Claritas Privacy Notice

Last Updated: September 9, 2024

Claritas, LLC (“Company” ("Claritas" or "we" "us" "our") is a data-driven marketing company that helps marketers find the best prospects, improve marketing execution, and deliver superior ROI. We provide targeted advertising and marketing services for our advertiser, advertising agency and publisher customers and help them to create, manage and measure served advertisements, measure website and other digital property visits, and monitor the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

To provide our services, we collect and use information about consumers who are targeted with ads and visit measured websites. By “information” we mean information relating to an identified or identifiable consumer or that is considered “personal information” or “personal data” under applicable law.

This Privacy Policy describes:

• The types of information Claritas collects from consumers.
• How that information is collected and used.
• To whom that information is disclosed.
• Consumer choices regarding the collection and use of such information.
• How that information is secured.

See additional relevant disclosures if you are a consumer who lives in:
California
Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, or Virginia
Nevada

For our contact details, see the Contact Us section below.

What Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information about consumers:

• Device identifiers, such as Ad IDs and IP addresses. Ad IDs are user-resettable identifiers (such as the Apple IDFA or Android Advertising ID) found in mobile device operating systems. IP addresses are numbers that identify a device connected to an internet network. IP addresses may be hashed or encrypted based on local legislation or other requirements.
  Device identifiers may also include both identifiable and pseudonymous advertiser identifiers, which are unique identifiers generated by us or a third party that are linked to a device and may or may not be intended to identify a consumer.
• Device information, such as operating software and browser details (e.g., type, version, and configuration), internet service provider details, and regional and language settings.
• Internet activity, such as device browsing history and interactions, date and times of visits, domains and pages visited, referring and exiting pages, and ad data. Ad data is data about the online ads that have been served or attempted to be served to a device. For example, how many times an ad has been served and whether the ad was clicked on or otherwise interacted with.
• Non-precise location data, such as location derived from an IP address or data that indicates a city or postal code level.
• Contact identifiers, such as name, email address, phone number, postal address, and social media handle.
• Characteristics or demographics, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and marital status.
• Protected classifications, such as national origin, race, age, and gender.
• Commercial information, such as records of properties and purchases of products and services, communications, such as the inquiries, and requests that you send to us, and customer service call recordings, which may help us facilitate your inquiries or for quality and training purposes.
• Inferences generated from any of the above. For example, consumer interests and preferences.

How We Collect Information

We collect information in the following contexts:

• When you interact with a website, mobile app, advertising, podcast, or other online service that contains the Claritas pixel
  Claritas operates a proprietary Claritas pixel. A pixel is a small transparent image that is placed on websites, mobile apps, advertisements, podcasts, and other online services that allows communication between a web browser and a server. We collect information through Claritas pixels embedded within the websites, mobile apps, advertisements, podcasts, and other online services of our business customers and third parties who have contracted with Claritas to use the pixel.
• When you respond to our surveys
  We collect information when you respond to our opt-in surveys and questionnaires, which may include sensitive data.  Collected survey information is de-identified, aggregated and modeled to create usable insights into consumer lifestyles and interests.  We never share identifiable survey data with customers or other third parties.
• When you interact with our website
  We collect information when you browse or otherwise interact with the Claritas website, including information you provide directly (such as in a webform) and information automatically collected through third party pixels and cookies embedded within the website. Cookies are small text files stored in a web browser that can remember preferences, recognize browsers, and communicate with pixels. Cookies can be controlled by browser settings. We may also use third-party analytics and advertising services, such as Google Analytics, to monitor and analyze the use of our website and assist us with relevant ads on other websites.
• Information from our business customers
  We obtain information provided by our business customers in connection with helping them create, manage and measure served advertisements, measure website and other digital property visits, and monitor the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. For example, we may collect information through third party pixels and cookies embedded within their services, such as Google’s ad server (DFP).  We also receive customer and marketing lists from our business customers to help them understand and connect with new and existing customers.
• Information from third party data sources
  We also collect information from third party data sources, such as business to business companies; consumer survey companies; data brokers; public and government entities; and third party websites authorized to share such data. Our data is sourced ethically, and information provider companies commit to providing proper notice about information collection and use and to abiding by all applicable laws, regulations and industry guidelines. Sensitive data is collected from suppliers that comply with state laws regarding the collection and use of such data.

