Privacy Policy
(Updated & Effective Sept 21, 2020)
The American Printing House for the Blind (“APH”, “we”, “us”, and “our”) offers you access to its interactive online websites, applications and services. This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected when you access this website or any other website we place this Privacy Policy on (“Website”), or use any of the mobile or other applications that reference this Privacy Policy (“Applications”), how we and others use this information, under what circumstances we may disclose the information to third parties, and the instances in which we may allow third parties to collect information directly. Depending on your activities when using or accessing our Website or Applications (collectively, “Services”), you may from time to time be required to agree to additional terms and conditions. For clarity, our Services may include any promotion which refers to this Privacy Policy for terms regarding the collection and use of your information.
Please note that this Privacy Policy applies regardless of whether you use our Services via a computer, mobile device or other platform (collectively, your “Equipment”). Also, this Privacy Policy applies only to information we collect through our Services and does not apply to our collection of information from other sources (e.g., in person, over the telephone, etc.).
Notwithstanding the foregoing, additional information on our privacy and data security related practices for donation information are described in our “Donor Privacy Policy,” available at https://www.aph.org/donor-privacy-policy/ (“Donor Policy”). In the event of a conflict between the terms in this Privacy Policy and the Donor Policy, the terms in the Donor Policy will apply to the extent of any such conflict.
Modifications to this Privacy Policy
We generally keep this Privacy Policy posted on our Website and in our Applications. You should review this Privacy Policy frequently, as it may change from time to time without notice. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy. When you use our services, you agree to this privacy policy. If you do not agree to this privacy policy, or to any changes we may subsequently make, immediately stop using our services. Please note, however, that if we decide to use your personally identifiable information in a manner materially different than what is provided in this Privacy Policy or what we advised at the time it was collected, we will notify you of this change by e-mail to the last e-mail address provided to us or through our Applications. You will have a choice (by means of an “opt out” opportunity) as to whether we use your information in this different manner. In such case, we will use your personally identifiable information in accordance with the terms in place when the information was collected.
A. Information We Collect
We typically collect two kinds of information about you when you use our Services: (a) information that you provide that personally identifies you; and (b) information that does not personally identify you, but that we automatically collect or that you provide us.
(1) Personally Identifiable Information: Our definition of personally identifiable information includes any information that may be used to specifically identify or contact you, such as your name, mail address, phone number, etc. As a general policy, we do not automatically collect your personally identifiable information when you use the Services. In certain circumstances, we may request, allow or otherwise provide you an opportunity to submit your personally identifiable information in connection with a feature, program, promotion or some other aspect of our Services. For instance, you may: (a) provide your name, mail/shipping address, email address, credit card number and phone number when registering; (b) provide certain demographic information about you (e.g., age, gender, purchase preference, usage frequency, etc.) when using our Services or participating in a survey or poll; or (c) post a general comment and/or recommendation with the Services. Whether or not you provide this information is your choice; however, in many instances this type of information is required to participate in the particular activity, realize a benefit we may offer, or gain access to certain content or features available through our Services.
(2) Non-Personally Identifiable Information: Our definition of non-personally identifiable information is any information that does not personally identify you. Non-personally identifiable information can include certain personally identifiable information that has been de-identified; that is, information that has been rendered anonymous. We obtain non-personally identifiable information about you from information that you provide us, either separately or together with your personally identifiable information. We also automatically collect certain non-personally identifiable information from you when you access our Services through your Equipment. This information can include, among other things, your mobile device, other applications or software you are using, wireless carrier, IP addresses, the type of browser you are using (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.), the third party website from which your visit originated, the operating system you are using (e.g., Windows, Mac OS, Android, iPhone, etc.), the domain name of your Internet service provider (e.g., CenturyLink, Google, Cox, etc.), the search terms you use; and how much you use our Services.
Location Information: When you use our Services, particularly our Application(s), we may automatically collect certain Equipment (mobile device) specific information. This includes the general or specific location of your Equipment through GPS, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi signals. We use certain third-party service providers (“Service Providers”) – e.g., Moovit, OpenStreetMap, etc. – for location-based services so that we can better serve the visually impaired. By using our Application, you consent to our use of your location information. In certain instances, your Equipment operating system will also require you to separately consent to the Application’s use of your location information. In all instances, you may withdraw your consent by disabling the location features for your Equipment entirely, or the Application’s access to your location information – in such instances, the Application may not function as intended.
