Privacy Statement

Last Revised: May 21, 2019

Your use of this APPA Website is subject to this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use . Please read this Privacy Statement carefully to understand how APPA treats the information it collects.

The American Pet Products Association (APPA) appreciates the trust and respects the privacy of everyone who uses our websites, https://www.appma.org/ and https://globalpetexpo.org (“Websites”), or our other digital communications assets, including our Global Pet Expo mobile application, our email distribution list, and the social media channels that we maintain. This Privacy Statement ("Privacy Statement") explains how APPA collects, uses, stores and protects the information that we collect from users of our Websites and our other digital assets and describes your rights and choices regarding the information that we collect.

APPA is a U.S. non-profit organization dedicated to promoting responsible pet care and advancing the pet products industry. APPA Members, both in the U.S. and internationally, are pet product manufacturers, their representatives, importers and livestock suppliers. Members include both large corporations and growing business enterprises across the globe. As a result, information that we collect on our Websites and through our other digital assets, including personal information, may be transferred to our U.S. offices to permit us to comply with our legal and contractual obligations, to provide information and services to prospective and current Members, and to perform related business activities.

In addition, we work with third-party service providers in the U.S. and in other countries to support our business activities. Thus, personal information may be transferred to, stored on servers in, and accessed from the United States and from countries other than the country in which the information was initially collected. In all such instances, we use, transfer, and disclose personal information solely for the purposes described in this Privacy Statement.

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement or about APPA’s privacy and data security practices, please contact us at [email protected] or by mail to:

APPA Headquarters
225 High Ridge Road
Suite W200
Stamford, CT 06905

Information Collection Not Covered by this Privacy Statement

This Privacy Statement does not apply to personal information that APPA collects and uses for employment-related purposes, whether through our Websites or through a Website operated on our behalf by a third-party service provider.

What APPA Means by “Personal Information”

For purposes of this Privacy Statement, “Personal Information” means any information from or about a person that either identifies that person directly or that makes that person identifiable when it is combined with other information from or about that person from any source. Personal Information stops being personal information when it has been aggregated, de-identified, or otherwise anonymized sufficiently that the individual is no longer identified or identifiable using reasonable efforts, resources, and technology.

“Sensitive Personal Information” is Personal Information that reveals racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership; genetic and biometric data if used for identification purposes; data about health, sex life, or sexual orientation; and data about criminal convictions or offenses.

Information that We Collect From and About You

Categories of Personal Information that We Collect on the Websites and in Digital Assets

Personal Information that you choose to share with us voluntarily when you ask a question, request follow-up, or order products directly from us, or register for one of our events (typically, your name, email and/or physical address, telephone number(s), and business affiliation).
Identifiers of devices used to access the Websites
Locations of devices used to access the Websites
Purchase history
Payment card information, which is collected through our third party payment process; we do not retain payment card information
User IDs and passwords

Information that You Provide to Us Voluntarily

If you choose to communicate with us through an online form, by sending us an email, by requesting additional information, by registering for one of our events, by purchasing goods or services from us, or by otherwise contacting us, we will collect whatever information, including Personal Information that you choose to provide us with. We will combine that information with other information that we collect from and about you as described in this Privacy Statement.

Information that We Collect Automatically When You Visit Our Websites

Logs

Our Websites automatically creates logs regarding user sessions that contain information about the features that you use, the actions that you take, and the information that you access. When your session ends, APPA only retains the information in a statistical and aggregated format (non-personal information) that we use for research purposes, for assessing the effectiveness of our Websites, and to improve user experience.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information transferred to your computer's hard drive through your web browser to enable our systems to recognize your preferences and settings. Cookies collect information such as the type of search engine used, the sections of the Websites visited, and other Website usage information. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, and you may manually disable them. For more information on disabling cookies, go to the "help" menu on your browser or to www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ or www.youronlinechoices.com. Our Websites may still be viewed if you choose to disable cookies, but your use and enjoyment of our Websites may be adversely affected.

We use session cookies for Website use and function, and those cookies expire at the end of the session. We use persistent cookies only to identify existing APPA Members when they visit the Member Site, and these cookies expire after 14 days.[A5] APPA may retain information from the session and persistent cookies in a statistical and aggregated format (non-personal information) for research purposes, assessing the effectiveness of our Websites, and improving user experience.

Analytics

Our Websites use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. ("Google"). Google uses cookies to help us analyze how visitors use our Websites. The information generated by the cookie about your use of our Websites is generally transmitted to and stored on a Google server in the U.S. We have activated IP anonymization so that Google will truncate/anonymize the last eight-bit segment of your IP address beforehand within Member States of the European Union or other parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area. Only in exceptional cases will the full IP address be transmitted to a Google server in the U.S. and truncated there. Google will use this information for evaluating your use of our Websites, compiling reports on Website activity, and providing us with other analytic services relating to our Website and Internet use. Google will not associate your IP address with any other data held by Google.

