforce any agreements that you entered into with us; (iii) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; (iv) respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (v) for security (e.g. fraud prevention and the prevention of unauthorized access). We may also disclose information to law enforcement agencies in emergency circumstances, where the disclosure of such information is consistent with the types of emergency disclosures permitted or required by law. This is data processing for compliance with a legal obligation.

  • Business Transfers. For example, we reserve the right to disclose and transfer all of your information, to a successor (or potential successor) company in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all, or components, of our business, or in connection with due diligence associated with any such transaction. Data processing for this purpose is a legitimate business interest.

From What Types of Third Parties does FlexGrade obtain Personal Data?

In most cases where Personal Data is needed, FlexGrade collects Personal Data directly from you. FlexGrade might also obtain personal data from third parties, if the applicable national law allows FlexGrade to do so. FlexGrade will treat this Personal Data according to this Privacy Statement, plus any additional restrictions imposed by the third party that provided FlexGrade with it or the applicable national law. These third-party sources include:

  • From third parties we work closely with (including, for example, business partners, sub- contractors in technical, payment and delivery services, advertising networks, analytics providers, and search information providers).

  • From government authorities (e.g. law enforcement authorities for investigations)

  • Other third parties, such as providers of publicly accessible sources (e.g. public websites, media, social media profiles, registers, records or databases), counterparties including their service providers (e.g. in litigation), or other companies or individuals at your direction.

How long will FlexGrade store my Personal Data?

The period for which FlexGrade retains your Personal Data depends on the purpose for which it is used. If you have an account with FlexGrade, FlexGrade will retain your data for as long as your customer account is active, unless otherwise specified. FlexGrade will only store your Personal Data for as long as reasonably necessary to accomplish FlexGrade’s legitimate business purposes, such as:

  • for the performance of services between you and FlexGrade;

  • to make the Site available to you;

  • for FlexGrade to comply with its statutory or regulatory obligations resulting from applicable export laws or other laws/regulations that oblige FlexGrade to retain personal data;

  • to allow you to participate in our corporate events;

  • to the conclusion of activities described in this Privacy Statement as being based upon legitimate business interest or until you object against such use;

  • to the conclusion of activities described in this Privacy Statement as being based upon consent or until you revoke your consent;

  • to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy

FlexGrade will also retain your Personal Data for additional periods if it is required by mandatory law to do so, or where your Personal Data is required for FlexGrade to assert or defend against legal claims. In such cases, FlexGrade will retain your Personal Data until the end of the relevant retention period or until the claims in question have been settled. In some circumstances, we may anonymize your Personal Data so that it can no longer be associated with you, in which case it is no longer Personal Data.

Who are the recipients of your Personal Data and where will it be processed? 

Your Personal Data will be passed on to the following categories of third parties to process your Personal Data:

  • Companies within the FlexGrade and its subsidiaries;

  • Third-party service providers, including those providing consulting services and additional related services;

  • Other service providers for the provision of the website or newsletter dispatch;

  • State agencies and bodies, or regulatory authorities, based on entry requirements or police activities and investigations;

  • Our agents, affiliates or contractors who assist us in providing the services we offer through our Site. The assistance provided by our agents, partners or contractors may be related to our marketing activities such as: updating marketing lists, data analytics, advertising, market research, participation in a contest or sweepstakes, and receiving and sending communications; Transactional assistance may also be provided by our agents, partners or contractors, including: processing transactions, fulfilling requests for information, billing, sales execution, and fulfilment of orders; Other support services provided may include: data storage, transfer, analysis and processing, legal services, providing IT, and in other tasks as requested, from time to time.

  • Our agents, partners and contractors will only use your information to the extent necessary to perform their functions under this Policy and are subject to contractual restrictions prohibiting them from using your information for any other purpose.

  • Professional advisors, including lawyers, bankers, auditors, and insurers.

We share your information with the above categories of third parties for the following purposes:

  • To protect FlexGrade and others: We may disclose any of your information to:(i) comply with legal process; (ii) enforce any agreements that you entered into with us; (iii) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; (iv) respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (v) the extent necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by the third party or parties to whom the data are disclosed, except where such interests are overridden by the interests for fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subjects.

  • We may also disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.

