Summary of our Policy
iATN has always considered the protection of your private personal information to be of the utmost importance. This privacy policy will detail exactly what our policy is for keeping your information private, but a summary of our policy is:
- We do not sell or rent your personal information to third parties.
- We do not share your personal information with advertisers or sponsors.
- We have zero tolerance for unsolicited commercial email (a.k.a. "spam"). For information on the email iATN sends, please see this page.
- We encrypt credit card information and otherwise secure your personal data.
- We will display the name, company name, position, and general location (city, state, country, zipcode) of registered members in our public member directory, and may also in other areas of our site, including areas showing who is "online" on our network, and in any Interactive Content created by said member.
- We may display the company name, phone number and street address of a business premium member on their iATN web page, so that consumers can locate and contact the business through our Member Directory and Repair Shop Finder. This would only be shown if the company has indicated that they do business with the general public, and this information can be turned off through the Account Settings area of our site.
- Any Interactive Content posted to or sent through the network (e.g. TechHelp, forum posts, etc.), is not private and is not covered by this privacy policy.
- You may cancel
your membership at any time if you do not wish your information to be
listed in our public member directory.
By accessing iATN, you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy.
What Personal Information Does iATN Gather?
The information we receive from members helps us personalize and continually improve the network. Here are the types of information we gather:
- Information
You Give Us: We receive and store any information you enter on our
web site or give to us in any other way. Some of the most common situations
in which this occurs include: registering to join iATN, upgrading your
account to premium membership status, updating your account settings, submitting
a message to the network (including the forums, TechHelp help requests,
file library, chat rooms, etc.), replying to a TechHelp help request
sent by another member, purchasing something from the iATN Store, corresponding
with iATN staff, and more.
You can choose not to provide certain information, but then you might not be able to take advantage of many of our features. We use the information that you provide for such purposes as responding to your requests, customizing future features for you, improving and securing our site, and communicating with our members.
Any correspondence with iATN staff (by email, phone, FAX, postal mail, or in person) is not guaranteed to be kept private unless you explicitly request that it be, due to the fact that we may have to share some or all of the information with others to respond adequately to comments, questions, and concerns.
- Interactive
Content: We receive and store any information entered on the "interactive"
portions of our network. We do not consider this information to be private,
and as such, this privacy policy does not govern that content. Examples
of such content include (but are not limited to): forum posts, chat
room discussions, TechHelp,
comments on other members' content, etc.
In addition, please note that the following personal information may be permanently displayed with any Interactive Content you submit to iATN: name, company name, position, city, state, country, and zipcode.
Since we cannot prevent you from entering other personal information with your Interactive Content, we cannot protect that private information in that case, and it is not governed by this privacy policy.
For example, if a member posts a message to our forums, and they include their email address or phone number in the body of the message, we will not be able to protect that private personal information.
Interactive Content on iATN is also regulated by our Terms of Use.
- Replies to
TechHelp: Whenever you respond to another member's TechHelp
help request via email, your response is sent through our email servers,
to be filtered for attachments, known viruses, vacation notices or auto-replies,
and "spam" (unsolicited commercial email), and is then stored
in our database. These replies follow the same guidelines as those for
Interactive Content, and are likewise
regulated by our Terms of
Use.
- Automatic Information:
We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact
with us, and each access of our web site is recorded in logs which we
can use for statistical and security analysis. Each time you access
our web site, your browser sends your unique IP address, your browser
name/version, your operating system version, any "cookies"
stored for iatn.net (more on cookies below), the current resource requested,
and usually the last page you visited, called the "referrer link."
- Other Information:
Specific uses of personal information that vary from this privacy policy,
if any, may be found throughout our network. If those uses are different
than what has been disclosed here, you will be notified beforehand as
to the differences which will govern those transactions.
There may be situations where iATN collects data through a survey, web form, or similar process when the page does not link to this privacy policy. In those cases, unless you are informed otherwise, you should assume that iATN treats all information from those pages as it treats its other valuable business records.
- Information
from Third-Parties: We do not actively collect personal information
from any outside sources. However, your personal information may be
supplied to us by a third-party in the event of a complaint or legal
matter. In those cases, this personal information is not governed by
this privacy policy.
- Through Network
Maintenance: During the course of testing and updates to the software
on iATN, certain staff members may see information that you submit in
a context that seems private, such as sending email to another member
on our network, through our web site. We try to avoid these circumstances,
but live testing is often required while improving or repairing the
network.
