THE MAIDS OF SOUTHERN MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRIVACY POLICY
Effective Date: January 1, 2023
The Maids of Southern Montgomery County Privacy Policy explains our practices, defines our users’ (“you” or “your”) privacy options, and describes how your information is collected and used by The Maids of Southern Montgomery County (“we,” “us,” “our,” or “The Maids”).
This Privacy Policy governs your use of The Maids website at http://themaidsofmaryland.com/ (the “Site”), and any information we may access through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn or Twitter. For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, we will refer to all of these access points as The Maids system (the “System”).
REVISIONS TO THE PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this policy from time to time and will mark new versions with a corresponding effective date. We recommend you visit the Site to review any changes in our practices. Your continued use of the System constitutes your agreement to our then-current Privacy Policy.
WHAT INFORMATION IS COLLECTED?
Ad Views, Analytics, Browser Information, Cookie Data, Date/Time, Demographic Data, Hardware/Software Type, Interaction Data , Internet Service Provider, Page Views, Serving Domains, Targeting Data, Device ID (EU PII), IP Address, Location Based Data, Search History
Information Collected Directly from You
We may collect personal information about you when you sign up for a mailing list, fill out a “Contact Us” form, submit information in connection with a purchase or estimate request, or as part of other online services. The lawful basis for collection of this information is based on your consent, The Maids’ legitimate interest, or as necessary to fulfill a contract with you.
The information we may collect includes, but may not be limited to:
• Name
• Email address, phone number, mailing address, and other location or contact information
• Financial information necessary to process a purchase or other request such as a franchise application
• Business affiliations
• Personal information and preferences to customize your cleaning plan
• Information about your home or office cleaning needs; and
• Other information related to your requests or inquiries.
Information Collected Automatically
We use tracking technologies such as cookies, log files, and pixel tags to automatically collect information when users visit our System. Our lawful basis for collection of this data is our legitimate interest in completing your requests and maintaining a functional System. We collect:
• IP addresses to measure our website traffic and to help provide a more personalized experience;
• Information regarding your browser and other technical specifications required to use our System;
• Your transaction history relating to the use of our products and services;
• Computer data or files, often called “cookies,” which may be sent by your web browser and stored on an individual computer to allow our server to “recognize” you through the navigation of the Site, and for us to credit your account for various online transactions; and
• Computer data files, often called “web beacons” that are collected from emails or links on third-party sites that allow our server to evaluate the popularity of those links or the information contained in emails or on third-party sites.
The Maids may collect your email address via cookies and pixels on the Site through the use of trusted third party partners. These partners may combine your email information with other information they have access to such as mailing address so that The Maids may serve relevant marketing offers to you via direct mail. If you do not want The Maids to collect information about you, please contact The Maids to opt out.
For more information, see the “Cookies and Similar Technologies” section below.
Collecting Information from Children Under the Age of 16
Our Site and System are not designed for children, and we do not knowingly collect information from any person under the age of 16.
HOW IS THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT USED?
We collect information about you in order to provide you with services and products, and to make the System work properly. Our legitimate business interests, as necessary to fulfill a contract or agreement with you, and your consent are the lawful bases for this type of data processing. We use personal information for a variety of purposes related to our business, including but not limited to:
Providing services and support
Performing the essential functions of the System including responding to inquiries, fulfilling orders and requests, processing estimate requests, processing payments, providing support and troubleshooting, data aggregation, analysis and report creation to assess marketing effectiveness and/or business performance, and communicating with users about their use of the System or responding to a user initiated inquiry on the System.
Communicating with users about products or services
Sending or initiating direct marketing programs, such as newsletters or information about new products or services we are offering; using content from social media platforms where users discuss our products or use a hashtag related to our products.
Personalizing user experiences on our System
Tailoring content on the System based on user location, preferences, and other personalization factors.
Analytics and System improvement
Tracking information about your visits to our Site or use of the System to allow us to provide better service, using certain online preferences in the aggregate across all users to evaluate the System and develop additional products and services to offer.
Compliance with legal obligations
Sharing information to comply with the law or a legal proceeding, such as in response to a subpoena or court order.
Other purposes necessary to carry out our obligations under this Privacy Policy
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
We may share information, in the aggregate, regarding your online browsing preferences to evaluate our products or allow the third parties we work with to better serve our users. We will not share personally identifiable information in these instances, other than as described in this Privacy Policy.
We will not share your information with third parties to directly market their products to you. We do not sell users’ personal information to third-parties. We may provide user information to third-party service providers or vendors for purposes of, including without limitation:
• Initiating direct marketing programs on our behalf,
• Data tracking,
• Maintenance or development of our System,
• Development of online products, services, or customer service, or new product development,
• Other contracted promotional opportunities provided to our users.
We may also share this information with any subsidiaries, licensees, suppliers, distributors, affiliates, assigns, successors, or other related entities and their respective owners.
We may also share your personal information in connection with law enforcement requests or in response to investigations, subpoenas, court orders, or other legal processes to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims, or as otherwise required by law.
COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES
We use cookies, pixel tags, and similar technologies to gather information about your use of our System and to customize your experience using the System.
