OUR PRIVACY POLICY PROTECTS YOU
At AfterTalk.com, your privacy, protection,
and security are our top priority. Thus, we partnered with respected online
security technologies to ensure your writings are always protected, and only
accessible by you and those you designate, like specific family members and
friends, or your therapist. We appreciate the trust
our existing members have placed on us and welcome new members to discover
AfterTalk.com.
Effective Date: February
1, 2015
Last Updated: February 1,
2015
Privacy is at the heart of the AfterTalk.com.
AfterTalk.com Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand not only how we
treat and protect the information you create on the site, but also how the
rules of the site are constructed to preserve your privacy. We work diligently
to uphold your trust in our company, and this policy reflects how seriously we
take this responsibility.
This is why we require all employees of
AfterTalk.com to read, agree to, and accept the terms of this Privacy Policy
before joining AfterTalk.com. Please check this page periodically for any
changes. We will usually bring revised policies to your attention; however, we
reserve the right to modify or update this Privacy Policy at any time without
notice and such revisions will be effective upon posting to this page. Your
continued use of the site following the posting of any revisions to this policy
will mean that you accept any and all changes.
By using this Web site, you agree to the terms
of the most recent version of this Privacy Statement. Please read our Terms of
Use to understand the general rules about your use of this Web site. Except as
written in any other disclaimers, policies, terms of use, or other notices on
this Web site, this Privacy Statement and the Terms of Use are the complete
agreement between you and AfterTalk.com with respect to your use of this Web
site. You may be subject to additional terms that may apply when you access
particular services or materials on certain areas in this Web site, or by
following a link from this web site.
Links to non-AfterTalk.com Web sites. The AfterTalk.com Web site may provide links to third-party
Web sites for your convenience and information. If you access those links, you
will leave the AfterTalk.com Web site. AfterTalk.com does not control those
sites or their privacy practices, which may differ from AfterTalk.com
practices. We do not endorse or make any representations about third-party Web
sites. The personal data you choose to provide to or that is collected by these
third parties is not covered by the AfterTalk.com Privacy Statement. We
encourage you to review the privacy policy of any company before submitting
your personal information.
At AfterTalk.com, we understand that your
health and privacy is a very personal matter, and we appreciate the trust you
place in us to treat your information carefully and sensibly. As part of our
commitment to honoring your privacy, we provide this policy (“Privacy Policy”)
to make you aware of the choices you have about the way your information is
used and to explain how we guard your information. We hope this policy will
help you make informed decisions about using the tools provided by our Web
site.
This policy answers the following questions:
- What
information do we collect about you and how do we use it?
- Will
we share your personal information with third parties?
- What
choices do you have about the collection and use of your personal
information?
- What
security measures do we take to safeguard your personal information?
If you have any questions or concerns about
our policy or its implementation, you may contact us at this email
address: info@AfterTalk.com
Information collection
and use
We collect personal information to create your private and secure membership to
AfterTalk.com and to fulfill your requests to secure membership, improve our
services, and contact you.
There are aspects of our site that can be
enjoyed as a visitor, but you need to become a member in order to take
advantage of our online services on the site including the online “private
conversations.”
The Content of your
AfterTalk Communications
ADDITIONAL SECURITY
Information you provide
We collect personal information when you
voluntarily provide it to us or authorize us to collect it on your behalf.
Membership: When
you become a member of our Web site, we collect a minimum of personal
information from you, specifically, your first and last name and an email
address. We ask that you volunteer your gender and age range, but do not
require that you provide this information. If giving us your first and last
name troubles you, you are welcome to make one up.
Private Conversations: You
will be able to write entries as often as you like. Your entries are completely
private and secure and can only be share with those you designate through
“Family, Friends and Therapist.” Those whom you share with need to join
AfterTalk in order to access your communications, so anything they write on our
site is also password protected and encrypted. The information will be
encrypted, and not even our programmers will be able to read any of your entries.
