AK Insights Ltd.
Privacy Policy
AK Insights Ltd. ("AK Insights") is a limited liability company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago. Its business is collecting data relating to consumer spending patterns as well as consumer tastes, interests and trends and creating databases comprising that information for use by companies (our "Clients") that have an interest in such information. Our Clients include retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, agencies and service providers.
Additional information about the activities of AK Insights may be obtained by writing to info@akinsights.com.
In order to deliver a service to our Clients we must collect, store and utilize personal and non-personal information about you. We understand the importance of this information to you and are committed to your privacy. We have created this Privacy Policy in order to ensure your confidence in us and to demonstrate our firm commitment to fair information practices and the protection of your privacy. This Policy applies to the AK Insights’ web site, its Truth Sleuths mystery shopping program and all other AK Insights online and offline services.
COLLECTION AND USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
In order to deliver the level and type of service our Clients expect from us, we collect both personal and non-personal information using the methods listed below. Our primary purpose is to provide statistical data to our Clients in aggregate form. This means that we do not share specific details about you or your personal data with our clients; in fact our clients do not know who our mystery shoppers are. All information presented to our clients are generalized by categories such as gender or age. We do not share your personal data with clients or other third parties.
Information Collected Via Surveys
We will, from time to time, prepare and conduct surveys and collect and store information submitted by you in response to those surveys. Our surveys would typically enquire as to your household income bracket, education, occupation, and other industry specific information. We also usually require that you give us basic contact information such as your name, mailing and e-mail address and some demographic information such as your residential address, age and gender.
a. Personal and telephone interviews
Surveys are usually conducted by interviews either in person or on the telephone but you may also be invited to visit the company's website to complete and submit the information memorandum posted there.
b. E-mail and post questionnaires
If we already have you in our database, we may request further information from you via e-mail or the post. We may also contact you to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered by our Clients. This may be part of a marketing campaign created by us on behalf of one of our Clients.
We may combine information about you that we have with information we obtain from business partners or companies.
If you are not interested in receiving e-mail from us, you may choose not to receive e-mail during the survey process. To further ensure we have your consent, we make sure each e-mail we send you presents an additional opportunity to "opt-out" of receiving future e-mails. If you are not interested in receiving either e-mail or direct mail enquiries, you may choose to opt-out from receiving the e-mail.
We may wish from time to time to send you certain communications relating to the AK Insights’ service, such as service announcements, administrative messages, etc. without requiring you to respond.
Opt-In/Opt-out
When you register with us or participate in any of our online/offline activities, you may Opt-In to receive ongoing communication from us. Please select the relevant option included in the form or communication from us. You may also at any time Opt-Out of receiving communication from us. To opt-out of receiving a specific e-mail, newsletter or other communication, simply follow the opt-out instructions contained within that document. To opt-out of any other aspect or to be removed entirely from our program mailing lists, please send an email to: info@akinsights.com.
Please note that it may take up to 72 hours for us to process an opt-out request and that any communications within the queue prior to your decision to opt-out will still be sent to you by us.
Ability to update and correct information
We request that you update your account when any of your contact information changes. We will be unable to notify you of any modifications to this Policy or changes in any of our programs or services if you fail to update such information in a timely manner. Please send an email to info@akinsights.com either requesting details about the information we have stored about you, and/or to update such information.
Traffic Data Collected
When you visit the AK Insights website, we automatically receive records and information on our server logs from your browser such as: (i) IP address; (ii) domain server; (iii) access times; (iv) referring website addresses; and (v) the Internet service provider ("ISP") used to access the website, in order to perform troubleshooting (i.e. to help diagnose problems with our server) or administer our website.
When you contact our Support Services, we may request and collect from you non-personally identifiable information such as (i) type and version of computer operating system (Mac or Windows); and (ii) type and version of web browser (Microsoft Explorer, Safari, Mozilla, Chrome, etc.) in order to perform troubleshooting (i.e. to help diagnose problems with our server) or administer our website.
Cookies - Digital Identifiers
Our website may use "cookies" for the purposes of facilitating your automatic log-in process on our website. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time when revisiting websites
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of this or other websites you visit.
HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION
Generally
As stated above, our primary purpose is to provide statistical data to our Clients. All information that you provide us, once incorporated into our database, shall be the property of AK Insights. The use of that information shall be entirely in our discretion. However, we will not rent, sell or share any personal identity information we gather from you or from our website to any client or third parties, except with your prior consent or as provided herein.
