wikiHow:Privacy-Policy

DATED 2023-01-01 · VERSION 20230201_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20230101_rev01 · ARCHIVE SNAPSHOT

Full text changes — 20230101_rev01 to 20230201_rev01

COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED

 When you use the Service, we may employ clear gifs (also known as web beacons) which are used to anonymously track the online usage patterns of our Users. In addition, we may also use clear gifs in HTML-based emails sent to our users to track which emails are opened and which links are clicked by recipients. The information provided by these clear gifs allows for more accurate reporting and improvement of the Service.
 Device identifiers:
 When you access the Service by or through a mobile device (including but not limited to smart-phones or tablets), we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store one or more "device identifiers," such as a universally unique identifier ("UUID"). Device identifiers are small data files or similar data structures stored on or associated with your mobile device, which uniquely identify your mobile device. A device identifier may be data stored in connection with the device hardware, data stored in connection with the device's operating system or other software, or data sent to the device by wikiHow. A device identifier may convey information to us about how you browse and use the Service. A device identifier may remain persistently on your device, to help you log in faster and enhance your navigation through the Service. Some features of the Service may not function properly if use or availability of device identifiers is impaired or disabled.
 Location data:
+When you access the Service by or through a mobile device, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store "location data," which may include GPS coordinates (e.g. latitude and/or longitude) or similar information regarding the location of your mobile device. Location data may convey to us information about how you browse and use the Service. Some features of the Service, particularly location-based services, may not function properly if use or availability of location data is impaired or disabled.
+When you access the Service by or through a mobile device, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store information regarding the location of your mobile device. Location data may convey to us information about how you browse and use the Service. Some features of the Service, particularly location-based services, may not function properly if use or availability of location data is impaired or disabled.
 Commercial and marketing communications:
 We use the information we collect or receive, such as your email address, to communicate directly with you. We may send you emails containing newsletters, promotions, and special offers. If you do not want to receive such email messages, you will be given the option to opt out or change your preferences. To opt out from our commercial and marketing communications please send us an email at support@wikihow.com, or follow unsubscribe directions placed in the body of the commercial and marketing communication that you have received from us.
 Where required, we may request that you consent (opt-in) to receiving such materials before we start sending them. We also use your information to send you Service-related emails (e.g., account verification, purchase and billing confirmations and reminders, changes/updates to features of the Service, technical and security notices). You may not opt out of Service-related emails. You may also be able to be "found" on wikiHow based on information that you provide (see "Find friends on wikiHow") above.
 (h) You have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection supervisory authority of the EU member state where you reside.
 Please note that the above legal rights are subject to various conditions and exceptions including where the data is used for statistical or scientific research purposes and the exercise of the right would prevent such purposes from being attained or would seriously impair their attainment.
 ## California Privacy Rights
+This section provides additional details about the personal information we collect about California residents and the rights afforded to them under the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA"). Our Services may collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or device ("Personal Information").
+This section provides additional details about the personal information we collect about California residents and the rights afforded to them under the California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") and the California Privacy Rights Act ("CPRA"). Our Services may collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or device ("Personal Information").
 **Personal Information wikiHow collects.** If you have accessed or used the wikiHow service in the last 12 months, we may have collected one or more of the following categories of Personal Information:
 - _Identifiers_ (such as your name, postal address, email address, IP address or other online identifiers).
 - _Protected classification characteristics_ under California or federal law such as age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression), sexual orientation. We do not solicit this information and may have collected only if you had chosen to share that information with us.
 - _Internet or other similar network activity_. (such as browsing history, search history, information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement).
 | A: Identifiers | With Service Providers to enable us to provide the Services | With Ad networks to deliver targeted advertisements |
 | B: California Customer Records personal information categories. | With Service Providers to enable us to provide the Services | None |
 | C: Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law. | With Service Providers to enable us to provide the Services | None |
 | F: Internet or other similar network activity. | With Service Providers to enable us to provide the Services | With Ad networks to deliver targeted advertisements |
 | G: Geolocation data. | With Service Providers to enable us to provide the Services | With Ad networks to deliver targeted advertisements |
+**Acknowledgment of Sensitive Personal Information**
+wikiHow does not collect Sensitive Personal Information as it is defined by the CPRA. However, you may have chosen to share Sensitive Personal Information in a publicly available manner on the wikiHow website. This information could include, but is not limited to, your racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, union membership, or personal information concerning your sex life or sexual orientation. We do not require this information and may have collected only if you had chosen to share that information with us. This information is also neither shared or sold with third party organizations. Even though this information would have been made publicly available by you and therefore is no longer considered Sensitive Personal Information under CPRA, if you would like wikiHow to limit the use of or disclosure of that information, please contact privacy@wikihow.com.