For
Therapists, Social Workers, Caregivers and Bereavement Counselors Using AfterTalk: When we designed the site, we implemented many
security protocols. The data flow is protected with
the same level of security used on credit card pages (SSL), encryption in the
database protects it from server level snooping, and many HIPAA protocols are
observed. As mentioned in the last
paragraph, everything your client writes is encrypted and password secured on
our system. Likewise, anything you write, e.g., a comment back to them, is also
protected by your password and encrypted. Employees of AfterTalk have no access
to content generated by members or their therapists. As long as your
communication with your client stays within the AfterTalk website, it is
secure. If you or your client copy content via ‘cut and paste’ or screenshots,
and transfer that content to another platform, then we can no longer be
responsible for the security of that content.
Special note for parents: This
site is a general audience site and not designed or intended to attract
children younger than 13. We do not collect personal information from any
person we actually know is younger than 13 and we strongly recommend that those
under the age of 18 receive permission from their parents before visiting and
becoming members of our Web site.
Log information: When
you visit our site, our servers will automatically collect log information.
This information may include your Web page request, Internet Protocol (IP)
address, browser type, browser language, the date and time of your request, and
one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your browser. We collect log
information so that we can properly administer our system and gather aggregate
information about how our site is being used, including the pages visitors are
viewing.
Cookies: We
collect anonymous information about your use of our site through cookies. The
cookie does not tell us who you are. Only you can tell us that.
The information collected by cookies allows us
to statistically monitor how many people are using our site and for what
purpose. We do not store any identifying information in any cookies on your
computer.
Information disclosure to
third parties
We know how important it is to keep the
information you’ve entrusted to us confidential. We will not rent, sell or
share personal information about you with third parties. This data will be
securely stored by AfterTalk.com
Disclosure for legal
reasons: We may release personal information to third parties: (1)
to comply with valid legal requirements such as a law, regulation, search
warrant, subpoena or court order; or (2) in special cases, such as a physical
threat to you or others, a threat to homeland security, a threat to our system
or network, or cases in which we believe it is reasonably necessary to
investigate or prevent harm, fraud, abuse, or illegal conduct. In the event
that we are legally compelled to disclose your personal information to a third
party, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you unless doing so would
violate the law or court order.
Agents and contractors: Contractors
sometimes have access to your personal information—not your writings or communications with other members--in the
course of assisting in operating our business and providing products or
services to you. These contractors include vendors and suppliers that provide
us with technology, services, and/or content for the operation and maintenance
of our site. Some of these relationships may be with companies that co-brand
portions of their site and services, or that provide services to you on our
behalf. Co-branded sites may have their own privacy policies posted on their
sites. If you visit a co-branded site, please read the privacy policy that is
posted on that site. The Recommended Sites section contains many links to
outside sources, which were approved by our senior management. While we make
every effort to provide links only to those sites that share our respect for
your privacy, we cannot take responsibility for the content or privacy policies
of those sites. We encourage our members to review carefully the privacy
policies of these Web sites.
Access to your personal information by these
contractors is limited to the information reasonably necessary for the
contractor to perform its limited function. Contractors have an obligation
under their contracts with us to keep your information confidential and to
comply with our privacy and security policies.
Aggregated, non-personal
information: We may share aggregated information about you with third
parties. This is information that is combined with the non-personal information
of other users and does not allow you to be identified or contacted. Depending
on the circumstances, we may or may not charge third parties for this
aggregated information. We also may not limit the third parties’ use of the
aggregated information.
Choice
and control over your personal information
Whenever reasonably possible, we offer you choices when we ask for personal
information and we tell you why we collect different types of information. You
may always decline to provide personal information to us and/or refuse cookies
in your browser, although some features or services may not function properly
as a result. To make it easy for you to make the choices that are right for
you, we provide the following controls:
- Edit
My Account [located under Resource Center on the menu bar]: You can
change or update your account information, including your contact
information, and other relevant information.
- Data
Retention: We
will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as
needed to provide you services. We will retain and use your
information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve
disputes, and enforce our agreements.