Cookies
Cookies are small data files that help us keep track of your usage of the System. Many of the cookies we use enable the System to function as you would expect it to. Cookies enable the System to remember things like your login information so you do not have to re-enter it, items in your shopping cart when you navigate away from the page, user preferences, and other personalized settings. Cookies also enable us to track and analyse user behavior in order to improve our System. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but you can choose to accept or decline certain types of cookies if you prefer. However, declining cookies may impact the functionality of the System and in some cases you may not be able to access the functions of the System. We use the following categories of cookies on the System:
Session cookies
Session cookies are stored on the user’s hard drive temporarily and are deleted when the user ends the browsing session. Session cookies are useful for things like keeping items in a shopping cart while the user continues to browse.
Persistent cookies
Persistent cookies stay on the user’s hard drive until they expire, even after the browser is closed. Persistent cookies are useful for remembering things like login information, so users do not have to enter their password every time they visit the System.
Third-party cookies
Third party cookies are not installed directly by our System, but by third parties such as advertisers. Third party cookies are used to track advertising preferences from site to site, and to gather data about users’ browsing habits in order to improve the user experience.
Clear GIFs
Clear GIFs (also called pixel tags or web beacons) are small files embedded in websites that tell us what content a user accesses and how users navigate the System. Clear GIFs enable us to track and analyse user behavior on the System in order to make it more intuitive and user friendly.
THIRD PARTY WEBSITES AND LINKS
Our System may contain links to other websites. These websites may have privacy policies different from our Privacy Policy. The System may also contain certain social media icons or widgets. Although you can view the material we have linked to, you may have to create an individual account or register to use these third-party social media sites to use interactive features. Any interaction on social media or other third-party websites is governed not by this Privacy Policy but by the terms of use and privacy policy of the particular platform.
Behavioral Advertising
We may also use third-party vendors, such as Google Analytics, to advertise to our users online. These third-party vendors may display The Maids advertisements on other websites based on your internet usage. More specifically, these vendors use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytic cookie) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) together to inform, optimize, and serve ads based on your past visits to the Site or another site affiliated with The Maids products or services. Any information that these third parties collect via cookies is not linked to any personally identifiable information (name, address, email address, or phone number) that we collect or you provide on the website. You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising by using Google’s Ads Settings or by withholding your consent to allow us to use third party vendors for behavioral advertising.
HOW IS USER INFORMATION PROTECTED?
We maintain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for all user information collected in our System.
Data Retention We retain data collected from you only for as long as necessary to complete the purpose for which it was collected.
Data Subject Rights European Union data subjects may have certain rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (the “GDPR”). Once you make a request, we will respond in one month or less unless extenuating circumstances apply.
Right to be Informed
You may have a right to be informed about what personal data we collect from you and how it is used, as well as our purposes for processing your personal data, how long we retain your data, and who we share it with. This Privacy Policy lays out that information in general; please contact us for details specific to you.
Right of Access
You may have the right to know what data has been collected about you and how such data has been processed. If you would like to know exactly what information we have collected about you and how it has been used, please contact us.
Right of Rectification
You may have a right to correct any incorrect or incomplete information we have about you. To request a correction, please contact us.
Right to Erasure
In certain circumstances, you may have the right to request that we delete your personal information.
Right to Restrict Processing
In certain circumstances, you may have the right to restrict the processing of your personal information.
Right to Data Portability
If our lawful basis for processing your data is consent or performance of a contract, you may have the right to receive personal data we have collected from you in an accessible format. You may also have the right to have the personal information we have collected from you transferred to another controller.
Right to Object
You may have the right to object to the processing of your personal data for direct marketing purposes.
Rights Related to Automated Decision-Making Including Profiling
You may have the right to not be subject to a decision based solely on an automated process (no human involvement) which produces legal effects or significantly affects you in a similar way. We will not make these types of decisions by solely automated processes. If you believe that an automated decision-making process was applied to you, please contact us.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.
If you are a California resident, you may also have certain other rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include:
Right to Access
You may have a right to be informed about what personal data we collect from you and how it is used, as well as our purposes for processing your personal data, and the categories of third parties to whom we have shared it over the past 12 months.
Right to Request Deletion
You may have the right to request that we delete personal information that we have collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions.
Verifiable Requests
You may send us a verifiable request at yourteam@themaidsofdmv.com regarding the above rights. Only you, or someone legally authorized to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. The verifiable consumer request must: 1) provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative of that person; and 2) describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.
We endeavour to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time, we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.
YOUR OTHER OPTIONS
By providing information to us or using our System, you are consenting to our use of your data as outlined in this Privacy Policy.
While we work hard to use and disclose our users’ personal information only for the purposes identified above, you can choose not to provide personal information or limit the personal information obtained by us as follows:
• You may have your contact information removed from our marketing lists to inform users of new or relevant products, services, and special offers by clicking on the unsubscribe link in any communication received from us, or by emailing us at yourteam@themaidsofdmv.com
• You may limit the collection of “cookies” through your browser settings. However, this may disable our ability to provide you with the most relevant products or information regarding the System; and
• You may limit the ability of Google Analytics to track your online activity, as outlined in the “Behavioral Advertising” section.
CONTACTING US
For additional information pertaining to our Privacy Policy or any of our data practices, please contact customerservice@themaidsofdmv.com