More Information on Cookies
- Cookies are simply
pieces of information stored in your browser, specific to the site that
sends them to your browser. They are very useful for making iATN easy
to use, and they are essential to our "automatic login" feature,
which allows members to access the secured areas of our site without
having to manually login each time. (An optional feature available to
all members.)
- No other site
can access iATN's cookies, and we cannot access other site's cookies.
All cookies are stored on your computer hard drive, except for "temporary
cookies," which exist only in memory while your browser is open.
(In general, we only use permanent cookies.)
- We use cookies
to store certain preferences you have selected for viewing our site,
your username, and your encrypted password. As we develop the site further,
we may increase the number of cookies in use. We will NEVER store critical
information in cookies, such as credit card numbers, due to security
concerns.
- There are many
programs available to you that can block all cookies sent to your browser.
Blocking iATN cookies may result in making iATN harder to enjoy (or
eliminate certain features completely). We recommend that you leave
cookies turned on. However...
- You may tell
your browser to ignore "3rd-party cookies" or cookies that
are not sent "by the originating server," with no ill effect
on iATN. Those types of cookies are normally used by advertising sites
to track your movements. We do NOT use those types of cookies.
- We use Google Analytics to allow us to track aggregate information and statistics on how people use iATN's web services. As part of the Google Analytics service, Google uses cookies to track visitor information. We do not share any personal or identifiable information about you with Google. However, we do share aggregate information, and as with any web site you access, Google can also see your IP address and basic browser information. If you don't wish to allow the use of Google Analytics, you can install a third-party add-on like NoScript on Firefox, and disable all JavaScript requests to the google-analytics.com domain.
Does iATN Share the Information It Receives?
Information about our members is an important part of our business, and we take great pains not to reveal the following private personal information to others: email address, username, password, and credit card information. We also do not share your phone number and street address (not including city, state, country, zipcode), with one exception: business premium members of iATN have web pages that may show their phone number and street address, unless they choose to turn this off, and this is explained below in more detail. Only authorized iATN staff, agents, and credit card processors have access to private member information, and even then only in a tightly controlled manner.
- Agents of iATN:
From time to time we may need to use third party agencies to carry out our
normal business operations, such as sending email, delivering content over
the internet, or providing services to you. When we do this, we will ensure
these agencies agree to adhere to our privacy policy when working with
our data.
- Credit Card
Processing: If you purchase something from the iATN
Store, or upgrade your
iATN account to premium member status, your name, billing &
shipping addresses, purchase information, and credit card information
is necessarily shared with our credit card processing companies to complete
the transaction. We are currently using Stripe for
credit card processing services. All communication between our servers
and theirs is encrypted with SSL 128-bit security to protect your information
while in transit.
- Aggregate and
Anonymous Information: iATN may share aggregate and/or anonymous
statistics and related information with third parties. At no time will
any personally-identifiable information be included. Most of this information
will be in the form of network growth, usage statistics and demographics
of registered members.
- Connecting With Members Through Other Services: From time to time we advertise
on other social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, to try and connect with
past and current members of iATN, encouraging those members to "like" or "follow" us on
those services. These networks typically provide a mechanism for us to target our members
by matching email address, phone number and similar information. When we use these
advertising techniques, they are always done in a way where none of the parties involved
are permitted to use our members' information in ANY way other than to help us target
our advertisements. In fact, in the case of Facebook and Twitter, those services never
even receive the actual email or phone number data, instead receiving only a "hash" that
allows them to look for matching accounts. In the case of Twitter advertisements, we use
a third party called MailChimp to securely exchange the targeting information, and our
agreement with MailChimp forbids them from using member information for anything other
than our targeted advertising on Twitter. You can read more about how these targeted
advertisements work: Facebook Audiences and Twitter's Tailored Audiences.
- Industry Sponsors:
iATN has several industry sponsors
which subsidize the network and provide great support to our members.
At no time have we ever shared your personal information with these
companies, nor will we in the future without your express consent.
- Business Sponsor Pages: Those members that upgrade their account to have a Business or Business+ premium membership receive a web page on iATN to advertise their services to the public. These pages can be used to supply as much or as little information about the business as they wish. Many business premium members choose to reveal their street address, phone number, FAX number, email address, and more. iATN does not control what personal information business premium members choose to display on their pages. However, we do create a default web page that includes the phone number and street address of the business, if they have indicated that they do business with the general public. Each business is able to update their web page at any time to add or remove such information as they see fit.
