Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Your privacy is extremely important to us, and we know it is important to you too.  After all, The Zone is a place for you to reflect on, and receive support for, your well-being.  We believe that The Zone will work best for you if you have the confidence and trust that your private information is being protected and handled appropriately.

 

We know that privacy policies can be difficult to read.  So we want to be clear up front:  We will not disclose personal information from your use of The Zone to your organization (or anyone else) except in the limited circumstances that we describe below.  We do not sell your personal data, and we do not use or share it with others for marketing or advertising purposes.

The main circumstance in which we will disclose limited personally identifiable information to the organization is when a user enters the app that the user is feeling “not great” 10 times in a two-week period.  In such circumstances, we will only disclose the fact that the named user entered “not great” 10 times in a two-week period, and we will only disclose this information to designated point(s) of contact at the organization

 

The Zone is not a mental health provider, is not intended to provide mental health treatment or support, and instead is for general well-being and awareness.  Also, 10 times of “not great” in two weeks is not a clear or specific number for action, and you may benefit from seeking help and support far sooner.  But we have chosen to make the described and limited disclosure to the organization in those circumstances to help support safety and well-being by referring you to receive additional support from your organization, while also balancing users’ confidentiality and privacy concerns.  Further detail is provided in the disclosure and escalation protocols below.

 

Please read on for additional detail about how we handle and protect your private information.

This Privacy Policy describes the information we collect, how we use it, and the standards and procedures in place to safeguard your personal information.  We also describe important information on privacy, disclosure and escalation.

 

This Privacy Policy is part of our Terms of Use.  When you use The Zone you accept and agree to the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to all the terms in the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, then you should stop using The Zone immediately.  By accessing and using The Zone, you affirm that you have read the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy and that you understand, agree to, and acknowledge all the terms contained in both of them.

 

This Privacy Policy applies to users of The Zone app.  It is intended to inform you of The Zone’s policies and practices regarding how we collect, use and disclose information you provide through the platform.  This Privacy Policy does not apply to the collection and use of certain employment-related information.  If you are a current or former Zone employee, owner, director, officer, contractor, or job applicant, please contact us at info@thezone.com for the appropriate notice.

 

INFORMATION COLLECTED

To operate The Zone, we collect, manage, use and store information that you provide when you sign up for the site and the information that you share on the site.  The information we collect is received directly or indirectly from you or your organization and generated in the course of your use of The Zone.

 

The information we collect includes:

  • Information that you provide when you sign up for The Zone, and that you share when using the platform.

  • Your name, email address, phone number, and sports team(s).

  • Your interaction with The Zone app, including data, entered and responses to question prompts, pages visited or viewed, and the amount of time spent on the app.

  • We may use your email address to communicate with you or to connect you with organization personnel. Your email address is not used for any other purpose and is not shared with outside parties except your organization for the limited purpose specified.  While The Zone may use a link to your email address to help you establish a connection with your organization points of contact, The Zone does not review, access or store any emails that you draft or send through that email contact.

  • Information about your mobile device ID to identify your account and deliver notifications.

 

HOW WE USE INFORMATION

The Zone may use the information we collect for purposes including: 

  • To communicate with you, including providing you with information, alerts, and suggestions directly related to your use of the platform; to verify your sign-on credentials; to assist you in beginning an email to certain designated people at your organization; and, in limited circumstances specified here, to communicate with you and the designated point(s) of contact at your organization if you indicate you are feeling “not great” a specified number of times, in order to assist you in seeking or obtaining additional support.

  • To deliver services to you, including to create your account and enable you to log into your account and use the platform; to manage your account and provide you with customer support; to personalize your experience with The Zone by enabling guided self-reflections and suggesting particular on-platform content and services based on the data you input and using our algorithms and machine learning programs; and to connect you with indirect or direct points of contact at the organization who may be able to provide you with assistance and support.

  • To assist your organizationin assessing and addressing the mental well-being of its students, athletes, coaches, and trainers by providing information regarding user engagement with The Zone at the organization, as described in this Privacy Policy’s disclosure and escalation protocols below.

  • To administer and improve The Zone, including to administer, assess and improve the functionality, services and security, and overall effectiveness, of The Zone; to enforce applicable Terms of Use; to ensure the safety and security of The Zone and our users, and to develop content based on research and trend analysis.

  • To comply with the law, namely, if we are obligated to respond to law enforcement requests or otherwise required by law, court order or government regulation.

  • Other uses with consent, if you are informed and agree to another purpose.

 

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON PRIVACY, DISCLOSURE AND ESCALATION:

Your privacy, and also your safety and well-being, are important to us.  We do not share personal information about our users with anyone, except as required by law or as stated in this Privacy Policy, including as follows:

  • To any person when you authorize such disclosure;

  • To information technology service providers subject to written confidentiality agreements, in order to assist us in maintaining and operating our platform and in ensuring the confidentiality and security of user data;

  • To government or regulatory agencies, and to comply with a legal summons, court order, subpoena or similar legal process, audit or investigation; and

  • To your organization in the limited circumstances described in this Privacy Policy.

