Cookies

Cookies are small files sent to your computer as you surf the web.  They store useful information about how you interact with the websites you visit.  Cookies do not collect any information stored on your computer or device or in your files.  Cookies do not contain any information that would directly identify you as a person.  Cookies show your computer and device only as randomly assigned numbers and letters (e.g., cookie ID ABC12345) and never as, for example, John E. Smith.     

We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as:

• to serve you with relevant advertising
• to learn more about the way you interact with IBMFSI content
• help us improve your experience when visiting our websites
• to remember your preferences, such as a language or a region, so there is no need for you to customize the website on each visit
• to identify errors and resolve them
• to analyze how well our websites are performing

These are the types of cookies we use:

• session cookies. Webpages have no memory. Session cookies remember you (using a randomly generated ID like: ABC12345) as you move from page to page so that you don’t get asked to provide the same information you’ve already given on the site. For example, session cookies are extremely helpful when shopping online—without them the items you place in your shopping cart would disappear by the time you reach the checkout! These cookies are deleted as soon as you leave our site or close your browser.
• persistent cookies. Persistent cookies allow sites to remember what you prefer when you come back again. For example, if you choose to read the site in French on your first visit, the next time you come back the site will appear automatically in French. Not having to select a language preference every time makes it more convenient, more efficient, and user-friendly for you.
• advertising cookies. These cookies can be used to learn about what interests you generally might have, based, for example, on the websites you visit and the products you buy. This can also help us infer things about you such your age, marital status, and how many kids you may have. That data allows us to send you ads for products and services that better fit the things you like or need. It also allows us to limit the number of times you see the same advertisement.
• analytics cookies. These cookies tell us how our websites are working. In many cases, we use Google analytics cookies to monitor the performance of our sites. Our ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to our sites is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy .

How you can control cookies. You can set your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent to your computer. However, this may prevent our sites or services from working properly. You can also set your browser to delete cookies every time you finish browsing.

Site and App Content

plugins. Our websites may include plugins from other companies such as social networks. An example of a plugin is the Facebook “Like” button. These plugins may collect information (e.g., the url of the page you visited) and send it back to the company that created them. This may happen even if you do not click on the plugin. These plugins are governed by the privacy policy and terms of the company that created them, even though they appear on our sites. These plug-ins are non-essential cookies and will only work on our EU sites if you accept cookies.

logins. Our websites may allow you to log in using your account with another company such as, for example, “Login with Facebook.” When you do this, we will have access only to the information that you have given us consent to receive from your account settings in the other company’s account you’re using to log in with.

user content. Some of our sites and apps will allow you to upload your own content for contests, blogs, videos, and other functions. Please remember that any information you submit or post becomes public information. We do not have control over how others may use the content you submit to our sites and apps. We are not responsible for such uses in ways that may violate this privacy policy, the law, or your personal privacy and safety.

links. IBMFSI sites may include links to other sites, which we do not control. Those sites will be governed by their own privacy policies and terms, not ours.

Here’s a short introduction to our privacy practices

what we collect

• Information you give us
• Information we collect when you contact us, visit our sites, use our mobile applications or services, use our products or devices, or view our advertisements
• Information we get from other companies who have obtained your consent to share or sell it or have ensured that other companies from whom they have received your information can share it with them and, in turn, with us and/or other companies
• Information we get from other companies when you visit their websites

We may combine any and all of this information to help create better products, services, and consumer experiences.

how we use your information

• Send you the products and services you ask for
• Tell you about our and our marketing partners’ products and services
• Help us run our sites and services

how and when we share your information

• When we have your consent, with our carefully selected partners so that they can send you offers, promotions, or ads about their products and services we believe you may be interested in
• With other companies we hire to help us run our business
• As part of a sale of an IBMFSI brand or business to another company
• To help us protect our rights or property, e.g., fraud prevention or information security
• When required by law or government authorities

your choices

You can tell us how we can use your information by clicking on the links below:

• Marketing communications
• Interest-based advertising

How We Collect Your Information

We collect information about you in many ways from many places. Some of the information we collect may include personal information that can be used to identify you; for example, your name, email address, telephone number, or postal address. In some countries like those in the EU, things like IP address or cookie and mobile device identifiers may also be considered personal information.

