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Aptos Foundation

Privacy

Last Updated: November 16, 2023 

This Privacy Notice explains how Aptos Foundation (“Aptos,” “our,” “we,” or “us”) collects, uses and discloses personal information in connection with our website, aptosfoundation.org, the Aptos Community Discussion Forum, Aptos Docs (including Aptos.Dev), and all related services (collectively the “services”).    

This Privacy Notice is not a contract and does not create any legal rights or obligations. 

OUR COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Sometimes we collect personal information automatically when an individual interacts with our services, and sometimes we collect personal information directly from individuals. At times, we may collect personal information about an individual from other sources and third parties, even before our first direct interaction. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION COLLECTED DIRECTLY FROM INDIVIDUALS  

We may collect the following personal information individuals provide in connection with our services:

  • Contact Information, including name, email address, social media handles, and communication preferences. 

  • Referral Information, including information about friends and family an individual would like to refer to our services. 

  • Inquiry Information, including information provided in custom messages sent through our services (including web forms and the Aptos Assistant feature) or provided directly to a member of our team. 

  • Account Information, including username, profile pictures, profile description, general location, trust level, and join date. 

  • Aptos Community Discussion Forum Information, including number of days visited, topics and posts created, topics viewed, posts read, time spent reading, likes given and received, badges, and community preferences. 

Where an individual chooses to contact us, we may need additional information to fulfill the request or respond to inquiries. We may provide additional privacy-related information where the scope of the inquiry/request and/or personal information we require fall outside the scope of this Privacy Notice. In that case, the additional privacy notice will govern how we may process the information provided at that time. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION AUTOMATICALLY COLLECTED

As is true of most digital platforms, we and our third-party providers may also collect personal information from an individual’s device, browsing actions, and site usage patterns automatically when visiting or interacting with our services, which may include: 

  • Log Data, such as internet protocol (IP) address, operating system, browser type, browser ID, the URL entered and the referring page/campaign, date/time of visit, the time spent on our services, and any errors that may occur during the visit to our services.

  • Analytics Data, such as the electronic path taken to our services, through our services, and when exiting our services, as well as usage and activity on our services.

  • Location Data, such as general geographic location based on the log data we or our third-party providers collect.   

For information about our and our third-party providers’ use of cookies and related technologies to collect information automatically, and any choices individuals may have in relation to its collection, please review the Cookies and Related Technologies section below. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM THIRD PARTIES AND OTHER SOURCES

We also obtain personal information from third parties, which we often combine with personal information we collect either automatically or directly from an individual.

We may receive the same categories of personal information as described above from the following third parties:

  • Referrals: We offer a referral service that allows an individual to tell one of their friends or a member of their family about our services by forwarding certain marketing communications and/or emails to the friend or family member they believe may be interested in our products or services. We use personal information collected in connection with these referral services to communicate with the friend or family member being referred and to provide the referring individual any benefits, incentives and/or rewards they may be eligible for as a result of their referral. 

  • Social Media: If an individual chooses to interact with us on social media, we may collect personal information about them from their social media account that they make public. We use personal information collected in connection with their social media account to communicate with them, better understand their interests and preferences, and better understand our user base in the aggregate.

  • Identity Verification Providers: In certain circumstances, we may engage third-party identity verification providers to help us verify the identity of a specific individual with whom we are interacting. This information is used primarily for purposes of preventing fraud. 

  • Event, Promotion and Other Business Partners: We may from time to time offer opportunities for individuals to take part in events or promotions, or obtain services provided in connection with a third-party business partner. Our event, promotion, and other business partners may collect or share personal information with us in connection with the relevant event, promotion or service. For example, we may receive personal information from third-party business partners that help foster the Aptos community in order to identify community members eligible for benefits in relation to a promotion. 

  • Data Analytics Providers: We rely on third-party providers to help us collect analytics relating to our services and user base. These data analytics providers often collect personal information directly from individuals and share some or all of this information with us in connection with their analytics services. 

