Privacy Policy

Last Updated March 21, 2022

Altru Auctions, LLC (“Company,” “we,” or “us”) is committed to protecting the privacy of your personal data. It’s yours, it matters to you, and we get that. This Privacy Policy lets you know what information we gather via altruauctions.org (the “Site”) and the services available via the Site (“Services”), and how we use and share that information. If you disagree with anything in this Privacy Policy, you should not use the Site or Services. If you are located outside the US, you understand and agree that any personal data you submit is sent to our servers in the US.  See more details below under Non-U.S. Users

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

• • Information You Provide:  If you open an account, make a purchase, donate to a charity, take part in an auction or other offer, or otherwise communicate with us via the Site or Services, we collect the information you submit. To register to use the Services, you may be asked to provide personal data, such as name, email address, postal address, telephone number, or other similar information. You do not have to provide this data. But without it you may not be able to create an account or enter into transactions via the Site or Services.

• • Information You Post: If you post information on public areas of the Services, that information may be collected and used by us, by other users of the Services, and by the public generally.  We suggest you avoid posting personal data in such areas.

• • Other Information: Your interactions with us may also include the following types of data:
    • • If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.
    • • We may also ask you to complete surveys that we use for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them.
    • • Details of transactions you carry out through our Site and of the fulfillment of such transactions, including your credit/debit card details.
    • • Details of your visits to our Site including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs, and other communication data.
    • • We may collect information about your computer or mobile device, including, where available your IP address, device type/ID, operating system, and browser type.
    • • Publicly available personal data, including data you have shared via a public platform such as Twitter or Facebook.
    • • Our Site uses may use cookies, web beacons, pixel tags and other technologies to distinguish you from other users of our website, to help you have a good experience on our site, and for other purposes.  See more details under Cookies, Web Beacons, and Interest-Based  Advertising below.

HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We use personal data and other information we receive to:

• • fulfill your requests for Services and validate your user rights;

• • contact and communicate with you;

• • customize the content and advertising you see when using the Services;

• • conduct research and analysis on the use of our Site and Services;

• • provide anonymous reporting for internal and external clients;

• • notify you about changes to our Site or Services;

• • operate, evaluate and improve our business (e.g., developing or improving new products and/or services; analyzing our customer base; and performing accounting, auditing, and other internal functions);

• • diagnose problems with our server, monitor visitor traffic patterns, and site usage to help us develop and improve our site further;

• • comply with and enforce applicable legal requirements, relevant industry standards, contractual obligations, and our policies; and

• • provide you with additional information we think is of interest to you.

COOKIES, WEB BEACONS, AND INTEREST-BASED ADVERTISING

We use data collected through cookies, web beacons, pixels, web server logs and other automated means to (a) customize your visits to our Site, (b) deliver advertisements to you on our Site and other sites, (c) deliver content tailored to your interests, and (d) manage our Site and Services. Here are additional details on those practices:

• • What Are Cookies? We and our agents use small text files called cookies, (collectively, “Cookies”). Cookies are small pieces of data that we and our agents place in your computer’s browser to store your preferences. Cookies are not themselves personally identifiable but may be linked to personal data that you provide to us through your online interaction with us.

• • How We Use Cookies.  We use Cookies so that we can improve your online experience – for example, by remembering you when you come back to visit us, and making the content you see more relevant to you. Cookies also enable us to track online purchases made through our website(s) or mobile app(s).

• • Your Control of Cookies. Web browsers allow some control of most Cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about Cookies, including how to see what Cookies have been set on your device and how to manage and delete them, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org. Please understand, however, if you disable Cookies, some features of our Site and Services may not work as well (or at all) for you.

• • Interest-Based Advertising. We may use Cookies and other technologies, such as pixel tags, web beacons, and clear GIF files, to help manage our online advertising program. These technologies may enable us (or third-party advertising services we work with) to learn which advertisements bring users to us online. They also may enable us (or third-party advertising services we work with) to track the actions of users online over time and across different web sites or platforms to measure statistics of our marketing efforts and to deliver electronic advertisements that may be more relevant to individual consumers and that will improve the consumer experience. For information about how tracking works for online advertising purposes, and what happens when you elect a do-not-track option, visit http://www.aboutads.info/choices. In addition, some third-party businesses may provide a mechanism to opt-out of their technology. For more information about the opt-out process, visit the Network Advertising Initiative website, available at: http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp. At this time, our site is not able to respond to do-not-track requests from browsers.

• • Analytics on the Site.  We also use third-party analytics such as Google Analytics to gather and analyze anonymous user information. Google Analytics is a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”), to collect information about the use of the Site and Services. Google may use cookies to collect information about your purchase history, the content you view, what websites you visit immediately prior to and after visiting the Site, and your system information and geographic information. The information generated by the Google cookies about your use of the Services will be transmitted to and stored by Google. The information collected by Google allows us to analyze the use of our Site and Services but does not identify you.

HOW AND WITH WHOM WE SHARE INFORMATION

• • Service Providers. We may employ other companies or individuals (“Service Providers”) to help us operate our Site and Services.  These Service Providers have access to information only to perform limited functions on our behalf. They are prohibited from using your information for any purpose.

• • Third Party Marketing Partners. We may, from time to time, share information you provide to us with trusted third-party marketing partners whose products or services we believe may be of interest to you.  If you want us to stop sharing your information with such third parties, you may opt-out by emailing us at info@altruauctions.org or sending a letter to Altru Auctions, LLC, PO BOX 282, Baltimore, MD 21203.  If you are a resident of the EU or EEA, we will only share with third parties if you opt-in and agree to such sharing.  See additional information under Your Rights and Choices below.

