Revised December 5, 2023
The following is the Better Business Bureau online Privacy Policy, which governs how visitor information (your information) is gathered and used on Internet sites of our affiliated organizations: International Association of Better Business Bureaus, independent BBBs, and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust (collectively referred to as “BBB”). We understand that safeguarding personal information is an ongoing responsibility, and we may update this privacy notice as we adopt new privacy policies and new regulations are introduced. Please take a few minutes to read this Policy carefully.
Please note that the BBB AUTO LINE motor vehicle warranty dispute resolution program, BBB EU Privacy Shield dispute resolution program, and other self-regulatory programs administered by BBB National Programs, Inc., are governed by that organization’s separate privacy policy published on www.bbbprograms.org. BBB Wise Giving Alliance has a separate privacy policy published on www.give.org.
BBB provides its nonprofit services to businesses and consumers in North America and does not market to businesses or individuals in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom.
Except as provided in this Privacy Policy, unless BBB previously agrees in writing, all information provided to BBB, including information exchanged through electronic communication, is neither privileged nor confidential.
Your Information that BBB May Collect Online
You can affirmatively submit to BBB certain user information pertaining to your interaction with BBB. User information may include a search query such as the name and location of a business or charity or your location information so that you can search near you or in an area you specify. We also may infer your geographic location based on your IP address or other information. User information you submit may also include information pertaining to your marketplace experience with a business, such as your name, postal and e-mail addresses, phone number, and description of the complaint or customer review. You may also submit user information to attend an event or request a quote from a business.
If you report a scam through BBB Scam Tracker, you may also submit to BBB your name, state/province, postal code, email address, and, if elected, telephone number, as well as identifying information about the perpetrator of the scam.
BBB may also collect information from your business from inquiries about BBB accreditation, conference attendance, or program participation. This can include identifying information from individuals acting in their business capacity.
When you apply to be a BBB arbitrator, you may submit your name, address, other contact information, and information about your qualifications.
Some applications on BBB websites to which you may submit comments or other information are administered by third parties. These applications collect, use, and share information under third-party privacy policies.
BBB.org utilizes Google Maps API to provide consumers with the location of user-selected businesses. The user has the option to request directions to the business through Maps API. No user-submitted data is collected, maintained, or stored by BBB. Further information on Google’s privacy standards can be found at http://www.google.com/policies/privacy.
BBB may obtain personal data regarding media contacts and influencers from a variety of sources, including Cision. If you wish to know more about how such information is collected and used, please refer to Cision’s privacy notice at http://www.cision.com/us/legal/privacy-policy/.
BBB’s websites are not designed with the purpose of attracting any person under the age of 13. BBB does not knowingly collect or maintain any personal information from children under the age of 13.
Cookies and Other Persistent Identifiers
When you visit BBB websites, we may store cookies, pixels, beacons, or other identifiers (together referred to as “cookies”) on your computer or device through your web browser. BBB or third parties we contract with may use cookies to collect certain information about visitors to our site and interactions with our online and mobile sponsorship information or advertisements.
For example, we may automatically collect certain non-personal information from you, including but not limited to your browser type, device type, geographical location, operating system, unique device identifier of any of your computer(s) or device(s) that are used to access the site, software version, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, phone model, phone operating system, and the domain name from which you accessed the site. We also may collect information about your use of the site, including the date and time you visit the site, the areas or pages of the site that you visit, the amount of time you spend viewing or using the site, the number of times you return to the site, other click-stream or site usage data, emails that you open, forward or click-through to our site, advertising that you click on, and other sites that you may visit.
We may also use third-party analytics and advertising tools or allow contracted third parties to automatically collect certain personal or non-personal information from you when you interact with our site, advertising, or social media. This may include clicking stream information, browser type, time and date, and subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled over.
Uses of Cookies We may use cookies to generate certain kinds of site usage data, such as the number of hits and visits to our sites. This information helps us understand how visitors use our sites and provide better services to you, such as easier site navigation, access to forms, or track analytics and certain statistical information that enables us to improve our site and provide you with more relevant content and information on our site.
BBB may collect, directly or through contracted third parties, analytic information about your visit to BBB websites to help us improve our websites and better serve you when you visit us online in the future. Analytic information may include your browser type, IP address, referring site URL, web pages you view, and links you click on while navigating within our sites.
BBB or contracted third parties may also use cookies to personalize the display of sponsorships or advertisements and customize the content you see while using our sites and sometimes while visiting other websites (see Your Ad Choices below).
At this time, we do not respond to “do not track” signals issued by web browsers. BBB’s websites do not track visitors from the European Economic Area.
Your Ad Choices
BBB may allow third parties to collect and use information about your browsing activity on our website in order to serve you more relevant ads based on your interests. BBB adheres to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising and commits to providing consumers with notice and choice about interest-based advertising. On pages where we allow third parties to collect data for interest-based ads, you will see the notice “Your Ad Choices” near the link to the Privacy Policy. When you receive an ad based on your interests, you will see the Advertising Options Icon in or near the ad to provide you with notice that the advertisement is tailored to your possible interests as inferred from your browsing activity. To learn more about interest-based advertising, click here. To opt out of future interest-based advertising, click here. You will still see ads, but they will not be based on subjects or products that the advertiser thinks may be of interest to you.
