Swae Privacy Policy

Your Information: How We Collect and Use It

TL;DR The Simple Version Goes Like This… Swae will always respect your privacy, your email address, and any personal information you share with us when signing up for an account. We will never sell, trade, or abuse your information. We exist to make the world a better place and wouldn’t actively undermine that mission by compromising our users privacy or trust.

Always Helpful and Relevant
When you request information about our platform, you’ll receive helpful and relevant communication about our product; nothing more than that.

Don’t Forget! You can unsubscribe anytime
If you wish to stop receiving emails from us, you may unsubscribe at any time by using the link provided at the bottom of our emails.

We don’t sell information and Swae doesn’t make money from ads. And that won’t change at any time in the future. We don’t collect data in order to advertise products to you. The only tracking we do at Swae is for our own internal product improvement purposes in order to understand where you may have faced friction in order to make our product work as well as possible.

In order to give you the best possible experience using Swae, we only collect information from your interactions with our platform. We don’t track where you went after leaving our platform. Some of this information, you actively tell us (such as your email address), which we use to track the frequency of your logins and usage, or communicate with you.

Other information, we collect based on actions you take while using Swae, such as what pages you access and your interactions with our product features (like proposals created, comments made, highlights, follows, and applause received). This information includes records of those interactions, your Internet Protocol address, information about your device (such as device or browser type), and referral information.

We only use this information to:

  • provide, test, improve, promote and personalize Swae Services
  • fight spam and other forms of abuse
  • generate aggregate, non-identifying information about how people use Swae Services

Your Swae Account

When you create your Swae account, and authenticate with a third-party service (like Twitter, Facebook or Google) we may collect, store, and periodically update information associated with that third-party account, such as your lists of friends or followers. We currently don’t do this but may in the future, and if we do, we will always ask your permission to grant us these rights before doing so. We will never publish information through your third-party account without your expressed permission.

By creating an account on Swae, users may make certain personal data about themselves public and accessible to others on their profile and through network interactions. This may in some cases constitute special category protected data which is considered manifestly made public by the user.

Due to the public nature of information posted to Swae, it may be possible for third parties to derive identifying personal data from posts, whether by reading, inference, supplemental research, or automated extraction and analysis. While we give users the option of anonymity, the inferences made by third parties sits outside of Swae’s control to monitor and prevent.

Users are free to use their real name and information, or a pseudonym of their choosing, for their account. Users may also choose to use the service without posting data or engaging in network interactions. However, if you do not agree with and accept the risks of such usage, you may not use the services.

Information Disclosure

Swae won’t transfer information about you. Like others in the tech space (we don’t have to name any names, do we?!) We won’t ever sell to third parties for the purpose of providing or facilitating third-party advertising to you.
We won’t sell information about you. We may share your account information with third parties in some circumstances, including: (1) with your consent (meaning you’ll know beforehand, not after); (2) to a service provider or partner who meets our data protection standards; (3) with academic or non-profit researchers, with aggregation, anonymization, or pseudonomization; (4) when we have a good faith belief it is required by law, such as pursuant to a subpoena or other legal process; (5) when we have a good faith belief that doing so will help prevent imminent harm to someone.

Legal Responses

If we are going to share your information in response to legal process, we’ll give you notice so you can challenge it (for example by seeking court intervention), unless we’re prohibited by law or believe doing so may endanger others. We will object to requests for information about users of our services that we believe are improper and inappropriate.

Data Storage
Swae uses third-party vendors and hosting partners, such as Amazon Web Services, for hardware, software, networking, cloud storage, and related technology we need to run Swae. We maintain two types of logs: server logs and event logs. By using Swae Services, you authorize Swae to transfer, store, and use your information in data centers stationed in the United States and any other country where we operate.

Third-Party Embeds
Some of the content that you see displayed on Swae is not hosted by Swae. These “embeds” are hosted by a third-party and embedded in Swae. For example: YouTube or Vimeo videos, Unsplash, Imgur or Giphy gifs, SoundCloud audio files, Twitter tweets, GitHub code, or Scribd documents that appear within a Swae post.

These files send data to the hosted site just as if you were visiting that site directly (for example, when you load a Swae post page with a YouTube video embedded in it, YouTube receives data about your activity). Swae does not control what data third parties collect in cases like this, or what they will do with it. So, third-party embeds on Swae is not covered by this privacy policy. They are covered by the privacy policy of the third-party service.