By using The Zone you agree to provide contact information that we can share with your organization under the limited circumstances below.  You also acknowledge and agree to The Zone’s disclosure and escalation protocols, as follows:

  • The data you enter into the app is encrypted and kept anonymous from your organization, except as noted below.  Your organization will receive aggregated and anonymized data regarding students’ input and engagement with the app.  (For example, your organization will receive information regarding the number of students using the app, the percentage of students reporting they are feeling “great” or “not great,” on a given day, etc.). We use a minimum aggregation threshold of 10 individuals, meaning that we only consider data to be aggregated and anonymized if it pertains to a group of at least 10 individuals; otherwise, data for fewer than 10 individuals is not shared except in the limited circumstance described in this Privacy Policy.

  • If you enter in the app that you are feeling “not great” 10 times (10x) in a two-week period, then under The Zone’s Terms of Use you automatically consent that The Zone can disclose your identity and contact information to the point(s) of contact designated by your organization, with the information that you indicated you are feeling “not great” 10 times within two weeks, so your organization can contact you directly.  The Zone is only a conduit for helping you collect and receive information, and is not a mental health provider.  We provide this information to your organization to help you engage directly with your organization’s point(s) of contact or other designated person.

  • These protocols are in no way intended to suggest that you should wait until a certain point to reach out for direct contact with your organization or a qualified mental health professional; The Zone encourages you to do so as often and as early as may be helpful to you.  The Zone also has no responsibility for the actions, inactions, communications, or interactions between you and your organization or mental health providers.  The Zone is not and should not be considered medical advice.

  • Your organization designates points of contact who will receive the above-mentioned information from The Zone when the escalation protocol is triggered.  The Zone has no responsibility for your organization’s privacy policy or for the actions, inactions, communications, and interactions between you and your organization.

 

The Zone may use anonymized and aggregated information for various purposes.  As stated above, we provide anonymized updates to your organization.  For example, we may notify your organization that X number of individuals at the organization or on an identified sports team are using The Zone on a daily basis, or that Y percent of students at the organization or on an identified sports team have indicated they are feeling “great” or “not great” for particular reasons (i.e., academic, physical, etc.).  We may also use or share anonymized and aggregated data to better design and operate our platform; for research, trend analysis, publication in organization reports, media platforms, academic journals, or other forms of public dissemination; or for other academic or commercial purposes determined by The Zone.  As stated above, we use a minimum aggregation threshold of 10 individuals when sharing anonymized and aggregated data.

 

The Zone does not sell any personally identifiable information of our users, and we do not use or share personal user data for marketing or advertising purposes.

 

The Zone stores your personal data only for as long as necessary to provide products and services to you and/or your organization, including those described above, and for legal protection or as required by applicable laws and regulations.

 

The Zone may gather and analyze information regarding the use of the app, including domain name, number of visits to The Zone, pages visited, and length of a users session.  This information may be gathered using cookies and similar technologies.  A cookie is a small amount of data, which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your device browser and stored on your device.  The Zone uses cookies and similar technologies to track use of the app, address security issues, and store your preferences regarding the app.  Cookies record information about your preferences and allow us to tailor The Zone to your interests.  This information can help us analyze and improve our services to provide you with a user-friendly navigation experience.

 

HOW WE PROTECT PERSONAL INFORMATION

The Zone applies commercially reasonable industry standards and practices to prevent any unauthorized access, use and disclosure.  We also comply with applicable federal and state laws and regulations regarding data privacy.  While using any internet-based service carries inherent security risks that cannot be 100% prevented, our systems, infrastructure, encryption technology, operation, and processes are designed and maintained with your privacy and security in mind.

To help safeguard your personal information, we:

  • Use industry-standard encryption technologies, including when transferring and receiving consumer data exchanged with our site;

  • Use firewall barriers and digital certifications;

  • Restrict access to only to those personnel for whom the information is necessary as part of their job responsibilities;

  • Enter into written confidentiality/non-disclosure agreements with third-party service providers;

  • Maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with relevant laws and regulations;

  • Educate personnel about information security policies and procedures and their role in safeguarding information and systems;

  • Educate personnel about the importance of confidentiality and user privacy, and their roles in protecting user data;

  • We only use cookies and similar technologies to track app usage, address security; issues, and store your preferences relating to the platform.

 

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

The Zone does not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 13, or knowingly allow such persons to become our users.  If you are aware that we have collected personal information from a user under the age of 13, please contact us at info@itsthezone.com and we will delete that information.

 

THIRD PARTIES

The Zone may employ third parties to assist us in maintaining, securing, operating, and further developing our platform, or to provide audit, legal, operational, and other services to assist our operations.  For example, we may work with third parties regarding customer service, technical maintenance and updates, communications, database management, security, analytics, reporting, and improvements to The Zone.  Those entities or individuals would only have access to the information and systems necessary to perform their tasks and would be subject to The Zone’s confidentiality requirements.