How We Use the Information

We may collect and use consumer personal information for the following purposes:

• Provide Data Services. We use collected and inferred personal information to create consumer databases, which can be used for analytics purposes to provide insights on trends in the marketplace or a particular industry and to help companies better understand their customers and prospects to predict buying behaviors and build brand loyalty. Claritas consumer databases enable marketers connect with new and existing consumers in both digital and offline channels, such as direct mail, email, and online advertisements.
• Provide Online Campaign and Measurement Services. We use personal information collected through tagged websites, platforms, mobile apps, advertising, podcasts, and other online services for the following:
  • Targeting - Selecting ads that are more likely to be relevant to you based on the interests previously associated with your device and the time of day you may be most interested in viewing these specific ads.
  • Frequency capping - Making sure you don't see the same ad too many times.
  • Sequencing - If you are being served a sequence of ads, making sure we show you the right ad next in the sequence.
  • Cross-device matching - Identifying different devices that are likely to be associated with you so that ads can be targeted, capped and sequenced across those devices, and so that campaign effectiveness can be measured and analyzed.
  • Attribution - Monitoring when, where, and at what price we served certain ads on behalf of an advertiser so that we can measure our influence on the marketing results of the advertiser’s campaigns and overall marketing strategy.
  • Reporting - Providing advertisers insights into how their ads are performing and gain insights into their customers. Reporting may include ad metrics such as impressions, clicks, and conversions. This data allows an advertiser to determine if an ad is not performing well (customers are not clicking on it), so that the advertiser will be able to see that data and update the ad.
  • Improvements - Developing and improving our services, including training our models and algorithms.

In some cases, we act as a processor or service provider on behalf of a business customer with respect to the collection of personal information as part of our online campaign and measurement services.  When acting in such capacity, we will process the information in strict accordance with the permissions and restrictions imposed by the business customer providing such information. Please see our business customer’s privacy policy for details.

• For Research and Development. We use your personal information for research and development purposes, including to study and improve our data services, understand and analyze the usage trends and preferences of our clients, and develop new features, functionality, products, and services. As part of these activities, we may create aggregated, de-identified, or other anonymized data from the personal information we collect. We make personal information into anonymous data by removing information that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We may use this anonymous data and share it with third parties for our lawful business purposes.

• For Compliance and Protection. We may use your personal information to comply with applicable laws, lawful requests, and legal process, such as to respond to subpoenas or requests from government authorities; maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our Data Services, business, databases, and other technology assets; protect our, your, or others’ rights, privacy, safety, or property (including by making and defending legal claims); audit our internal processes for compliance with legal and contractual requirements and internal policies; enforce the terms and conditions that govern our services; and prevent, identify, investigate, and deter fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, unethical, or illegal activity, including cyberattacks and identity theft.

To Whom We Disclose Information

Sharing, Sales, and Disclosures for Targeted Advertising Purposes

We share information with our business customers and other third parties for purposes of direct marketing (offline and online), advertising, and analytics services. Under some privacy laws, this type of sharing may be called “sharing,” “selling,” or disclosing for purposes of “targeted advertising.”

The categories of business customers include:  Consumer Packaged Goods Companies, Communication Services Companies, Parenting Product Companies, Consumer Services Companies, Health and Wellness Product and Service Companies, Marketing Data Companies, Data Analytics Providers, Operating Systems and Platforms, Social Networks, Consumer Data Resellers, Educational Institutions and Companies, Electronic Companies, Energy and Utility Companies, Financial Services Companies, Food and Beverage Companies, Lifestyle and Interests Product Companies, Manufacturing Companies, Not for Profit Organizations, Government Agencies Technology and Computer Software Companies, Telecommunications Companies, Travel, Leisure & Entertainment Companies.

The categories of other third parties receiving information include: 

• Advertising and Analytics Companies, such as Advertising Networks, Advertising and Marketing Companies, Data Analytics Providers, Social Networks, Marketing Data Companies, and Consumer Data Resellers.
• Service Providers, such as cloud security and storage providers, advertising networks, advertising and marketing companies, for the limited purposes of maintaining or servicing accounts, processing or fulfilling orders and transactions, verifying customer information, processing payments, providing analytic services, providing storage and helping to ensure security and integrity.
• Related Companies, such as our affiliates and subsidiaries.
• Business Transaction Participants, such as participants in any potential corporate divestiture, merger, consolidation, acquisition, reorganization, sale or other disposition of assets or equity interests in Claritas or our affiliates (including, in connection with a bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
• Authorities and Others, such as law enforcement, government authorities, and private parties, as we believe, in good faith, to be necessary or appropriate to comply with a law, to exercise a right or privilege, or for the other purposes described in the “Compliance and Protection” section above.
• Professional Advisors, such as lawyers, bankers, consultants, auditors, and insurers, as necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.

