Privacy Policy | Certus Title

Last modified: 5/5/2021

Introduction

This Privacy Policy describes how CERTUS TITLE collects and uses Personal Data about you through the use of our Platform, and through email, text, and other electronic communications between you and CERTUS TITLE.

CERTUS TITLE LLC (“CERTUS TITLE”, “we”, “our”, or “us”) respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy.
This Privacy Policy (our “Privacy Policy”) describes our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information and the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide to us when you:

Use our mobile applications (the “Application”);
Visit our website www.certustitle.com, and any domain, subdomain of such website owned or controlled by CERTUS TITLE (each, a “Website”); and
Use our services available on or through the Website or Application (“Services” and together with our Website and Application, the “Platform”).

This policy applies to information we collect:

on our Platform;
when communicating by telephone;
in email, text, and other electronic messages between you and our Platform;
when you interact with our advertising and applications on third-party websites and services if those applications or advertising include links to this policy; and
when you meet us in person (for example at a conference).

It does not apply to information collected:

by any third party, including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Platform.

Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use our Platform. By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy may change from time to time (see Changes to Our Privacy Policy). Your continued use of these Platform after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so please check this Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

Individuals Under the Age of 18

Our Platform is not intended for individuals under the age of 18 and individuals under the age of 18 are not permitted to use our Platform. We will remove any information about an individual under the age of 18 if we become aware of it.

Our Platform is not intended for individuals under 18 years of age. No one under the age of 18 may provide any information to or on the Platform. We do not knowingly collect Personal Data from individuals under age 18. If you are under age 18, do not use or provide any information on our Platform or on or through any of its features, register on the Platform, make any purchases through the Platform, use any of the interactive or public comment features of our Platform or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use. If we learn we have collected or received Personal Data from anyone under the age of 18, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from anyone under the age of 18, please contact us at hello@certustitle.com.

Information We Collect About You and How We Collect It

We collect different types of information about you, your real estate properties, items and possessions in your home, and information from documents you have uploaded, including information that may directly identify you, information that is about you but individually does not personally identify you, and information that we combine with our other users. This includes information that we collect directly from you or through automated collection technologies.

Generally

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Platform:

by which you may be personally identified, such as name, address, email address, telephone number, driver’s license number, vehicle information, vehicle insurance information, date of birth, and real property purchased, leased or rented (the “Property”), including items and possessions maintained in or at the Property, and work, modifications, and services performed on the Property (“Personal Data”);
that is about you but individually does not identify you, such as traffic data, location data, logs, referring/exit pages, date and time of your visit to our Platform, error information, clickstream data, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Platform; and/or
about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access our Platform and usage details.

We collect this information:

directly from you when you provide it to us;
automatically as you navigate through the Platform. Information collected automatically may include usage details, IP addresses, and information collected through cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies; and
from third parties, for example, other users of our Platform, affiliates, and professional service providers that offer products or services to users of our Platform and who may enter your Personal Data onto our Platform.

Information You Provide to Us

The information we collect on or through our Platform is:

information that you provide by filling in forms on our Platform (or that have been provided on your behalf by a third party), such as information provided at the time of registering to use our Platform, register a Property or request a service for a Property. We may use artificial intelligence technologies to evaluate documents, photographs, and videos you have provided on the Platform (or that have been provided on your behalf by a third party) to recognize and populate information about the Property, third party services you use, or an inventory of possessions and valuables maintained in the Property. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our Platform;
records and copies of your correspondence (including email addresses), if you contact us;
your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes and feedback about the products or services offered to users through the Platform;
details of the transactions you carry out through our Platform and of the fulfillment of your transactions you enter into with other users of our Platform. You may be required to provide financial information before engaging in transactions on or through our Platform; and
your search queries on the Platform.

The Personal Data we collect from you is required to enter into the Terms of Use with CERTUS TITLE, for CERTUS TITLE to perform under the Terms of Use, and to provide you with our Services or the services of third parties you request. If you refuse to provide such Personal Data or withdraw your consent to our processing of Personal Data, then in some cases we may not be able to enter into the contract or fulfill our obligations to you under it.

You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, “posted”) on public areas of the Platform or transmitted to other users of the Platform or third parties (collectively, “User Contributions”). For example, if you choose to send an inquiry for Services or service request through the Platform for a Property, your information, including Personal Data, such as your email address and any other information you supply (unless the Platform specifies otherwise), will be visible to the service providers offering certain Services through the Platform so that they might reply directly to you. By way of another example, if you choose to transmit information about your Property through the Platform to other users, the information you select will be visible to those users. Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. Although we limit access to certain pages and you may set certain privacy settings for such information while creating your Property registration details (including public details and limiting the transmission of posts to certain properties), please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of the Platform with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons.