B. How We Use & Share The Information Collected
(1) Personally Identifiable Information: The personally identifiable information you submit to us is generally used to carry out your requests, respond to your inquiries, better serve you, or in other ways naturally associated with the circumstances in which you provided the information. We may also use this information to later contact you for a variety of reasons, such as customer service, providing you promotional information for our products or those of our parent company, subsidiaries or other affiliated companies (“affiliated companies”), or to communicate with you about content or other information you have posted or shared with us via our Services.
In certain instances, we may also share your personally identifiable information with third parties performing functions on our behalf (or on behalf of our affiliated companies) or accessing the Service – e.g., vendors that operate our website store/shop, process credit card orders, analyze our data, assist us with customer service, etc. These third parties agree to use this information, and we share information with them, only to carry out our requests or provide Services. Except as provided in this Privacy Policy or in our Terms of Use, your personally identifiable information will not be shared or sold to any third parties without your prior approval.
(2) Non-Personally Identifiable Information: We use non-personally identifiable information in a variety of ways. For example, we may use non-personally identifiable information to evaluate use of and improve our Services, track purchases, understand customer needs and trends, carry out targeted promotional activities, and to improve our Services. We may use your non-personally identifiable information by itself or aggregate it with information we have obtained from other customers or other sources. We may, among other things, share your non-personally identifiable information with our affiliated companies, allow third parties to collect such information directly from you, and/or sell the non-personally identifiable information to third parties to achieve these and any other business objectives (e.g., generate revenue, form alliances, etc.). However, it is important to remember that your non-personally identifiable information (whether standing alone or combined with other non-personally identifiable information) is anonymous information that does not personally identify you.
C. Cookies and Preference Based Advertising
(1) Cookies and Web Beacons: We automatically receive and store certain types of non-personally identifiable information whenever you interact with us. For example, like many websites, we use “cookies” and “web beacons” (also called “clear gifs” or “pixel tags”) and embedded scripts to obtain certain types of information when you use or access our Services. “Cookies” are small files that we transfer to your Equipment’s hard drive, memory or web browser to enable our systems to recognize your browser or Equipment and to provide convenience and other features to you. “Web beacons” are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and may be used to track the online movements of users, when an email has been opened, and to provide other information.
Examples of the information we collect and analyze in this manner include the Internet Protocol (IP) address used to connect your Equipment to the Internet; computer and connection information such as browser type and version, operating system, and platform; your activities on our Website, including the products or services you viewed or searched for, as well as the URL you come from and go to next (whether this URL is on our site or not); and cookie number. It is important to note that the cookies and web beacons that we use do not contain, and are not tied to, and are not used to automatically collect any personally identifiable information about you.
If you are concerned about the storage and use of cookies, you may block or limit the storage of cookies via browser controls or other software (we do not make any promise that our Services will recognize or be able to work with any such browser controls/software – e.g., see below for Do Not Track options). You may also be able to delete cookies manually from your Equipment through your internet browser, operating system or other programs. Please note, however, that some portions of our Services will not function properly or be available if you are able and do block and/or delete cookies.
(2) Do Not Track Features: Certain browsers may offer you the option of providing notice to websites that you do not wish for your online activities to be tracked for preference-based advertising purposes (“DNT Notice”). Some browsers are, by default, set to provide a DNT Notice, whether or not that reflects your preference. Unfortunately, given how preference-based advertising works, DNT Notices may not be effective in communicating your preferences. For this and a variety of other reasons, with respect to our Website, we do not take any action based on browser based DNT Notices. Rather, if you do not wish to participate in preference-based advertising activities, you should follow the simple opt-out process identified above.
D. Other Uses & Information
(1) IP Addresses: An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your Equipment whenever you access the Internet. Web servers (computers that “serve up” web pages) automatically identify your Equipment by its IP address. When visitors request pages from our Website, our servers typically log their IP addresses. We collect IP addresses for purposes of system administration, to report non-personal aggregate information to others, and to track the use of our Services. Generally, IP addresses are considered non-personally identifiable information and may also be shared as provided above. However, we reserve the right to use IP addresses to identify a visitor at the request of the visitor or when we feel it is necessary to enforce compliance with our Service rules or to: (a) fulfill a government request; (b) conform with the requirements of the law or legal process; (c) protect or defend our legal rights or property, our Services, or other users; or (d) in an emergency to protect the health and safety of our customers or the general public. It is not our practice to link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable; that is, the visitor’s session will be logged, but the visitor remains anonymous to us.
