PRIVACY POLICY

Last updated July 13th, 2024

This privacy notice for Croton Research LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”), describes how and why we might collect, store, use, and/or share (“process”) your information when you use our services (“Services”), such as when you:

Download and use our mobile application (Top Takers), or any other application of ours that links to this privacy notice
Engage with us in other related ways, including any sales, marketing, or events

Questions or concerns? Reading this privacy notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, please do not use our Services. If you still have any questions or concerns, please email us at contactus@crotonresearch.com.

1. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

Personal information you disclose to us

In Short: The Top Takers app may ask you for certain location information which is processed by an external server. The Permits at Hand app may use GPS to show your location on a map. We may collect personal information if you disclose to us by other means.

The Top Takers app asks you to select a US state and optionally to enter an address or zipcode which will help to identify a congressional district and the corresponding Members of Congress. This data doesn’t have to be your personal location, and you can avoid entering it if you know the district number or can look it up elsewhere. If the data is an address it is sent by encrypted HTTPS to the Google Civic Information API server which determines the corresponding congressional district. For your convenience the app then stores the state and district number in your device so that you don’t have to re-enter it, but the app does not store the address or transmit it to any other device or server.

The app does not ask for any other personal or identifying information.

We may also collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you contact us outside the app via email. That information will be used to reply to you. If you post to our social media accounts or to Google Groups, that information will be public.

Sensitive Information.

In Short: We do not collect or process sensitive information.

We don’t ask you for your name or any other identifying personal or financial details. We don’t ask you to create an account or to provide a username or a password.

Information automatically collected

In Short: Some information — such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and/or browser and device characteristics — is collected automatically when you visit our Services.

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information.

This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes to guide us in improving the app.

The information we collect includes:

Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings and information about your activity in the Services (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called “crash dumps”), and hardware settings).
Device Data. We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model, Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration information.
Location Data. With your permission we may collect location data such as information about your device’s location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS or other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (e.g. based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.

2. HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, specifically:

To evaluate and improve our Services, products, marketing, and your experience. We may process information when we believe it is necessary to identify usage trends, determine the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns, and to evaluate and improve our Services, products, marketing, and your experience.

In Short: We may share information in specific situations described in this section.

We may need to share your personal information in the following situations:

Business Transfers. We may share or transfer your information in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing, or acquisition of all or a portion of our business to another company.
When we use Google Analytics. We may share your information with Google Analytics to track and analyze the use of the Services. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across the Services, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms page.
Business Partners. We may share your information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services, or promotions.

4. HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

In Short: We keep your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this privacy notice unless otherwise required by law.

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements).

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

5. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

6. DO WE COLLECT INFORMATION FROM MINORS?

In Short: We do not knowingly collect data from or market to children under 18 years of age.

We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 18 years of age. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 18 or that you are the parent or guardian of such a minor and consent to such minor dependent’s use of the Services. If we learn that personal information from users less than 18 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 18, please contact us at contactus@crotonresearch.com.

7. WHAT ARE YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time.

Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us by using the contact details provided in the section “HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?” below.

However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at contactus@crotonresearch.com.

8. CONTROLS FOR DO-NOT-TRACK FEATURES

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this privacy notice.

9. DO UNITED STATES RESIDENTS HAVE SPECIFIC PRIVACY RIGHTS?

In Short: If you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.

What categories of personal information do we collect?

The following is a list of categories of personal information, and whether we have collected any information in the category in the last 12 months.

Category	Collected?	Examples
Identifiers	NO	Contact details, such as real name, alias, postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, and account name
Personal information as defined in the California Customer Records statute	NO	Name, contact information, education, employment, employment history, and financial information
Protected classification characteristics under state or federal law	NO	Gender and date of birth
Commercial information	NO	Transaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment information
Biometric information	NO	Fingerprints and voiceprints
Internet or other similar network activity	NO	Browsing history, search history, online behavior, interest data, and interactions with our and other websites, applications, systems, and advertisements
Geolocation data	NO	Device location
Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information	NO	Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities
Professional or employment-related information	NO	Business contact details in order to provide you our Services at a business level or job title, work history, and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with us
Education Information	NO	Student records and directory information
Inferences drawn from collected personal information	NO	Inferences drawn from any of the collected personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics
Sensitive personal Information	NO

We may also collect other personal information outside of these categories through instances where you interact with us in person, online, or by phone or mail in the context of:

Receiving help through our customer support channels;
Participation in customer surveys or contests; and
Facilitation in the delivery of our Services and to respond to your inquiries.

