This Privacy Policy supplements, and forms a part of, the Terms of Use  (“Terms”) entered into between Shoppers (or Entrepreneurs) and MAE. Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meaning provided in the Terms.

In this Privacy Policy, we describe how Grow With Mae, LCC (“MAE,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), collects, uses, and discloses your information. It also describes the rights and choices you have regarding our use of your information.

This Privacy Policy applies to the information that we collect and process about individual users (“End Users”) of the MAE platform and services, including registered Entrepreneurs (“Sellers”), registered Shoppers (“Buyers”, and unregistered visitors of the Service (“Site Visitors”) to growwithmae.com or themaemarket.com and all associated websites, including all websites that MAE hosts and manages for certain of its customers to the extent such sites link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, “Sites”), as well as information provided when you interact with MAE, such as by emailing us or chatting with us (the platform, Content, and Sites are collectively, the “Services”). Your use of the Services is also subject to our Terms of Use.

MAE acts as a data controller for the information we process, with the exception of information processed solely by Entrepreneur, or another partner, in which case we act as a data processor. MAE is headquartered in the United States. Our contact information is listed below in the “Contact Information” section.

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE HANDLE YOUR INFORMATION. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SERVICES.

This Privacy Policy contains the following sections:

1. Information We Collect
2. How We Use Your Information
3. How We Share Your Information
4. Cookies and Similar Technologies
5. Online Analytics and Advertising
6. Third-Party Links and Features
7. Your Rights & Choices Regarding Your Information
8. Additional Information for Residents of Certain Jurisdictions
9. Children’s Privacy
10. How We Protect Your Information
11. Changes to Our Privacy Policy
12. How to Contact Us

We obtain a variety of information from and about you as you use the Services. Please note that if you choose not to provide us with certain information, or ask us to delete it, you may no longer be able to access or use the Services.

The type of information we collect and how we use and share it depends on how you use the Services.

Site Visitors browse the Sites and may contact us via email or otherwise.

Entrepreneurs and Shoppers use MAE Services to make purchases through the site.

MAE is the data controller of Individual End User information, information collected through our Services about Site Visitors, and information about Shoppers, the customer of our Entrepreneurs.

Information Provided Directly by or About End Users

We collect information by and about End Users when End Users:

Register for an account or have an account created for them;

Use any of the Services;

Communicate with us (including through forms on our Sites and by mail, email or chat);

Participate in surveys; and

Request customer support or technical assistance from us.

This information generally includes the following:

End User Information:

Registration Information:

To register and be verified, End Users must provide their name, an email address, and an account ID will be automatically generated.

Additional Profile Information:

All End Users can choose to complete their MAE profile with additional optional information, including but not limited to a second email address, phone number, date of birth, mailing address, billing address, profile picture or avatar.

Transactional Information: information about the Product purchased by you or on your behalf. Please note our third-party payment processor collects and processes billing and payment information you provide us. MAE does not directly collect or store any payment card information you may provide at the time of purchase through any of the Sites.

User Content: End User activity on our Services including any Products or Marketplaces your favorited and / or followed.

Survey Information: information you provide if you participate in a survey with us.

Inquiries and feedback: comments, feedback, suggestions and questions you submit through customer service or other interactions with us, including via the Service.

Information Provided Directly by All Other Visitors or Users

We collect information from you when you use visit the Sites or communicate with us. This information generally includes the following types:

Contact Information When You Communicate with Us: such as name, email and/or phone number.

Survey information: information you provide if you participate in a survey with us.

Inquiries and feedback: comments, feedback, suggestions and questions you submit through customer service or other interactions with us.

Automatically Collected Information:

When Site Visitors, End Users, or others use our Services, we collect certain information automatically. We and our service providers (which are third-party companies that work on our behalf) may use a variety of technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting this information. You can learn more about our use of cookies and similar tools in the “Cookies and Similar Technologies” section below.