(2) Social Networks: We may offer you the ability to create or login to your account with us through accounts you may have with various social network platforms, such as Facebook or Twitter (each, a “Social Network Account”). To do so, you may be required to provide, or allow our Services to access, your Social Network Account login information. By granting us access to your Social Network Account, you understand and agree that we may access, make available and store any content that you have provided to and stored in your Social Network Account (e.g., friends, mutual friends, contacts, etc.). We may make this information available on or through our Services and to our users. You may be able to restrict what information is shared and how it is used through privacy and other settings. Also, depending on the privacy settings you have set in your Social Network Account, personally identifiable information may be shared with us and made available through our Services and to our users.
(3) Email Communications: If you send us an email with questions or comments, we may use your personally identifiable information to respond to your questions or comments, and we may save your questions or comments for future reference. For security reasons, we do not recommend that you send non-public personal information, such as passwords, social security numbers, or bank account information, to us by email. We may send you emails for a variety of reasons – e.g., emails in response to your request for a particular service or your registration for a feature that involves email communications, emails that relate to purchases you have made with us (e.g., product updates, customer support, etc.), informational emails about our other products, services or events, or when you consent to being contacted by email for a particular purpose. In certain instances, we may provide you with the option to set your preferences for receiving email communications from us — that is, agree to some communications but not others – or allow you to opt-out directly through functionality in the email communication.
(4) Transfer of Assets: As we continue to develop our business, we may sell or purchase assets. If another entity acquires us or all (or substantially all) of our assets, the personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information we have about you will be transferred to and used by this acquiring entity, though we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your preferences are followed. Also, if any bankruptcy or reorganization proceeding is brought by or against us, all such information may be considered an asset of ours and as such may be sold or transferred to third parties.
(5) Other: Regardless of any other provision in this Privacy Policy, we reserve the right to disclose any personally identifiable or non-personally identifiable information about you if we are required to do so by law, with respect to copyright and other intellectual property infringement claims, or if we believe that such action is necessary to: (a) fulfill a government request; (b) conform with the requirements of the law or legal process; (c) protect or defend our legal rights or property, of our Services, or other users; or (d) in an emergency to protect the health and safety of our customers or the general public.
(6) Your California Privacy Rights: Residents of the State of California, under certain provisions of the California Civil Code, have the right to request from companies operating business that collect information from California Residents list of all third parties to which the company has disclosed certain personally identifiable information as defined under California law during the preceding year for third party direct marketing purposes. You are limited to one request per calendar year. In your request, please attest to the fact that you are a California resident and provide a current California address for our response. You may request the information in writing as provided in Section I below.
(7) International Users: Our Services are located in the United States. If you are using our Website or Application(s) from outside the United States, you should be aware that the information collected on this Website may be stored and processed in the United States, or any other country in which APH, or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, including hosting services or servers. By providing your information to our Website or our Application(s), you are consenting to the transfer of your information outside of your country in accordance with this Privacy Policy. You are also consenting to the application of United States law in all matters concerning our Website, Application(s) and Services.
E. Public Forums
We may offer chat rooms, blogs, message boards, group emails or similar public forums where you and other users of our Services can share information and communicate – e.g., places where you can post information about your experience with our Services. The protections described in this Privacy Policy do not apply when you provide information (including personal information) in connection with your use of these public forums. We may use personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information about you to identify you with a posting in a public forum. Any information you share in a public forum is public information and may be seen or collected by anyone, including third parties that do not adhere to our Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for events arising from the distribution of any information you choose to publicly post or share through our Services.
F. Children
Although our Services are directed to a general audience, children under the age of 13 may gain access to some of our Services. Services that require a user to complete a registration process before using those areas are solely directed to parents that are at least 18 years of age. However, APH respects the privacy of children and voluntarily complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) although as a non-profit it is not required to under 16 C.F.R. § 312.2. Please see our Privacy Policy for Children for more information about our data practices for children under the age of 13.