- Member Directory
/ Signature: Members of iATN agree (upon registration) to allow
us to display their full name, company name, position, city, state,
and country in our member directory.
This information is thus freely available to anyone browsing the iATN
web site, and is not protected by iATN. If they do not wish to have
this information displayed, they can cancel
their iATN account, and their listing in the directory will be removed
within one week.
In addition, this same personal information is displayed, to some extent, with all Interactive Content created on iATN (any messages posted to the forums, TechHelp help request system, chat rooms on iATN, etc.). We feel that requiring this minimum amount of personal information on your content on the network is necessary to add legitimacy to iATN. You may choose not to submit Interactive Content on iATN if you do not wish to reveal this personal information in this instance.
- Business Transfers:
In the event that iATN, it's parent company Service Repair Solutions (or Solera Holdings,
the parent company of Service Repair Solutions), or
substantially all of iATN's assets are acquired by another company, member
information will most likely be one of the transferred
assets. However, before such a transfer takes place, we would require
that the acquiring company abide by this privacy policy when dealing
with member information, and/or we will give members the opportunity
to "opt out," at which point their personal information would NOT be
transferred. Interactive Content submitted to
iATN by the member is not considered "personal" information, and would be transferred.
- Third-Party
Web Sites: iATN does not control the privacy practices of its advertisers,
sponsors, and other third-party sites that it promotes or links to.
If you click through a banner ad or link and submit your information
to a third-party, you will be subject to their privacy policies.
- Private Email
from Members: As explained in this policy, iATN does not reveal
your email address to other members (although you may have decided to
release that information in Interactive
Content submitted on our network, which we cannot control). However,
we DO make it possible for other members to contact you on iATN through
the use of a form on our website. Your email address is never revealed
to the member in this case. They would see only your non-private personal
information, such as your name, company name, position, and general
location (city, state, country, zipcode). We may also allow the general
public to send private email to members in the same fashion.
- Breach of Terms
of Use, Guidelines, Etc.: In the event that a registered member
breaches our Terms of Use,
our guidelines, the member
agreement, or the laws governing iATN and its members, we reserve
the right to use any information we have obtained from said member --
personal, or otherwise -- to (among other things) protect the property,
safety, and rights of iATN. Under these circumstances, said information
is not governed by this privacy policy.
- With Your Consent:
Other than as set out above, you will receive notice in the unlikely
event that information about you might go to third parties, and you
will have an opportunity to choose not to share the information.
- Unforeseen
Circumstances: Due to the existing regulatory environment, we cannot
ensure that all of your private communications and other personal information
will never be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this privacy
policy. For example: third parties may unlawfully intercept or access
transmissions or private communications; authorities may supply search
warrants for our premises; a program error, hardware glitch, network
problem, or other technical issue may inadvertantly reveal personal
information; we may need to disclose personal information to enforce
our Terms of Use, or
to protect the property, safety, and rights of iATN. Therefore, although
we constantly strive to protect your privacy, we do not promise, and
you should not expect, that your personally identifiable information
or private communications will always remain private.
How Secure Is Information About Me?
- We work to protect
the security of your credit card information during transmission by
using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software, usually with the largest
key-lengths available.
- We display only
the last two digits of your credit card numbers when confirming the
processing of your credit card information. Of course, we securely transmit
the entire credit card number (using SSL) to the appropriate credit
card company during card processing.
- Any credit card
numbers stored in our computer database are protected using very strong
encryption, of which only authorized staff members have key knowledge.
We will also protect physical access to the machine(s) on which the
secured database resides, and network access to the machine(s) will
be severely prohibited or denied entirely. We strive to achieve maximum
PCI compliance to protect all credit card information.
- We do not disclose
member passwords to any party that cannot validate their identity, except
to those who can receive email at the same address used to create the
membership. (Thus, you must maintain the security of your personal email
account if you wish to keep your iATN account secure.)
What Information Can I Access?
We provide an Account
Settings page where registered members can view their personal information
stored on iATN. Most of this information can be updated by members from
that same location. (Note that when you update information, we usually
keep a copy of the prior version for our records.) If there is any personal
information listed in that area which you cannot change directly, such
as your name, please contact iATN Support ().