Automatically collected information may include:

Device information and related identifiers: When you use our Services, we and our service providers collect and analyze information such as your IP address, browser characteristics, number of devices, device IDs, usage characteristics, systems, mobile device’s service provider, platform type, advertising identifiers, operating system, and the state and/or country from which you accessed the Services.

Usage information: When you use our Services, we and our service providers collect and analyze information about your usage activity such as referring and exit pages and URLs, Content viewed, navigation data (usage of features, opening / closing of menus), user actions (e.g., searches, dictionary lookups, creation of notes, flashcards, bookmarks, comments, printing, pasting and usage of offline mode), the number of clicks, pages viewed and the order of those pages, time in reader, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time you use the Services and upload or post Content, error logs, language preferences, and other similar information.

Location Information: When you use the Services, we and our service providers collect general location information (i.e., city and state) from your computer or mobile device based on its IP address.

Information from Third Party Sources

As described above, we may receive certain End User information from institutions, enterprises, publishing partners, and our service providers.

We and our service providers use the information described above to accomplish the following business and operational purposes:

• Administer user accounts, including to process account registration, authenticate users, and verify and provide access to various Services;
• Provide and personalize the Services;
• Improve the Services we offer our customers and develop new features, functionality and services for our customers;
• Assess usage of Products and features and build new ones and improve user experiences;
• Engage in transactions with you, including contacting you about your account, billing you for the Services, and processing payments;
• Provide you with updates and information about your use of the Services and provide information to End Users, customers or Site Visitors about Products , discounts, deals or events that may be of interest to you;
• Respond to requests for information and provide support and customer service;
• Learn and report on End User study behaviors and activities, improve End User experience and educational outcomes and allow Institutions and Faculty to view, use and/or analyze student reading and study habits and behaviors and student performance;
• Advertise MAE on other websites or services based on Site Visitor information from growwithmae.com or themaemarket.com
• Comply with laws, regulations, and other legal process (such as a subpoena or warrant), including complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA);
• Establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights; and
• Detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, as well as to enforce this Privacy Policy and/or the MAE Terms of Use, including investigation of potential violations thereof and to take steps reasonably believed to be necessary to protect the safety, security, property and rights of MAE its employees, Marketplace partners, service providers, and others.

We may also aggregate, de-identify, and/or anonymize any information collected through the Services in such a way that we cannot reasonably link information to you or your device. We may use such aggregated, de-identified, or anonymous information for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes or to deliver insights to our customer and relevant faculty at Institutions using our Services. We will not attempt to re-identify such information.

We and our service providers will share the information collected from and about you for the following business and operational purposes:

Service Providers: We may provide access to or share your information with select third parties who perform services on our behalf, such as payment processing, identity verification, Product content and features, analytics, customer service, data storage, security, fraud prevention, and legal services.

Protection of MAE and Others & Legal Compliance: We may disclose the information we collect and maintain about you if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with law or legal process (e.g., a subpoena or court order); (ii) enforce our Terms of Use, this Privacy Policy, or other contracts with you, including the investigation of potential violations thereof and to take precautions against liability or investigate or defend ourselves against third-party claims or allegations; (iii) respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (iv) protect the rights, property, intellectual property, security, or personal safety of MAE, its agents, its partners (including our publishing partners), its users, and/or the public. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection, spam/malware prevention, and similar purposes.

Business Transfers: We may buy, merge, or partner with other companies. In such transactions (including in contemplation of such transactions), user information may be among the transferred assets. If a portion or all of our assets are sold or transferred to a third party, user information would likely be one of the transferred business assets.

Your Consent: If you have consented to our sharing of your information for other purposes not listed above, we will also share your information consistent with your consent.

We may share anonymized or de-identified information with third parties.

4. COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

To collect the information in the “Automatically Collected Information” section above, we and our service providers use web server logs, cookies, tags, tracking pixels, and other similar tracking technologies (“Cookies”).

