Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Acceptable Use
Your privacy is important to us. We do collect information from you, but it is our policy to ensure that all personal information remains private and secure. To earn your trust and confidence in WebMistress.com, we are disclosing our privacy practices and the uses of the information we gather.
To protect your privacy, WebMistress.com:
- Will not release personal identifying information about you without first obtaining your consent, unless required to do so by law
- Will not knowingly use personal identifying information from children younger than 13 without parental consent
- Will inform you when we change our privacy policy, either by e-mail, newsletter or via a link on your Welcome Page when you log in
These links provide detailed information on our privacy practices:
- What general information does WebMistress.com collect and how is it used?
- What personal information does WebMistress.com collect and how is it used?
- What are cookies and how does WebMistress.com use them?
- How do third-party advertisers use my information?
- How can I access, change or delete information about myself?
- How may I protect my privacy on the Internet and within WebMistress.com?
WebMistress.com reserves the right to amend this Privacy Statement at any time without prior notice, and only the current Privacy Statement may be deemed effective.
1. What general information does WebMistress.com collect about me and how is it used?
When you visit WebMistress.com, we collect some basic information about your computer, such as:
- IP address (your computer's unique signature)
- Operating system (e.g., Windows 95)
- Browser software (e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape)
- Internet Service Provider (e.g., Earthlink, Bell Atlantic)
- Other numeric codes used to identify a computer
The information we collect is aggregated to reflect the population as a whole rather than focused on individuals. We use it to help us better understand the people who visit WebMistress.com.
In addition, like many other sites with paid advertising, we disclose some of this aggregate information to advertisers to inform them of the number of people who have seen and clicked on their advertisements.
2. What personal information does WebMistress.com collect about me and how is it used?
During the WebMistress.com signup process, we ask you to supply personal information, including your first name, last name, address, birth date and an alternate e-mail address. We also ask if you would like to receive promotional material from our sponsors and great offers from our partners.
Once you have an account, WebMistress.com may ask you to update your personal information from time to time. We use this information to personalize our services which include e-mail, calendar, member surveys, and customer service. We also use this information, in aggregate, to better target advertising banners and make the content more relevant to each member.
Communication
As a new member, you will find a welcome letter waiting for you when you first log into your new mailbox.
Established members will receive:
- A periodic gift. Occasionally, we are able to offer you some really great deals from companies offering free gifts, services or coupons. We pass these gifts on to you, but out of respect for your privacy, we allow members to unsubscribe from these promotions by sending an e-mail to .
- A periodic newsletter and service announcements. The newsletter contains general information about your e-mail account and interesting news from the internet. The service announcements contain information regarding updates to our services, features, or products. Newsletters are mailed not more than once per week. Members are not able to unsubscribe from the newsletter or service announcements.
If you do not log in for a prolonged period of time, we may use your alternate e-mail address and home address to insure that you receive important news about your WebMistress.com account or other information that you have requested.
WebMistress.com cooperates with law enforcement agencies to identify those who use our services for illegal activities. We reserve the right to release information about members who we believe are in violation of our user agreement, even without a subpoena, warrant or court order. We also reserve the right to report to law enforcement agencies any activities that we reasonably believe to be unlawful.
Credit Cards
When you purchase any services or products from WebMistress.com, we will use your credit card number in order to provide you with the services that you request. Information collected is encrypted using SSL technology and is stored on secure servers. Credit card transactions are processed by an established financial institution. Access to credit card information at WebMistress.com is restricted to authorized staff only, in a manner consistent with or exceeding industry standards.
Remember that third-party vendors also sell products and services via advertising on WebMistress.com and their policies may differ from those of WebMistress.com.
3. What are cookies and how does WebMistress.com use them?
WebMistress.com requires each member to enable cookies to login and use our services.
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is a tiny piece of text asking permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. If you agree, then your browser adds the text in a small file. If you have set your browser to notify you before accepting a cookie, you will receive a notice that WebMistress.com requests a cookie to be set on your computer.
Why do we use Cookies?
Identification: We use cookies to identify you uniquely. For example, this allows us to pre-populate your login information when you access your account.
