Zynga - Privace Police

Privacy police http://www.zynga.com/privacy/privacy-policy.php
Zynga Privacy Policy
(Last updated on November 30, 2010)
Zynga's Privacy Policy is designed to provide clarity about the information we collect and how we use it to provide a better social gaming experience. By accepting our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service in registration or game installation, you consent to our collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy.
Zynga has been awarded TRUSTe's Privacy Seal signifying that this Privacy Policy and the practices it describes have been reviewed by TRUSTe for compliance with TRUSTe's program requirements including transparency, accountability and choice regarding the collection and use of your personal information. TRUSTe's mission, as an independent third party, is to advance online trust among consumers and organizations globally through its leading privacy trustmark (seal) and innovative trust solutions. If you have questions or complaints regarding our privacy policy or practices, please contact us as described in Section 14 ("Contact Us"). If you are not satisfied with our response you can contact TRUSTe here and submit a watchdog complaint. When submitting a watchdog complaint, please put www.zynga.com as the website and note the game and/or feature within the details.



The TRUSTe program only covers information that is collected through Zynga websites and applications (games), and does not cover information that may be collected through any software downloaded from Zynga websites.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Information We Collect
3. How We Collect Information About You
4. How We Use the Information We Collect
5. Sharing of Your Information
6. Our Policies Concerning Children
7. How to Access and Update Your Information
8. Your Sharing and Messaging Options
9. International Operations and Transfers out of Switzerland and the EEA
10. Privacy Policies of Linked Sites and Advertisers
11. Security of Your Information
12. Changes to Our Privacy Policy
13. Your California Privacy Rights
14. Contact Us
1
Introduction
Zynga develops and publishes social games including FarmVille, FrontierVille, Mafia Wars, Zynga Poker and others. In this policy, "Zynga" refers to Zynga Inc. and its Affiliates, which shall mean subsidiaries, parent companies, joint ventures and other corporate entities under common ownership. We may also refer to Zynga as "We" or "Us". Personal data of users that reside outside of the United States and Japan is jointly controlled by Zynga Game Ireland Ltd. and Zynga Luxembourg S.a.r.l.
This Privacy Policy describes:
• the information we collect, how we do so and the purposes of our collection
• how we use and with whom we share such information
• how you can access and update such information
• the choices you can make about how we collect, use and share your information
• how we protect the information we store about you
If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy or our collection and use of information, please contact us as described in Section 14 ("Contact Us").
If you access our games from a third party Social Networking Site ("SNS"), you may be required to also read and accept the SNS Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
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Information We Collect
Information about You Received from an SNS
When you use any Zynga game at an SNS such as Facebook or MySpace, where our games are also referred to as “applications”, you allow Zynga to access certain information from your profile for that site. The information you allow Zynga to access varies by game and SNS platform, and it is affected by the privacy settings you establish at the SNS. You can control and find out more about these settings at the SNS where you play our games. For example, Zynga may access and store some or all of the following information, as allowed by you, the SNS and your preferences:
• your first and last name
• your profile picture or its URL
• your user ID number, which is linked to publically available information such as name and profile photo
• the user ID numbers for your friends that are also connected to our game(s)
• the login e-mail you provided to that SNS when you registered
• your physical location and that of your access devices
• your gender
• your birthday
By playing a Zynga game through an SNS, you are authorizing Zynga to collect, store, and use in accordance with this Privacy Policy any and all information that you agreed the SNS could provide to Zynga through the SNS Application Programming Interface ("API"). Your agreement takes place when you "accept" or "allow" (or similar terms) one of our applications on an SNS.
Information We Collect from You Directly
When you interact with Zynga directly, either through a Zynga game (whether or not on an SNS), at www.Zynga.com, or any Zynga-owned website, we may collect and store information from you directly as described below:
Registration Information
When you register with us directly, you will be required to provide at least the following information:
• your age or birthday (for age screening and/or to better understand who our users are)
• your first and last names
• your e-mail address (which must be a valid e-mail address)
• a password and other information that helps us confirm that it is you accessing your account
We may also offer you the option to complete a user profile that is visible to other Zynga users. Your user profile may include:
• a profile photo
• one or more game username(s)
• your gender
• your interests and hobbies
• your occupation
• biographic details that you provide
• links to your profiles on various SNS
• details about the games you play
• a Zynga user ID number, created by Zynga and used to identify your profile
The Zynga user ID number used to identify your account and profile will be public and will appear in the URL of your profile page, but will only permit access to information that is considered public or that you have designated as public in your settings.
