Home Hardware is committed to protecting your privacy and developing technology that gives you the most powerful and safe online experience. This Statement of Privacy applies to the Home Hardware Web site and governs data collection and usage. By using the Home Hardware website, you consent to the data practices described in this statement.

Collection of your Personal Information

Home Hardware collects personally identifiable information, such as your e-mail address, name, home or work address or telephone number. Home Hardware also collects anonymous demographic information, which is not unique to you, such as your ZIP code, age, gender, preferences, interests and favorites.

There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Home Hardware. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This information is used by Home Hardware for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Home Hardware Web site.

Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through Home Hardware public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Home Hardware does not read any of your private online communications.

Home Hardware encourages you to review the privacy statements of Web sites you choose to link to from Home Hardware so that you can understand how those Web sites collect, use and share your information. Home Hardware is not responsible for the privacy statements or other content on Web sites outside of the Home Hardware and Home Hardware family of Web sites.

Use of your Personal Information

Home Hardware collects and uses your personal information to operate the Home Hardware Web site and deliver the services you have requested. Home Hardware also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from Home Hardware and its affiliates. Home Hardware may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

Home Hardware does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. Home Hardware may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, Home Hardware may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to Home Hardware, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

Home Hardware does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

Home Hardware keeps track of the Web sites and pages our customers visit within Home Hardware, in order to determine what Home Hardware services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within Home Hardware to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Home Hardware Web sites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Home Hardware or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Home Hardware; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Home Hardware, or the public.

Use of Cookies

The Home Hardware Web site use “cookies” to help you personalize your online experience. A cookie is a text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. The purpose of a cookie is to tell the Web server that you have returned to a specific page. For example, if you personalize Home Hardware pages, or register with Home Hardware site or services, a cookie helps Home Hardware to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of recording your personal information, such as billing addresses, shipping addresses, and so on. When you return to the same Home Hardware Web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the Home Hardware features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most Web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to fully experience the interactive features of the Home Hardware services or Web sites you visit.

Security of your Personal Information

Home Hardware secures your personal information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Home Hardware secures the personally identifiable information you provide on computer servers in a controlled, secure environment, protected from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted to other Web sites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Changes to this Statement

Home Hardware will occasionally update this Statement of Privacy to reflect company and customer feedback. Home Hardware encourages you to periodically review this Statement to be informed of how Home Hardware is protecting your information.

Contact Information

Home Hardware welcomes your comments regarding this Statement of Privacy. If you believe that Home Hardware has not adhered to this Statement, please contact Home Hardware at micrositeterms@metroland.com. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem.