PRIVACY POLICY FOR ADAFRUIT INDUSTRIES MOBILE APPLICATIONS

This privacy policy governs how Adafruit Industries, LLC collects, stores, uses, and discloses information about users of certain Adafruit mobile applications (each, an “Application”). This policy applies to the Bluefruit LE Connect and Circuit Playground applications, along with any other applications that link to this policy. This policy does not apply to websites, applications, or services that display or link to different privacy statements. Bluefruit LE Connect is used to communicate over Bluetooth Low Energy with Adafruit Bluefruit LE modules, or other Bluefruit LE devices.

What information does the Application obtain?

The personal information we collect depends on how you interact with us, the products you use, and the choices you make. We collect and process personal information about you with your consent and/or as necessary to provide the products you use, operate our business, meet our contractual and legal obligations, protect the security of our systems and our customers, or fulfil other legitimate interests.

User Provided Information 

The Application obtains the information you provide when you use the Applications, this may include:

  • Registration Information: your name, email address, age, and other registration information 
  • Transaction Information: such as the purchases you make, your response to any offers we provide, or Applications you download from us 
  • Content and Files: Information you provide us when you contact us for help and photos, videos of your projects on our Circuit Playground Application, together with information you enter into our system when using the Application.

When you are asked to provide personal information, you may decline. But if you choose not to provide information that is necessary for certain products or features, those products or features may not be available or function correctly.

We may also combine information users provide with data we collect automatically (as further described below).

Automatically Collected Information 

In addition, the Application may collect certain information automatically. For example: 

 Identifiers and device information. When you use our Applications, we may collect the type of mobile device you use, your mobile devices unique device ID, the IP address of your mobile device, your mobile operating system, the type of mobile Internet browsers you use, and information about the way you use the Application.  We may use third parties acting on our behalf to collect such information.

Usage data. We automatically log your activity on our Applications and connected products..

Bluefruit LE. Bluetooth Low Energy functionality requires location services to be enabled on some platforms, since the Bluetooth Low Energy device address can potentially be used for tracking purposes. Location Services may need to be enabled to make use of certain functionality in the Application.

Geolocation data. When you use the Application, you may also use GPS technology (or other similar technology) to determine your current location and share it with your connected devices. We do not receive your location or share it with other users or partners, it is only sent from the Application to the applicable connected device when you request it.

If you do not want the Application to use your location for the purposes set forth above, you should avoid using the functionality that collects and transmits location data over Bluetooth Low Energy to connected devices and disable Location Services for the Application.

Sensor data. In addition to location information, you may use the Application to send other types of information (for example, sensor data) to your connected devices.

Inferences. We infer new information from other data we collect, including using automated means to generate information about your likely preferences or other characteristic. For example, we infer your city , state, and country location based on your IP address.

How We Use Collected Information

We use the information we collect for purposes described in this privacy statement or as otherwise disclosed to you, including for the following purposes:

  • To improve customer service

    • Information users provide helps us respond to their customer service requests and support needs.

    • Applicable categories of user information: Registration information, transaction information, content and files, identifiers and device information, usage data, Bluetooth LE data, geolocation data, sensor data, inferences

  • To improve our services

    • We may use feedback users provide to improve our products and services.

    • We may use information in the aggregate to understand how our users as a group use the services and resources provided on our site.

    • Applicable categories of user information: Registration information, transaction information, content and files, identifiers and device information,usage data, Bluetooth LE data, geolocation data, sensor data, inferences

  • To prevent fraud and abuse

    • We may use the information contained in orders to prevent fraudulent financial transactions and other illicit activity or violations of our terms of service.

    • We may use network addresses and similar data to block or report abusive and harassing users. In cases involving potential harm to individuals, we may submit personally identifiable information to law enforcement or other third parties.

    • Applicable categories of user information: Registration information, transaction information, content and files,identifiers and device information, usage data, inferences
  • Marketing and Advertising
    • If our users so choose, we may send them emails about products, events, promotions, and offers.
    • Applicable categories of user information: Registration information, transaction information, content and files, identifiers and device information, usage data, inferences
  • To send periodic emails and otherwise communicate with you through confirmations, invoices, notices, alerts, and administrative messages

    • We may use the email address to send users information pertaining to their orders and accounts. It may also be used to respond to their inquiries, questions, and other requests.

    • If our users so choose, we may send them emails about products, events, promotions, and offers.

    • Applicable categories of user information: Registration information, transaction information, content and files, identifiers and device information, usage data, inferences

In carrying out these purposes, we combine information we collect from different sources to give you a more seamless, consistent, and personalized experience.

Do third parties see and/or have access to information obtained by the Application?

In certain specific cases, yes. We will share your information with third parties only in the ways that are described in this privacy statement.

We may disclose the information described in this policy:

  • With your consent;
  •  For legal, protection, security, and safety purposes. Including to comply with law or regulatory requirements, to respond to lawful requests and legal process, to protect our rights and to protect our network, or in an emergency;
  •  For the purposes of a merger, financing, acquisition, or bankruptcy transaction or proceeding involving the sale or transfer of all or substantially all of our business or assets;
  • with our services providers, consultants, and vendors who work on our behalf and need access to your information to do that work;
  • if Adafruit Industries is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, you will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on our web site of any change in ownership or uses of this information, as well as any choices you may have regarding this information.