• A web server log is a file where website activity is stored.
• A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website, and it enables us to: (i) recognize your computer; (ii) store your preferences and settings; (iii) understand the web pages of the Services you have visited; (iv) enhance your user experience by delivering and measuring the effectiveness of Content tailored to your interests; (v) perform searches and analytics; and (vi) assist with security and administrative functions.
• Tracking pixels (sometimes referred to as web beacons or clear GIFs) are tiny electronic tags with a unique identifier embedded in websites, online ads, and/or email that are designed to: (i) collect usage information like ad impressions or clicks and email open rates; (ii) measure popularity of the Services and associated advertising; and (iii) access user cookies.

Cookies are typically classified as either “session cookies,” which do not stay on your device after you close your browser or “persistent cookies,” which will usually remain on your device until you delete them or they expire. Sometimes cookies are placed by us (“First-Party Cookies”) and sometimes they are placed by others (“Third-Party Cookies”). Different cookies are used to perform different functions on our Services:

• Essential Cookies: Some cookies are essential to the Services and enable you to use the features of the Services and access secure areas of the Services. Without these cookies, we cannot enable appropriate content based on the type of device you are using (for example, essential cookies store user log-in information so that you don’t have to re-enter it for each page you visit on our website).
• Functional Cookies: These cookies allow us to remember choices you make on our Services (such as your preferred language or the region you are in).
• Personalization Cookies: We also use cookies to change the way our Services behave or look in order to personalize your experience from information we infer from your behavior on our Services or information we may already know about you because, for example, you are a registered user. These cookies may be used to tailor the Services or the Content, look, and feel delivered to you on subsequent sessions to our Services. For example, if you personalize webpages, or use specific parts of the Services, a cookie helps our webpage server recall your specific information.
• Analytics Cookies: We use our own cookies and/or third-party cookies to see how you use our Services in order to enhance their performance and develop them according to the preferences of our customers and visitors. For example, cookies may be used to: maintain a consistent look and feel across our Services, track and provide trend analysis on how our users interact with our Services, track errors, and measure the effectiveness of the Services.
• Advertising Cookies: These cookies log your visit to our Services, the pages you have visited, and the links you have clicked. We or our service providers may use this information to deliver more relevant advertisements about MAE, and / or if applicable a MAE Entrepreneur.

There are a number of ways you can manage what cookies are set on your devices. If you do not allow certain cookies to be installed, the Services may not be accessible to you and/or the performance or features of the Services may be compromised.

5. ONLINE ANALYTICS AND ADVERTISING

Analytics

We may use third-party web analytics services (such as those of Google Analytics) on our Services to collect and analyze usage information through cookies and similar tools; engage in auditing, research, or reporting; assist with fraud prevention; and provide certain features to you. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.

Usage information of our Services is collected to compile statistical data in order to develop new and improved Services and marketing, identify popular features, and to provide you Content that is of interest to you.

Online Advertising

The Services may allow third-party advertising technologies (e.g., ad networks and ad servers such as Google) to place cookies or other tracking technologies on your computer, mobile phone, or other device to collect information about you to assist in the delivery of relevant advertising about the Services on other websites you visit and other services you use.

We neither have access to, nor does this Privacy Policy govern, the cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on the device you use to access the Services by such non-affiliated third parties. If you are interested in more information about tailored browser advertising and how you can generally control cookies from being put on your computer to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out link, the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out link, or Your Online Choices to opt out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs. To opt-out of Google Analytics for display advertising or customize Google display network ads, visit the Google Ads Settings page. Please note that these opt-outs apply per device, so you will have to opt-out for each device through which you access our Services.

Notice Concerning Do Not Track.

Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers. We are committed to providing you with meaningful choices about the information collected on our website for third-party purposes, which is why we describe a variety of opt-out mechanisms above. However, we do not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals. Learn more about Do Not Track.

6. THIRD-PARTY LINKS AND FEATURES

The Services may contain links to third-party websites, third-party plug-ins (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter). If you choose to use these websites, plug-ins, or services, you may disclose your information not just to those third parties, but also to their users and the public more generally depending on how their services function. If you choose to use these services, we are not responsible for the content or practices of such third-party websites or services. The collection, use, and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of the third-party websites or services, and not this Privacy Policy. We urge you to read the privacy and security policies of these third parties.