Information We Collect Through Automatic Data Collection Technologies

As you navigate through and interact with our Platform, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, specifically:

Usage and Equipment Information. As you navigate through and interact with our Platform, we may use automatic data collection technologies to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions, and patterns, for example, details of your visits to our Platform, such as traffic data, location, logs, referring/exit pages, date and time of your visit to our Platform, error information, clickstream data, and other communication data and the resources that you access and use on the Platform.
Device Information. Information about your computer, mobile device, and Internet connection, specifically your IP address, operating system, browser type, and Application version information.
Stored Information and Files. Where you submit video files and photographs through the Application, the Application collects metadata and other information associated with those photographic and videographic images.
Location Information. The Application collects IP address and zip code level information about the location of your device for authentication of your account. If you do not want us to collect this information, you may opt out at any time by turning off this feature on your device. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information. Note, however, that opting out of the Application’s collection of location information will cause its location-based authentication features to be disabled.

The information we collect automatically may include Personal Data or we may maintain it or associate it with Personal Data we collect in other ways or receive from third parties. It helps us to improve our Platform and to deliver a better and more personalized service by enabling us to:

estimate our audience size and usage patterns;
store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize how our Platform appears to you according to your individual interests;
speed up your searches; and
recognize you when you return to our Platform.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:

Cookies (or browser cookies). We and our third party service providers may use cookies, web beacons, and other technologies to receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with our Platform through your computer or mobile device. A cookie is a small file placed within the storage of your computer or mobile device. On your computer, you may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser, and you may have similar capabilities on your mobile device in the preferences for your operating system or browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Platform. Unless you have adjusted your browser or operating system setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Platform.
Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics and Firebase, web and mobile analytics services provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”) to collect certain information relating to your use of our Platform. Google Analytics uses cookies to help our Platform analyze how users use the site. Firebase collects information about your usage of our Application. You can find out more about how Google uses data when you visit our Platform by visiting “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps”, (located at google.com/policies/privacy/partners/).
Advertising Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use advertising and other similar technologies, such as cookies to display targeting promotions or advertisements based on your use of the Platform and interests and to manage our use of advertising resources. These cookies collect information about your activities on this and other sites to provide you with targeted advertising. We use advertising services provided by advertising companies, such as Facebook, Google, and Bing. The data from advertising companies is also saved and processed by the advertising companies themselves. Such advertising sites can connect this data with your social media accounts and use it for its own and others advertising purposes, in accordance with their privacy notices available on the homepage of each advertising website.

Information From Third Parties

We may obtain information about you from other sources, including through third party service providers and organizations who provide additional information on your behalf or supplement information provided by you, including obtaining information about you or the Property from publicly available records. This supplemental information allows us to verify information provided to us and to enhance our ability to provide you with the Services. This may include details of the transactions initiated through our Platform and of the fulfillment of your transactions you enter into with other users of our Platform.

In addition, our third party service providers may provide information to the Platform on your behalf, such as regarding modifications or services performed on the Property by the third party service providers.

How We Use Your Information

We use your Personal Data for various purposes described below, including to:

provide our Platform to you;
provide you with information you request from us;
enforce our rights arising from contracts;
notify you about changes; and
provide you with notices about your account

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any Personal Data:

to present our Platform and their contents to you;
to provide you with information or Services that you request;
to facilitate transactions between you and third parties, including our third party service providers, and affiliates for Services you request or expressed interest in through the Platform;
to provide you with notifications and reminders about your account and expiration or renewal notices;
to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, including for billing and collection;
to notify you about changes to our Platform or any Services we offer or provide though them;
to analyze information about you, your Property, and other information we have collected to make recommendations and present opportunities for your consideration (via the Platform and via email);
to allow you to participate in interactive features on our Platform;
to fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it;
to maintain, secure, or improve our Platform and Services;
to administer surveys, sweepstakes, promotions and contests;
to provide you with newsletters or other promotional content related to our Services;
to respond to your questions or inquiries;
in any other way we may describe when you provide the information; and
for any other purpose with your consent.

We may also use your information to contact you outside of the Platform about goods and services that may be of interest to you, including through newsletters. If you wish to opt-out of receiving such communications, you may do so at any time by clicking unsubscribe at the bottom of these communications. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information.

Disclosure of Your Information

We do not share, sell, or otherwise disclose your Personal Data for purposes other than those outlined in this Privacy Policy. We disclose your Personal Data to some third parties, including:

the third party service providers that we use to support our business or provide services to you;
our subsidiaries and our affiliates;
other users of our Platform, upon your request or approval;
with your consent to other third parties;
to a company we merge, acquire, or that buys us, or in the event of change in structure of our company of any form;
to comply with our legal obligations; and
to enforce our rights.

Note: Disclosure of your Personal Data to our third party service providers is necessary to receive the Services. By accepting the Terms of Use and expressing interest in receiving Services, you are acknowledging that such service providers will receive your Personal Data and understand the service providers may use your Personal Data to contact you and provide you with the Services. The service providers may be compensated by CERTUS TITLE for the Services provided to you.

We do not share, sell, or otherwise disclose your Personal Data for purposes other than those outlined in this Privacy Policy. However, we may disclose aggregated information about our users, publicly available information, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction.