  • Other Service Providers: Other service providers that perform services solely on our behalf, such as website hosting, customer service, and marketing providers, collect personal information and often share some or all of this information with us in connection with their services. 

  • Affiliates: We may receive personal information from other companies owned or controlled by Aptos Foundation, and other companies owning or under common ownership with Aptos Foundation, particularly when we collaborate in providing services.

  • Aptos Community Discussion Forum Participants: We may receive personal information from other participants in the Aptos Community Discussion Forum to help support your interaction with the Aptos community.

  • Information Providers: We may from time to time obtain information from third-party information providers to correct or supplement personal information we collect. For example, we may obtain updated contact information from third-party information providers to connect with an individual who may be interested in our services. 

  • Publicly Available Sources: We collect personal information about individuals that we do not otherwise have, such as contact information or an individual’s interest in our services, from publicly available sources. We may combine this information with the information we collect from an individual directly.

  • Inferences: We may generate inferences or predictions about individuals and their interests and preferences based on the other personal information we collect and the interactions we have with the individuals.

OUR COLLECTION OF BLOCKCHAIN INFORMATION

Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger used to record transactions of assets. In connection with our services, we may collect the following public blockchain information directly from individuals, from the third parties identified above, or from the public blockchain itself (including the Aptos blockchain): 

  • Account Address: The unique blockchain address from or to which assets are transferred. 

  • Account Balance: The balance associated with the blockchain address. 

  • Transaction Details: The transaction identifier, blockchain position for the transaction, date and time of the transaction, amount sent or received, fee amount, account address of the sender and recipient, and storage size of the transaction.

We may in certain circumstances combine the blockchain information we obtain with the personal information described above. 

OUR USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AND BLOCKCHAIN INFORMATION

We use the information we collect to: 

  • Manage our organization and its day-to-day operations; 

  • Communicate with individuals, including via email and social media;

  • Market our services to individuals, including through in-person events, social media, email, and other online venues, based on individual interests and interactions with us;

  • Administer, provide, maintain, improve, and personalize our products and services, including by recognizing an individual and remembering their information when they return to our services;

  • Facilitate transactions and individual benefits and services, including customer support, contests, sweepstakes, and promotions; 

  • Identify and analyze how individuals use our services;

  • Monitor and analyze trends, usage, and activities in connection with our services; 

  • Improve and customize our services to address the needs and interests of our user base and other individuals we interact with;

  • Improve the Aptos blockchain or support the Aptos community; 

  • Test, enhance, update, and monitor the services, or diagnose or fix technology problems; 

  • Help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our property and services, technology assets, and business;

  • Defend, protect, or enforce our rights or applicable contracts and agreements;

  • Detect, prevent, investigate, or provide notice of malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, unlawful or criminal activity; 

  • Facilitate business transactions and reorganizations impacting the structure of our business; and

  • Comply with legal obligations. 

OUR DISCLOSURE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION AND BLOCKCHAIN INFORMATION

We disclose the information we collect to: 

  • Affiliates: We share information with other companies owned or controlled by Aptos Foundation, and other companies owning or under common ownership with Aptos Foundation, particularly when we collaborate in providing services.

  • Referrals: We may share the name of a referring individual with the friends and family the individual refers to our services, as well as any other content or custom message the referring individual wishes to share. 

  • Identity Verification Providers: Where we engage a third-party identity verification provider to help us verify the identity of a specific individual with whom we are interacting, we will typically provide the third-party identity verification provider sufficient information to facilitate the identity verification service. 

  • Event, Promotion and Other Business Partners: Just as we may receive information from our event, promotion and other business partners, we may share information with them in connection with the relevant event, promotion or service we are offering. For example, we may share information with third-party business partners that help foster the Aptos community in order to have them facilitate communication between us and members of the Aptos community. 

  • Data Analytics Providers: We may share information with our data analytics providers to facilitate the analytics services they are providing us. 