You may manage and opt out of Google’s use of cookies by visiting Google’s Ads settings and selecting the appropriate settings in your browser. However, please note that if you do so, you may not be able to use the full functionality of our Websites. Alternatively, you can prevent Google’s collection and use of data by downloading and installing the browser plugin available at: http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en and/or opt out by visiting www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ or www.youronlinechoices.com. For further information on Google’s terms of use and data protection/privacy, please see https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/, http://www.google.com/analytics/terms/us.html, and http://www.google.com/analytics/learn/index.html.

We collect and retain information from Google Analytics in a statistical and aggregated format (non-personal information) for research purposes, assessing the effectiveness of our Websites, and improving user experience.

Information that We Collect from Email Tracking Technology

Separate from the Website, we produce newsletters and other communications and use a web-based email service to distribute that information to Members and non-Members who sign up to receive APPA information, either through our Websites or through event registration. The email service uses tracking technology to provide us with information about when our emails are delivered and opened, as well as actions that the recipients take, including clicking on links included in the email and forwarding the email to others. We receive that information for individual recipients and also in an aggregated format that is no longer Personal Information. Recipients of our emails can opt-out or unsubscribe from them at any time, by using the unsubscribe link in each email we send or by contacting as shown below.

Information that We Collect From Other Sources

APPA receives event and membership lists from partner organizations that have been authorized to share them with us. To the extent that individuals on those lists are not already APPA Members or attendees, we use that information to identify individuals who might be interested in becoming APPA members.

Why We Collect Information From and About You

APPA does not collect, use, share, or disclose your Personal Information for anything other than the following lawful purposes:

To establish and maintain contractual relationships with our Members and non-Members

To establish relationships with new Members
To fulfill our obligations to current Members and non-Member event attendees
To contact Members regarding account-related issues and business communications, including technical notices, updates, security alerts, and administrative messages
To enable Members to access and use our Services

To comply with our legal obligations:

To demonstrate compliance with applicable privacy and data security law
To comply with incident monitoring, reporting, assessment, and notification requirements
To comply with other applicable criminal and civil law and regulatory requirements under federal, state, and international law

To provide services and information that you request and consent to receive:

To provide customer service and support
To communicate with you, including responding to your comments, questions, and requests
To provide direct marketing and email and to distribute other information about APPA and carefully selected APPA partners

To fulfill our other legitimate interests to the extent that they are not overridden by individual interests, fundamental rights, or freedoms:

To administer, operate, maintain, and secure our Websites
To monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our Websites and to conduct our business activities
To investigate and prevent fraudulent transactions, unauthorized access to our Websites, and other illegal activities
To verify compliance with our internal policies and procedures
For accounting, recordkeeping, backup, and administrative purposes
To customize and improve the content of our communications and Websites,
To provide information and education
To provide, operate, maintain, improve, personalize, and promote our business activities
To develop new products, services, features, and functionality

To the greatest extent possible, we will use aggregated, de-identified, or otherwise anonymized non-personal information to accomplish these purposes, but if we do not, or if we combine non-personal information with Personal Information, we will continue to treat all Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Statement.

APPA’s Information Sharing and Disclosure

Except to the extent necessary to fulfill our business obligations, to accomplish one of the lawful purposes described in this Privacy Statement, or in response to your express instructions, we do not sell, transfer, or otherwise disclose Personal Information that we collect from or about you.

With your consent: We will share your Personal Information with companies, organizations, or individuals outside of APPA only when we have your prior consent or you ask us in writing to do so. Sharing may include exhibitors at our events to the extent that you have agreed to such sharing via your registration.

When You Choose to Directly Share Your Information About Our Websites or Your Usage: When you use our Websites, certain features allow you to make some of your usage and content accessible to the public, directly or through social media platforms, We urge you to consider the sensitivity of any information prior to sharing it publicly or with other users.

With Our Service Providers, Business Partners and Others to

Accomplish Our Business Purposes as Stated in this Privacy Statement

We share your information with our service providers, such as infrastructure, web and event analytics, housing, registration, and other entities acting on our behalf to improve our events and offerings.

When Necessary to Comply with Laws and Law Enforcement Requests or Otherwise to Protect APPA, Its Members, and Individuals: We may disclose your information (including your Personal Information) to a third party if:

We believe that disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request;
To enforce our agreements, policies and terms of service;
To protect the security or integrity of APPA products and services;
To respond to an incident involving personal data for which APPA has direct or indirect responsibility
To protect the property, rights, and safety of APPA, our Members, or the public
To prevent harm or illegal activities
To respond to an emergency which we believe in the good faith requires us to disclose information to assist in preventing the death or serious bodily injury of any person; or
To investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations.