G. Keeping Your Information Secure
We have implemented security measures we consider reasonable and appropriate to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control (e.g., where appropriate, implementing firewalls, encryption, etc.). Please be advised, however, that while we strive to protect your personally identifiable information and privacy, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you disclose or transmit to us online or through our Services, and are not responsible for the theft, destruction, or inadvertent disclosure of your personally identifiable information. In the unfortunate event that your “personally identifiable information” (as the term or similar terms are defined by any applicable law requiring notice upon a security breach) is compromised, we may notify you by e-mail (at our sole and absolute discretion) to the last e-mail address you have provided us in the most expedient time reasonable under the circumstances; provided, however, delays in notification may occur while we take necessary measures to determine the scope of the breach and restore reasonable integrity to the system as well as for the legitimate needs of law enforcement if notification would impede a criminal investigation. From time to time we evaluate new technology for protecting information, and when appropriate, we upgrade our information security systems.
H. Other Sites/Links
Our Services may link to or contain links to third-party websites that we do not control or maintain, such as in connection with purchasing products we may recommend or reference via our Services and/or advertisements you may see while using our Services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by any third-party website or service provider. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of other third-party websites before submitting any personally identifiable information through these websites.
I. Contact & Opt-Out Information
You may contact us at American Printing House for the Blind, ATTN: Office of Technology/CIO, 1839 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206, 1-800-223-1839 (phone), 502-899-2284 (fax) if: (a) you have questions or comments about our Privacy Policy; (b) wish to make corrections to any personally identifiable information you have provided; (c) want to opt-out from receiving future commercial correspondence, including emails, from us or our affiliated companies; (d) wish to withdraw your consent to sharing your personally identifiable information with others; or (e) you have other privacy related questions or concerns. You may also opt-out of further marketing communications by replying to any promotional email we have sent you or following the opt-out links on that message.
We will respond to your request and, if applicable and appropriate, make the requested change in our active databases as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that we may not be able to fulfill certain requests while allowing you access to certain benefits and features of our Website and/or Application.
J. Sole Statement
This Privacy Policy as posted on these Services is the sole statement of our privacy practices with respect to this Website and each applicable Application, and (except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy – e.g., with respect to our Donor Policy) no summary, modification, restatement or other version thereof, or other privacy statement or policy, in any form, is valid unless we post a new or revised policy to these Services.
Web Accessibility
The American Printing House is committed to diversity, inclusion and accessibility in everything we do. These core values are fundamental to the way we work and come through in the experiences we design for people – both in our products and on the web.
With this in mind, we are continuously taking steps to improve APH.org and ensure it complies with the best practices and standards defined by Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium.
Our website is monitored and tested frequently by internal and third-party accessibility consultants and tools. These tools and teams of talented people help us identify usability issues and discover new solutions to further improve the accessibility of our site.
We support all modern browsers and operating systems that are supported by their respective parent companies and take a best effort approach to supporting older technologies such as browsers that are no longer supported by their vendor. We encourage everyone to update to the latest software so that they can take advantage of the security it provides and the modern accessibility features that older technology cannot support.
We understand that not everyone has access to the latest hardware and software and so we offer assistance by phone and email for anyone who may experience difficulty and we welcome feedback to assess issues and help make the experience better.
Contact customer service by phone at 800-223-1839 (U.S. and Canada) or via email at cs@aph.org. Hours are Monday through Friday 8:00am to 8:00pm Eastern Standard Time.
Our Current Accessibility Features
- Alternative text detail for appropriate images and other non-text elements.
- Structural markup to indicate headings and lists to aid in page comprehension.
- Association of forms with labels.
- Destination links inform screen readers that the page will open a new tab or window. We are working to add this functionality to external links and will have this in place by 2022.
- Association of all data cells in a data table with their headers.
- JavaScript and style sheets to enhance the appearance and functionality of the site. If these technologies are not available, alternative content is provided where able to ensure a usable experience.
Further accessibility efforts are underway. As we continue to improve our website, we will reflect any changes here within our accessibility statement. That way you’ll know about the progress we’re making.
Additionally, The American Printing House ensures third-party content providers are aware of our web accessibility policy and we will favor providers based on their conformance to this policy. Please report any accessibility concerns to cs@aph.org.
By using this website you agree to inform APH of any accessibility issues or concerns that you may experience during your visit by contacting our customer service team directly at 1-800-223-1839 or cs@aph.org.