  • Other Service Providers: In addition to the third parties identified above, we engage other third-party service providers that perform business or operational services for us or on our behalf, such as web hosting, shipping and delivery, payment processing, fraud prevention, customer service (including customer communication channels, like the Aptos Assistant), contests, sweepstakes, promotions, and marketing and advertising services. Depending on the function the provider serves, the service provider may process information on our behalf or have access to information while performing functions on our behalf. 

  • Business Transaction or Reorganization:We may take part in or be involved with a business transaction, such as a merger, acquisition, joint venture, or financing or sale or other transfer of company assets. We may disclose personal information to a third party during negotiation of, in connection with or as an asset in such a business transaction. Personal information may also be disclosed in the event of insolvency, bankruptcy, or receivership.  

  • Legal Obligations and Rights:We may disclose information to third parties, such as legal advisors and law enforcement: 

  • in connection with the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims; 

  • to comply with laws or to respond to lawful requests and legal process; 

  • to protect our rights and property and the rights and property of others, including to enforce our agreements and policies;

  • to detect, suppress, or prevent fraud; 

  • to protect the health and safety of us and others; or 

  • as otherwise required by applicable law.

  • Otherwise with Consent or Direction: We may disclose personal information about an individual to certain other third parties or publicly with the individual’s consent or direction. For example, with an individual’s consent or direction we may post their testimonial on our services. 

COOKIES AND RELATED TECHNOLOGIES

OVERVIEW OF COOKIES

We and our third-party providers may use (i) cookies or small data files that are stored on an individual’s computer and (ii) other, similar technologies, such as web beacons, pixels, embedded scripts, location-identifying technologies and logging technologies (collectively, “cookies”) to automatically collect personal information and use or disclose the personal information for the purposes described in the sections above. For example, our services use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”), to collect and view reports about the traffic on our website. Individuals can obtain more information on the use of Google Analytics by visiting Google’s privacy policy here and individuals can view Google’s currently available opt-out options here.

CHOICE RELATING TO THE USE OF COOKIES ON OUR PLATFORM SERVICES

If an individual would prefer not to accept cookies, most browsers will allow the individual to: (i) change the individual’s browser settings to notify the individual when the individual receives a cookie, which lets the individual choose whether or not to accept it; (ii) disable existing cookies; or (iii) set the individual’s browser to automatically reject cookies. Please note that doing so may negatively impact the individual’s experience using our website, as some features and offerings may not work properly or at all. Depending on the individual’s device and operating system, the individual may not be able to delete or block all cookies. In addition, if the individual wants to reject cookies across all browsers and devices, the individual will need to do so on each browser on each device the individual actively uses. The individual may also set their email options to prevent the automatic downloading of images that may contain technologies that would allow us to know whether they have accessed our email and performed certain functions with it.

CHILDREN’S PERSONAL INFORMATION

Our services are not directed to, and we do not intend to, or knowingly, collect or solicit personal information from children under the age of 13. If an individual is under the age of 13, they should not use our services or otherwise provide us with any personal information either directly or by other means. If a child under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us, we encourage the child’s parent or guardian to contact us to request that we remove the personal information from our systems. If we learn that any personal information we collect has been provided by a child under the age of 13, we will promptly delete that personal information.

LINKS TO THIRD-PARTY WEBSITE OR SERVICES

Our services may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins, and applications. Except where we post, link to, or expressly adopt or refer to this Privacy Notice, this Privacy Notice does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, any personal information practices of third-party websites and online services or the practices of other third parties. To learn about the personal information practices of third parties, please visit their respective privacy notices. 

UPDATES TO THIS PRIVACY NOTICE

We will update this Privacy Notice from time to time. When we make changes to this Privacy Notice, we will change the date at the beginning of this Privacy Notice. If we make material changes to this Privacy Notice, we will notify individuals by email to their registered email address, by prominent posting on our services, or through other appropriate communication channels. All changes shall be effective from the date of publication unless otherwise provided.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions or requests in connection with this Privacy Notice or other privacy-related matters, please send an email to terms@aptosfoundation.org.