Some embeds may ask you for personal information, such as your email address, through a form. We do our best to keep bad actors off of Swae. However, if you choose to submit your information to a third party this way, we don’t know what they may do with it and take no responsibility in the interaction between you two. As explained above, their actions are not covered by this Privacy Policy.

So, please be careful when you see embedded forms on Swae asking for your email address or any other personal information. Make sure you understand who you are submitting your information to and what they say they plan to do with it. We suggest that you do not submit personal information to any third-party through an embedded form.
If you embed a form that allows submission of personal information by users, you must provide near the embedded form a prominent link to an applicable Privacy Policy that clearly states how to you intend to use any information collected. Failure to do so may lead Swae to disable the post or take other action to limit or disable your account.

Tracking & Cookies
We use browser cookies and similar technologies to recognize you when you return to our site. We use them in various ways, but want to understand your interactions within the Swae network (which encompasses Swae.com and custom domains hosted by Swae) so that we can understand how to better serve YOU. This is, after all, about YOU. Not us.

Some third-party services that we use to provide the Swae Service, such as Google Analytics, may place their own cookies in your browser. This Privacy Policy covers use of cookies by Swae only and not the use of cookies by third parties.

Swae complies with the “Do Not Track” (“DNT”) standards and logged-out users browsing with DNT enabled, Swae’s analytics will not receive data about you, but we will do some first-party tracking in order to customize content and provide data to third-party service providers that enable Swae Services to work. When you use Swae while logged-in to your account, we cannot comply with DNT.

Dealing with Cookies
The majority of internet browsers will provide an option to disallow cookies (definitely not speaking to the chocolate chip kind here, sadly).

You can usually find how to do this in the help menu for your browser. Cookies can also be deleted by using your internet browser, but you must disallow cookies otherwise they will be reapplied the next time you visit a website.  If you disable cookies you may find that certain sections of our website will not work. For example, you may have difficulties logging-in or adding items to your basket.

Your ability to control the cookies you accept depends on the type of browser you are currently using. Here’s how to manage tracking (at the time this has been written):

Internet Explorer
Choose Tools
Click Internet Options
Click then Privacy tab, go to Settings, move the slider to the top to block all cookies or to the bottom to allow all cookies. Click OK.
Internet Explorer 9.0+
Choose Tools
Click Internet Options
Click Privacy Tab and click on the Advanced Button. Now, you can Allow or Block First-Party Cookies and Third-Party Cookies
Click OK

Firefox
Choose Tools
Options
Click the Privacy tab,
Use Custom settings for history
Check mark Accept cookies from sites to enable Cookies, and uncheck it to disable
Choose how long cookies are allowed to be stored:
Keep until: they expire
Keep until: I close Firefox
Keep until: ask me every time
Click OK

Google Chrome
Click the spanner icon on the browser toolbar
Select Options (Preferences on Mac and Linux; Settings on a Chromebook)
Click the Under the Bonnet tab
Click Content settings in the Privacy section
Click the Cookies tab in the Content Setting dialogue that appears

Safari
From the Safari menu, click Preferences
From the Security dialogue box, from Accept Cookies, click to select Always
Click Close

Emails from Swae
In order to inform you, as a subscriber, about products and services supplied by this website. As a user, you will be able to subscribe through an online automated process – this will be at your own discretion.

Swae collects and stores personal data about its users to customize reading. This includes automated decision-making to promote content tailored to the preferences and interests indicated by the user, and to their browsing history and network interactions.
Swae also filters content for the purposes of fighting and preventing spam, fraud, and other forms of abuse.

We are GDPR-compliant and email subscriptions are private and your personal details will NOT be passed on to third parties or shared with companies / people outside of Swae.

Sometimes we’ll send you emails about your account, service changes or new policies. You can’t opt out of this type of “transactional” email (unless you delete your account). But, you can opt out of non-administrative emails such as digests, newsletters, and activity notifications through your account’s “Settings” page.

When you interact with an email sent from Swae (such as opening an email or clicking on a particular link in an email), we may receive information about that interaction. We won’t email you to ask for your password or other account information. If you receive such an email, please send it to us so we can investigate.
Any email marketing campaigns published by this website may contain tracking facilities within the actual email. Subscriber activity will be tracked and stored in a database for future analysis and evaluation. Such tracked activity may include; the opening of emails, forwarding of emails, the clicking of links within the email content, times, dates and frequency of activity.

This information is used to refine future email campaigns and supply you, the user, with more relevant content based around your activity.

