Policies, Terms, and Conditions


Privacy Policy

Netsweeper Privacy Policy

Personal data we collect

Netsweeper collects data from you, through our interactions with you and through our products for a variety of purposes described below, including to operate effectively and provide you with the best experiences with our products. You provide some of this data directly, such as when you create a Netsweeper account, administer your organization’s account, register for a Netsweeper event, share a document with us, purchase a subscription, or contact us for support.

We get some of it by collecting data about your interactions, use, and experience with our products and communications.

We rely on a variety of legal reasons and permissions (sometimes called “legal bases”) to process data, including with your consent, a balancing of legitimate interests, necessity to enter into and perform contracts, and compliance with legal obligations, for a variety of purposes described below.

We may also obtain data from third parties. We protect data obtained from third parties according to the practices described in this statement, plus any additional restrictions imposed by the source of the data. These third-party sources vary over time and include:

  • Data brokers from which we may acquire demographic data to supplement the data we collect.
  • Services that make user-generated content from their service available to others, such as local business reviews or public social media posts.
  • Communication services, including email providers and social networks, when you give us permission to access your data on such third-party services or networks.
  • Service providers that help us determine your device’s location and IP address.
  • Partners with which we offer co-branded services or engage in joint marketing activities.
  • Publicly available sources, such as open government databases.

If you represent an organization, such as a business or school, that utilizes products from Netsweeper, please see the Enterprise products section of this privacy statement to learn how we process your data. If you are an end user of a Netsweeper product or a Netsweeper account provided by your organization, please see the Products provided by your organization and the Netsweeper account sections for more information.

You have choices when it comes to the technology you use and the data you share. When you are asked to provide personal data, you can decline. Many of our products require some personal data to operate and provide you with a service. If you choose not to provide data required to operate and provide you with a product or feature, you cannot use that product or feature. Likewise, where we need to collect personal data by law or to enter into or carry out a contract with you, and you do not provide the data, we will not be able to enter into the contract; or if this relates to an existing product you’re using, we may have to suspend or cancel it. We will notify you if this is the case at the time. Where providing the data is optional, and you choose not to share personal data, features like personalization that use the data will not work for you.

The data we collect depends on the context of your interactions with Netsweeper and the choices you make, the products and features you use, your location, and applicable law.

The data we collect can include the following:

  • Name and contact data. Your first and last name, email address, postal address, phone number, and other similar contact data.
  • Passwords, password hints, and similar security information used for authentication and account access.
  • Demographic data. Data about you such as your age, gender, country, and preferred language.
  • Subscription and licensing data. Information about your subscriptions, licenses, and other entitlements.
  • Data about your use of Netsweeper products. In some cases, such as Internet browsing data, this is data you provide to make use of the products. In other cases, such as error reports, this is data we generate. Other examples of interactions data include:
    • Device and usage data. Data about your device and the product and features you use, including information about your hardware and software, how our products perform, as well as your settings. For example:
      • Payment and account history. Data about the items you purchase, and activities associated with your account.
      • Browse history. Data about the webpages you visit.
        • Device, connectivity, and configuration data. Data about your device, your device configuration, and nearby networks. For example, data about the operating systems. In addition, IP address, device identifiers (such as the IMEI number for phones), regional and language settings.
        • Error reports and performance data. Data about the performance of the products and any problems you experience, including error reports. Error reports (sometimes called “bugs”) can include details of the software or hardware related to an error, contents of files opened when an error occurred, and data about other software on your device.
        • Troubleshooting and help data. Data you provide when you contact Netsweeper for help, such as the products you use, and other details that help us provide support. For example, contact or authentication data, the content of your chats and other communications with Netsweeper, data about the condition of your device and servers, and the products you use related to your help inquiry. When you contact us, such as for customer support, phone conversations or chat sessions with our representatives may be monitored and recorded.
        • Text, typing data. Text and typing data and related information. For example, when we collect text data, we collect information about what content you have been viewing online.
        • Images and related information, such as picture metadata. For example, we collect the image you provide to help identify Child Abuse material.
        • Contacts and relationships. Data about your contacts and relationships if you use a product to share information with others, manage contacts, communicate with others, or improve your productivity.
        • Location data. Data about your device’s or server location, which can be either precise or imprecise. For example, we may collect location data using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (e.g., GPS) and data about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. Location can also be inferred from a device’s IP address or data in your account profile that indicates where it is located with less precision, such as at a city or postal code level.
        • Feedback and ratings. Information you provide to us and the content of messages you send to us, such as feedback, survey data, and product reviews you write.

