meebo privacy policy

Last Updated: March 13, 2009

Meebo, Inc. ("Meebo") owns and runs various websites, including but not limited to meebo.com, meeborooms.com, meebome.com, and gomeebo.com (the "Websites"), through which it offers various services and software (the Websites, services and software are referred to as the "Services"). Meebo also offers Services, such Community IM and Meebo Rooms, through partner websites and through websites that have embedded our Services.

A link to this privacy policy is included on the homepage of each of the Websites. Meebo respects the privacy of its users. This document explains how Meebo will use the information that you provide to us via the Services. Meebo may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. If Meebo does so, the revised Privacy Policy will be posted on the Websites.

1. Information Collected. You are not required to provide personally identifiable information to visit the Websites. However, in order to take advantage of certain features you may need to provide some personally identifiable information.

• Account Information. To create an account on Meebo, we require you to provide your name, email address, age and gender, to create a user name and to provide a password.
• Third Party IM Service User Names and Passwords. Meebo allows you to access third party IM services by logging into your account through Meebo (the "Third Party IM Services"). In order to access your Third Party IM Service account, you must enter your applicable user name(s) and password(s) on the Meebo Service. To use the basic IM services on the Websites, Meebo does not store the password(s) of your Third Party IM Service accounts on our server. If you wish to utilize advanced features of the Services, such as automatic sign-in, storage of your password(s) may be necessary.
• Third Party IM Services. Meebo may receive information about you from the Third Party IM Services that you access through Meebo. This information could include your username, password, friends list, status, profile information and demographic information (described below). Meebo may use this information in accordance with this Privacy Policy when it provides services to you.
• Aggregate Usage Data and Anonymized Data. Meebo may collect usage data based on users. usage of the site and its various features, but it is not personally identifiable except as described below under the IP Addresses section ("Aggregate Data"). In addition, Meebo may take your personal information and create anonymized information by excluding information (such as your user name) that makes it personally identifiable to you ("Anonymized Data").
• Personal Information for Social Features. From time to time, Meebo introduces features that allow friends to share more information about themselves with other friends, including information about what they are doing on Meebo. Meebo may store the personally identifiable information that you provide us in order to provide these services, including your friends list. Whenever a social feature involves the disclosure of personally identifiable information about you to other people, Meebo will either provide you with an opportunity to opt out of the disclosure or will seek your consent prior to making the disclosure.
• File Transfer. When you use the file transfer feature of Meebo, the file that you transfer is copied and retained on the servers of our third party service provider for a period of time following the transfer. Neither Meebo nor the third party service provider accesses or uses these files for any purpose, but you should be aware that these files are not encrypted and that they could be disclosed in legal proceedings or investigations under Sections 5(f) and (g).
• Platform Applications. Meebo has entered into agreements with third party developers ("Developers") to make their applications available through the Meebo Platform so that you can use them through the Meebo Services (the "Platform Applications"). In order to enable the Platform Applications, Meebo may need to provide the Developers with your Meebo user name or other personally identifiable information that is related to your use of the Platform Applications. Meebo requires that the Developers only use this information to provide the Platform Applications to you and that they not disclose it to any third party.
  In addition, some of the Platform Applications may collect personally identifiable information from you directly. In that case, any information that you provide through the Platform Application will be governed by the Developer's privacy policy, which you should review carefully before using the Platform Application. Each Developer will be solely responsible for complying with its own privacy policy.
• Community IM. Meebo has partnered with various community websites to enable those websites to offer IM within their community (such as Flixster, myYearbook) ("Community IM"). If you have an account with one of those community websites and you use the Meebo-powered Community IM on that site, that site may provide Meebo with your user name on the community website as well as non-personally identifiable information about you such as your gender, age, and interests. Meebo may also offer you the ability to log onto your Third Party IM Service account through the Community IM.
• Meebo Rooms Meebo offers a multi-party chat service known as Meebo Rooms. Meebo Rooms can be found on the Websites and on numerous third party websites. When you use a Meebo Room, you are asked to create a screen name and to provide demographic information about yourself, such as age and gender. Meebo then creates a cookie that enables Meebo to identify you when you visit any Meebo Room, even if it is on a different website from the one where you created the screen name. When you visit a page that has a Meebo Room embedded into it, you will appear in that room under your Meebo Room screen name, with two exceptions:
  - If the Meebo Room is on a partner site where you have a user account, you may appear under your user name for that site.
  - If you are logged into your Meebo account on the Websites, you will appear in Meebo Rooms on the Websites under your Meebo user name.
  Other than in those two cases, you can change your screen name at any time and as many times as you would like through any Meebo Room.
• Demographic and Geographic Data. Meebo may ask people to voluntarily provide additional demographic information such as age, gender, location, and interests, or we may require it for you to use certain features. We use demographic information to improve our services and to provide you with features like customized advertising. In addition, Meebo may receive geographic or demographic information from outside sources. These sources may include companies whom we have engaged in accordance with Section 5 to provide that information based on information that you have provided to us, from our Community IM partners, from the third-party messenger services that you access through Meebo, or from other partners such as in connection with a co-branded website or a promotion. Meebo may combine the information we receive from those other sources with information we collect through the Websites.