 

PRIVACY DISPUTES 

You agree that any claim, cause of action, or dispute you have with us regarding this Privacy Policy or The Zone’s compliance therewith would be brought only in a state or federal court located in New York.  The laws of the State of Delaware will govern this Privacy Policy as well as any claim that might arise between you and The Zone, including its affiliates, officers, employees, agents, representatives, and others, without regard to conflict of law provisions.

 

QUESTIONS AND UPDATES

For any questions regarding our Privacy Policy, you may contact us at: info@itsthezone.com.

Note that The Zone may update this Privacy Policy at our sole discretion; the date of the last revision of the policy appears at the end of the page.  Please periodically review this page for any updates to our Privacy Policy and practices.

 

PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS

This PRIVACY NOTICE FOR CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), supplements and is expressly made part of The Zone Privacy Policy and applies solely to users who reside in the State of California.  The Zone does not sell user data to third parties.  Pursuant to Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, known as California’s “Shine the Light Law,” residents of California have the right to request, once a year, if The Zone has shared their personal information with other companies for direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year.  To do so, contact us at info@itsthezone.com; please allow a reasonable time for a response.

 

If you are a California resident under the age of 18 and a registered user of The Zone, California Business and Professionals Code Section 22581 permits you to request and obtain the removal of content or information you have publicly posted on The Zone (this is referred to as the “Eraser Law”).  Note The Zone does not have users below age of 13 and does not typically allow any users to publicly post information.  However, if you feel you publicly posted information on The Zone and are between the ages of 13 and 17, please contact us at info@itsthezone.com to request the removal of data or content that you have posted, where such removal is not otherwise prohibited.

 

Under the California “Right to Know,” you may request access to the specific pieces of personal data we have collected about you in the last 12 months.  You also may request additional details about our information practices (including categories of personal data collected about you, sources of the collection, categories of personal data shared for a business or commercial purpose, and categories of third parties with whom we may share your personal data).  You may make these requests by contacting us at info@itsthezone.com.  You also may designate an agent to make a request on your behalf (the “California Designated Agent”); that Designated Agent must have access to your account so we may verify the request.

Non-Discrimination:  The Zone will never discriminate against you, including by denying or providing a different level of service should you choose to exercise your rights under the CCPA.

Reasonable time:  For any requests under CCPA, please allow for a reasonable time for a response.

 

PRIVACY IN INTERNATIONAL USE AND THE GDPR

This section further supplements The Zone’s Privacy Policy to provide additional information relevant to users in the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  The GDPR is a regulation on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the EU and EEA, and also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA.  Under the GDPR, The Zone is the Controller with respect to your personal data.

 

The Zone is controlled and operated by us from the United States.  By accepting the terms of this Privacy Policy, you agree that any personal information you provide to The Zone by using the platform may be stored and processed, transferred between, and accessed from the United States and other countries that may not guarantee the same level of protection of personal information as the one in which you reside.  If you do not consent to this, you should stop using the platform immediately.

 

The Zone may use your personal information:

  • When necessary to perform our obligations under any contract with you, to manage your account, or to address inquiries about your use of The Zone.

  • When we or a third party have a legitimate interest to use personal information in such a way to ensure that we operate The Zone most effectively and efficiently.  This includes our legitimate interest in using your personal information for product development and internal analytics purposes, and to improve the safety, security, and performance of The Zone, provided your rights and interests do not override these interests.

  • When necessary to comply with applicable law or any other legal obligations imposed upon us.

  • When you consent to the use of your personal information.

 

As noted in our Privacy Policy, The Zone does not sell or transfer user data for marketing purposes.  Our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy specify the consent we seek from you regarding your data and you are required to accept those terms before engaging with The Zone as part of an “informed consent” process.  We also want to inform you that, under the GDPR, you have specific rights including:

  • Right of access: You may be entitled to ask us for a copy of any personal information which we hold, in the form of a “Subject Access Request.”

  • Right to rectification: If the personal information we hold about you is inaccurate, you may request that we check, and, where appropriate, we will correct any inaccuracies.

  • Right to erasure: In certain circumstances, you may be entitled to ask us to erase your personal information.

  • Right to data portability: In certain circumstances, you may wish to move, copy, or transfer the electronic personal Information that we hold about you to another organization.

  • Right to object: The Zone does not use your personal information for marketing but we note that, under the GDPR, you may object if your personal information were being used for direct marketing. You also may object to the continued use of your personal information in any circumstances where we rely upon consent as the legal basis for processing it. Where we rely upon legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing your personal information, you may object to us continuing to process your personal information, but you must give us specific reasons for objecting. We will consider the reasons you provide, but if we consider that there are compelling legitimate grounds for us to continue to process your personal information, we may continue to do so. In that event, we will let you know the reasons for our decision.

 

To exercise these rights, or for any questions about this policy or your personal information, you can contact us at: info@itsthezone.com; please provide enough specificity and allow us a reasonable time to respond to your request.

 

We would like to work with you to resolve any concerns you may have about the use of your personal information.  We also note that, under GDPR, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority in your country of residence if you have any concerns about our use of your personal information.

 

Last updated 9/28/2022