International Data Transfers

As part of FlexGrade's effort to provide a global service, FlexGrade has affiliates and third-party service providers outside of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”) or from a region with a legal restriction on international data transfers and will transfer your Personal Data to countries outside of the EEA. If these transfers are to a country for which the EU Commission has not issued an adequacy decision, FlexGrade usually uses the EU standard contractual clauses to contractually require that your Personal Data receives a level of data protection consistent with the EEA. In the absence of standard contractual clauses, we particularly rely on the following derogations: (i) you have given your explicit consent; (ii) it is necessary for the conclusion or performance of a contract with you or in your interests (iii) it is necessary for important reasons of public interest (iv) it is necessary to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims, or (v) it is necessary for the purposes of our compelling legitimate interests.

Processing Based On A Statutory Permission

Why does FlexGrade need to use my Personal Data and on what legal basis is FlexGrade using it?

Consent

In specific cases we process your personal data only if you have given your consent, Art. 6(1), (a) GDPR. The withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. For example, personalized Newsletter. If you opt-in to receive marketing communications such as newsletters from FlexGrade, FlexGrade will collect and store details of how you interact with the newsletters to help create, develop, operate, deliver and improve our newsletter communications with you. This information is aggregated and used to help FlexGrade provide more useful information and to understand what is of most interest.

Processing to fulfill contractual obligation

FlexGrade may require your Personal Data to deliver goods or services you order under a contract FlexGrade has with you, to establish a contract for goods or services between you and FlexGrade, and to send you invoices for ordered goods or services.

Additionally, FlexGrade may require your Personal Data to provide you, at your request, with access to FlexGrade events or FlexGrade materials such as whitepapers. FlexGrade processes Personal Data to fulfill contractual obligations pursuant to Article 6(1), 1(b) GDPR, or the equivalent article under other national laws, when applicable.

Processing to ensure compliance

FlexGrade and its products, technologies, and services are subject to the export laws of various countries including, without limitation, those of the European Union and its member states, and of the United States of America. You acknowledge that, pursuant to the applicable export laws, trade sanctions, and embargoes issued by these countries, FlexGrade is required to take measures to prevent entities, organizations, and parties listed on government-issued sanctioned-party lists from accessing certain products, technologies, and services through FlexGrade’s websites or other delivery channels controlled by FlexGrade. This could include (i) automated checks of any user registration data as set out herein and other information a user provides about his or her identity against applicable sanctioned-party lists; (ii) regular repetition of such checks whenever a sanctioned-party list is updated or when a user updates his or her information; (iii) blocking of access to FlexGrade’s services and systems in case of a potential match; and (iv) contacting a user to confirm his or her identity in case of a potential match. Any such use of your Personal Data is based on the permission to process Personal Data in order to comply with statutory obligations (Article 6 (1), (c) GDPR or the equivalent articles under other national laws, when applicable) and FlexGrade’s legitimate interest (Article 6 (1), (f) GDPR or the equivalent articles under other national laws, when applicable).

Processing based on FlexGrade’s legitimate interest

FlexGrade can use your Personal Data based on its legitimate interest (Article 6 (1), (f) GDPR or the equivalent articles under other national laws, when applicable) as follows:

  • Fraud and Legal Claims. If required, FlexGrade will use your Personal Data for the purposes of preventing or prosecuting criminal activities such as fraud and to assert or defend against legal claims.

  • Questionnaires and Surveys. FlexGrade could invite you to participate in questionnaires and surveys. These questionnaires and surveys will be generally designed in a way that they can be answered without any data that can be used to identify you. If you nonetheless enter such data in a questionnaire or survey, FlexGrade will use this personal data to improve its products and services.

  • Contract Performance. If you purchase or intend to purchase goods or services from FlexGrade on behalf of a corporate customer or otherwise be the nominated contact person for the business relationship between a corporate customer (a “Customer Contact”) and FlexGrade, FlexGrade will use your Personal Data for this purpose. This includes, for the avoidance of doubt, such steps which are required for establishing the relevant business relationship. In case that an existing Customer Contact informs FlexGrade that you are his replacement, FlexGrade will, from the point in time of such notification, consider you to be the relevant Customer Contact for the respective customer until you object as further set out below.

  • Creation of anonymized data sets. FlexGrade will anonymize Personal Data provided under this Privacy Statement to create anonymized data sets, which will then be used to improve its and its affiliates’ products and services.