Your first and last names and profile picture are considered "public" on Zynga websites that offer direct access to Zynga games and search engines may index this publicly available information. When we offer profiles, we will also offer functionality that allows you to opt-out of public indexing of your public profile information.
We will also offer you the ability to import your address book contacts or manually enter email addresses so that you can (i) locate your contacts on Zynga; and (ii) invite those contacts to join you in our games. We will store those contacts for purposes of helping you and your contacts make connections on our site. If you do not want your contacts stored just follow the instructions available at the "Learn More" link. Passwords provided to Zynga for the purpose of accessing your address book will not be stored.
Information We Receive or Collect When You Access Zynga Games on a Mobile Device
If you play Zynga games on your mobile telephone or other mobile device, we collect your unique device identifier and may collect your telephone number, country, and other information you choose to provide, such as user name, character name, location or e-mail address (i.e., to receive updates about the game).
Payment Information
If you purchase in-game virtual currency or goods from Zynga, we will collect the billing and financial information necessary to process your charges, including your postal and e-mail addresses, depending on your payment method. Zynga may also receive the billing and payment information that you provide when you purchase Zynga virtual goods or currency via a mobile device, such as an iPhone. We use and store this data in the same manner as billing and payment data collected from non-mobile visitors to our games. Our Terms of Service explain our policies and terms relevant to our charges and billing practices. Please note that purchases of Facebook Credits are subject to Facebook policies.
Customer Support Correspondence
When you ask for assistance from our Customer Support team, we will collect and store the contact information you provide (generally your name and e-mail address), information about your game play or activity on the Service, and your user ID number. We will also store the correspondence and any information contained within.
Sweepstakes, Promotions and Loyalty Programs
We receive and store the information you provide, such as a user ID number or valid e-mail address or street address, when you enter any Zynga game promotion, sweepstakes or loyalty program. Promotions which offer prizes (for example, other than virtual currency or virtual goods) will have separate requirements for eligibility and other rules, which you can easily locate and should review before deciding whether to participate.
SMS Notifications
We receive and store the information you provide, including your telephone number, when you sign up to have SMS notifications sent directly to your mobile phone. These messages notify you of in-game activity and may allow you to play the game from your phone. For example, two-way SMS notifications for Mafia Wars allow you to do jobs, fight, and collect virtual money in the game. You will also receive alerts when you are attacked, receive an energy pack or when your mafia needs help. You can adjust the types of notifications you receive and when you receive them by editing your SMS notification settings; just log in to your game account and choose SMS mobile from the Help menu.
Technical and Usage Information
When you access our websites or play our games, we collect (i) certain technical information about your computer system and (ii) usage statistics about your interactions with our websites and games. This information is collected through the use of server log files and tracking technologies to collect and analyze certain types of technical information including cookies. Some of the cookies the Service places on your computer are linked to your user ID number(s). For more information on how we utilize cookies and other tracking technologies please review the "Cookies and Automated Information Collection" portion of Section 3 ("How We Collect Information about You").
Game Toolbars or Game Bars
Users may have the opportunity to download and install a Zynga branded toolbar (the "Toolbar") when playing various games. This Toolbar allows you to monitor your real time status for Zynga games while you are browsing non-Zynga websites. For example, you can view your real time Health, Energy and Stamina in Mafia Wars no matter what website you are viewing. As the Toolbar is improved, it will be automatically updated on your browser. The Toolbar itself does not collect personal information. However, there are some features within the Toolbar that may allow you to provide personal information (e.g. Contact form, Tell-a-friend). Additionally, we may keep statistics regarding toolbar use on an aggregated basis. For more info on the Toolbar and instructions for installing and uninstalling go here. The Toolbar is based on technology provided by Conduit, whose privacy policy is available here.
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3
How We Collect Information about You
We may collect information about you in any one or more of the following ways:
Information about Players and Play
When you play one of our games, Zynga collects and stores certain profile information that you provide directly or through the SNS or other third party website that is offering our game(s). To provide a richer game play and social experience, we also collect information about your play and interaction with other players and the Service. The bulk of this information is collected and stored through the use of web logs, which are files on our web servers that record actions taken on our games and websites.
Communications Features
You may be able to take part in certain activities on our websites or games that give you the opportunity to communicate or share information not just with Zynga, but also with other users of our Service. These include:
• participating in player forums and message boards
• posting public comments to other users' profiles or gameboards
• sending private messages or invitations to other users, either directly on our websites or to their e-mail accounts
• chat with other users
• posting photos
We may record and store archives of these communications on Zynga's servers to protect the safety and well being of our users and Zynga's rights and property in connection with the service You acknowledge and consent to the recording and storage of such communications for these purposes.