How BBB Uses Your Information
We will use the information you affirmatively submit to BBB for the purpose for which it is submitted, such as to reply to your email, respond to your inquiry, handle your complaint, confirm your marketplace relationship so you can publish your customer review, process billing and donation transactions, register your participation in an event, respond to requests related to program participation, review applications to be a BBB arbitrator, publish your scam report and communicate with you when necessary. We may also use such information to provide operational notices, in program record-keeping, and to conduct research on industry marketplace practices. We may publish aggregate data, but the aggregate data will not include any user information you provided to us. We may contact individuals registering for events with information about other BBB events or, if relevant, accreditation, sponsorship, or other program opportunities.
We may use information submitted by your business to provide you with information about BBB accreditation and other BBB services. This information may be delivered directly, such as emails, or indirectly, such as ads you may see on BBB or other websites.
When you sign up for any of our newsletters by completing the newsletter sign-up form, we may collect your name and email address. We may also record the time and date of completion and use this information to send any follow-up and further marketing communications.
All users and visitors to our website have the option to discontinue receiving communications from us by way of email or newsletters. However, details may remain on the list of past recipients. Requests to have your data permanently removed should be sent to the address identified in the email or newsletter.
We may use third-party contractors to act on our behalf, and these contractors are obligated not to disclose or use your information for other purposes.
BBB relies on information collected from our users to develop new services and conduct analysis to enhance current content and services. Information collected from you may be used to review the usage and operations of our site and address any resulting issues with our site.
At certain points where your information is collected on our site, there may be a box where you may indicate you would like to be on a mailing list to receive information about BBB or its affiliated organizations. This election box only appears in places where the service collecting your information maintains such lists. You can remove your name from a BBB mailing list by utilizing the appropriate unsubscribe feature contained in the emails.
BBB may also use the information we collect from you to enhance your online experience and provide you with customized site content and targeted information on the site, across third-party sites, or through your mobile device.
BBB will retain information for the duration of the relationship as an accredited business or accredited charity for the duration necessary for publishing a business profile, complaint, or review. Data may also be retained for a period thereafter to allow BBB to analyze the data for its own operations, marketplace research, and historical and archiving purposes.
Other Ways Your Information May Be Shared
Inquiries, Complaints, and Reviews In order to process a complaint, BBB may send the complaint to the subject business (which may be outside of your country), handle the complaint itself, or refer the complaint to another appropriate organization for handling. BBB may refer complaints against foreign businesses to an appropriate foreign organization. Depending on the type of complaint, BBB will provide complaints to the business and, in some situations, to the business’s franchisor or licensor for quality control purposes. BBB may also send a customer review to the subject business (which may be outside of your country). By completing a complaint or review form or sending us a request or inquiry, you authorize us to forward your information to the appropriate BBB office or the proper business. You also authorize the business to respond to BBB about your complaint or review.
BBB Scam Tracker We will publicly post your description of the reported scam on the BBB Scam Tracker website along with your postal code. We will share your name, state/province, postal code, email address, and other information you submit with other BBBs administering BBB Scam Tracker. We may also share this information with governmental agencies, law enforcement, and other appropriate organizations for investigation or research. If you consent, BBB may share your information in response to media inquiries.
For other purposes, BBB may also share your information under the following circumstances:
- We routinely share complaints and BBB Scam Tracker information with the Federal Trade Commission for its consumer protection activities.
- We respond to requests from governmental agencies or where required by law (such as by subpoena, investigative demand, court order, or regulation).
- We may share information where our records indicate a company may be engaged in fraudulent activity or other unfair or deceptive practices that we believe should be referred to a governmental agency or a private organization whose work is consistent with the BBB mission.
- We may share information with appropriate persons or governmental authorities where your communication suggests possible harm to others.
- We may share information with BBB National Programs or BBB Wise Giving Alliance when relevant to their nonprofit activities.
- We may share business information with third parties for such purposes as allowing search engines and others to identify BBB accredited businesses, quality control purposes of franchisors or licensors, or other business functions.
International Transfers: If you are visiting our site from outside the United States, be aware that your information will be transferred to and maintained on computers located within the United States. The collection, use, retention, and any other processing of your information will be governed by United States law and further by the specific jurisdictions within the United States where that information is stored unless otherwise specified. BBB provides its nonprofit services to businesses and consumers in North America and does not market to businesses or individuals in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom.
Updates: If BBB changes this policy in the future, we will post the changes here and indicate the date of the changes at the top of the policy.
Problems or Complaints with BBB Privacy Policy
If you have a complaint about BBB’s compliance with this privacy policy, you may contact us at privacy@IABBB.org.