We may disclose Personal Data that we collect or you provide as described in this Privacy Policy:

to third party service providers for Services you receive, or express interest in receiving, from the service provider;
to other users of our Platform. For example, if you choose to communicate with the other users of our Platform, we may transmit the contents of that communication, your contact information, and any other information you provide to the recipients. Also, for example, certain information that is specific to the Property may be disclosed to the subsequent owner of the Property (such as data about home systems (e.g., HVAC, water heater) or home improvements) with your consent;
to our subsidiaries and affiliates;
to contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business. These entities may provide IT and infrastructure support services, customer service, advertising, marketing, and payment processing services. We may also utilize service providers to process your User Contributions, such as images and documents, through machine learning or similar artificial intelligence applications that create editable or searchable images or documents;
to third parties to market their products or services to you if you have not opted out of these disclosures. For more information, see Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information;
to a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of CERTUS TITLE’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which Personal Data held by CERTUS TITLE about our Platform’s users is among the assets transferred; and
for any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.

We may also disclose your Personal Data:

to comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request;
to enforce other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes; and
if we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of CERTUS TITLE, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

We may receive remuneration from third parties directly or indirectly in exchange for the disclosures of your Personal Data outlined above in this Section 5 (Disclosure of Your Information).

Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We offer you choices on how you can opt out of our use of tracking technology and our advertising to you. However, we do not control the collection and use of your information collected by third parties outside of our Platform.

We do not control the collection and use of your information collected by third parties, described above in Disclosure of Your Information. These third parties may aggregate the information they collect with information from their other customers for their own purposes.

In addition, we strive to provide you with choices regarding the Personal Data you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with control over your Personal Data:

Tracking Technologies and Advertising. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you disable or refuse cookies, please note that some parts of the Platform may then be inaccessible or not function properly.
Promotional Offers from CERTUS TITLE. You may receive email from us for a variety of reasons; for example, if you took an action through the Platform and a user sent you a message. If you wish to opt-out of such use, you can contact us at hello@certustitle.com. If we have sent you a promotional email, you may unsubscribe by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. This opt out does not apply to information provided to CERTUS TITLE for the processing of a Service or other transaction.
Promotional Offers from Third Parties. Unless you opt out, we may share your Personal Data with unaffiliated or non-agent third parties for promotional purposes. If you wish to opt out of this sharing, you may do so at any time by sending us an email stating your request to hello@certustitle.com.
Location Information. You can choose whether or not to allow the Application to collect and use information about your device’s location through the device’s privacy settings. If you block the use of location information, some parts of the Application may then be inaccessible or not function properly.

You can learn more about interest-based advertisements and your opt-out rights and options from members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) on its website (www.networkadvertising.org) and from members of the Digital Advertising Alliance on its website (www.aboutads.info). We do not control third parties’ collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However, these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can also opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the NAI on its website.

Do Not Track Signals

We may use automated data collection technologies to track you across websites. We currently do not honor do-not-track signals that may be sent by some browsers.

We also may use automated data collection technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services (behavioral tracking). Some web browsers permit you to broadcast a signal to Platform and online services indicating a preference that they “do not track” your online activities. At this time, we do not honor such signals and we do not modify what information we collect or how we use that information based upon whether such a signal is broadcast or received by us.

Data Security

Information transmitted over the Internet is not completely secure, but we do our best to protect your Personal Data. You can help protect your Personal Data and other information by keeping your password to our Platform confidential.

We have implemented measures designed to secure your Personal Data from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Platform, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Platform and when transmitting messages to other users. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Platform.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Data transmitted to our Platform. Any transmission of Personal Data is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Platform.

Data Retention Periods

We retain your Personal Data for as long as you keep your account open. In some instances, we may keep it after you close your account, for example, we may keep it:

on our backup and disaster recovery systems;
for as long as necessary to protect our legal interests; and
to comply with other legal requirements.

CERTUS TITLE will retain your Personal Data for the entire time that you keep your account open. After you close your account, we may retain your Personal Data:

for as long as necessary to comply with any legal requirement;
on our backup and disaster recovery systems in accordance with our backup and disaster recovery policies and procedures;
for as long as necessary to protect our legitimate interests or otherwise pursue our legal rights and remedies. Note this may include information that is about a Property that we may have collected from you or third parties that is specific to the Property; and
for data that is publicly available, has been aggregated, or otherwise rendered anonymous in such a manner that you are no longer identifiable, indefinitely.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We will post any changes to our Privacy Policy on our Platform. If we make material changes to our Privacy Policy, we may notify you of such changes through your contact information and invite you to review the changes.

We may from time to time modify this Privacy Policy. We will promptly make any changes available at https://www.certustitle.com/privacy-policy. Changes will be effective as soon as the revised Privacy Policy is posted unless otherwise stated. In certain circumstances, we will provide a more prominent notice before the changes goes into effect (including, for certain of our Services, email notifications of material changes to this Privacy Policy). The date this Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for periodically visiting our Platform and this Privacy Policy to check for any changes (and, where applicable, for ensuring we have an up-to-date email address for you).

Contact Information

You may contact us through the contact information below.

If you have any questions, concerns, complaints or suggestions regarding our Privacy Policy, have any requests related to your Personal Data pursuant to applicable laws, or otherwise need to contact us, you must contact us at the contact information below.

To Contact CERTUS TITLE
CERTUS TITLE, LLC
209 East Rusk, Rockwall, TX 75087
hello@certustitle.com