Cookies and Automated Information Collection
When you access our websites or play our games, we collect certain technical information in order to (i) analyze the usage of our sites and services which allows us to improve the service, (ii) provide a more personalized experience and (iii) manage advertising. We and service providers acting on our behalf, such as Google Analytics, use server log files and tracking technologies to collect and analyze certain types of technical information, including cookies, IP addresses, browser types, browser language, referring and exit pages, and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed and the order of those pages, the amount of time spent on particular pages, game state and the date and time of activity on our websites or games, and other similar information. In some cases, we will associate this information with your user ID number for our internal use.
We may also employ other technologies including (i) web beacons, which allow us to know if a certain page was visited or whether an e-mail was opened; (ii) tracking pixels, which allow us to advertise more efficiently by excluding our current users from certain promotional messages or identifying the source of a new installation; (iii) local shared objects also known as flash cookies, which help us to prevent fraud, remember your in-game settings for features like music and to track your progress on certain in-game tasks.
You can set your web browser to warn you about attempts to place cookies on your computer, or limit the type of cookies you allow. Flash cookies operate differently than browser cookies and cookie management tools available in a web browser will not remove flash cookies. To learn more about and manage flash cookies you can visithttp://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/articles/lso/ and make changes at the privacy settings panel. If you disable cookies, you may lose some of the features and functionality of playing our games, as Zynga cookies are necessary to track and enhance your game activities. Please note that companies delivering advertisements in our games or on our websites may also use cookies or other technologies, and those practices are subject to their own policies.
Other Sources
We may collect or receive information from other sources including (i) other Zynga users who choose to upload their email contacts, and (ii) third party information providers. This information will be used to supplement your profile - primarily to help you and your friends connect. It will be combined with other information we collect.
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How We Use the Information We Collect
In general, we collect, store and use your information to provide you with a safe, smooth, efficient, and customized experience. For example, we may use information collected from you in any one or more of the following ways:
• to register your Zynga account and allow play of our games
• to administer games and improve game play
• to identify and suggest connections with other Zynga users
• to enable user-to-user communications
• to provide technical support and respond to user inquiries
• to prevent fraud or potentially illegal activities, and enforce our Terms of Service
• to notify users of in-game updates
• to provide in-game leader boards and promote in-game player achievements
• to communicate about new and current games
• to solicit input and feedback to improve Zynga products and services and customize your user experience
• to resolve disputes, collect fees, and troubleshoot problems
• to analyze trends and user traffic and gather statistical information
• to inform users about new products or promotional offers
One important use of your information is communication. If you have provided your e-mail address to Zynga, we'll use it to respond to (i) customer support inquiries, and (ii) keep you informed of your in-game activity, including comments from friends, notifications about in-game status such as "crops ready" as well as notifications of gift and neighbor requests. We may also send promotional e-mail messages and promotional SMS messages ("Promotional Communications") directly or in partnership with parties other than Zynga.
You always have the choice to stop receiving Promotional Communications. When you receive Promotional Communications from us you will have the opportunity to "opt out" by (i) following the unsubscribe instructions provided in the Promotional Communication you receive or (ii) by editing your preferences. Please note that despite your indicated e-mail preferences, we may still send you administrative messages regarding Zynga games, including, for example, administrative confirmations, and notices of updates to our Policies. For more information on your messaging options see "Your Sharing and Messaging Options" below.
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Sharing of Your Information
We will share your information (in some cases personal information) with third parties, that is parties other than Zynga, in the following circumstances:
Third Party Service Providers
We will provide your information to third party companies to perform services on our behalf, including payment processing, data analysis, e-mail delivery, hosting services, customer service and to assist us in our marketing efforts. We direct all such third party service providers to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed to them and to not use your information for any purpose other than to provide services on Zynga's behalf.
Friends and Other Zynga Players
In some Zynga games other players will be able to see your game name or pseudonym and a game profile. Your game profile may include your profile photo, which in certain cases can reveal your User ID number. Access to this information may allow others to view the public information associated with your related SNS account.
Advertising of Third-Party Products and Services
We do not actively share personal information with third party advertisers for their direct marketing purposes unless you give us your consent. If we wish to share in this fashion, we will ask for your consent. Advertisers, however, may obtain public information about you from your profile or other public sources.