Rights and Choices Regarding Your Personal Information

General Privacy Rights: Access/Know, Correct, Delete and Opt-out

This section describes the choices available to residents of the United States. Please note, Claritas does not permit any personal information from outside of the United States to be used or processed as part of our services, and for that reason we do not respond to related requests from outside the United States.  For any processing of personal information from outside of the United States, please see the privacy policy of our wholly owned subsidiary, AdXcel, Inc. dba ArtsAI, which employs its own pixel and process for the collection and processing of such information, separate from that of Claritas.

• Access/Know: You may submit a request to access your information by using the form here, or you may call 1-888-994-9312.
• Correct: If, after receiving an access report, you feel that information about you is incorrect, you may submit a request to correct this information by using the form here or calling 1-888-981-0040 and listen for the prompt for privacy requests.
• Delete: You may submit a request to delete your information from our database here or, you may call 1-800.866.6511.

Please note that before we can process your requests, we may need to verify that you are who you say you are and to confirm that your request is authentic. We will review the information provided and may request additional information to ensure we are interacting with the correct individual. This is a security measure to, for example, help ensure we do not disclose information to a person who is not entitled to receive it. The identity verification process may vary depending on how you submit your request.

You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access, correction, or deletion twice within a 6-month period. The verifiable consumer request must 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. 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. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.

We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable.

Opting Out:  At Claritas, we want to make it easy for you to opt-out of our use of your consumer information in our marketing products and solutions.  Please follow the links below to access our opt-out portals.

• Opt Out from Sale or Sharing of Information From Offline Marketing DatabasesIf you wish to have your information removed from Claritas offline marketing databases, please make your request
• Opt Out from Sale of Digital Information: To exercise your right to opt out of us selling or sharing your personal information, click here to manage your technology preferences or turn on a recognized opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, in your browser or extension. Please note that when you opt out of tracking through the methods above, we do not know who you are within our systems, and your opt out will apply only to information collected through tracking technologies on the specific browser from which you opt out or, where required by law, to any pseudonymous profiles we maintain associated with your browser or device. If you delete or reset your cookies, or use a different browser or device, you will need to reconfigure your settings.
• Opt Out of Claritas Marketing Emails. If you are subscribed to receive promotional emails from Claritas, you may opt out of those marketing-related emails by following the opt-out or unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of the email.  You may continue to receive service-related and other non-marketing emails.
• DAA Opt Out. Claritas is a participant in the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), and we adhere to the DAA Self-Regulatory Principles. The DAA offers an opt-out tool that allows consumers to reduce the number of targeted ads they receive from DAA participants. This opt-out tool does not impact how participants use or disclose information collected through the Claritas pixel.  For details on how to opt out, see https://youradchoices.com/control. We are not responsible for the effectiveness of their tools.

To make those requests by mail, please include your full name, complete address, including unit or suite number, gender and age, as well as a telephone number in case we need to contact you.  Please do not send original documents. Copies of your documents will be shredded after use.

Mail your request and information to:

Privacy Officer
Claritas, LLC
8044 Montgomery Road, Suite 455
Cincinnati, OH 45236 USA

Or email: privacyinfo@claritas.com

Please be aware that we do not accept or process requests through other means (e.g., via fax, social media).

Data Retention

We will retain each of the categories of personal information listed above for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose of collection, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements, to establish and defend legal claims, for fraud prevention purposes, or as long as required to meet our legal obligations. To determine the appropriate retention period for personal information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal information, the purposes for which we process your personal information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

Data Security and Protection

No method of transmission over the internet, or method of electronic storage, is fully secure.  While we use reasonable efforts to protect your personal information from the risks presented by unauthorized access or acquisition, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information.

Collection of Information Related to Children

The Data Services are not intended for use by anyone under the age of the 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal information about children under 16 years of age.

Additional Information for California Residents: Your California Privacy Rights

This section applies solely to the personal information of consumers who reside in the State of California ("consumers" or "you") and supplements the information above. We have included this section to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended (CCPA) and any terms defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this section.

