Privacy Policy and Terms

I. Introduction

Merit America (“us”, “we”, “our”, or “Merit America”) operates the learn.meritamerica.org website (the “Service,” and having the same meaning as defined by the Terms and Conditions described herein). We are committed to respecting your privacy. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) informs you of the types of data that we gather when you use the Service; our policies regarding the collection, use and disclosure of certain personally identifiable information that you provide or we collect that can be used to contact or identify you or your household, directly or indirectly, by reference to identifiers such as your name, location data, online identifier or one or more factors specific to your physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, educational, commercial, professional or social identity (“Personal Data”); and the choices you have associated with Personal Data.

By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Each time you use our Service, the current version of the Privacy Policy will apply. Accordingly, whenever you use our Service, you should check the date of this Privacy Policy (which appears at the top) and review any changes since the last version. This Privacy Policy is applicable to all Service visitors, registered users, and all other users of our Service.

Further, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy is part of our Terms and Conditions (as defined by the Merit America Platform Terms and Conditions) accessible from (https://www.meritamerica.org/terms-of-use). This Privacy Policy is incorporated within the Terms by reference, and by accessing or using our Service, you agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to our Terms, do not access or use our Service. Unless otherwise defined in this Privacy Policy, the terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in the Terms and Conditions.

II. Information collection and use

We collect several different types of information that you knowingly and voluntarily provide when you use our Service (such as through forms or profile screens) including registration/account setup information, and that we are able to collect from your web browser, cookies and other similar technologies.

The types of data collected includes:

A. Personal Data

While using our Service, from time to time, we will ask you to provide us with certain Personal Data. You can choose not to provide us with the Personal Data, but then you are prohibited from using the Service or other available features we offer. Personal Data that we collect includes:

Email address;
First name and last name;
Phone number;
Address, State, Province, ZIP/Postal code, City;
Date of birth
Education information;
Self-reported income and employment information, including but not limited to current place of employment and salary; and
Personal information made available through Usage Data, Location Data, or cookies (as defined below).

B. Usage Data

We collect information that is sent to us automatically by your web browser, browser plug-in details, operating system, screen size, referring site, and language preferences (“Usage Data”). Usage Data includes cookies and information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (e.g. IP address), browser type, browser version, the pages of our Service that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, unique device identifiers and other diagnostic data.

C. Location Data

We use and store information about your location including local time zone if you enable us to do so (“Location Data”). You can enable or disable location services when you use our Service at any time by way of your device settings.

D. Tracking & Cookies Data

We obtain information about you by installing “cookies” and similar tracking technologies on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies are files with a small amount of data which may include an anonymous unique identifier which are sent to your browser from a website and stored on your device. Other tracking technologies are also used such as beacons, tags and scripts to collect and track information and to improve and analyze our Service. We use cookies to track the activity on our Service and we hold certain information. If you do not wish to receive cookies, you can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Service.

Examples of Cookies we use:

Session Cookies. We use Session Cookies to operate our Service.
Preference Cookies. We use Preference Cookies to remember your preferences and various settings.
Security Cookies. We use Security Cookies for security purposes.

Refer also to the Cookies Policy, available here: ( Cookies Policy), which is incorporated herein by reference.

III. Use of data

Merit America uses the collected data for various purposes, including to:

Provide and maintain our Service;
Notify you about changes to our Service;
Allow you to participate in interactive features of our Service when you choose to do so;
Provide customer support;
Gather analysis or valuable information so that we can improve our Service;
Monitor the usage of our Service;
Detect, prevent and address technical issues;
Provide you with news, special offers and general information about other goods, services and events which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or enquired about unless you have opted not to receive such information;
Contact you with newsletters, marketing or promotional materials and other information that may be of interest to you. You may opt out of receiving any, or all, of these communications from us by following the unsubscribe link or instructions provided in any email we send or by contacting us;
Comply with applicable legal or regulatory requirements; and
Disclose your data in accordance with Section VII (Disclosure of Data).

IV. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you reside in the United States, and therefore your use of the Service and any use by us of your Personal Data is not subject to the GDPR.

V. Retention of data

We will retain your Personal Data only for as long as your account is active, or as needed to provide you with our Service. We will retain and use your Personal Data to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes and enforce our legal agreements and policies. We will also retain Usage Data for internal analysis purposes. Subject to the foregoing, if you wish to terminate your account or request that we no longer use your Personal Data, contact us at privacy@meritamerica.org to terminate your account according to the terms in Section XII of the Terms and Conditions.

VI. Transfer of data

Your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to — and maintained on — computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. Your consent to this Privacy Policy followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to that transfer. We will take steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place regarding the security of your Personal Data.

VII. Disclosure of data for a business or commercial purpose

We may disclose Personal Data for a business or commercial purpose that we collect or you provide as described in this Privacy Policy:

