Cytobank Privacy Policy

Cytobank, Inc. (“Cytobank”) values the privacy of our users and others who visit www.cytobank.org (the “Service”) (collectively or individually “Users”). This statement governs information you provide to us or that we learn from your use of the Service and tells you how we may collect, use, and disclose this information.

The Information Cytobank Collects

User Provided Information: You may provide to Cytobank what is generally called “personally identifiable” information when you register or at other times (for example, in connection with correspondence between you and Cytobank), such as your name and e-mail address.

Please also be aware that any information that you choose to share on any publicly available portion of the Service or with third parties may be collected and used by such parties without restriction. In addition, the Service’s functionality may make your User ID accessible to other Users (e.g., as associated with any data files you upload to the Service). Therefore, if you associate your actual name or other personally identifiable information with your User ID, the persons to whom you have revealed your name may be able to identify your activities on the Service.

Aggregate Data: Aggregate data is data we collect about a group or category of features, services, individuals, or data files uploaded to the Service, from which individual identities or identifying attributes have been removed. For example, data files that you upload to the Service may be collected and combined with similar data files, without any personal information included in the combination.

“Cookies” Information: When you use the Service, we may send one or more cookies – small text files containing a string of alphanumeric characters – to your computer. Cytobank uses both session cookies and persistent cookies. A persistent cookie remains after you close your browser and may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Service. By using these cookies, we can “remember” what you have done on the Service before and personalize our site for you. These persistent types of cookies can be removed, but each web browser is a little different, so please look through your browser “Help” file to learn the correct way to modify your cookies set-up. Please note that disabling cookies may prevent you from accessing some of the functionality available via the Service.

“Automatically Collected” Information: When you visit the Service or open one of our HTML emails, certain information from your web browser may be recorded through use of different types of technology, including “clear gifs” or “web beacons”. This “automatically collected” information may include your Internet Protocol address (“IP Address”), web browser type, the web pages or sites that you visit just before or just after the Service, the pages you view on our site, and the dates and times that you visit.

The Way Cytobank Uses Information

Cytobank uses the information that we collect to provide to you all of the features and services found on the Service. We will use your email address, without further consent, for non-marketing or administrative purposes such as notifying you of major Service updates.

Cytobank may use all of the information that we collect from our Users to understand the usage trends and preferences, to improve the way the Service works and looks, to improve our marketing and promotional efforts, and to create new features and functionality.

Cytobank may use automatically collected and cookies information to: (a) remember your information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the Service; (b) provide custom, personalized advertisements, content, and information; (c) monitor the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns; and (d) monitor aggregate usage metrics such as total number of visitors and pages viewed.

Cytobank will not use your email address or other personally identifiable information to send promotional or marketing messages without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in.

Cytobank may disclose information that we collect through the Service to third parties as described below.

  • - Aggregate, de-identified information about reagents used

Cytobank Administrators

Cytobank administrators may have access to your account information including your email. Specifically, your administrator may:

  • 1. View statistics regarding your account, such as information concerning your last login or data storage usage;
  • 2. Change your account password, suspend or terminate your account access and your ability to modify your account;
  • 3. Access or retain information stored as part of your account, including your email, contacts and other information; and, receive account information in order to satisfy applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request.

When Cytobank Discloses Information

Cytobank may disclose both personally identifiable and automatically collected information to affiliated companies or other businesses or persons to process such information on our behalf, to provide website maintenance and security, to offer certain features on the Service, to assist us in improving the way the Service works and looks, and to create new features. We require that these parties agree to process such information in compliance with our Privacy Policy, we use reasonable efforts to limit their use of such information, and we require these parties to use any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

We may share automatically collected and aggregate data with interested third parties to assist them in understanding the usage patterns for certain data, content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality on the Service.

Except as otherwise noted in this Privacy Policy, Cytobank does not share personal information about Users with third parties unless doing so is appropriate to carry out a User’s request or it reasonably believes that doing so is legally required or is in Cytobank’s interest to protect its property or other legal rights or the rights or property of others.

We do not share User information with other third-party organizations for their marketing or promotional use without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in.

In addition, information about our Users, including personally identifiable information, may be disclosed as part of any merger, acquisition, debt financing or sale of Cytobank assets, as well as in the event of an insolvency, bankruptcy or receivership in which personally identifiable information could be transferred to third parties as one of our business assets.

Your Choices and Account

You may, of course, decline to share your personally-identifiable information with Cytobank, in which case Cytobank will not be able to provide to you some or all of the features and functionality found on the Service. You have access to and may update, correct, or delete your information and preferences at any time by going to the Account Settings Section of the Service. You have access to your personal information and you may update, correct, or delete your member information and email subscription preferences at any time.

To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting User’s profile access. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE SECRECY OF YOUR UNIQUE PASSWORD AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION AT ALL TIMES.

Children

Consistent with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), we will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of thirteen (13) without requiring parental consent. Any person who provides their personal information to Cytobank through the Service represents that they are 13 years of age or older.

Third-party Advertisers, Links to Other Sites

Cytobank may allow other companies, called third-party ad servers or ad networks, to serve advertisements within the Service. These third-party ad servers or ad networks use technology to send, directly to your browser, the advertisements and links that appear on the Service. They automatically receive your IP Address when this happens. They may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or web beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize their advertising content.

Cytobank does not provide any personally identifiable information to these third-party ad servers or ad networks without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in. However, please note that if an advertiser asks Cytobank to show an advertisement to a certain audience or audience segment and you respond to that advertisement, the advertiser or ad-server may conclude that you fit the description of the audience they were trying to reach.

You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers or ad networks. Cytobank’s Privacy Policy does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such advertisers or other websites.

Our Commitment to Data Security

No data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk. Once we receive your transmission, we make reasonable efforts to ensure security on our systems. We use secure server software (SSL) and firewalls to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, please note that this is not a guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of such firewalls and secure server software.

If Cytobank learns of a security systems breach, then we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. By using the Service or providing personal information to us you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of the Service. Cytobank may post a notice on the Service if a security breach occurs. If this happens, you will need a web browser enabling you to view the Service. Cytobank may also send an email to you at the email address you have provided to us in these circumstances. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing. To receive a free written notice of a security breach (or to withdraw your consent from receiving electronic notice) you should notify us via email at legal@cytobank.org

Special Note to International Users

The Service is hosted in the United States. If you are a User accessing the Service from the European Union, Asia, or any other region with laws governing personal data collection, use, and disclosure, that differ from United States laws, please note that you are transferring your personal data to the United States which does not have the same data protection laws as the EU and other regions, and by providing your personal data you consent to:

  • - the use of your personal data for the uses identified above in accordance with the Privacy Policy; and
  • - the transfer of your personal data to the United States as indicated above.

Changes and Updates to this Privacy Policy

We may occasionally update this Privacy Policy. When we do, we will also revise the “effective date” on the Privacy Policy. For changes to this Privacy Policy that may be materially less restrictive on our use or disclosure of personal information that you have provided to us, we will attempt to obtain your consent before implementing the change. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed about how we are protecting the personal information we collect. Your continued use of the Service constitutes your agreement to this Privacy Policy and any updates.

Contacting Cytobank

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please email us at legal@cytobank.org.

Postal Mail Address: Cytobank Inc., 659 Oak Grove Avenue #205, Menlo Park CA 94025

Effective Date: January 1, 2010