+**Data Retention**
+wikiHow only keeps your Personal Information for as long as is necessary for the purposes for which it is collected and processed. Once the Personal Information is no longer needed for the purposes declared, wikiHow will permanently delete this information or make the data anonymous such that individuals tied to the data can no longer be identified. In rare cases, we may keep data for longer periods in order to comply with applicable laws, resolve disputes with any parties, and otherwise as necessary to conduct our business. Our data retention practices for each category of Personal Information collected by wikiHow are as follows:
+- Identifiers - this information, such as your name, email address, and account name, is retained for as long as your wikiHow account is open with us. If you delete your account on wikiHow, these identifiers are also deleted. In addition, anonymous edits (i.e. those made by individuals without a wikiHow account) made to articles will show the IP address of the anonymous edit for tracking purposes and these addresses will remain in the relevant article's edit history.
+- California Customer Records personal information categories - if you have an account with us, you may choose to attach your real name to your account (though we do not require this). This information is retained for as long as your account is open with us. If your account is deleted, this information is also deleted.
+- Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law - wikiHow does not require this information from our users though users may choose to share this information on their user page. If you share this information on your user page, the information is stored for as long as you have an account with us. If you delete your account, this information will also be deleted.
+- Internet or other similar network activity - wikiHow deletes this data within 2 months of its collection in most cases. In certain cases, information about this activity is collected and stored for product development purposes to better understand the way in which our users interact with our products and features. This data is deleted after this product development cycle is completed.
+- Geolocation data - wikiHow deletes this data within 2 months of its collection in most cases. In certain cases, this information is collected and stored for product development purposes to better understand the way in which our users interact with our products and features. This data is deleted after this product development cycle is completed.
+**Automated Decision Making**
+wikiHow acknowledges that under the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is mandated to issue regulations on consumer rights with respect to businesses' use of automated decision making technology. wikiHow is monitoring this closely and will update this Privacy Policy as those regulations are finalized and put into effect.
 **Your Rights as a California Resident**
+Effective on January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides consumers (California residents) with specific rights regarding their Personal Information. If you reside in California, you may exercise the following rights:
+Effective on January 1, 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) provides consumers (California residents) with specific rights regarding their Personal Information. Effective on January 1, 2023, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) provides consumers additional rights regarding their Personal Information. If you reside in California, you may exercise the following rights:
 - _A right to disclosure_ of the categories of Personal Information collected by us
 - _A right to disclosure_ of the specific pieces of Personal Information collected by us
 - _A right to deletion_ of Personal Information by us (subject to certain Exceptions outlined below)
+- _A right to receive_ Personal Information in a format that will allow its transfer to third parties by you
+- _A right to receive_ Personal Information in a format that will allow its transfer to third parties by you and/or request that wikiHow transfer that Personal Information to another entity
 - _A right to opt-out of the "sale" of Personal Information_, where a "sale" under the CCPA means "selling, renting, releasing, disclosing, disseminating, making available, transferring, or otherwise communicating orally, in writing, or by electronic or other means, a consumer's Personal Information to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration."
+- _A right to opt-out of the "share" of Personal Information_ to another business or a third party for monetary or other valuable consideration.
+- _A right to correct_ Personal Information about you that is inaccurate
 - _A right to sue_ for security breaches of Personal Information.
 **Access to specific information and data portability rights**
+You have the right to request that we disclose to you your Personal Information we have collected about you over the past 12 months from the day of your request. Once we receive and confirm your request, we will disclose to you:
+You have the right to request that we disclose to you your Personal Information we have collected about you on or after January 1, 2022. Once we receive and confirm your request, we will disclose to you:
 - The categories of Personal Information we collected about you.
 - The categories of sources for the Personal Information we collected about you.
 - Our business and commercial purposes for collecting or selling that Personal Information.
 - The categories of third parties with whom we shared that Personal Information.
 - The specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you.