As the Result of a Business Transition: We may share or transfer your information (including your Personal Information) in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company. We will take reasonable steps to assure that any other entity involved continues to comply with the terms of this Privacy Statement. We will notify you of such a change in ownership or transfer of assets by posting a notice on our Websites.

Your Control Over Information that We Collect from and About You

You may decline to share certain Personal Information with us, in which case we may not be able to provide you with some of the features and functionality of our Websites or fulfill your requests.
You may decline to accept cookies, but that decision may affect the functionality and performance of our Websites.
You may opt out of receiving APPA communications by using the unsubscribe link within each email or by contacting us as shown below. Note that, as long as you maintain a Member account with us, you will continue to receive administrative messages from us regarding that Member account and services.
You may request information about, and access to, the personal data that we collect from you.
You may ask us to correct or update information that we have about you to the extent that you are not able to do so directly.
You may ask questions or make complaints about our privacy and data security practices with regard to your personal data.
You may request that we delete information that we have collected about you.
You may ask us for a copy of the information that we collected from you.

To exercise any of these options or for additional information about our privacy and data security practices, contact us at [email protected] or by mail to

APPA Headquarters
Attn: Julia Fidenzio
225 High Ridge Road
Suite W200
Stamford, CT 06905

If we are unable to address and resolve questions or concerns about your personal data, you may exercise such other rights as are available to you under U.S. and other applicable laws.

Security

APPA uses reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to provide a level of security appropriate to the risk associated with the Personal Information that we collect. We protect Personal Information under our control against – and require our service providers to also protectagainst – accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of or access to, personal data that is transmitted, stored, or otherwise processed. Only authorized employees or authorized Websites and email service providers have access to the data you provide, and that access is limited to least privilege, need to know access. APPA employees and our authorized service providers who have access to your personal data have agreed to maintain the confidentiality of that information.

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet and no data storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. In addition, for the Member Site, your password is a component of the APPA security system. As such, it is your responsibility to protect it. Do not share your password with any third parties. If your password has been compromised for any reason, you should notify APPA immediately.

If you have concerns about the security of your information with APPA, please contact us immediately at [email protected] or by mail to

APPA Headquarters
Attn: Julia Fidenzio
225 High Ridge Road
Suite W200
Stamford, CT 06905

You can also contact us via telephone at:

+1 203-532-0000 (tel)
+1 800-452-1225 (toll free)

Links to Other Sites

This Website contains links to third-party websites that are provided for your convenience. Except for websites that provide services from or on behalf of APPA, APPA does not endorse and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of third-party websites. We recommend that you review the privacy policies and terms of use that govern third-party websites when you visit them.

Data Retention

APPA retains information only as long as necessary to accomplish the business purpose for which it was collected and to comply with its legal and contractual obligations, plus 1 year, and then securely disposes of that information or converts it into non-personal information by aggregating it, de-identifying it, or otherwise anonymizing it so that it does not directly or indirectly identify you and cannot, with reasonable efforts, resources, and technologies, be used to re-identify you.[A12]

Children's Privacy

Our Website, and the services we provide to our Members, are not directed to or intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under 16. If we become aware that a child under the age of 16 has provided us with personal information, we will take steps to delete that information. If you become aware that a child under the age of 16 has provided us with Personal Information, please contact us at [email protected] or by mail to

APPA Headquarters
Attn: Julia Fidenzio
225 High Ridge Road
Suite W200
Stamford, CT 06905

California Privacy Rights

California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits Website users who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at [email protected] or by mail to

APPA Headquarters
Attn: Julia Fidenzio
225 High Ridge Road
Suite W200
Stamford, CT 06905

Transfers of Personal Information from Other Countries

APPA will comply with applicable law regarding the collection and transfer of Personal Information from countries that have privacy or data security laws that are inconsistent with the practices described in this Privacy Statement.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

APPA may change and update this Privacy Statement from time to time, including materially changing the collection, use, or sharing of Personal Information as described herein. When we do, we will also revise the “last updated” date, below. Any change or update to our Privacy Statement will be transmitted to Members in advance and posted on our Website under "Privacy Statement" at least 30 days prior to implementation.

Questions, Complaints, and Additional Information

If you have questions, complaints, or concerns about this Privacy Statement, your Personal Information, or our use and disclosure practices, or you wish to exercise your options as described in this Privacy Statement, please contact us at [email protected] or by mail to

APPA Headquarters
Attn: Julia Fidenzio
225 High Ridge Road
Suite W200
Stamford, CT 06905

Effective Date: May 22, 2019