Northwestern’s SMART Tools: Privacy Statement

SMART Tools – Privacy Statement

Effective as of September 7th, 2022

Because Northwestern University (“Northwestern,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) respects the privacy of your personal information, we have prepared this Privacy Statement to assist you in understanding the personal information that is collected when you access and use the Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing’s SMART Tools (https://smartproject.northwestern.edu/tools-promotional/) and the content and features offered through such online platform (the “Tools”), how that information is used and shared, and how it is safeguarded.

This Privacy Statement is part of our Terms of Use, which sets out the terms governing your use of the Tools and can be found at [https://esmart.northwestern.edu/northwesterns-smart-tools-terms-of-use/] (the “Terms”). Terms used, but not otherwise defined, in this Privacy Statement (such as, but not limited to, “Materials”) have the same meaning assigned to such terms in our Terms. By accessing or using the Tools, you are agreeing to and accepting the Terms and this Privacy Statement.

From time to time, we may change, update, add, or remove provisions of this Privacy Statement by posting modifications to this Privacy Statement online. Unless otherwise specified by us, all modifications shall be effective upon posting. Therefore, you are encouraged to check this Privacy Statement frequently. The last update date of this Privacy Statement is posted at the top of the statement. By using the Tools after such changes become effective, you agree to be bound by such changes to this Privacy Statement. If you do not agree to the Terms or this Privacy Statement, or any change to the Terms or this Privacy Statement, you should immediately stop accessing and using the Tools.

What Personal Information Do the Tools Collect?

Through your use of the Tools, we may collect information about you from which you can be identified (“personal information”), including information you submit to us through the Tools (including name, email address, occupation, name of employer, city, and state, as well as responses to survey questions) and log data (information such as your computer, Internet Protocol address, Tools pages that you visit and the amount of time spent on those pages, actions you take using the Tools, and other statistics).

How Do We Use Your Personal Information?

We use the personal information we collect through the Tools to make the Tools and the Materials available to you and other users of the Tools. We may also use the personal information we collect to communicate with you about the Tools or to inform you of any changes to the Tools, to maintain and improve the Tools, to protect our legal rights and the rights of others, to efficiently maintain Northwestern operations, and to comply with applicable law.

Who Do We Share Your Personal Information With?

Personal information collected through the Tools will not be shared with individuals or entities outside of the Northwestern community except for limited circumstances:

To third party licensors, service providers, agents, contractors, or business partners: We may share your personal information with our third party licensors, service providers, agents, contractors, or business partners in connection with services that these individuals or entities perform for, or in collaboration with Northwestern, such as technical support for the Tools, including the hosting of the Tools and information collected through the Tools.
As required by law or to protect our rights and interests or for the protection of others: We may disclose personal information to comply with applicable laws and regulations, such as to respond to a subpoena or similar legal process, to prevent fraud, to protect against misuse of the Tools, and to establish, exercise or defend our rights and interests or to protect the rights or safety of the public.
To other third parties with your consent: We may share your personal information with any other person or entity where you consent to the disclosure.

Except as described in this Privacy Statement, the personal information collected through the Tools will only be accessible to Northwestern employees on a need-to-know basis to facilitate the uses and purposes mentioned herein. Where your personal information is shared with third parties, we will seek to share the minimum amount necessary.

Our Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer by websites that you visit. These text files can be read by these websites to help identify you or to retain settings that improve your user experience. Like most other websites, we use cookies and similar technologies with the Tools to help us improve performance and usage of the Tools, and to help us monitor and prevent unauthorized usage of the Tools. You can use the settings within your browser to control the cookies that are set on your computer or mobile device. However, please be aware if you set your browser to reject or block cookies, all or parts of our Tools may not be functional or accessible to you.

Consent To Cookies and Similar Technologies

If you choose to use the Tools without blocking or disabling cookies or opting out of these technologies, you will indicate your consent to our use of these cookies and other technologies and to our use (in accordance with this Privacy Statement) of any personal information that we collect using these technologies. If you do not consent to the use of these technologies, please be sure to block or disable them using your browser settings, or the settings on your mobile device.

Retaining Your Personal Information

We will only keep your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal or reporting requirements. We may also keep your personal information if legally required or to fulfill a legitimate interest.

Third Party Websites and Content

The Tools may contain links to other websites, services, content, or offers which are owned, operated or maintained by third parties. If you click on a third party link, you will be directed to that third website or service. The fact that we link to a website or service is not an endorsement, authorization, or representation of our affiliation with that third party, nor is it an endorsement of their privacy or information security policies or practices. We do not have control over third party websites and services and we do not have control over their privacy policies and terms of use. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for policies of third party websites; please check these policies before you submit any personal information to third party websites.

Security

We implement technical and organizational measures designed to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risk to the personal data we collect and store. These measures are aimed at ensuring the ongoing integrity and confidentiality of personal data. However, no method of protection or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Children’s Information

We do not intend to collect and we will not knowingly collect or solicit personal information online through the Tools from children under the age of 13.

How to Contact Us

To contact us for questions or concerns about this Privacy Statement or our practices related to the Tools, please contact us at smart.project@northwestern.edu.