For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information;
With your consent;
To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business and provision of the Service, including for the purpose of marketing and analysis;
To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by Merit America about our users is among the assets transferred;
For disclosure for law enforcement or to comply with legal requirements as detailed below;
For auditing related to a current interaction with the consumer and concurrent transactions, including, but not limited to, counting ad impressions to unique visitors, verifying positioning and quality of ad impressions, and auditing compliance with this specification and other standards;
For detecting security incidents, protecting against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, and prosecuting those responsible for that activity;
For debugging to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality;
For performing services on behalf of the business or service provider, including maintaining or servicing accounts, providing customer service, processing or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments, providing financing, providing advertising or marketing services, providing analytic services, or providing similar services on behalf of the business or service provider;
For undertaking internal research for technological development and demonstration;
For undertaking activities to verify or maintain the quality or safety of a service or device that is owned, manufactured, manufactured for, or controlled by the business, and to improve, upgrade, or enhance the service or device that is owned, manufactured, manufactured for, or controlled by the business;
To advance commercial or economic interests, such as by inducing another person to buy, rent, lease, join, subscribe to, provide, or exchange products, goods, property, information, or services, or enabling or effecting, directly or indirectly, a commercial transaction;
For resolving disputes between users and/or a user and Merit America;
To prevent fraud or deliver other location-based services that a user may request;
For administering promotions;
For advertising and marketing the company’s products and services and those of business partners such as presenting targeted advertising, analyzing the effectiveness of advertisements and promotions, and helping determine interest in new products or services;
For conducting surveys, research and audits;
For receiving feedback;
To import contacts;
For recruiting;
For providing information to potential employers;
For providing information to third parties who sponsor your attendance;
For providing information to suppliers and business partners;
For providing information to representatives and advisors pursuant to support in complying with legal, accounting and/or other requirements;
To transfer information outside the U.S. as part of a transaction;
For protecting the rights, safety and information of users or the company, including fraud prevention, product recalls, etc.; and/or
To comply with legal or regulatory requirements.

A. Disclosure for Law Enforcement

Under certain circumstances, we may be required to disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g. a court or a government agency).

B. Legal Requirements

We may disclose your Personal Data in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:

To comply with a legal obligation;
To protect and defend our rights or property;
To prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service;
To protect the personal safety of users of the Service or the public; and/or
To protect against legal liability.

VIII. Selling of personal data

We will not sell your Personal Data to third parties for their use without your consent.

IX. Security of data

The security of your data is important to us but remember that no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security and will not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

X. Policy on “do not track” signals under the California Online Protection Act (CALOPPA)

We do not support Do Not Track (“DNT”). DNT is a preference you can set in your web browser to inform websites that you do not want to be tracked. Your navigation of our Service may be tracked as part of the gathering of quantitative user information. If you arrive at our Service by way of a link from a third party site that does respond to DNT requests, the recognition of any DNT request you have initiated will end as soon as you reach our Service.

XI. Service providers

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Service, provide the Service on our behalf, perform Service-related services or assist us in monitoring and analyzing how our Service is used (“Service Providers”). These third parties have access to your Personal Data and such use is subject to the Service Provider’s privacy policy.

XII. Links to other sites

Our Service may contain links to other sites, applications, and services that are not operated by us. These links are provided as a service and do not imply any endorsement by us of the activities or content of these sites, applications or services nor any association with their operators. If you click a third party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any third party including websites or services directly linked to our Service. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies or practices of any third party sites or services.

XIII. Children’s privacy

Our Service is not intended or directed at anyone under the age of 18 (“Children”). We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from anyone under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your Child has provided us with Personal Data, please contact us at privacy@meritamerica.org. If we become aware that Personal Data from children has been collected through our Service without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to delete this information.

XIV. Changes to this privacy policy

We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace the Privacy Policy at any time. You are advised to review the Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. By continuing to access or use our Service after any revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the new Privacy Policy, you are no longer authorized to use the Service.

XV. SMS Privacy

No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.

XVI. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us:

By email: privacy@meritamerica.org

Cookies Policy

Effective date: November 21, 2019

Merit America (“us”, “we”, “our”, or “Merit America”) uses cookies on the learn.meritamerica.org website (the “Service,” and having the same meaning as defined by the Terms and Conditions described herein). By using the Service, you consent to the use of cookies. Our Cookies Policy explains what cookies are, how we use cookies, how third-parties we may partner with may use cookies, your choices regarding cookies, and further information about cookies.

I. What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of text sent to your web browser by a website you visit. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the Service or a third-party to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the Service more useful to you. Cookies can be “persistent” or “session” cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your personal computer or mobile device when you go offline, while session cookies are deleted as soon as you close your web browser.

II. How Merit America uses cookies

When you use and access the Service, we may place a number of cookies files in your web browser. We use cookies for the following purposes:

To enable certain functions of the Service,
To provide analytics,
To store your preferences.

We use both session and persistent cookies on the Service and we use different types of cookies to run the Service:

Essential cookies. We may use cookies to remember information that changes the way the Service behaves or looks, such as a user’s language preference on the Service.
Accounts-related cookies. We may use accounts-related cookies to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts. We may use these cookies to remember information that changes the way the Service behaves or looks, such as the “remember me” functionality.
Analytics cookies. We may use analytics cookies to track information how the Service is used so that we can make improvements. We may also use analytics cookies to test new advertisements, pages, features or new functionality of the Service to see how our users react to them.

III. Third-party cookies

In addition to our own cookies, some content or applications, including advertisements on the Website are served by third-parties, including advertisers, ad networks and servers, content providers, and application providers. These third parties may use cookies. We do not control these third parties’ tracking technologies or how they may be used. If you have any questions about an advertisement or other targeted content, you should contact the responsible provider directly. We may also use various third-parties’ cookies to report usage statistics of the Service, deliver advertisements on and through the Service, and so on.

IV. What are your choices regarding cookies

If you would like to delete cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse cookies, you may set your browser to reject cookies or to alert you when a cookie is placed on your computer. Please visit the help pages of your web browser. Please note, however, that if you delete cookies or refuse to accept them, you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.

For the Chrome web browser, please visit this page from Google: <https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/32050>
For the Internet Explorer web browser, please visit this page from Microsoft: <http://support.microsoft.com/kb/278835>
For the Firefox web browser, please visit this page from Mozilla: <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/delete-cookies-remove-info-websites-stored>
For the Safari web browser, please visit this page from Apple: <https://support.apple.com/kb/PH21411?locale=en_US>
For any other web browser, please visit your web browser’s official web pages.