Notice at Collection

For residents of California, at or before the time of collection of your personal information, you have the right to receive notice of our data practices. Our data practices are as follows:

• Collection. The categories of personal information we have collected in the past 12 months and the categories sources from which the personal information is collected are set out in the “What Information We Collect” and “How We Collect Information” sections above.
• Purpose. The specific business and commercial purposes for collecting and using personal information are set out in the “How We Use the Information” section above.
• Disclosure. The categories of persons to whom personal information is disclosed, including service providers for business purposes, are set out in the “To Whom We Disclose Information” section above. We disclose the categories of personal information listed in the “What Information We Collect” section above to service providers for business purposes.
• Sales and Shares. Some of our disclosures of personal information may be considered a “sale” or “share” as those terms are defined under California law. A “sale” is broadly defined to include a disclosure for something of value, and a “share” is broadly defined to include a disclosure for cross-context behavioral advertising. We collect, sell, or share the categories of information listed in the “What Information We Collect” section above.
• Sensitive Data. To the extent any personal information we collect is considered sensitive personal information under California law, we collect, use, and disclose sensitive personal information only for the permissible business purposes for sensitive personal information under the CCPA or without the purpose of inferring characteristics about consumers.
• Retention. The criteria used to determine the period of time we retain your personal information is set out in the “Data Retention” section below.

Your Rights

The CCPA provides consumers with specific rights regarding their personal information. This section describes your CCPA rights and explains how to exercise those rights.

Sales and Shares

You have the right to opt out of us selling or sharing your personal information to third parties. To exercise this right, click here to manage your technology preferences or turn on a recognized opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, in your browser or extension. Please note that when you opt out of tracking through the methods above, we do not know who you are within our systems, and your opt out will apply only to information collected through tracking technologies on the specific browser from which you opt out or, where required by law, to any pseudonymous profiles we maintain associated with your browser or device. If you delete or reset your cookies, or use a different browser or device, you will need to reconfigure your settings.

Verifiable Requests

• Access. You have the right to know what personal information we have about you, including the categories of personal information we collected about you; the categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you; our business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing that personal information; the categories of third parties with whom we disclose that personal information, if any; the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you (also called a data portability request); if we sold or disclosed your personal information for a business purpose, lists disclosing sales and disclosures, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased and/or obtained.
• Correction. You have the right to correct any of your personal information that we collected from you.
• Deletion. You have the right to delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained.

Your rights are subject to exceptions and our retention practices.

Exercising Access, Correction, and Deletion Rights

To exercise the access, correction, and deletion rights described above, you may submit a verifiable consumer request to us by e-mail sent to privacyinfo@claritas.com, by calling us toll free at 1-888-994-9312, or by filling out our form here.

To the extent permitted by law, rights requests must be exercised through the applicable designated method listed above. Only you, or a person that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. Except where prohibited by law, we will require written and signed proof of the agent’s permission to do so and we may verify your identity directly with you.

You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access, correction, or deletion twice within a 6-month period. The verifiable consumer request must 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. 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. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.

We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable.

Nondiscrimination

We will not unlawfully discriminate nor retaliate against you for exercising the rights under this section.

Shine the Light 

If you are a consumer who is also a customer, you may request a list of the categories of personal information disclosed by us to third parties during the immediately preceding calendar year for those third parties’ own direct marketing purposes and/or a list of the categories of third parties to whom we disclosed such information. To make a request, please write us at privacyinfo@claritas.com or the postal address below and specify that you are making a “California Shine the Light Request.”

Children

We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of California residents under 16 years of age.

Additional Information for Residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia

This section applies only to residents of Colorado, Connecticut, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. Our practices in these states regarding the collection, use, and retention of your personal data are set out in the main Privacy Policy above. Some of our disclosures of personal data may be considered a “sale” under applicable law, which is often defined to include a disclosure for something of value. We do not process personal data for purposes of profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects concerning consumers.

In addition to the choices noted in the main Privacy Policy above, you may request the additional rights listed below. Please note, these rights are not absolute, and are subject to exceptions and our retention practices. In some cases, we may not be able to respond to your request, such as when a legal exemption applies or if we are not able to verify your identity. You may make a rights request using an authorized agent. Except where prohibited by law, we will require written and signed proof of the agent’s permission to do so and we may verify your identity directly with you.

Some of the personal data we collect may be considered sensitive personal data under applicable law. To the extent required by applicable laws, sensitive personal data is collected and/or processed with your consent.