PERSONALIZED INFORMATION
As a registered member of the site, you can
create and store your important information in one secure place. The
information in your Private Conversations will be completely created by you.
The Private Conversations will enable you to store personal information about
yourself.
Should you want to change, review, or update
your personal information, you can simply go to “Edit My Account” under
‘Resource Center’ in the main menu, or you can e-mail us at:info@AfterTalk.com.
Communications
E-mail communications: E-mail
communication that you send to us via the e-mail links on our site may be
shared with a Customer Care representative or employee who is most likely to be
able to address your inquiry. If you provide personal health information in
your e-mail, it will be used only for the purposes of answering your e-mail.
From time to time, we may send you service-related e-mails, such as a welcome
email when you become a member on our site.
Newsletters and alerts: We
send informational newsletters and member communications.
Community
Our site is centered on the concept of an
anonymous community. What differentiates us from other companies is that we
truly protect your privacy and do not offer features for information to be
exchanged in public with other members. We are all together in the search for
happier and more fulfilling lives, but AfterTalk.com believes that privacy and
self-development and understanding are principal. You might use other sites to
openly share information but on AfterTalk.com you can rest assured that the
information is only for you and no one else.
Information related to
Membership
- We
have physical, technical and procedural safeguards to help protect your
personal information.
- In
areas that contain your personal information, we use secure socket layer
(SSL) encryption to help protect this information while it is in transit
between our servers and your computer.
What you can do to help
keep your information secure
Choose your passwords
carefully: Always create a password that’s easy for you to remember
but difficult for someone else to figure out. Don’t use your name, address, phone
number, initials, Social Security number, license plate or birthday. Don’t use
names of your friends, family or pets, company names, common numerical
sequences or the word “password.”
Suggestion: Use a mix of special characters, numbers, and upper- and lowercase
letters. Also, remember to change your password frequently and never give your
password to anyone.
Log out and close your
browser: Open browsers invite snoops. When you finish your online
session, close your browser to erase any information it may have temporarily
stored on your computer.
Install antivirus
software and spyware protection: Viruses are
dangerous. Many viruses are sent as e-mail attachments. They can slip into your
system without your knowledge the moment you open the e-mail. Some viruses such
as Trojan Horses can capture the contents of your system, including your
passwords. Installing up-to-date antivirus software and running it will help
thwart these and other unwanted programs.
Spyware is a program or technology that aids
in gathering information about a person or organization, often without their
knowledge, and includes programs like hijackers and keyloggers. The best way to
identify whether or not spyware is installed on your computer is to run and
regularly update antispyware programs. Similar to antivirus software,
antispyware software identifies and helps you remove spyware.
Changes in this Privacy
Statement
If we decide to change our privacy policy, we
will post those changes to this privacy statement, the home page, and other
places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we
collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose
it.
We may update this Policy. We will notify you
about material changes in the way we treat personal information by sending a
notice to the email address specified in your account. We may also make
nonmaterial changes to our Policy that generally will not affect our use of
your personal information. If you don’t agree with the new policy, you always
have the option of closing your account. Please see instructions for closing
your account above. Our current policy, identified by its effective date, will
be posted on the Site, and you should check it frequently.
AfterTalk.com is not a healthcare provider,
insurer, or clearinghouse and is therefore not subject to the privacy and
security regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"). HIPAA, however, serves as a
model for the importance with which AfterTalk.com regards your privacy, and the
fact that we are not bound by HIPAA does not reflect how seriously we take our
responsibility. As the services AfterTalk.com offers expand and we work with
business partners who are subject to HIPAA, we will take steps to ensure that
our Web site and operations comply with all applicable HIPAA privacy and
security requirements. For more information about HIPAA or our compliance, see
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Web site.
To contact AfterTalk.com:
If you have any questions or concerns about
our policy or its implementation, you may contact us at this email
address: info@AfterTalk.com
Address: AfterTalk.com, PO Box 585, Palisades, NY 10964
Use of this site constitutes acceptance of
AfterTalk.com terms of service and privacy policy. The material on this site is
for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice,
diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.