This process will be detailed at the footer of each email campaign. If an automated unsubscribe system is unavailable clear instructions on how to unsubscribe will by detailed instead.

External Links
This website contains links to other websites operated by our partners and others.  Although we only look to include quality, safe and relevant external links, you are advised that by clicking any external link on this website, you do so at your own risk.

Swae cannot guarantee or verify the contents of any externally linked website despite our best efforts. In addition, we cannot be held liable for any damages or implications caused by visiting any of the external links mentioned.  If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that they will have their own privacy policies.  We don’t accept any responsibility or liability for these policies.  So, please check the policies before you submit any personal information to these websites.

Social Media Platforms
Communication, engagement and actions taken through external social media platforms that this website and Swae participate on are subject to the terms and conditions as well as the privacy policies held by each of these social media platforms.

You are advised to use social media platforms wisely, communicating and engaging on them with caution so far as your own privacy and personal details are concerned. We will never ask you for personal or sensitive information via social media platforms.  If you wish to discuss sensitive information, please contact us via telephone or email.

This website may use social sharing buttons which help share web content directly from web pages to the social media platform in question. You are advised that the use of such social sharing buttons is at your own discretion.  Please note that the social media platform may track and save your request to share a web page through your social media platform account.

Trust Center: You can see more details here as to why you should trust us here.

Data Security
We use encryption (HTTPS/TLS) to protect data transmitted to and from our site. However, no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure, so we can’t guarantee security. You use the Service at your own risk, and you’re responsible for taking reasonable measures to secure your account.

Business Transfers
If we were to be involved in a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, reorganization or sale of assets such that your information would be transferred or become subject to a different privacy policy, we’ll notify you in advance so you can opt out of any such new policy by deleting your account before transfer.

Changes to this Policy
Swae may periodically update this Policy. It may change without notice.

Purposes of Processing
Provide, test, promote, and improve the services
Gather usage statistics of services
Provide customized reading experience
Publish and distribute user-generated content
Provide access to paid content
Pay authors in Partnership Program for certain content
Fight spam, fraud, and other abuse of services

Legal Bases
In order to provide our services, Swae collects and stores personal data about its users on the legal basis of consent given when you create an account and agree to this Privacy Policy.

Swae also pursues its legitimate interests by collecting minimal data of logged out users to provide the services, as outlined above. Where Swae collects and stores personal data about non-users, it does so under performance of contract obligations with users who use the services to publish content on web sites hosted by Swae. In such cases, users authoring such content containing personal data of third parties are responsible for that content. Swae will consider related complaints in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation’s rights of the data subject, as well as rights of expression and access to information.

Categories of Recipients
Swae shares minimal personal data with third-party processors in order to provide the Services. These processors offer at least the same level of data protection as that set out in this statement. This includes the following categories of recipients:
Hosting, Storage, & Other Infrastructure
Security
Analytics
Communication & Support
Payment Processors

Cross-border Transfers
Swae is hosted in the United States. By using Swae Services, you authorize Swae to transfer, store, and use your information in the United States & Canada and any other country where we operate. Where your data is disclosed to our processors, it is subject by contract to at least the same level of data protection as that set out in this statement.

Retention of Data
Swae retains personal data associated with your account for the lifetime of your account. If you would like to delete your personal information, you can delete your account at any time. Deleted account profile pages will yield an error 404 “file not found” page, immediately upon initiating deletion, and will become unrecoverable in our system after a period of fourteen days. It may take several additional days for your personal data to be de-indexed from search engines, depending on those search engines’ practices, over which Swae may have limited or no control.

To delete your payment or billing information, you will need to do so with your payment provider, as Swae only has minimal secure access to those records as needed to provide the services.

Rights of Data Subjects
If you sign up for a Swae account, you may at any time request an export of your personal information from the Settings page.
You may correct information associated with your account from the Settings page, and the Customize Your Interests page to update your interests.

You may withdraw consent by deleting your account at any time through the Settings page, which will erase your personal information completely within 14 days (except to the extent Swae is prevented by law from deleting your information).
You may object at any time to the use of your personal data by contacting us here. If your complaint relates to alleged misuse of your personal data by a third party, it may result in suspension of that post or account in keeping with relevant law, public interest, our contractual obligations, and the rights of expression and access to information of others.
You may at any time lodge a complaint regarding the processing of your personal data by Swae with the Supervisory Authority of your EU member state.

Questions and Feedback
We welcome feedback about this policy here.

>

Pin It on Pinterest