2. Storage, Disclosure and Use of Your Communications. You can use Meebo to chat in private IM sessions, to chat in public sessions through Meebo Rooms, or to post on the Meebo message boards. Never disclose personal information about yourself in a public area like Meebo Rooms or the message boards. Don't share personal information in a private chat unless it's someone you know well in the real world.

If you are registered as a Meebo user and are logged onto Meebo, your preferences are automatically set to store your IM history on Meebo's servers. You can view or delete your IM history by clicking on the IM history icon in your chat window. You can turn off the IM history feature in your Meebo account preferences. Keep in mind that even if you elect not to store your IM history, the person that you're chatting with may be storing your conversation, either on Meebo, on their IM network.s severs or on their own computers. By using Meebo, you consent to the storage of your IM history on Meebo as the default option and to the storing of your IM history by other users with whom you are chatting or by the Third Party IM Service that you or your friend is using. For more information about IM history features and settings, please see Meebo's support documentation.

Your posting to Meebo message boards and group chats in Meebo Rooms are public and are also saved on our servers as chat or message histories, which are also accessible to the public, who may include law officers and other authorities. Private chats in Meebo Rooms are not stored. Do not disclose personally identifiable information in Meebo Rooms or on message boards, as those postings are available to the public and may be saved on our server(s) as publicly available information.

Meebo may disclose saved IM history in legal proceedings or investigations in the same manner as other personally identifiable information as described in Section 5(f) and (g).

Meebo may customize the advertising shown to users based on software analysis of chat or Meebo Room conversations.

3. Cookies. Meebo may use cookies when you use the Services. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer's hard drive by our servers to identify your computer to our servers. Except as provided in Section 5, below, no personally identifiable information stored in the Meebo cookies will be shared with outside companies for any purpose without your permission. You can also disable cookies or otherwise manage them through tools provided with your browser software and with third-party software packages, or not use the features that require cookies.

We and our advertisers may use third-party companies to serve ads when you use the Services. These third-party ad-serving companies may also place cookies on your computer. Sometimes these cookies may be used to provide customized advertising to you on the Websites or on other sites. These advertising companies may also use Web beacons to help manage and optimize our online advertising.

Some third-party ad serving companies have agreed to allow users to opt-out of receiving customized advertising. To opt-out of receiving customized advertising from ad networks who are members of the Network Advertising Initiative, please visit its website.

4. IP Addresses. Meebo compiles logs of IP addresses of of users of the Services for administrative and analytical purposes. Meebo does not routinely collect any personally identifiable information through its compilation of IP addresses or the location of computers on the Internet. However, in cases of suspected abuse or service problems, Meebo may use an IP address in conjunction with other personally identifiable information to enforce our Terms of Use and/or to protect or troubleshoot the Services, its users or others who may be affected. Except as provided in Section 5 below, Meebo will not share personally identifiable information associated with IP addresses with third parties.

Meebo may share data about aggregate IP addresses, but such data does not include personally identifiable information.

5. Usage and Sharing of Information.

Usage of Information. Meebo may use the information it collects, including your personal information, aggregated data, and Anonymized Data, for the following purposes:

• To provide you with access to your account;
• To provide you with the Services;
• To enhance and improve our Services;
• To provide customized advertising to you;
• To conduct research;
• To determine your geographic location or other demographic information about you;
• To create reports and to analyze usage patterns.

