PRIVACY POLICY

Information collected. ChessGuides may, from time to time, collect user data and information to provide tailored Services and improve the user’s ChessGuides experience. For purposes of this Privacy Policy, a user is broadly defined as any visitor to our Site. ChessGuides collects the following information from users:

·      IP addresses, browser types and referring sites;

·      Personally identifiable information (such as first and last names, phone numbers and email addresses);

·      Data regarding your online behavior on our Site;

·      Data and information regarding your chess play; and

·      Other information regarding your interests and preferences.

How your information is collected. ChessGuides obtains personal information in three primary ways:

·      Information that you, the user, provide to us directly (such as through the registration process or through public comments on our Site);

·      Information that is recorded automatically when you access our Site (such as through the use of cookies or similar technologies); and

·      Information provided by third parties (such as limited financial information when you pay for a subscription through PayPal or Stripe).

Personal information provided by you. ChessGuides only solicits the personally identifiable information necessary to provide the user with high quality, effective Services.

A majority of a user’s personally identifiable information is collected during the initial registration process. This information includes the registrant’s first and last name, the name and age of the student who will be utilizing ChessGuides’ Services (age will be provided in number only, dates of birth will not be requested) and the registrant’s email address to register and manage the account. ChessGuides also obtains limited financial information from the registrant paying for subscription services, including the last four digits, the country of issuance and expiration date of the registrant’s payment card. Please be advised that ChessGuides utilizes third party services, PayPal and Stripe, for subscription payment collection so a registrant’s financial information will also be subject to the privacy policies of these third-party vendors.

ChessGuides may also maintain information obtained through user comments and inquiries posted to the Site or sent directly to ChessGuides, as well as information pertaining to a user’s chess rating or ranking, chess games played, and strategies used when a user plays in ChessGuides’ tournaments and miscellaneous chess play. This information may be used by guides to help users improve and expand their chess skills and knowledge.

Information obtained through accessing our Site. When a user accesses our Site, ChessGuides may automatically collect information, such as IP addresses. This information is typically collected via cookies and similar technologies when a user accesses our Site. For more information on our use of cookies, please review our Cookie Policy in Section IV below.

Information obtained through third parties. Our Site contains links to external websites and uses a number of third-party services to ensure our users have a valuable and fulfilling experience. ChessGuides does not control, endorse, or screen these external websites and third-party services. In some circumstances, your information may also be subject to collection by these third parties. ChessGuides is not responsible for your data and privacy protection if you visit these external websites and/or utilize third-party services through our Site. Visitation of external websites and use of third-party services is at your own risk. The data and information collection practices of these external websites and third-party services is not governed by this Privacy Policy. Accordingly, we ask that you also read and review the privacy policies of all external links posted and third-party service providers, including but not limited to, PayPal, Stripe, chess.com, lichess.org, Skype, YouTube and Squarespace.

Parental rights and consent. In compliance with 15 U.S.C. 6501-6505, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), as well as other applicable legislation, ChessGuides only obtains information about a child under the age of 13 from the child’s parent or legal guardian and with the approval of the child’s parent or legal guardian. ChessGuides strictly limits the information it obtains about children under the age of 13 from parents and legal guardians to that information which is absolutely necessary for creating a ChessGuides account. ChessGuides mandates that the parent or legal guardian of a child under 13 use their own name and email address when registering their child for a ChessGuides’ account. Student name and age (number only, date of birth will not be requested) is the only personally identifiable information ChessGuides will request of a child under 13 years of age with the consent of the child’s parent or legal guardian. Once a child under 13 years of age has been registered for a ChessGuides account by a parent or legal guardian, the parent or legal guardian will be able to sign into the account at any time and will have access to and control over the information provided, and may review, edit, or delete the information provided at any time.

Any data or information collected from and with the consent of the parent or legal guardian of a child under 13 years of age (e.g. student name and age), as well as any information collected automatically through the use of cookies and similar technology (e.g. IP address), will only be subject to internal usage to render ChessGuides’ Services and will not be shared with outside individuals or entities. Additionally, ChessGuides only retains the information collected for as long as necessary to complete the purposes it was collected for, which includes student registration and account maintenance.

Children under 13 years of age cannot, under any circumstances, access our Site or utilize our Services without the consent and approval of a parent or legal guardian. In order to ensure the parent or legal guardian of a child under 13 years of age consents to the child’s access of our Site and use of our Services, ChessGuides requires written parental or guardian consent in the form of an electronic confirmation. This electronic confirmation process is as follows:

• For all new registrants who have identified a ChessGuides student as being under 13 years of age during the registration process, ChessGuides will send out an email to the parent or legal guardian email address provided. This email will request confirmation of the parent or legal guardian’s consent and approval of the child’s access to our Site and use of our Services;

• The parent or legal guardian must then respond to that email with their consent and approval;

• ChessGuides will then send a second confirmation email acknowledging receipt of the parental or guardian consent;

• Following this process, the child may then proceed to access our Site and utilize our Services.

If no response is received from a parent or legal guardian confirming consent to the child’s use of our Services, the child will not be allowed to access our Site or utilize our Services. Further, a parent or legal guardian may revoke or rescind consent for a child’s use of our Services at any time. A parent or legal guardian may also revoke or rescind consent for ChessGuides’ collection and use of limited registration information at any time.

Following the initial registration process, children under 13 years of age are strictly prohibited from providing any personal or personally identifiable information to ChessGuides, with or without the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Personal or personally identifiable information can include but is not limited to name, email address, home address, telephone number, or any other forms of personally identifiable information. ChessGuides does not knowingly collect personal or personally identifiable information from children under 13 years of age either directly or indirectly, and mandates adherence to the rules described in this Privacy Policy.