Privacy Policy

Last updated October 8, 2012

Protecting your privacy is very important to us. Accordingly, we provide this Privacy Policy to explain our practices regarding the collection, use and disclosure of information that we receive when you use our Services. As in our Terms of Service, accessible at www.rockmelt.com/terms.html, when we use the term "Services" in this Privacy Policy we are referring to the (i) website located at www.rockmelt.com (the "Site"), (ii) downloadable desktop application or extensions to third party browsers ("Software"), and (iii) social reader and browser services accessible via the Site and mobile device application ("App") all of which are made available by Rockmelt, Inc. ("Rockmelt"). To make these Terms easier to read, the Site, our services, App and Software are collectively called the "Services." Also, unless we define a term in this Privacy Policy, all capitalized words used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms of Service.

The Big Picture

Here are the basics:

  • We collect information about you and how you use the Services, and we use this information to make the Services better.
  • We protect your privacy and NEVER share personally identifiable information with third parties, except as described under "What Information Do We Share With Third Parties?" below.
  • To operate the Services, some anonymized data may be shared with third parties. You can opt out of certain data collection, either temporarily or permanently.

Read on for details.

How do we collect and use information?

In this policy, when we say we "collect" information, we generally mean that the Services keep track of the information and upload it to our servers. Some information is uploaded immediately; other information is stored locally and then periodically uploaded to our servers. Our servers store the information persistently in a database for later use. When we say we "use" information, we generally mean that we store it, retrieve it, parse it, aggregate it, analyze it, report on it, combine it with information from other sources, and do similar transformations and analyses in pursuit of understanding how users in aggregate use the Services and how we can make the Services better. We may also use the information collected to understand how an individual user uses the Services and to make that user's experience better. For example, we may keep track of stories you have hidden and show you fewer stories like that in the future.

Rockmelt collects key information that helps us improve the Services. Some of this information may be personally identifiable information about you (e.g., information from your Social Networking Service ("SNS") Account). We may also collect personally identifiable information about you in ways that don't involve the Services—for instance, if you send us an email with your phone number in it. We also collect information about your use of the Services and the configuration of your system or device. By accessing or using the Services, you are agreeing to allow Rockmelt to collect these and other data points and transmit them to Rockmelt's servers. If you don't want us to track or collect this information, you have several options:

  1. In the desktop product, for temporary periods during which you do not want information collected, open a browser window in Incognito Mode, which can be accessed from the Rockmelt menu on Windows and from the File menu on Mac within the Software. We never track or collect usage data from a window while it is in Incognito Mode.

  2. In the desktop product, uncheck the "Help make Rockmelt better" box under the Rockmelt menu -> Options / Preferences -> Under the Hood -> Privacy. In the App, uncheck the "Help make Rockmelt better" box when you install the App and login. Note that by doing so we will not be notified of crashes or other problems you experience and may therefore be unable to fix problems you encounter. We never track or collect additional usage data while the "Help make Rockmelt better" box is unchecked.

  3. Remove the Services from your system or device.

The kinds of information we track or collect, without limitation, are the following.

  • Which features of the Services you use and how often (for instance, how often you use the emoticodes, share buttons, search feature, etc.)
  • The amount of time that the Services run and the amount of time the Services are active
  • Crashes of the Services and associated conditions around the time of the crash
  • What you've selected for certain preferences and options
  • Location information-
  • How often you use the omnibox / address bar to perform a search, and whether you accept omnibox / address bar suggestions (we do not store the search terms you enter or the suggestions you accept or are shown)
  • Your device type and configuration information
  • The number of tabs you have open and number of items you have saved for later

If you open a window in "Incognito" mode, no data from that window will be collected or sent to Rockmelt, and all data from that window including history and cache generated by activity in that window will be deleted as soon as you close that window.

Account Information

If you choose to create an Account, we will collect certain information that can be used to identify you, such as your name and email address (Personally Identifiable Information, or "PII"). We may also collect certain information that, by itself, cannot be used to identify you, such as your gender, age or zip code. If you choose to create an Account, you may do so directly via the Services or you may provide us with your SNS Account username (or userID) so that your identity can be authenticated by the SNS Account. Upon completion of authentication we will be able to link your Account with the SNS Account and access certain PII, such as your name and email address, and other PII that your privacy settings on the SNS Account permit us to access. We don't receive or store passwords for any of your SNS Accounts.

SNS Accounts

After you create an Account, you will have the option of granting Rockmelt with access to certain SNS Accounts. By granting such access to Rockmelt, you understand that Rockmelt will access, render and store content from your SNS Account(s), including your PII, so that it is available and viewable through the Services. In some instances, information (including PII) that you post to your SNS account(s) will be viewable via the Services. We encourage you to read the privacy policies or statements of the other online services you use. You have the ability to disable the connection between the Services and an SNS Account, at any time, via the "My Profile" section of the App and the "Preferences" section of the Software.

Demographic Profiling

We also use information for development or demographic profiling purposes, but any such use would not be personally identifiable. For instance, we might combine the information we receive from your SNS Account about your age, gender and zip code with the data the Services send us about your usage habits (described in "Information Related to Use of the Services" below) to find out more about which groups of people use specific features of the Services. As an example, we might do this to get a sense of how many people aged 18-21 use the share feature, but not who those people actually are.