We may use and share with third parties certain technical information (including IP addresses) or aggregated information to show general demographic and preference information among Zynga users. We may also allow advertisers to collect technical or aggregated information, which they may share with us, with tracking technologies like cookies and web beacons. The information collected may be used to offer you targeted ad-selection and delivery in order to personalize your user experience by ensuring that advertisements for products and services you see will appeal to you, a practice known as behavioral advertising, and to undertake web analytics (i.e. to analyze traffic and other end user activity to improve your experience). To learn more about behavioral advertising or to opt-out of this type of advertising for participating ad networks, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative website.
Our collection, use, and disclosure of anonymous and aggregated information are not subject to any of the restrictions in this Privacy Policy.
Offer Walls
Zynga games or their purchase pages may display an "offer wall" that is hosted by an offer wall provider. The offer wall allows third party advertisers to provide virtual currency to users in exchange for interacting with an advertisement or for completing a marketing offer that may include signing up for an account with one of those advertisers. These are not offers made by Zynga. These offers may be displayed to you based on certain technical information, such as your geographic area or anonymous demographic information. After clicking on one of these advertisements, you will no longer be on a site hosted by Zynga or partnering SNS. To properly credit user accounts and to prevent fraud, a unique identifier, in some cases your user ID number, will be shared with the offer wall provider. This identifier is used to ensure proper crediting of your account, prevent fraud or duplicate offers and to resolve any customer service inquiries that may arise. Once you complete an offer, you will then return to a Zynga website or game.
Safety, Security and Compliance with Law
Your information, and the contents of your private online communications, may be accessed and disclosed (i) in response to legal process (for example, a court order, search warrant or subpoena); (ii) when we have a good faith belief that we are required to disclose the information in response to legal process; (iii) in other circumstances in which Zynga believes the Zynga games or web sites are being used in the commission of a crime (including exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction); (iv) when we have a good faith belief that there is an emergency that poses a threat to the safety of you or another person; and (v) when necessary either to protect the rights or property of Zynga including to enforce our Terms of Service, or for us to render the service you have requested.
Sale or Merger
In the event that Zynga undergoes a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, we may transfer all of your information, including personal information, to the successor organization in such transition. If material changes to Zynga's privacy practices will occur as a result of the business transition, we will notify you and other users (in the manner described in Section 12) of the business transition prior to transferring your personal information.
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Our Policies Concerning Children
Our websites and games are not intended for children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect any personal information from such children. Children under the age of 13 should not use our websites or games at any time. In the event that we learn that we have inadvertently gathered personal information from children under the age of 13, we will take reasonable measures to promptly erase such information from our records.
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How to Access and Update Your Information
Information We Receive From an SNS Where You Play Our Games
To manage the information Zynga receives about you from the SNS where you play our games, you will need to follow the instructions at that site for updating your information and changing your privacy settings. On Facebook, for example, as of the effective date of this Privacy Policy, you can edit your privacy settings for applications to do the following:
• control what your friends can share about you when using applications and websites
• block and remove specific applications from accessing your information and contacting you
• ignore application invitations from specific friends
• control who can see your activity in the "Friends' Recent Activity," "Friends' Applications" and "Friends' Games" sections of the Facebook Applications and Games Dashboards.
Once Zynga receives your information from an SNS, that information is stored and used by Zynga in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and you may access and update that information as described below.
Other Methods of Accessing and Controlling your Information
• If you no longer want Zynga to make active use of your information, you may send an e-mail to privacy@zynga.com. Place "Delete My Account" in the subject line and include your first name, last name, e-mail address and user ID number for the SNS from which you access our games (if applicable) in the body of the e-mail. We will respond to your request within thirty (30) days. Please note that certain records, for example those pertaining to payments or customer service matters, will be retained for legal and accounting purposes. If you have sent or posted content on the service, we may not be able to delete it.
• If you wish to review or change the information Zynga has about you, e-mail us at the address provided herein.
• You may change your e-mail preferences at any time, by visiting your e-mail preference page.
• If you have additional questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us at privacy@zynga.com.
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Your Sharing and Messaging Options
Information We Receive from Third-Party SNS Where You play a Zynga Game
If you play our games at a third-party SNS, Zynga will be able to access and store profile and other information about you as described above. The categories of information you share with us will depend, in part, on the privacy settings you have established at the SNS where you access the application. Many SNS allow you to control how you share information with third-party applications and websites, such as Zynga games, through your privacy settings on each SNS. Zynga does not control what privacy settings those sites make available to their users, so we refer you to the privacy policies that are posted on those sites to learn what options they make available to their users. Zynga does not offer an "opt out" option for specific fields that are shared by the SNS where you access and play the game(s).