What Choices Do I Have?
- You can always
choose not to provide information to us, although this may result in
the inability to use certain or all parts of iATN, including the entire
members-only area of our network.
- You can add or
update certain information in the Account
Settings area of our site. When you update information, we usually
keep a copy of the prior version for our records.
- If you do not
wish to receive email from iATN, you must cancel your account, also
available near the bottom of the Account
Settings page. For information on the email iATN sends, please see
this page.
- Your browser can
be configured as to how it receives, handles, and stores "cookies"
sent by our site. The degree to which you can manipulate these settings
depends on your web browser's capabilities. Restricting the cookies
accepted from iATN by your browser may have a negative impact on your
ability to use iATN.
- Many third-party programs exist to allow you to control and limit the information which flows between your computer and the internet. Installation of some of these programs may have a negative impact on your ability to use iATN.
What Happens When I Cancel My iATN Account?
If you cancel your
iATN membership account, you will no longer receive email from us, and
your name, company, position, and location will no longer be listed in
our member directory. (Please allow up to one week for this to be completed.)
Your personal information will remain in our database, though your account
will be flagged as "cancelled," and only iATN staff will have
access to this information (except where noted above in regards to your
name, company name, position, and general location appearing with all
Interactive Content). This information
will still be subject to this privacy policy, regardless of account status.
We keep this information to prevent duplicate accounts from being created,
to prevent fraudulent use of iATN, and to allow people to re-activate
their accounts in the future more easily. (Registration forms would not
have to be completed again.)
PLEASE NOTE: Any Interactive Content
you previously submitted to iATN will still be displayed and used by iATN,
and cannot be removed from the network. For more information on our Interactive
Content policies, please consult our Terms
of Use.
Does iATN Collect Information From Children?
iATN permits students that are 16 years or older to register for a read-only membership, under the tutelage of an automotive instructor that has an existing iATN membership. In this situation, we collect the same kinds of information that we collect from any other member of iATN. We do not knowingly accept member registrations from anyone under the age of 16.
Terms of Use, Notices, and Revisions
If you choose to
visit iATN, your visit and any dispute over privacy is subject to this
policy and our Terms of Use,
including limitations on damages, arbitration of disputes, and application
of the law of the state of California. If you have any concern about privacy
at iATN, please email us at .
This policy and the Terms
of Use will most likely change in the future, and use of information
that we gather now is subject to the privacy policy in effect at the time
of our use of said information. You should check our web site frequently
to see recent changes. We provide the current version number and last
date of change for help identifying updated policies.
Related Practices and Information
- Terms of Use
- The
Email iATN Sends
- Member Agreement (Made When Joining iATN)
- iATN Guidelines
- iATN Membership Overview
Contact Information
iATN
P. O. Box 1599
Brea, CA, USA 92822
Phone: (714) 257-1335
Email:
Privacy Policy - History
- Revision 1.0.9 (January 29, 2014) Clarified Business Transfer privacy policy based on new ownership. Updated section on Collecting Information from Children, clarifying that we do allow students 16 years of age or older to join with read-only accounts if referred by automotive instructor members of iATN. Added a section detailing how we sometimes target ads on Facebook and Twitter towards current and past members of iATN, in a way that does not expose their contact information.
- Revision 1.0.8 (October 1, 2011) Removed references to Google AdSense, as we do not currently use Google AdSense on any iATN websites. Clarified Business Transfer privacy policy based on new ownership. Updated information security section to reflect our tighter control over security.
- Revision 1.0.7 (August 12, 2010) Added information about the default for business premium member pages containing phone number and street address information unless turned off by the business. Explained that we use Google Analytics for statistics and analysis of our web traffic.
- Revision 1.0.6 (March 13, 2009) Clarified "Registering" means "Joining iATN." Explained Google AdSense cookie and how to turn it off at Google's site if desired.
- Revision 1.0.5 (May 21, 2007) Clarified "Agents of iATN" section.
- Revision 1.0.4 (July 22, 2006) Updated our mailing address.
- Revision 1.0.3
(March 8, 2004) Removed our FAX number from the contact information
to avoid FAX harvesting by spammers. (Please email
if you need our FAX number.)
- Revision 1.0.2 (December 29, 2003) We added this revision history section to track changes to our privacy policy. We added links to our page discussing the email we send to this privacy policy.