Privacy Policy
WOMO Privacy Policy
Word Of Mouth Online Pty Ltd (“WOMO”, “we”, or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy of our users. This privacy policy explains when and how we collect, use, disclose and protect your personal information with respect to both the WOMO website (www.womo.com.au or www.womo.com) and WOMO services. By using the WOMO website or services, you agree to the privacy practices as described in this Policy, as modified from time to time by us.
For more information about privacy issues in Australia and protecting your privacy, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website.
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What is Personal Information?
Personal information is information that specifically identifies an individual such as a name, address, telephone number, email address, or other account number, and information about that individual’s activities when directly linked to that person such as information about his or her use of the WOMO website or services. Personal information also includes demographic information such as date of birth, gender, geographic area and preferences when such information is linked to other personal information that identifies you. Personal information does not include “aggregate” information, which is data we collect about a group or category of products, services or people, from which individual identities have been removed.
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Personal Information we Collect
WOMO collects personal information in a number of ways, including, for example, when you: (1) register and set up an account; (2) sign up for any of our emails; (3) post a rating/review, or any other content on the WOMO website; (4) contact us by email, or (5) Make a transaction through our site. When you visit the WOMO website, some information is also automatically collected, such as your computer’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, your computer’s operating system, the browser type, the address of a referring web site, and the time and date of your visit. We treat this information as personal information if we combine it with or link it to any of the identifying information mentioned above. Otherwise, it is used in the aggregate only.
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Automatically Collected Information
We collect information on WOMO website visitors collectively, including which sections of the site are most frequently visited, how often and for how long. This type of information is aggregated, non-personal information and helps us understand trends and our users’ needs so that we can further improve the WOMO website and/or service. WOMO also collects and uses some information on an individual basis regarding your interaction with us.
- IP Addresses – WOMO’s web servers collect the IP addresses of our users. These are mainly used in an aggregate form to determine usage trends, however, they are also used as another identifier, to help protect the integrity of the information on WOMO. For instance, if a particular business is reviewed consecutively by the same IP address within a short time-frame, that might prompt WOMO to investigate to ensure that the reviews are legitimate and based on actual customers’ experiences.
- Cookies and Applets – Cookies are small text files placed on your hard drive by a website you visit. These files identify your computer and record your preferences and other data about your visit so that when you return to the site, the site knows who you are and can personalise your visit. WOMO uses cookies to provide you with a better experience as these allow you to automatically log on everytime you visit the WOMO website (if you choose this option). Users who do not wish to receive cookies can instruct their web browsers to refuse them.
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Information Collected on WOMO Account Members
As part of registering with WOMO, either as a Member or as a Business, we collect personal information about you in order to provide you, and other WOMO users, with a good service. Registration is completely optional, but some functions require registration (for instance, submitting a review, or editing your business information).
For members, the Display Name you select, along with your suburb and a photo (if you upload one) are the only pieces of information shown publicly on the WOMO website. In addition, other WOMO users can see a list of the reviews you’ve submitted, other members you’ve nominated as your friends, any advice forum entries you’ve submitted, and any contributions to fundraisers (in the form of reviews) you’ve made.
For businesses, the Business Owners page tells you which information is publicly displayed.
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Information Collected from Reviews & Other User Content
You can publish reviews, comments, advice forum entries, fundraisers, your business or member profile, and other content to the WOMO website. Your reviews are displayed publicly, but you can opt whether or not you wish to remain anonymous for each review you submit. When you do not choose to remain anonymous, other WOMO users can see your Display Name, your suburb (if you enter one), and the photo that you upload (if you upload one). You can choose your own Display Name so this can be as anonymous, or as identifying as you like. You can also change your Display Name at any time (and this change will affect all past reviews you have submitted, as well as all subsequent reviews). Your Display Name is also shown automatically against any Advice Forum posts, comments to reviews, fundraisers, and any other content that you post on the WOMO website.
WOMO, and our licensees, can republish your content as described in the WOMO Conditions of Use. We publish reviews, business, fundraiser and other content and aggregate these to provide the WOMO website and service.
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Information Collected by Email
When you send emails to other WOMO users through the WOMO website, your email will not include your email address, but will send a separate email to the user’s email account with a link to the email you sent on the WOMO website. However, the contents of that email are stored against your profile and become part of your personal information.
When you send emails to WOMO through the Contact Us page or other contact page, or through any email program, we will have access to your email address, as well as the content of that email.
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Control of Personal Information
We give you the opportunity to opt-out of receiving communications from us and to view and correct your own personal information.
- If you do not want to receive email from us, you can; (a) click on “MyWOMO”, and then “MyAlerts” and alter your preferences accordingly; or (b) follow the opt-out instructions at the bottom of any email you receive from us.
- If you want to view or correct your personal information, you can access your information online by clicking the “MyWOMO” link.
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Data Changes
If you change your personal data or content, we usually update our databases immediately, however, some data may update more slowly, and some old data may remain in our archives and records. Also, we may be unable to propagate changes to any partners who receive your data or content.
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How We Use Personal Information
In general, we use personal information to process your requests and provide you with service, verify that any reviews or other content you post is genuine and legitimate, or to inform you about products or services that we think will be of interest to you. When we use personal information in our marketing efforts, we provide you with options to opt-out of these types of communications and do not disclose your information to third parties, except as described in this Policy. Personal information provided online may be linked together or merged with other personal information so that we may better understand your needs and inform you about our products or services and those of our partners. In addition, if we receive information from third parties with whom we have business relationships, we may combine this information with the other personal information we maintain about you. In either case, this Policy governs this information. We absolutely do not transfer or sell your information for inclusion on third party email or other marketing lists.
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Security
We have put into place reasonable security measures in an effort to protect personal information while it is under our control. All personal information relating to our users is stored in a secure environment. Your account information, including your email address, is accessible online only through the use of a password. To protect the confidentiality of personal information, you must keep your password confidential and not disclose it to any other person. You are responsible for all uses of WOMO from your account. Please advise us immediately if you believe your password has been misused.
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Children’s Privacy
The WOMO website is not designed for children under the age of 18, and we will not intentionally maintain information about anyone under the age of 18.
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Sharing of Personal Information
We do not sell, rent or share personal information with third parties without your prior consent except in the limited circumstances described in this Policy. We may share personal information with third-party vendors who assist us in performing functions necessary to operate our business. These functions may include, without limitation, Website hosting, credit card transaction processing, and data entry. We limit the information shared with our third-party vendors to that which we believe is necessary to carry out those functions. Moreover, we require them to comply with our privacy practices, and not to use the information for other purposes except as required by law. We are not responsible for any failure on their part to comply with our privacy practices, nor are we responsible for any additional information you provide directly to these parties, and we encourage you to become familiar with their practices before disclosing information directly to them.
In addition, we may disclose personal information when we believe that we are lawfully authorised to do so, or that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with legal processes or authorities, respond to any claims, or to protect the rights, property or personal safety of WOMO, our users, our employees or the public. Information about our users, including personal information, may be disclosed or transferred as part of, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets or acquisition. Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personal information when posting reviews or other content to the Site, this information may be collected and used by others. You agree that we shall bear no responsibility for any such disclosures. We recommend that you exercise caution in giving out personal information to others in public online forums.
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Feedback
We welcome your feedback. If you have any comments or concerns about this Privacy Policy or would like to contact us for any reason, please click here for our contact details.
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Policy Changes
From time to time, WOMO may review and update its Privacy Policy. Revised versions will be updated on this website.
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Further Privacy Information
For more information about privacy issues in Australia and protecting your privacy, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner’s website.
Last Updated: September 2011