Opting out of Promotional Communications
You can choose to opt out of receiving additional promotional e-mails from Zynga by clicking on the "unsubscribe" link in any such e-mail, or visiting the e-mail preference page. Please note that once we receive your request, it may take an additional period of time for your opt-out to become effective. Your unsubscribe or e-mail preference change will be processed promptly, and in no event longer than 10 business days. You can opt out of receiving SMS messages by texting STOP to the number we send from for that particular SMS program. In some cases a preference management page will also be available under the "Help" menu of the game that is offering the SMS program.
When you install our apps on your mobile device you can choose to receive push notifications. These notifications can be turned off by modifying your mobile device settings for notifications.
Note that if you opt-out of our Promotional Communications, we may still e-mail or communicate with you from time to time if we need to provide you with information or if we need to request information from you with respect to a transaction initiated by you or for other legitimate non-marketing reasons.
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International Operations and Transfers out of Switzerland and the EEA
Personal data of users that reside outside of the United States and Japan is jointly controlled by Zynga Game Ireland Ltd. and Zynga Luxembourg S.a.r.l.
As part of our international operations, we may transfer data to our Affiliates from time to time for our legitimate business purposes. For example, Zynga Inc. provides certain services to its Affiliates (which shall mean subsidiaries, parent companies, joint ventures and other corporate entities under common ownership).
Zynga stores information about site visitors and players on servers located in the United States, and Zynga may also store such information on servers and equipment in other countries. Personal data collected within Switzerland and the European Economic Area (“EEA”) may be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside of Switzerland and the European Economic Area (“EEA”). The data we hold may also be processed by employees operating outside of Switzerland and the EEA who work for us or one of our Affiliates or for one of our vendors. Such staff may be engaged in, among other things, (i) the processing of transactions and your payment details and (ii) the provision of support services. By submitting your personal data or playing Zynga games, you agree to this transfer, storing or processing.
Zynga Inc. complies with the Safe Harbor framework as set forth by the Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of online user data from the European Union and Switzerland. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy. Zynga Inc. is a participant in the TRUSTe Safe Harbor Program. If you have reported data privacy concerns to Zynga and do not feel they have been adequately addressed, you may contact TRUSTe at http://watchdog.truste.com/pvr.php?page=complaint.
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Privacy Policies of Linked Sites and Advertisers
Our websites and games may contain advertisements from companies other than Zynga with their own websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites. If you have any questions about how these other websites use your information, you should review their policies and contact them directly.
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Security of Your Information
Zynga implements reasonable security measures to protect the security of your information both online and offline, and we are committed to the protection of customer information.
For user accounts registered directly with Zynga profile information is protected by the password each member uses to access their online account. It is important that you protect and maintain the security of your account and that you immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your account. If you forget the password to your Zynga account, the website allows you to request that instructions be sent to you that explain how to reset your password. When you sign into your account or enter payment information (such as a credit card number when purchasing virtual currency), we encrypt the transmission of that information using secure socket layer technology ("SSL").
While we take reasonable precautions against possible security breaches of our websites and our customer databases and records, no website or Internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. We urge you to take steps to keep your personal information safe (including your account password), and to log out of your account after use. If your SNS account is hacked, this may lead to unauthorized play of your Zynga games, so be careful to keep your account information secure. If you have questions about the security of our websites, please contact us at privacy@zynga.com.
Unfortunately, the transmission of information over the Internet is not completely secure. Although we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data while it is being transmitted to our site; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we have procedures and security features in place to try to prevent unauthorized access.
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Changes to Our Privacy Policy
If we decide to make material changes to our Privacy Policy, we will notify you and other users by placing a notice on Zynga.com or by sending you a notice to the e-mail address we have on file for you. We may supplement this process by placing notices in our games and on other Zynga websites. You should periodically check www.zynga.com and this privacy page for updates.
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Your California Privacy Rights
We do not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless you affirmatively agree to such disclosure, typically by "opting in" to receive information from a third party that is participating in a sweepstakes or other promotion on one of our sites. If you do ask us to share your personal information with a third party for its marketing purposes, we will only share information in connection with that specific promotion, as we do not share information with any third party (other than our service providers) on a continual basis. To prevent disclosure of your personal information for use in direct marketing by a third party, do not opt in to such use when you provide personal information on one of our sites.
Right to Access
Users in certain jurisdictions have a right to access personal information held about themselves. Your right of access can be exercised in accordance with applicable law. Please submit any requests for access to your personal data in writing to privacy@zynga.com.
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Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy and/or practices, please send an e-mail to privacy@zynga.com. All other inquiries should be directed to Zynga's Support Page.
Zynga Inc.
4104 24th Street, #363
San Francisco, CA 94114