This privacy policy covers what information we collect from you when you visit or register for the SparkNotes.com site, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. By using the SparkNotes.com site, you agree with the terms and conditions of this privacy policy and Terms of Use.

When you use our site, we receive and collect certain information. The information that we receive and collect depends on what you do when you visit SparkNotes.com.

a. Automatically Collected Information. Some information is automatically received and sometimes collected from you when you visit the SparkNotes.com site. We receive and collect the name of the domain and host from which you access the Internet; the Internet protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using; the browser software you use and your operating system; the date and time you access our site; and the Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to our site. We use this information to monitor the usage of our site. Also, when we send emails to you, we may be able to identify information about your email address, such as whether you can read graphic-rich HTML emails. All of the information we automatically capture provides us with the ability to enhance our users' experience at SparkNotes.com and to determine aggregate information about our user base and usage patterns.

b. Information Collected via Cookies. Both SparkNotes.com and its third party advertisers use cookies to enhance your experience on the SparkNotes.com site. "Cookies" are small files or records that we place on your computer's hard drive to collect information about your activities on the SparkNotes.com site. The cookies transmit this information back to the computers at SparkNotes.com or our third-party distributors of banners and newsletters; these computers are, generally speaking, the only computers which are authorized to read such information. SparkNotes.com does not share the cookies it sets with its third-party distributors. The information captured makes it possible for us (i) to speed navigation, keep track of your purchases, and provide you with custom tailored content; (ii) to remember information you gave to us so you don't have to reenter it each time you visit the SparkNotes.com site; (iii) to monitor the effectiveness of certain of our marketing email campaigns; (iv) to monitor total number of registered users and their associated demographic information, pages viewed, and the total number of banners served; and (v) to target advertising according to demographic information.

Most people do not know that cookies are being placed on their computers when they visit the SparkNotes.com site or most web sites because browsers are typically set to accept cookies. You can choose to have your browser warn you every time a cookie is being sent to you or you can turn off cookie placement. If you refuse cookies, you will not be able to complete an order with us online. Also, if you do not accept cookies, your overall Internet browsing experience will be affected.

If you would like to obtain more information about the third-party distributor of banners on the SparkNotes.com site and to know your choices about having such distributor's cookies turned off, please visit www.privacychoices.org. If you turn off the third-party distributor's cookies, you will still see banners on our site; however, the banners will not be tailored to you.

c. Information Collected Using Pixel Tags or Clear GIFs. To help us understand the effectiveness of certain of our email marketing efforts, SparkNotes.com may use "message format" and "message open" sensing technologies. Both technologies require the use of pixel tags or clear GIFs (also called web beacons). The "message format" sensing technology allows us to recognize whether you have enabled your email program to receive HTML emails; if so, this information is then associated with your email address so that subsequent messages can be sent to you in HTML format. The "message open" sensing technology allows us to recognize whether you have opened our email message. We can only detect this if your have enabled your email program to receive HTML emails.

d. Information You Actively Submit to SparkNotes.com. For some of the services we provide, we neither require nor collect a "User Profile" -- your name, email address, billing address, shipping address(es), phone number and credit card information. You can use some of the SparkNotes.com site without having to submit a User Profile.

In the following instances, however, we do need you to actively submit your User Profile: when you want to (i) register for the website or complete an order, (ii) subscribe to our newsletters, or (iii) post to message boards.

e. Creating a SparkNotes.com Account or Completing an Order. You can register with SparkNotes.com to view the literature we have made available online, to post to or read message boards, or to order SparkNotes products or services. To use all features of the SparkNotes.com website, you will need to create a password-protected account with us. In doing so, we require that you provide us with all of the following information for your User Profile: your name, email address, billing address, and credit card information. When setting up the account, we ask you to create a password. When you want to make a purchase or change your stored User Profile, we approve your access by verifying your email address with your password.

Occasionally, SparkNotes.com uses your User Profile to market products and services. We sometimes use User Profiles to collect aggregate data about the demographics of our users. You can prevent us from using your information for this purpose at any time by setting your browser to reject cookies.Occasionally, SparkNotes.com uses your User Profile to market products and services. We sometimes use User Profiles to collect aggregate data about the demographics of our users. You can prevent us from using your information for this purpose at any time by setting your browser to reject cookies.

SparkNotes.com shares your User Profile that we collect as follows:

Subcontractors. We send your User Profile to third-party subcontractors and agents that work on our behalf to provide certain services. These third parties do not have the right to use the User Profile beyond what is necessary to assist us. They are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the User Profile and are restricted from using such information in any way not expressly authorized by SparkNotes.com.