Information Collected Using Cookies

We collect certain information through the use of "cookies" and substantially similar techniques. Cookies are small text files that are saved by Rockmelt when you access our Services. We may use both session cookies and persistent cookies to identify repeat visitors to the Services and to tell us how and when you interact with our Services. We may also use cookies to monitor aggregate usage by our users and web traffic routing on our Services and to customize and improve our Services. Unlike persistent cookies, session cookies are deleted from your computer when you log off from the Services and close Rockmelt.

Information Related to Use of the Services

Our servers automatically record certain information about how a person uses our Services, including both Account holders and non-Account holders (we refer to this information as "Log Data"). Log Data may include information such as a person's Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, computer or mobile device type (for users of the Software and App), operating system, the web page that a person was on prior to accessing our Services, the pages or features of our Services that a person visited and the time spent on those pages or features, searches performed, the links or tiles on our Services that a person clicked on, emoticodes and URLs entered via the Services, the number of tabs you have open on the Services, the sources and users you "follow" via the Services, items you save via the Services and other statistics. We use this information to administer the Services, and we analyze (and may engage third parties to analyze) this information to improve and enhance the Services by expanding its features and functionality and tailoring them to our users' needs and preferences. We use a person's IP address to fight spam, malware and identity theft. We also use the IP Address to generate aggregate, non-identifying information about how and where our Services are used.

What Information Do We Share With Third Parties?

We will not share any PII that we have collected from you except as described below:

Information Shared with Our Services Providers. We may engage third party service providers to work with us to administer and provide the Services. These third-party service providers have access to your PII only for the purpose of performing services on our behalf and are expressly obligated not to disclose or use your PII for any other purpose.

Information Shared with Third Parties

We may share aggregated information and non-identifying information with third parties for industry analysis, demographic profiling and other similar purposes.

Information Disclosed in Connection with Business Transactions

Information that we collect from our users, including PII, is a considered to be a business asset. Thus, if we go out of business or enter bankruptcy or if we are acquired as a result of a transaction such as a merger, acquisition or asset sale, your PII may be disclosed or transferred to the third-party acquirer in connection with the transaction.

Information Disclosed for Our Protection and the Protection of Others

It is our policy to protect you from having your privacy violated through abuse of the legal systems, whether by individuals, entities or government, and to contest claims that we believe to be invalid under applicable law. However, it is also our policy to cooperate with government and law enforcement officials and private parties with legitimate needs. Accordingly, we reserve the right to disclose any information about you to government or law enforcement officials or private parties as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary: (i) to satisfy or comply with any law, regulation or legal process or to respond to lawful requests, including subpoenas, warrants or court orders): (ii) to protect our property, rights and safety and the rights, property and safety of third parties or the public in general; and (iv) to prevent or stop activity we consider to be illegal or unethical.

Information We Share With Your Consent or at Your Request

Via the Services, you may share information from your Account, including your PII, with other Account holders who follow you via the Services and third parties with whom you are connected on the Services and via your SNS Account(s). We will only share such information if you affirmatively choose to do so via the Services (e.g., if you emoticode a piece of content, share it to Facebook, or tweet it via Twitter). If you ask us to share information that we have about your Account we will do so if reasonable and not unduly burdensome.

The Security of Your Information

Rockmelt is very concerned with safeguarding your information. We employ administrative, physical and electronic measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access. Please be aware, however, that no method of transmitting information over the Internet or storing information can be completely secure. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of any information.

We'll make any legally required disclosures of any breach of the security, confidentiality, or integrity of your electronically stored "personal data" (as defined in applicable state statutes on security breach notification) to you via email or conspicuous posting via the Services as soon as we reasonably can, so long as such notice is consistent with (i) the legitimate needs of law enforcement or (ii) any measures necessary to determine the scope of the breach and restore the reasonable integrity of the data system.

Links to Other Sites

Our Services may contain links to other websites and services. Any information that you provide on a third party website or service is provided directly to the owner of the website or service and is subject to that party's privacy policy. Our Privacy Policy does not apply to such websites or services and we're not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of those websites or services. To protect your information, we recommend that you carefully review the privacy policies of other websites and services that you access.

Referral Programs

As part of its referral program, Rockmelt may ask you to provide certain information about your friend (such as name and email address) so that we may send your friend a one-time communication inviting him or her to use Rockmelt. Rockmelt will store this information for the sole purpose of sending this communication. Your friend may, at any time, use the instructions provided in the communication to request that his or her information be removed from our database.

Modifying Your Information

You can access and modify the PII associated with your Account by going to the "My Profile" section of the App. If you want us to delete your PII and your Account, please contact us at support@rockmelt.com with your request. We'll take steps to delete your information as soon as is practicable, but some information may remain in archived/backup copies for our records and as otherwise required by law.

International Users

If you choose to provide information to us, we may transfer your information to the United States and process it there (or any other country where we operate).

Our Policy Toward Children

Our Services is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect PII from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected PII of a child under 13 we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible.

Changes to Privacy Policy

This privacy policy may be updated from time to time. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we'll notify you of such changes by posting them on the Services or by sending you an email or other notification, and we'll indicate when such changes will become effective.

Questions?

Please contact us at privacy@rockmelt.com if you have any questions about our Privacy Policy.