 - If we "sold" or disclosed your Personal Information for a business purpose, up to two separate lists disclosing:
     - if we "sold" your Personal Information, "sales", identifying the Personal Information categories that each category of recipient "purchased"; and
     - if we disclosed your Personal Information, disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the Personal Information categories that each category of recipient obtained.
 **Deletion request rights**
+You have the right to request that we delete any of Personal Information data that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain Exceptions (as listed below). Once we receive and confirm your request, we will delete your Personal Information from our records unless an Exception applies.
+You have the right to request that we delete any of Personal Information data that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain Exceptions (as listed below). Once we receive and confirm your request, we will delete your Personal Information from our records unless an Exception applies. When we receive a request to delete your Personal Information, we need to notify all service providers and third parties to whom we've sold or shared that Personal Information and request that those service providers and third parties also delete the Personal Information.
 We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our Provider(s):
 - to complete the transaction for which we collected the Personal Information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you;
 - to detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities;
 - to debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality;
 - to comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et. seq.);
 - to engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information's deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research's achievement, if you previously provided informed consent;
 - to enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us;
 - to comply with a legal obligation; or
 - to make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it (each an "Exception" and collectively, "Exceptions").
+**Correction Request Rights**
+You have the right to request that we correct any Personal Information that we collected and retained about you. We will make a reasonable effort to correct any inaccurate Personal Information within 45 days of receiving a verifiable consumer request. To verify a consumer's identity, we will ask for a minimum of two pieces of Personal Information, which include but are not limited to full name, email address, or other site identifiers like a username. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with Personal Information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the Personal Information relates to you. To exercise a request to correct any Personal Information, please submit a request to us by either:
+- privacy@wikihow.com
+- (888) 338-6485
 **Non-Discrimination**
+We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:
+We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA or CPRA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA or CPRA, we will not:
 - deny you goods or services.
 - charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
 - provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
 - suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.
+However, we may still offer you certain financial incentives that can result in different prices, rates or service quality levels as permitted by the CCPA. We do not at this time provide any such financial incentives.
+However, we may still offer you certain financial incentives that can result in different prices, rates or service quality levels as permitted by the CCPA or CPRA. We do not at this time provide any such financial incentives.
 **Exercising Access, Data Portability and Deletion Rights**
 To exercise your rights described above, please submit a request to us by either:
 - privacy@wikihow.com
 - (888) 338-6485
 - provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected Personal Information or an authorized representative; and
 - describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
 Making a request does not require you to create an account with us. Also, we will only use Personal Information provided in a request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.
 **Your Authorized Agent**
+You have the right to designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf.
+You have the right to designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CPRA on your behalf.
 **Response Timing and Format**
+We will confirm that we received your request within ten (10) days and will respond within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. We will deliver our written response electronically or, at your option, by mail. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the 12-month period preceding our receipt of the request. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your Personal Information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.
+We will confirm that we received your request within ten (10) days and will respond within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. We will deliver our written response electronically or, at your option, by mail. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your Personal Information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance. We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.
 **Use of Personal Information**
 wikiHow collects personal information to provide the wikiHow service, and for the business and commercial purposes described in the "How We Collect and Use Information" section above. Please see the "Sharing of Your Information" section above for details about how wikiHow shares your information with third parties. For details regarding the potential sale of personal information please read the "Ads on wikiHow" sub-section above. As described therein, we may provide data such as your location, browser, cookies, and other data related to your use of the wikiHow Service to deliver targeted advertisements on the wikiHow Service. To opt out of these sales, please use the following link: [Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information](https://www.wikihow.com/wikiHow:Privacy-Policy).
 ## Application
 This Privacy Policy relates to your personal data or personal information, meaning data about you, an individual, from which you can be identified. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any data insofar as it is held, processed, disclosed or published in a form which cannot be linked to a living individual (such as anonymized data, or aggregated data which cannot directly or indirectly be used to extract your personal data). We reserve the right to generate anonymized and aggregated data extracted out of any databases containing your personal data and to make use of any such anonymized and aggregated data as we see fit (including publishing such data and sharing it with third parties).
 ## Changes to Our Privacy Policy
 wikiHow may modify or update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect the changes in our business and practices, and so you should review this page periodically. When we change the policy in a material manner, we will let you know and update the 'last modified' date at the bottom of this page.
+This privacy policy was last modified on May 2, 2022.
+This privacy policy was last modified on January 1, 2023.