7. RIGHTS & CHOICES REGARDING YOUR INFORMATION

Marketing Communications

If you are a Site Visitor, Shopper or Entrepreneur we may send you marketing communications in your jurisdiction (based on our relationship with you, your consent, your business or applicable law). You may instruct us not to use your contact information to contact you by email, postal mail, or phone regarding Products, services, promotions and special events that might appeal to your interests by contacting us using the information below.

You can opt-out of commercial messages by following the instructions located at the bottom of commercial email messages. Removing your name from the email list may take a reasonable amount of time. Please note that, regardless of your request, we may still use and share certain information as permitted by this Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law. For example, you may not opt-out of certain operational emails, such as those reflecting our relationship or transactions with you.

Privacy Rights

Your local laws (such as those in California or Nevada) may permit you to exercise certain rights with respect to the information we collect from and about you. Please see the “Additional Information for Residents of Certain Jurisdictions” section below for more information.

Account Deletion

Following a verified and confirmed request (through the email we have on file for you), MAE will delete or de-identify as much personal information as possible, except as provided below.

If you choose to delete your MAE account, we will be unable to retrieve/re-identify any User Information, any Access Rights Information or any Usage Data or any other information linked to the End User.

MAE will not delete or de-identify certain transactional data that may contain User Information that MAE must maintain for tax, audit, liability or other legally required purposes.

Even if you request that we delete your account, an Entrepreneur or Marketspace may still have their own copy of your certain Content due to individual sales and purchases.

8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS OF CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS

Your local laws may entitle you to additional information or permit you to exercise certain rights with respect to the information we collect from and about you. Please note that your rights vary depending upon your location, and that we may request you provide us with information necessary to confirm your identity before responding to your request as required or permitted by applicable law. Certain information may be exempt from such requests under applicable law. For example, we need certain types of information so that we can provide the Services to you or to comply with a legal obligation. In some circumstances, if you still ask us to delete your information, you may no longer be able to access or use our Services.

California Residents

Additional Information

If you are a California resident, California law requires us to provide you with some additional information regarding how we collect, use, and share your “personal information” (as defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”)).

Throughout our Privacy Policy, we discuss in detail the personal information we collect, the categories of sources from which we collect such information, our business or commercial purposes for collecting such information, the categories of information we disclose to others, and the categories of third parties to whom we disclose such information. See “Information We Collect” for more details.

The following are the “categories” of personal information under the CCPA that we collect from you and that we may, as discussed throughout this Policy, use and disclose for our business purposes:

• Identifiers (such as name, address, email address, SSN or EIN);
• Commercial information (such as transaction data regarding your purchases, business ID);
• Device identifiers (such as IP address and unique device identifiers);
• Protected classification characteristics (such as age, SSN, business type)
• Internet or other network or device activity (such as browsing history or Service usage (such as your notes and highlights in the Services);
• General geolocation data; any user-generated Content or Feedback provided by visitors or End Users;
• Physical characteristics or description (e.g., if you voluntarily submit a profile photo); and other information that identifies or can be reasonably associated with an End User.

How we use and disclose these categories of personal information.

We use the categories of personal information we collect from and about Users consistent with the various business purposes we discuss throughout this Policy. See “How we Use Your Information” for more details. These purposes include to: Administer user accounts, including to process account registration, authenticate users, and verify and provide access to Content and use of our various Services.

• Provide and personalize the Services;
• Improve the Services we offer our customers and develop new features, functionality and services for our customers;
• Assess usage of features and build new ones and improve user experiences;
• Engage in transactions with you, including contacting you about your account, billing you for the Services, and processing payments;
• Provide you with updates and information about your use of the Services and provide information to End Users, customers or Site Visitors about Products or services, discounts, deals or events that may be of interest to you;
• Respond to requests for information and provide support and customer service;
• Advertise growwithmae.com or themaemarket.com, or on other websites or services based on Site Visitor information;
• Comply with laws, regulations, and other legal process (such as a subpoena or warrant), including complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA);
• Establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights; and
• Detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues, as well as to enforce this Privacy Policy and/or the MAE Terms of Use, including investigation of potential violations thereof and to take steps reasonably believed to be necessary to protect the safety, security, and rights of MAE, its employees, Marketplace partners, service providers, and others.