• • Law Enforcement and Protection of Users. To the extent permitted by law, we will disclose your information to government authorities or third parties pursuant to a legal request, subpoena, or other legal processes. We may also use or disclose your information as permitted by law to combat fraud or protect our rights or property as well as those of our affiliates or customers. You should be aware that, following disclosure to any third party, your information may be accessible by others to the extent permitted or required by applicable law.

• • Business Transfer. In the event that the Company is sold, has its assets acquired or transferred, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, or merges or becomes affiliated with any other division, individual, or entity, any user information owned or under the control of the Company may be one of the transferred assets. We reserve the right, as part of this type of transaction, to transfer or assign your information and other information we have collected from users of the Services.

• • Charities You Choose to Support via the Site or Services. We may share your information with a Charity to whom you have made a voluntary donation via the Site or Services.

LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING PERSONAL DATA

Generally, we rely on the following standards to process your personal information lawfully:

• • Consent. When you give us consent to process your data in certain ways, we will rely on your consent for the stated purpose(s) of the consent. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time. See additional information below under Your Rights and Choices.

• • Contract fulfillment.  We process personal data when it is necessary to perform a contractual obligation.  For example, when you make a purchase or a donation, we provide your billing information to a third-party payment processing vendor so that your transaction can be completed, and also to the charity you are supporting for the charity to acknowledge any gift for tax purposes.

• • Legitimate interests.  We may process your personal data where necessary to fulfill our legitimate interests, where those interests are not overridden by your rights or interests.  These legitimate interests may include:
    • • Completing transactions for our users, and handling user contacts, queries, complaints or disputes.
    • • Protecting users, employees, and other individuals and maintaining their safety, health, and welfare.
    • • Promoting, marketing, and advertising our products and services in ways consistent with reasonable expectations of our users.
    • • Sending promotional communications to existing users which are relevant to such users and related to their prior use of our Site and Services.
    • • Understanding our users’ behavior, activities, preferences, and needs.
    • • Improving existing products and services and developing new products and services.
    • • Complying with our legal and regulatory obligations.
    • • Preventing, investigating, and detecting crime, fraud, or anti-social behavior and prosecuting offenders, including working with law enforcement agencies, or taking other appropriate legal action against third parties who have committed criminal acts or are in breach of legal obligations.
    • • Effectively handling any legal claims or regulatory enforcement actions taken against us.
    • • Fulfilling our duties to our users, colleagues, and any other stakeholders.

CHILDREN

The Site and Services are not intended for children.  We do not knowingly collect or distribute information from or about children under age 18. If we learn we have received personally identifiable information from a child under age 18, we will delete that information.

SOCIAL NETWORKING AND THIRD-PARTY SITES

When you sign in or link to our Site or Services through any social networking service (such as Facebook or Twitter), you understand and agree that:

• • Any information you supply (or have supplied) to us becomes subject to the privacy policy of that social network/service, which may gain access to such information.

• • We do not control and are not responsible for, the privacy practices of such networks or services.  You should consult the privacy policy of such networks/services.

• • We may access, store, and use any information per your privacy settings in that social media network or service.  We encourage you to review, and if necessary, adjust, such settings to control sharing as allowed by the social media network/service.

Our Site may include links to other websites.  We do not control and are not responsible for, the privacy practices of any such sites.  You should always check the privacy terms of any site you visit.

SECURITY

Any information collected by the Company is stored and managed using security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the information. Please be aware that no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, the Company cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit on or through the Site or Services and you do so at your own risk.

NON-U.S. USERS

If you are located outside of the United States and you choose to use the Site or Services or provide your information to us, your information will be transferred to, processed, and maintained on servers or databases located in the United States.  If you do not want your information transferred to or processed or maintained in the United States, you should not use the Site or Services.

RETENTION OF INFORMATION

We retain personal data for as long as reasonably needed for the purposes stated in this Privacy Policy.   You may request to have your information deleted at any time, though we may continue to retain any information as needed for backup, archival and audit purposes, and to comply with any legal obligations. In addition, we may retain and continue to use indefinitely all information contained in your communications to other users of the Services posted to public or semi-public areas of the Services after termination or deactivation of your user account.

YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

You have the right to ask us not to process your personal data for marketing purposes.  You can exercise that right at any time by emailing us at cs@altruauctions.com. You may also have options to agree (or decline) to be contacted for various marketing purposes at the point where you are submitting personal data to us.  For residents of the EU/EEA, the following additional rights apply:

• • To ask what personal data we hold about you and to obtain a copy of your personal information in an easily accessible format and (for some data) also a right of portability.

• • To ask us to update or correct the personal data we hold about you;

• • To ask us to delete personal data we hold about you;

• • To ask us to restrict or limit the ways in which we use your personal data;

• • to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority; and

• • To opt-out of any marketing messages, we may send you.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or the Company’s privacy practices, please email us at info@altruauctions.org immediately.

UPDATES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

Any changes we may make to our Privacy Policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail if you are a registered user or otherwise have given us your email address.  We will provide notice to you if these changes are material and, where required by applicable law, we will obtain your consent. Notice may be by email to you at the last email address you provided us, by posting notice of such changes on our sites and applications, or by other means, consistent with applicable law.

We encourage you to keep the email address you provide to us current and to promptly notify us of any changes to your email address, so that you may receive any notices we send to you regarding any material changes to this Privacy Policy that affect your rights.

If you do not agree to the new terms, you should stop using the Site and Services, and if you are a registered user, you may cancel your account with us and request deletion of your personal data, consistent with our Retention terms above by contacting us at info@altruauctions.org.