Learn about how we use your personal information in the section, “HOW DO WE PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION?”

Will your information be shared with anyone else?

We may disclose your personal information with our service providers pursuant to a written contract between us and each service provider. Learn more about how we disclose personal information to in the section, “WHEN AND WITH WHOM DO WE SHARE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION?”

We may use your personal information for our own business purposes, such as for undertaking internal research for technological development and demonstration. This is not considered to be “selling” of your personal information.

We have not disclosed, sold, or shared any personal information to third parties for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding twelve (12) months. We will not sell or share personal information in the future belonging to website visitors, users, and other consumers.

California Residents

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 under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with the Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.).

CCPA Privacy Notice

This section applies only to California residents. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you have the rights listed below.

The California Code of Regulations defines a “residents” as:

(1) every individual who is in the State of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and (2) every individual who is domiciled in the State of California who is outside the State of California for a temporary or transitory purpose

All other individuals are defined as “non-residents.”

If this definition of “resident” applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information.

Your rights with respect to your personal data

Right to request deletion of the data — Request to delete

You can ask for the deletion of your personal information. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will respect your request and delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as (but not limited to) the exercise by another consumer of his or her right to free speech, our compliance requirements resulting from a legal obligation, or any processing that may be required to protect against illegal activities.

Right to be informed — Request to know

Depending on the circumstances, you have a right to know:

whether we collect and use your personal information;
the categories of personal information that we collect;
the purposes for which the collected personal information is used;
whether we sell or share personal information to third parties;
the categories of personal information that we sold, shared, or disclosed for a business purpose;
the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold, shared, or disclosed for a business purpose;
the business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing personal information; and
the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you. In accordance with applicable law, we are not obligated to provide or delete consumer information that is de-identified in response to a consumer request or to re-identify individual data to verify a consumer request.

Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of a Consumer’s Privacy Rights

We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.

Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information

We do not process consumer’s sensitive personal information.

Verification process

Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. These verification efforts require us to ask you to provide information so that we can match it with information you have previously provided us. For instance, depending on the type of request you submit, we may ask you to provide certain information so that we can match the information you provide with the information we already have on file, or we may contact you through a communication method (e.g., phone or email) that you have previously provided to us. We may also use other verification methods as the circumstances dictate.

We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. To the extent possible, we will avoid requesting additional information from you for the purposes of verification. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes. We will delete such additionally provided information as soon as we finish verifying you.

Other privacy rights

You may object to the processing of your personal information.
You may request correction of your personal data if it is incorrect or no longer relevant, or ask to restrict the processing of the information.
You can designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. We may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance with the CCPA.
You may request to opt out from future selling or sharing of your personal information to third parties. Upon receiving an opt-out request, we will act upon the request as soon as feasibly possible, but no later than fifteen (15) days from the date of the request submission.

To exercise these rights, you can contact us by email at contactus@crotonresearch.com, or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you.

10. DO WE MAKE UPDATES TO THIS NOTICE?

In Short: Yes, we will update this notice as necessary to stay compliant with relevant laws.

We may update this privacy notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

11. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT US ABOUT THIS NOTICE?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at contactus@crotonresearch.com, or visit our forum at https://groups.google.com/u/2/a/crotonresearch.com/g/top-takers, or contact us by post at:

Croton Research attn: Privacy Policy
PO Box 150103
San Rafael, CA 94915
United States

12. HOW CAN YOU REVIEW, UPDATE, OR DELETE THE DATA WE COLLECT FROM YOU?

Based on the applicable laws of your country, you may have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, change that information, or delete it. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please email: contactus@crotonresearch.com.