Groovy Girls Privacy Policy
Groovy Girls is committed to providing a fun and safe web site for children, and we recognize the particular importance of protecting privacy where children are involved. We have made every effort to ensure that our information collection practices and our privacy policy comply with the standards set forth in the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"). Our privacy policy sets forth the types of information we collect and how we will use that information. If you have any concerns about our privacy policy or practices, please contact us via e-mail or mail at the addresses listed at the bottom of this page.
What types of information do we collect about children?
Children can surf our website, view the content, create a character, decorate an online room (known as a "mod pod"), and play games without any personal information being collected. To do these activities, the child will enter what we believe is non-personal information which includes a password and a nickname, which may be fictional and which will not be used to contact the child. The information is used so that the website will remember the character created and the mod pod designed by the child. We do not block a child from entering any portion of the site; however, passwords are required to enter and use every aspect of the site.
If the child would like to register on the website in order to receive a birthday greeting from Groovy Girls, we request that the child provide a parent or legal guardian's e-mail address in addition to providing the child's password and nickname. As described below, we will then notify the parent (the term parent used throughout this policy is intended to include legal guardians) at the e-mail address provided by the child. This notice will inform the parent that the child desires to provide personally identifiable information to us. If the parent disapproves, they may visit our site and delete or modify the child's registration information. If the parent approves of the child's participation and the information provided by the child, no action is required by the parent. While we ask for child's age and birth date, we do not consider this information personally identifiable. In response to a question about the child's location, the child may choose the state in which the child resides from a drop-down menu, but this information is not considered to be personally identifiable. The child will not be able to enter a street address or zip code. We do not collect any other personally identifiable information from children during our registration process or at any other time. If a child under 13 contacts us with a question, we may respond on a one-time basis. After we have responded to the child's e-mail, we will delete all personally-identifiable information, including the child's e-mail address, from our records. We collect a child's age and birth date for the purpose of sending the child an e-mail birthday greeting. If your child does not enter a parent's e-mail, we will not retain or collect any of the information other than the child's nickname, location and password. Federal law prohibits us from conditioning a child's participation in online activity on the child's provision of more personal information than is reasonably necessary.
How do we use and share the personally identifiable information that we have collected about children?
We do not share any information about a child with any third parties unless the disclosure is reasonably necessary: to comply with law, including, for example, to comply with a court order or subpoena; to enforce our Legal Term & Conditions, or site or game rules; or to protect the safety and security of our Customers and our website.
When a child enters a friend's e-mail address on our site using our "Tell A Friend" feature, the friend's e-mail address will only be used for the purpose of sending the requested "Tell A Friend" communication. Similarly, if a user sends an E-Card to a friend via our website, the friend's e-mail address will only be used for the purpose of sending the E-Card. We will not keep the friend's e-mail address or any other personally-identifiable information about the friend in our system. We will not correspond with the friend ever again unless, of course, the friend voluntarily signs up for our website features of their own accord, in which case the storage and use of their personally-identifiable information will be subject to this policy.
How do we notify and obtain consent from parents for the collection of information from their children?
We send parents an e-mail when their child completes a registration application at our site and we invite parents to visit our site if they wish to delete or modify their child's registration application. If the parent deletes the child's account, they will also delete the character and mod pod that the child has created. If the parent does not delete the child's account, the application is deemed accepted and the child will have full access to the activities on the site. Please note that if the child does not provide a parent's e-mail address, we will not save or store any personally identifiable information that may have been given to us.
How can parents access, change or delete personally identifiable information about their children?
At any time, parents may refuse to permit us to use the personal information we have collected from their child and may request that any personal information we have collected be deleted from our records. We use two methods to allow parents to access, change, or delete the personally identifiable information that we have collected from their children.
A parent may access, change, or delete his or her child's personal information by logging on to the child's account at the For Parents Page located at http://www.groovygirls.com/parents. The parent will need to have their child's member name and password. There are instructions on the For Parents Page explaining how to recover a password if the child has forgotten it.
In the alternative, a parent can contact our customer service department to access, change, or delete the personal information that we have collected from his or her child by sending e-mail to info@manhattantoy.com. Please include the child's member name and the parent's e-mail address in the e-mail so that we can better assist you with your inquiry or request.
What type of automatic tracking mechanisms do we use?
When users visit our website, we automatically track and collect computer information of a non-personally-identifiable nature. The computer information we automatically gather is used to facilitate our online operations and to assure an efficient online experience for you. This information includes the visitor's type of computer operating system (e.g., Microsoft Windows or Macintosh), the visitor's Internet Protocol ("IP") address, the type of web browsing software being used (e.g., Internet Explorer® or Firefox®), information regarding the visitor's Internet Service Provider ("ISP"), information regarding the web page the visitor viewed before visiting our site, and information collected through the use of cookies and similar technologies, such as web beacons (also referred to as "tracking pixels," or "action tags"). Although cookies and web beacons, in and of themselves, will not provide us with personally-identifiable information about a website visitor, if the visitor provides us with personally-identifiable information, then the information will be linked to the data stored by these technologies. Thus, if a user is logged-in to our website and then visits other Groovy Girls sites, the pages the user visits or the items on which the user clicks may be tracked via cookies and web beacons. Internet users can control whether to allow cookies through the options function in most internet browsers. Although you are not required to accept our cookies, if you set your browser to reject cookies, you may not be able to use all of the features and functionality of our site. Users can also delete cookies at any time.
How will we notify parents if our Children's Privacy Policy changes?
We may amend our Children's Privacy Policy at any time. We will provide parents notice by e-mail of any material changes in the way we intend to collect, use, and/or share children's personal information. Please note that, at all times, parents should update their personal information to provide us current e-mail addresses. We will apply material changes in our Children's Privacy Policy only in conformance with applicable law, including any applicable provisions of the Children's Online Privacy Policy Act ("COPPA") that require parental consent.
Who do customers contact with questions or concerns about our Children's Privacy Policy?
If you have questions or wish to send us comments about this privacy policy, please send an e-mail with your questions or comments to info@manhattantoy.com or write us:
Customer Service
Manhattan Toy®
430 First Avenue North, Suite 500
Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
Tel: 612-337-9600 or 1-800-541-1345
Please be assured that any personally identifiable information that you provide in communications to the above e-mail and postal mail addresses will not be used to send you promotional materials, unless you so request.
Policy last updated 4/3/08