Please note : We may combine all of the information we collect about you to give you better products, services, and user experiences.

you provide it to us. You give us your information when signing up for an account on our websites or in mobile apps or by calling or emailing us. We may ask for things like your name, email or home address, date of birth, payment information, your age, gender, the number of people in your family, and the way you want us to send you information about our products and services—for example, to your home address, email address, or by texting you.

from sites and emails. We may use technologies that automatically collect information when you visit our sites, view our advertisements, or use our products or services. For example, we use cookies (a tiny file stored on your computer’s browser) to tell us what browser and operating system you are using, your IP address, web pages you visit, links you click, or whether you have or have not opened an email from us.

from mobile applications and internet connected devices. To give you the best possible user experience, we may use technologies that collect information from your phone when you use our mobile apps or from “smart” devices in your home. You consent to do this when downloading the app or installing household internet connected devices. This information could include your mobile phone or other device advertising ID, information about your phone’s operating system, how you use the app or device, and your physical location. You will get a pop up notice on your phone or device that gives you the option to accept or reject allowing us to know your precise geolocation (exactly where you are standing or where you are accessing the internet).

from other places. We may get information that other companies share with or sell to us. For example, you may have given consent for another company to share your personal information with us when you signed up for telecom services or a retailer loyalty points program. We may also collect information from places that you know everyone can see, such as from internet postings, blog entries, videos, or social media sites. We may also receive information from other companies who are in the business of collecting or aggregating information about you sourced from publicly available databases or from consent you have given to their use and subsequently our use of your information. This might be information about your income level, age, gender, number of people in your family, and products you have bought on the internet or from stores in your neighborhood.

How We Use Your Information

We use your information to help us meet our purpose of touching and improving the lives of people like you every day around the world. We use your information to respond to your questions or requests for information, send you products or samples you have requested, help you manage your IBMFSI site or app preferences, allow you to enter our contests or sweepstakes, or process your payment for the products you buy from us. We may also use your non-personal information (e.g., purchase data, sample requests, etc.) in consumer research or analytics (or personal information when you have consented to participate in such research) to learn more about what consumers want so that we can make new products or improve the ones we already have.

Another way we use your information is to make sure that what you hear from us is relevant and useful to you as an individual. For example, we may send you information about d2u Electronic products if you have shown interest in our products by visiting d2uelectronics.com. When we do this, we will use your information – a cookie ID or device ID — to limit the number of times you see the same advertisement from d2u. We want you to hear from us about the products you use and love without you hearing the same message over and over again.

We may also use aggregate information from many people without identifying any individuals to better understand how our websites are being used or to study consumer habits so that we can make products and offer services that meet the needs of all consumers sharing some of the same things in common. For example, we can learn a lot about consumers who are looking for something new to cook on our Potato Gobbler website, so that we can better serve the person interested in new recipes everywhere with the products and services they want. Use of such non-personal information in this way helps to safeguard your privacy. We will always try to use non-personal information whenever possible for this reason.

To further protect your privacy, we will also use the least amount of information we can to accomplish the task at hand, put measures in place to prevent mixing information in ways that would allow cookie and device IDs to specifically and directly identify you (e.g., by name), and delete your information when we no longer need it for our business purposes.

How We Safeguard Your Information

We respect your personal information and take steps to protect it from loss, misuse, or alteration. Where appropriate, these steps can include technical measures like firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, unique and complex passwords, and encryption. We also use organizational and physical measures such as training staff on data processing obligations, identification of data incidents and risks, restricting staff access to your personal information, and ensuring physical security including appropriately securing documents when not being used

What We Share

with other companies. When we have your consent, we may share your information with select partners so they can send you offers, promotions, or ads about products or services we believe you may be interested in. We may share information that does not personally identify you with other companies for any purpose. 

with service providers. We may need to share your information with companies who help us run our business, including hosting our sites, delivering our emails to you, analyzing the data we collect, and sending you the products and services you requested. We share only the personal information needed for these companies to complete the tasks we request. They are required to protect your information in the same way we do and will not share it or use it for any other purpose. 

other situations. If a brand or one of our businesses with which you’ve shared personal data is sold to another company, your data will be shared with that company. As a result, your account and the personal data in it will not be deleted unless you tell the brand or new company that you want it deleted. We may also share your information with companies who help us protect our rights and property, or when required by law or government authorities.

Your Rights and Choices

marketing You can tell us to stop sending you email and text messages by following the opt-out instructions sent with these communications. You can also choose to stop receiving marketing email, SMS, or postal mailings by clicking here. While we will honor your choices, we may need to keep information to do so. For example, if you tell us to stop sending marketing emails, we will need your email address on file so that our systems remember that you no longer wish to receive marketing communications to that email address.