In addition to the General Privacy Rights noted above, you may request the additional rights listed below. Please note, these rights are not absolute, and are subject to exceptions and our retention practices. In some cases, we may not be able to respond to your request, such as when a legal exemption applies or if we are not able to verify your identity.

Verifiable Requests

• Confirm/Access/Port. You can request that we confirm whether we process your personal information and to access that personal information. You may also request to obtain a copy of personal information that you have previously provided to us in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format.

If you are an Oregon resident, you also have the right to:

• Confirm. Confirm the categories of personal data we have processed; and
• Obtain. Obtain a list of the specific third parties to which we have disclosed personal data.

These rights are verifiable rights, meaning that we need to verify your identity before fulfilling them. To exercise any of these rights, please submit a request through our form here,  or, you may call 1-888-994-9312. We will confirm receipt of and respond to your request consistent with applicable law. To verify your identity, we may require you to confirm receipt of an email sent to an email address that matches our records, provide us with details relating to your history with us, or provide additional information.

Sales and Targeted Advertising

• Opt out of sales and targeted advertising. If we sell your personal information or engage in targeted advertising, you can opt out. To exercise this right, click here to manage your technology preferences or turn on a recognized opt-out preference signal, such as Global Privacy Control, in your browser or extension. Please note that when you opt out through either of the above methods we do not know who you are within our systems, and your opt out will apply only to information collected through tracking technologies on the specific browser from which you opt out.

Other Rights

• Right to Non-Discrimination. Claritas will not discriminate against consumers who exercise their rights.
• Consent. You have the right to revoke consent previously given to us for the processing of your personal data. To revoke consent, write us at the email or postal address set out in the Contact Us section below (specifying the consent you wish to withdraw). If you withdraw consent, you may not be able to receive certain services related to that consent.

Additional Information for Nevada Residents

Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A allows Nevada residents to opt-out of the “sale” of certain types of personal information.  Subject to several exceptions, Nevada law defines “sale” to mean the exchange of certain types of personal information for monetary consideration to another person.  If you are a Nevada resident who wishes to exercise your opt-out of “sale” rights you can do so by following the instructions in the General Privacy Rights section above and by visiting our Consumer Rights Portal. If we decline to take action on your request, you may appeal such refusal by sending us an email to privacyinfo@claritas.com within a reasonable time period after we send you our decision.

Right to Appeal

Under the laws of certain jurisdictions, you have the right to appeal our decision not to act on your request to exercise certain of the rights described above. To appeal our decision if you are in an eligible jurisdiction, please email us at privacyinfo@claritas.com. If we deny your appeal, you may submit a complaint to your Attorney General as follows:

• For Colorado residents: https://coag.gov/file-complaint/
• For Connecticut residents: https://www.dir.ct.gov/ag/complaint/
• For Montana residents: https://dojmt.gov/consumer/
• For Oregon residents: https://justice.oregon.gov/consumercomplaints/ 
• For Texas residents: https://oag.my.salesforce-sites.com/CPDOnlineForm
• For Utah residents: https://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/contact/complaint-form/
• For Virginia residents: https://www.oag.state.va.us/consumercomplaintform

International Transfers

We are based in the United States of America, and we have service providers in the United States and potentially other countries.  Your personal information may be collected, used, stored, and transferred in these countries or other locations outside of your home country.  Privacy laws in the locations where we handle your personal information may not be as protective as the privacy laws in your home country.  By providing your personal information, where applicable law permits, you hereby specifically and expressly consent to such transfer and processing and the collection, use, and disclosure set forth herein or in any applicable terms of service.

Updates

We may update this policy from time to time. We will post a prominent notice on our website notifying users when it is updated. We ensure that privacy practices described in this privacy policy are up to date and reflect current ad-serving and data collection mechanisms employed by Claritas.  This Privacy Policy will always include information on the effective date of the most recent version.

Contact Us

For questions or concerns about our privacy policy or practices, please email us at privacyinfo@claritas.com.

More Information

To learn more about data collection, online behavioral advertisements, web analytics, cookies or other aspects from the perspective of Internet security and privacy, please visit: www.youronlinechoices.com.

Claritas participates and complies with the rules of an advertising industry framework called the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework (“IAB TCF”), which consists of a set of technical specifications and policies to which members must adhere.

Claritas, LLC IAB TCF Vendor ID: 1146.