The CCPA sets forth certain obligations for businesses that “sell” personal information. Although we do not believe we engage in the sale of personal information (and have not in the past twelve months) as we currently understand such term to be defined under applicable law and relevant regulatory guidance, we do share information as described in this Privacy Policy, including with certain analytics and advertising partners who perform services like analyzing our Services and showing you ads for MAE. You can choose to limit the information shared with our analytics and advertising partners by selecting “Decline” in the Cookie Banner at the bottom of our Sites or following the steps described in the “Cookies and Similar Technologies” section of this Privacy Policy.

California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, the CCPA allows you (or an authorized agent acting on your behalf) to make certain requests related to your personal information. Specifically, the CCPA allows you to request us to:

Inform you about the categories of personal information we collect or disclose about you; the categories of sources of such information; the business or commercial purpose for collecting your personal information; and the categories of third parties with whom we share/disclose personal information. This information is also set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Provide access to and/or a copy of certain personal information that we hold about you.

Delete certain personal information that we hold about you.

Provide you with information about the financial incentives that we offer to you, if any exists.

The CCPA further provides you with the right not to be discriminated against (as provided in applicable law) for exercising your rights. Certain information may be exempt from such requests under California law.

We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity and for deletion, confirm your request, before responding to a request. In doing so, we may request information from you so that we can match the data you provide to us with the data we maintain to confirm your identity.

If you would like further information regarding your legal rights under California law or would like to exercise any of these rights, or if you are an authorized agent making a request on a user’s behalf, please contact us at support@growwithmae.com and include “CCPA Consumer Request” in the subject. Please provide sufficient information to allow us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative and please describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We try to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing.

California’s “Shine the Light” law gives residents of California the right under certain circumstances to request information from us regarding the manner in which we share certain categories of personal information (as defined in the Shine the Light law) with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not share your personal information with third-parties for their own direct marketing purposes.

Retention of Information

We keep your information for the time necessary for the purposes for which it is processed. The length of time for which we retain information depends on the purposes for which we collected and used it and/or as required to comply with applicable laws.

Nevada Resident Privacy Rights

Under Nevada law, certain Nevada consumers may opt out of the sale of “personally identifiable information” for monetary consideration (as such terms are defined by Nevada law) to a person for that person to license or sell such information to additional persons. We do not engage in such activity.

9. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

The Services are not for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect, maintain, or use personal information (as defined by the United States Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) from such persons. If you believe that we might have any such information from a child, please contact us as described at the end of this Privacy Policy. If we discover that personally identifiable information of a child has been submitted without legally valid parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible.

10. HOW WE PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION

We take measures, including the implementation of physical, technical, and managerial safeguards, to protect your information against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure, or access. However, no method of transmission over the internet, and no means of electronic or physical storage, is absolutely secure. By using our Services, you acknowledge and accept that we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to, through, or on our Services and that any such transmission is at your own risk. You are responsible for keeping your account information—and especially your login information—confidential. We ask you not to share your login credentials with anyone and recommend you use a complex and unique password.

11. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. We will make the revised Privacy Policy accessible through the Services, so you should review the Privacy Policy periodically. You can know if the Privacy Policy has changed since the last time you reviewed it by checking the “Effective Date” at the beginning of this Privacy Policy. If we make a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will provide you with notice in accordance with legal requirements. By continuing to use the Services, you are confirming that you have read and understood the latest version of this Privacy Policy.

12. HOW TO CONTACT US

For all questions, inquiries or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or Grow With Mae’s privacy practices, please first contact MAE at: Grow With MAE, LLC. 1640 Wedgewood Drive, Lake Forest, IL 60045, or email us at hello@growwithmae.com