  • Recordings for quality improvement purposes. In case of telephone calls or chat sessions, FlexGrade will record such calls (after informing you accordingly during that call and before the recording starts) or chat sessions in order to improve the quality of FlexGrade’s services.

  • To keep you up-to-date or request. Within an existing business relationship between you and FlexGrade, FlexGrade might inform you, where permitted in accordance with local laws, about its products or services (including webinars, seminars or events) which are similar or relate to such products and services you have already purchased or used from FlexGrade. Furthermore, where you have attended a webinar, seminar or event of FlexGrade or purchased products or services from FlexGrade, FlexGrade might contact you for feedback regarding the improvement of the relevant webinar, seminar, event, product or service.

  • If we rely on your consent to process your Personal Data, then you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your Personal Data conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

Cookies and Similar Tools

Information gathered by cookies or similar technologies, and any use of such information, is further described in FlexGrade’s Cookie Policy. You can exercise your cookie preferences as outlined in FlexGrade’s Cookie Statement by visiting the Cookie Preferences tool in the bottom footer of the homepage.

Children

FlexGrade does not knowingly collect the Personal Data of children under the age of 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe FlexGrade collected information about a child, please contact FlexGrade as described in this Privacy FlexGrade will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible. Given that FlexGrade is not directed to users under 16 years of age and in accordance with the disclosure requirements of the CCPA, FlexGrade does not sell the Personal Data of any minors under 16 years of age.

Consumer Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be entitled to the rights described below, subject to certain conditions and limitations. We may choose to offer these rights, even if we are not required to under applicable privacy law.

  • Right to access/know. You have the right to know and request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you (in some jurisdictions limited to the last 12 months), as well as the categories of sources from which such information is collected, the purpose for collecting such information, and the categories of third parties, or specific third parties, depending on your jurisdiction, with whom we share such information. You also have the right to know if we have sold or disclosed your personal information.

  • Right to correct. You have the right to request correction of any inaccurate information we hold about you. We may not be able to accommodate your request if we believe it would violate any law, any legal requirements, or cause the information to be incorrect. Information solely retained for data backup purposes is generally excluded.

  • Right to delete. You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.

  • Right to limit use and disclosure of or opt-in to processing of sensitive personal information. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to limit our processing and use of your sensitive personal data. You may also have the right to opt-in to the processing of your sensitive information. The categories of sensitive personal information (if any) we collect are described above.

  • Right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to opt-out of the sharing of your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising and targeted advertising.

  • Right to know and question profiling decisions. Depending on your jurisdiction, and whether your personal data is profiled in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning you, you may have the right to question the result of said profiling, the right to be informed of the reason that the profiling resulted in the decision, and, if feasible, the right to be informed of what actions you might have taken to secure a different decision and that you might take to secure a different decision in the future. You also have the right to review the personal data used in the profiling decision. We do not engage in profiling, therefore we do not offer this right.

  • Right to correct data and reevaluate decisions related to profiling decisions. Depending on your jurisdiction, if a profiling decision was based upon inaccurate personal information, taking into account the nature of the personal data and purpose of processing, you may have the right to have the data corrected and the profiling decision reevaluated based upon the corrected data. We do not engage in profiling, therefore we do not offer this right.

  • Right to portable data. You have the right to obtain personal information about you in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format that allows you to transmit the information to another entity without hindrance.

  • Right to Withdraw Consent and Object. You can withdraw your consent at any time and object to FlexGrade’s use of your Personal Data as set forth in this section by sending an email to legal@flexgrade.io. In case of objection, FlexGrade will carefully review your objection and cease further use of the relevant information, subject to FlexGrade’s compelling legitimate grounds for continued use of the information, which override your interest in objecting, or if FlexGrade requires the information for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims. Where personal data is processed for direct marketing purposes, then you have the right to object at any time.

  • Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. If you have any concerns about how we process your personal data, we encourage you to let us know so we can try to resolve your concerns. Irrespective of this, if you think we have not complied with data protection laws, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority under Art. 77 GDPR.

  • Right to non-discrimination. You have the right to not be discriminated against for exercising any of the above-listed rights.

In accordance with the disclosure requirements under the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), FlexGrade does not and will not sell your Personal Data.

FlexGrade will require a more stringent verification process for deletion requests, or for Personal Data that is considered sensitive or valuable, to minimize the harm that might be posed to you by unauthorized access or deletion of your Personal Data. If FlexGrade must request additional information from you outside of information that is already maintained by FlexGrade, FlexGrade will only use it to verify your identity so you can exercise your data protection rights, or for security and fraud-prevention purposes. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information related to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will use the personal information you provide to us when submitting a consumer request only to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.