Tracking and Maintaining Session info: Once you have logged in, we use the cookie to distinguish between your session and that of the many other people using our service. Setting cookies is currently the best method of maintaining session information over the web.
Are cookies secure?
A cookie cannot contain program code, so it cannot be used as a virus nor can it be used to extract data from your system. When a cookie is set, only the server which set the cookie can access the information in that cookie.
How do I change the way my browser handles cookies?
Most browsers allow three options for handling cookies:
- Accept all cookies
- Warn before accepting a cookie
- Reject all cookies
Some of our web-based services will not function unless your browser is set to accept cookies. Instructions for enabling and disabling cookies can be found through the help menu on most browsers. If you have continued trouble changing your cookie settings, you may contact our support site for additional help.
4. How do third-party advertisers use my information?
As a WebMistress.com member, you may, at the time of sign up and during subsequent use of our services, request to receive information from select third party sponsors. This information is a good way to learn about special offers on the web. In order to provide you with your requested services, we may share some of your information such as name and e-mail address with third party sponsors.
You may request that e-mail be sent to your WebMistress.com account containing promotional offers, editorial content, or calendar reminders at any time. If you have requested such e-mail and you have not logged into your account for a prolonged period of time, we may forward the requested information to your alternate e-mail address. WebMistress.com will not disclose your alternate e-mail address to any third parties without your permission.
All promotional e-mails that you request through WebMistress.com will include a removal procedure which will allow you to discontinue receiving further e-mail offers. i.e., you can change your mind about receiving further e-mails at a later date.
If you receive an e-mail from a third party stating that it is associated with WebMistress.com, yet you do not recall asking for the information, please follow the third party's removal procedures. If this procedure is not successful, please forward the e-mail with a summary of your experience to .
Additionally, be aware that when you click on ad banners, you may be brought to other sites not affiliated with or operated by WebMistress.com. You are responsible for information you provide these sites. We recommend that you review the privacy policy of any site that requests personal information.
5. How do I access, change or delete information about myself?
Your personal information can be accessed, or changed by selecting "Access Your Account" in the left hand navigation bar in the associated account areas. Once you are logged in, you can edit your personal information. If you would like to close your account and delete your personal information from our online servers, you can send an e-mail to
; include your WebMistress.com subdomain or email address and your password in your correspondance. If possible, we will send you confirmation that your account has been closed to an email account provided by you.
If, at any time, you would like to stop receiving promotional materials from WebMistress.com or promotional e-mails from third parties (which you signed up for), then follow the removal procedures at the end of the e-mail. If this is not successful, please contact us at .
7. How may I protect my privacy on the Internet and within WebMistress.com?
- Know the risks.
If you provide your e-mail address to public domains such as chat rooms or newsgroups, or you provide it to websites which don't respect your privacy, you may begin to receive unsolicited e-mail. Unsolicited e-mail is also known as spam. Although WebMistress.com has strict rules prohibiting spam and we do block certain known groups from sending unsolicited messages to WebMistress.com members, it is generally a good idea to provide your e-mail address only to people or groups that you trust.
- Educate yourself.
Look for a privacy statement on every site you visit on the Web, and search for information on how to protect your privacy.
- Tell your children: "Never talk to strangers!"
Teach children not to give out their names or other personal information. Tell them never to fill out online registration forms without your knowledge and consent.
- Use complex passwords.
If your password is simple, it is also simple for a hacker to break it and gain access to your e-mail account or other private areas. To protect your privacy, you should use complex passwords consisting of very long and awkward keystroke combinations. This makes the hacker's job much more difficult.
We send reminders of your account passwords only after the appropriate security questions have been answered. NEVER GIVE YOUR PASSWORD TO ANYONE. If someone claiming to represent WebMistress.com in an e-mail or chat room asks for your WebMistress.com password, DO NOT RESPOND. The only time we ask for your password is via a web page, when you need to access our system (such as the login screen). Please help us keep our records current by updating your personal information when it changes. You can access your personal information by selecting "Access Your Account" from the left hand navigation bar.
This privacy policy is part of our User Agreement and you agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions.
Last updated 07/02/03