Service Providers. We send your User Profile to third-party providers of goods and services that you may purchase from time to time on our site (e.g., magazines). Like subcontractors, these third parties do not have the right to use the User Profile beyond what is necessary to assist us. They are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of the User Profile and are restricted from using such information in any way not expressly authorized by SparkNotes.com.

Credit card companies. Credit card transactions are handled by a third-party financial institution and their vendors, which receive the credit card number and other personal identifying information only to verify the credit card numbers and process transactions.

Trustworthy Third Parties. From time to time, on limited bases, we share with trustworthy third parties contact information of our registered users so that such third parties can promote their products and services. You, as a registered customer, can opt out from our disclosure of your information for this purpose at any time by visiting www.sparknotes.com and clicking on "update your user profile."

Law Enforcement Investigations. SparkNotes.com may release your User Profile when we believe, in our good judgment, that such release is reasonably necessary to comply with law, enforce or apply the terms of any of our policies or user agreements, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of SparkNotes.com, our users, or others.

As a customer, you may receive the following communications from the SparkNotes.com:

Communications related to transaction and account maintenance activities. These communications include without limitation: order confirmations; order update notices; order problem notices; and notices regarding material changes to site policies and account management procedures.

Communications containing information about SparkNotes.com and its partners products and services. We send promotional emails and other outbound communications to SparkNotes.com users regarding products and services from SparkNotes.com, its subsidiaries and trustworthy third parties. Any SparkNotes.com customer who does not wish to receive such product and service communications can choose to remove his or her contact information from our contact list at any time by going to www.sparknotes.com and clicking on "update your user profile."

Newsletter Communications. You may sign up for free email newsletters from SparkNotes.com. To unsubscribe from a newsletter you can select the link at the bottom of any newsletter.

Our products and services are marketed for purchase with the consent of adults or by adults.

From time to time, parents and guardians allow their children under the age of 18 to browse our site and to post to SparkNotes Message Boards. SparkNotes.com highly values these posts. To protect the privacy of any user of our site who is under the age of 13, we do not permit them to post any contact information.

When you click on links and banners on our site that take you to third-party web sites, you will be subject to the third parties' privacy policies. While we support the protection of privacy on the Internet, SparkNotes.com cannot be responsible for the actions of any third-party web sites. We encourage you to read the posted privacy statement of any and every site you visit, whether you are linking from our site or browsing on your own.

This privacy policy was last changed on February 6, 2003. SparkNotes.com reserves the right to modify or amend this policy at any time by posting the revised privacy policy on our site. The changes will only affect the information we collect after the effective date of the change to our privacy policy unless we clearly express otherwise.

If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please email us at privacy@sparknotes.com. For all other inquiries, please use this form.

The User Profile you provide -- including your credit card information -- to establish an account with us and to make purchases from us is secured using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption technology. We use this SSL technology to prevent such information from being intercepted and read as it is transmitted over the Internet. The encrypted data goes to a secure site where your information is stored on restricted-access computers located at restricted-access sites.

To further secure your User Profile, we require you to create a customer password when you establish an account with us. We encourage you to use a password that is not easily guessed (i.e., don't use your name or street name). Keep your password secret; do not share it with anyone. The only way you can place an order with us online is by entering both your registered email address and password.

If you forget your password, you can go to www.sparknotes.com/contact/ and request a new password. If you want to change your password or other account information, you can also do so at www.sparknotes.com/contact/.

To further prevent unauthorized access to your account, remember that, after you log in, you should log out once you have (i) completed your transaction, (i) completed managing your account, or (iii) decided to step away from your computer. Anyone who accesses your computer after you have signed in but before you have logged out can access your account. This is especially true if you have Express Checkout enabled on your account.

Under federal law, a credit card issuer cannot make you liable for charges in excess of $50.00 that result from the unauthorized use of your credit card. There are similar federal laws that relate to debit cards. Exceptions do apply, and you will have to comply with the rules of your credit card or debit card issuer, so please contact your card issuer for further details.

If a credit card or debit card issuer assesses you a fee because of the unauthorized use of your credit card or debit card on our site, SparkNotes.com will reimburse you for such amount up to $50.00. Please contact our Customer Service for details.

This security policy was last changed on July 24, 2003. SparkNotes.com reserves the right to modify or amend this policy at any time by posting the revised security policy on our site. The changes will only affect the information we collect after the effective date of the change to our security policy unless we clearly express otherwise.

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