Data solely retained for data backup purposes is principally excluded from these rights until it is restored to an active system or next accessed or used for a sale, disclosure, or commercial purpose. These rights also do not apply to pseudonymous data if the information necessary to identify the individual is kept separately and is subject to controls that prevent access to the information. Pseudonymous data is personal data that can no longer be attributed to a specific individual without the use of additional information, if the additional information is kept separately and is subject to measures to ensure that personal data is not attributed to the specific individual.

In addition to contacting FlexGrade at legal@flexgrade.io or submitting a request via our webform, you may also exercise your rights as follows. You can designate an authorized agent to submit requests to exercise your data protection rights to FlexGrade. If you are submitting a request through an authorized agent, the authorized agent must provide us with your signed written permission stating that the agent is authorized to make the request on your behalf.

Alternatively, your authorized agent may provide evidence of having power of attorney or acting as a conservator for you. We may also request that any authorized agents verify their identity and may reach out to you directly to confirm that you have provided the agent with your permission to submit the request on your behalf.

Depending on your jurisdiction, we have between 30 and 90 days to respond to your request.

There may be circumstances where we will not be able to honor your request, in which case, we will notify you. For example, if you request deletion, we may need to retain certain personal information to comply with our legal obligations or other permitted purposes. Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the right to appeal this decision or to contact your Attorney General if you have concerns about the results of the appeal.

Please note that depending on your jurisdiction, we may only be obligated to respond, free of cost, to personal information requests from the same consumer up to two times in a 12-month period. Depending on your jurisdiction, after you have exceeded the applicable number of requests, we may have the right to charge a reasonable fee for fulfilling the request. In addition, under the applicable state privacy law, and for the protection of your personal information, we may be limited in what personal information we can disclose.

Depending on your jurisdiction, we may maintain your rights requests for at least 2 years. This information will not be used for any other purpose except to review compliance processes; it will not be shared except as necessary to comply with a legal obligation.

Do Not Track Signals

We partner with third parties to display advertising on our websites or to manage our advertising on other websites. Our third-party partners use cookies, web beacons, LSOs, tags, scripts, and similar technologies to gather information about you over time and across different websites or applications to help predict your preferences and show you ads on sites across the Internet. If you wish to manage your cookie preferences directly with us, please use our Cookie Preference tool in the bottom footer of the homepage or make a request using one of the methods outlined in the Cookies Section of this policy.

We recognize your use of a universal opt-out mechanism for the purpose of targeted advertising or sale of your personal data. If there is a conflict between the opt-out request received via a universal opt-out mechanism and your existing privacy setting, we will comply with your opt-out preference and notify you of the conflict. The notification will provide you with the option to confirm either the privacy setting or participation in the program.

Third Party Content and Links

Our website may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications.

Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow third parties to collect or share data about you. We do not control third-party websites and are not responsible for their privacy statements. If you submit personal information to any third-party websites or service providers, your information is governed by their privacy policies.

When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy policy on every website you visit.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

From time to time, we may update this privacy policy. We will post any revised version of this privacy policy on our website. Any changes will be effective on the effective date stated in the revised policy. This privacy policy was last updated as of the effective date listed above. We will not use previously collected personal information for a new purpose without providing notice and/or obtaining your consent, as appropriate. We may make minor changes to this policy without providing advanced notice and/or obtaining your consent. We encourage you to periodically review this page for the latest information on our privacy practices.

Data Security

We have put in place appropriate security measures to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way, altered, or disclosed. In addition, we limit access to your personal data to those employees, agents, contractors and other third parties who have a business need to know. They will only process your personal data on our instructions, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. However, the Internet is an open system, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to defeat those measures or use your personal information for improper purposes.

We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach where we are legally required to do so.

If you communicate with us by email, you should note that the secrecy of Internet email is uncertain. By sending sensitive or confidential email messages or information which are not encrypted you accept the risk of such uncertainty and possible lack of confidentiality over the Internet.

Contact us

Have additional privacy questions or need further info?

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this Policy or FlexGrade’s privacy practices, you may contact us at ATTN: Privacy Policy, c/o FlexGrade, legal@flexgrade.io.