We do not sell, trade, or rent users’ personally identifiable information to others. However, we may share aggregate demographic information, that does not identify any individual user, with our business partners or service providers.

Please note that some of our products include references or links to products provided by third parties whose privacy practices differ from ours. If you provide information to any of those third parties, or consent to our sharing information with them, that data is governed by their privacy statements.

How We Protect Your Information

We adopt appropriate practices and security measures designed to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of personal information. Please be aware that, although we endeavor to provide reasonable security for information we process and maintain, no security system can prevent all potential security breaches.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain personal information for as long as necessary to provide the products and fulfill the transactions you have requested, or for other essential purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Because these needs can vary for different data types in the context of different products, actual retention periods can vary significantly based on criteria such as user expectations or consent, the sensitivity of the data, the availability of automated controls that enable users to delete data, and our legal or contractual obligations. For example, when logging data to Adafruit.io from the Bluefruit LE Connect app, user credentials are collected and submitted to the server for account validation, but never saved or retained.

Location of Personal Information

The personal information we collect may be stored and processed in your country or region, or in any other country where we or our affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. Currently, we primarily use data centers in the United States. The storage location(s) are chosen in order to operate efficiently, to improve performance, and to create redundancies in order to protect the data in the event of an outage or other problem. We take steps designed to ensure that the data we collect under this statement is processed according to the provisions of this statement and applicable law wherever the data is located.

We transfer personal information from the European Economic Area and Switzerland to other countries, some of which have not been determined by the European Commission to have an adequate level of data protection. When we do so, we use a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts, to help ensure your rights and protections. To learn more about the European Commission’s decisions on the adequacy of personal information protections, please visit: https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/data-transfers-outside-eu/adequacy-protection-personal-data-non-eu-countries_en

Information Choices and Changes

Users may send requests to us regarding their information through our contact information below. They can request to change contact choices and to update, access, delete or make other changes regarding their information. We may not honor all such requests unless required by law and in some cases, deletion of your information may cause your Application to stop working.

Our marketing emails tell recipients how to unsubscribe from further marketing emails. After opting out, we may still send non-marketing emails. Non-marketing emails include emails about accounts and orders.

European Data Protection Rights

If the processing of personal information about you is subject to European Union data protection law, you have certain rights with respect to that data:

  • You can request access to, and rectification or erasure of, personal information;
  • If any automated processing of personal information is based on your consent or a contract with you, you have a right to transfer or receive a copy of your personal information in a usable and portable format;
  • If the processing of personal information is based on your consent, you can withdraw consent at any time for future processing; and
  • You can object to, or obtain a restriction of, the processing of personal information under certain circumstances.

To make such requests, contact us at [email protected].  You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, but we encourage you to first contact us with any questions or concerns.

California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident and the processing of personal information about you is subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), beginning January 2020 you have certain rights with respect to that information.  

Right to Know. You have the right to request that companies provide you with the following information:

(1) The categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.

(2) The categories of sources from which we collect personal information.

(3) The purposes for collecting, using, or selling personal information.

(4) The categories of third parties with which we share personal information.

(5) For companies that disclose personal information for a business purpose, the categories of personal information disclosed about you for a business purpose. Note that the CCPA defines “business purpose” broadly; and because we use service providers for a number of business purposes that require access to our systems that hold personal information (such as supplying cloud data storage, maintaining the security of our systems, and providing customer support), in the past 12 months we have disclosed for a business purpose data from all of the categories of personal information that we maintain.

(6) The categories of personal information we have sold about you (if any) for each category of third parties to which the personal information was sold. Note that the CCPA defines “sell” and “personal information” very broadly, and some of our use of third party service providers described may be considered a “sale” under that definition. For more information and to view our “Do Not Sell My Info” notice at https://www.adafruit.com/privacy. 

To make such requests, contact us at the contact information set forth below. 

Right to Delete. You also have a right to request that we delete personal information under certain circumstances, subject to a number of exceptions. 

Right to Opt-Out. You have a right to opt-out from future “sales” of personal information. To do so, you can opt-out of our use of certain third-party sites and services as described at https://www.adafruit.com/privacy.

You may designate, in writing or through a power of attorney, an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights under the CCPA. Before accepting such a request from an agent, we will require the agent to provide proof you have authorized it to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us. You have a right to not be discriminated against for exercising rights set out in the CCPA

Children

Our Applications are not directed towards children under the age of 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with information without their consent, he or she should contact us at [email protected]. We will delete such information from our files within a reasonable time as required by applicable law.

Changes

We update this policy in our discretion at any time by posting the amended version here or by providing such notice about or obtaining consent to changes as may be required by applicable law. When we do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of this page. We encourage users to frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the information we collect.

You can check the history of this policy by clicking here.

Contact us

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about our practices, please contact us at:

Adafruit Industries, LLC

168 39th Street

Ste 1905CC

Brooklyn, NY 11232

[email protected]

This document was last updated on July 24, 2024.