Sharing of Information. Meebo may share personally identifiable information with third parties in the following cases:

1. To enable the normal course of functionality of the Services (for example, your user name(s) and password(s) and IP address will be shared with the Third Party IM Services where you have an account in order to permit you to log onto and utilize that service through Meebo);
2. With partner websites who offer Meebo Services, such as Community IM and Meebo Rooms, when you use those Services on our partner websites;
3. With trusted third party service providers who help us in the operation of the Meebo service and who have agreed to maintain the confidentiality of the data;
4. To the Developers who provide Platform Applications that you have elected to use, as described above;
5. As part of Meebo's social features, as described above;
6. In cases of abusive behavior or suspected violations of the terms of use of the Services, of any Third Party IM Service, or of any third party website where Services are offered (such as Community IM or Meebo Rooms), we may share personal information, including IP address, with that Third Party IM Service, partner website or other person assisting any of us in order to investigate the violation and to take appropriate action;
7. Where we have a good faith belief that it is required in order to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process, to prevent fraud or imminent harm, or to establish or exercise our legal rights or defend against legal claims.

In the event that Meebo is acquired by or merged with another company or transfers substantially all of its assets to another company, Meebo will transfer all of its user information and data, including information about you, to that other company.

6. Notification of Changes and Other Events. Any changes to this policy will be posted on the Websites in this location.

Meebo reserves the right to send you communications relating to your account, the Services, and the Terms and Conditions.

You consent to receiving all notifications from Meebo through display on the Websites or through email, including any notifications that Meebo is required by law to send to you.

7. Other Sites. The Services contain links to, and media and other content from, other sites. Such third-party media and content may also contain external links. Because of the dynamic media capabilities of the Services, it may not be clear to you which links are embedded in the Services and which are embedded in third-party media and/or content. In addition, Meebo Services may be available on third party websites, whether through embedding or partnership arrangements. Meebo cannot and does not guarantee the privacy policies and practices of any third party, including the Developers who provide the Platform Applications or any third party website through which Meebo Services are available. Meebo does not control, operate or endorse any information, products or services of any third-party websites or services that may be reached through links from the Services, of any Platform Application or of any third party website on which Meebo Services are available. The use of any personal information provided to such a third party will be governed by that party's privacy policy.

8. Non-U.S. Users. Meebo is hosted and operated entirely in the United States and is subject to United States law. Any personal information that you provide to Meebo is being provided to Meebo solely in the United States and will be hosted on United States servers. You consent to the transfer of your personal information to the United States. If you are accessing Meebo from outside the United States, please be advised that United States law may not offer the same privacy protections as the law of your jurisdiction.

9. Acceptance. This privacy policy is incorporated into and subject to the terms and conditions of Meebo's Terms of Use, available on the Websites. Use of the Services is subject to your compliance with the Terms of Use, which constitutes a legal agreement between you and Meebo. Each time you use the Services you signify that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by the Terms of Use, which incorporates the privacy policy, and the applicable posted guidelines. USE OF THE SERVICES SIGNIFIES THE ACCEPTANCE OF THE TERMS OF USE AND THE PRIVACY POLICY. If you do not agree with the terms of either of these documents, please do not provide Meebo with any information and do not use the Services. Your continued use of the Services in light of changes to this Privacy Policy, the Terms of Use, or to the relevant principles thereof will signify your acceptance of the changes.

10. Editing and Deleting Your Account Information and Preferences. You can edit certain personal information that you have provided or request that your account be deleted by logging into your Meebo account. Deleting your Meebo account does not currently remove your personal information from the Meebo servers. However, if you delete your account, we will use your personal information only as described in Sections 5(f) and (g).

11. Children. Meebo does not knowingly permit children under 13 to create a Meebo account or to use Meebo Rooms. In addition, Meebo does not store any personal information of users who access their Third Party IM Service accounts and indicate to us that they are under 13. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under age 13, we will delete that information. If you are a parent of a child under 13 and you believe that your child has created a Meebo account in violation of our policy, please contact us at comments@meebo-inc.com

12. Comments and Questions. If you have any comments or questions you may address them to our customer service department at comments@meebo-inc.com, via mail addressed to Customer Service, Meebo, Inc., at 215 Castro Street, Third Floor, Mountain View, CA 94041, or by phone at (650) 237-3130.