Definition of personal identity information
By personal identity information we mean information that identifies you either by name or specific address, whether mailing or email provided that such information does not find its way into the public domain through the actions of persons other than those having access to such information through AK Insights.
Permitted disclosures of personal identity information
There are circumstances where your personal identity information may be accessible to persons or shared with other parties for non-marketing purposes. The following describes the ways that such information may be disclosed in the normal course of business to provide our services.
a. Employees and Service Providers
It is highly likely that in the course of our operations, various persons in our employ would have access to your personal identity information. However, all our employees are under strict terms of confidentiality that require them to respect and keep confidential the personal information that we gather from you.
We provide information to trusted companies who work on behalf of or with AK Insights under confidentiality agreements. These companies will not usually have access to your personal identity information but rather help us to communicate with you (e.g. print services). However, these companies do not have an independent right to use, share or sell this information.
b. Other websites and Your Privacy
Our website may contain links to other websites. Once you select a link that takes you to another website, you are subject to the privacy policy of the website containing that page. Please note that these other websites may have privacy policies that differ from those of AK Insights in the level of security, use of cookies and use of personally identifiable information. We have no control over any personal information you choose to provide to those websites.
c. Compulsion of legal process
AK Insights may, under compulsion of a court order or process to disclose your name, residential address, telephone number, email address, usage history, IP address, and access times. In such event, AK Insights will make no disclosures as aforesaid without first taking reasonable steps to notify you of such court order or process as compels it to make such disclosure and affording you reasonable opportunity to challenge such order or process or to show cause to the relevant authorities why disclosure should not be made.
d. Sale/Merger
We reserve the right to transfer information about you if AK Insights is acquired by or merged with another company. In that event, AK Insights will notify you in accordance with the procedures contained in the Policy Updates and Site Maintenance section of this Policy before information about you is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.
Security
We are aware of Internet users' concerns about the privacy of their information. We have security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Member information is stored on servers protected by firewall, system-level and database-level security inaccessible to third parties. Access to our database is limited to specified AK Insights employees and is carefully monitored.
Financial Information
AK Insights does not and will not ask you to provide us with any financial information about yourself or your family. We do not need or store details about your financial status. Any request contrary to this should be immediately reported to AK Insights at info@akinsights.com.
Limitations on Privacy
Due to the existing regulatory environment, we cannot ensure that all of your private communications and other personal information will never be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this Policy. By way of example (without limiting the foregoing), third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Therefore, although we have made strenuous efforts to protect your privacy, the possibility does exist that, despite our efforts, your personal information or private communications might not always remain private.
THIRD PARTY AD SERVERS
We send to you all of the advertisements you see when you use our website or receive mail from us. However, we reserve the right to also allow other companies to advertise with us. In addition, some of our advertisers may use the services of third-party ad networks via their own websites. Some of these third-party ad networks may place a cookie on your computer. Doing this allows the third-party ad network to recognize your computer each time they send you an online advertisement. In this way, third-party ad networks may compile information about where you, or others who are using your computer, saw their advertisements and determine which ads are clicked on. This information allows a third-party ad network to deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you. We do not have access to or control of the cookies that may be placed by the third-party ad servers or third-party ad networks. Those third-party ad networks that use cookies may offer you a way to opt-out of ad targeting.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER
We disclaim and you agree that we will not be liable to you for any damages caused by acts or events beyond our reasonable control including, without limitation, acts of God, fires, floods, acts of terrorism, wars, civil disturbances, sabotage, accidents, labor disputes, governmental actions, and failures or delays of transportation that result in our disclosure of your personally identifiable information.
POLICY UPDATES AND SITE MAINTENANCE
We reserve the right, at any time and without notice, to add to, update, change, modify or revise this Policy, the AK Insights website, the Truth Sleuths program web pages or our services simply by posting such change, update or modification on the web site or other policy documents. Any such addition, update, change, modification or revision will be effective immediately upon posting on the website or amendment of the policy document. If AK Insights materially changes how we use your personal information, we will notify you.
CONTACT INFORMATION
AK Insights Ltd. & the Truth Sleuths mystery shopping program welcome your comments regarding this Policy. If you have questions about this Policy please contact us directly at info@akinsights.com or send a message to 868-722-8701.
Questions are answered in the order in which they are received.