Product-specific sections below describe data collection practices applicable to use of those products.

How we use personal data

Netsweeper uses the data we collect to provide you rich, interactive experiences. We use data to:

  • Provide our products, which includes updating, securing, and troubleshooting, as well as providing support. It also includes sharing data, when it is required to provide the service or carry out the transactions you request.
  • Improve and develop our products.
  • Personalize our products and make recommendations.
  • Advertise and market to you, which includes sending promotional communications, targeting advertising, and presenting you relevant offers.
  • We also use the data to operate our business, which includes analyzing our performance, meeting our legal obligations, developing our workforce, and doing research.

For these purposes, we combine data we collect from different contexts (for example, from your use of two Netsweeper products). Where required by law, we store data we collect from you when you are unauthenticated (not signed in) separately from any account information that directly identifies you, such as your name, email address, or phone number.

Our processing of personal data for these purposes includes both automated and manual (human) methods of processing. Our automated methods often are related to and supported by our manual methods. For example, our automated methods include artificial intelligence (AI), which we think of as a set of technologies that enable computers to perceive, learn, reason, and assist in decision-making to solve problems in ways that are similar to what people do. To build, train, and improve the accuracy of our automated methods of processing (including AI), we manually review some of the predictions and inferences produced by the automated methods against the underlying data from which the predictions and inferences were made. For example, we manually review URLs you have accessed when using the classification service to improve our classification services, such as recognition and translation.

When we process personal data about you, we do so with your consent and/or as required to provide the products you use, operate our business, meet our contractual and legal obligations, protect the security of our systems and our customers, or fulfill other legitimate interests of Netsweeper as described in this section and in the Reasons we share personal data section of this privacy statement. When we transfer personal data from the European Economic Area, we do so based on a variety of legal mechanisms, as described in the Where we store and process personal data section of this privacy statement.

More on the purposes of processing:

  • Provide our products. We use data to operate our products and provide you with rich, interactive experiences. For example, using the cloud classification services, we process the textual information or process it, at your direction as part of the service. Or, for example, if you use our client filter software to browse the Internet, we use the information to analyze the content of the remote website. Additionally, as communications are a feature of various products, programs, and activities, we use data to contact you. For example, we may contact you by phone or email or other means to inform you when a subscription is ending or discuss your licensing account. We also communicate with you to secure our products, for example by letting you know when product updates are available.
  • Product improvement. We use data to continually improve our products, including adding new features or capabilities. For example, we use error reports to improve security features, usage data to determine what new features to prioritize.
  • Many products include personalized features, such as recommendations that enhance your productivity and enjoyment. These features may use automated processes to tailor your product experiences based on the data we have about you, such as inferences we make about you and your use of the product, activities, interests, and location. For example, depending on your settings on the usage of the Web Administration interface, you may see a recommendation for specific product features based on your past usage history.
  • Product activation. We use data—such as device and application type, location, and unique device, application, network, and subscription identifiers—to activate products that require activation.
  • Product development. We use data to develop new products. For example, we use data, often de-identified, to better understand our customers’ computing and productivity needs which can shape the development of new products.
  • Customer support. We use data to troubleshoot and diagnose product problems, repair customers’ devices, and provide other customer care and support services, including to help us provide, improve, and secure the quality of our products, services, and training, and to investigate security incidents. Call recording data may also be used to authenticate or identify you based on your voice to enable Netsweeper to provide support services and investigate security incidents.
  • Help secure and troubleshoot. We use data to help secure and troubleshoot our products. This includes using data to protect the security and safety of our products and customers, detecting malware and malicious activities, troubleshooting performance and compatibility issues to help customers get the most out of their experiences, and notifying customers of updates to our products. This may include using automated systems to detect security and safety issues.
  • We use data to protect the safety of our products and our customers. Our security features and products can disrupt the operation of malicious software and notify users if malicious software is about to be installed. For example, some of our products, such as Capture Module, can scan content in an automated manner to identify suspected viruses, abusive actions, or URLs that have been flagged as fraud, phishing, or malware links; and we reserve the right to block delivery of a communication or remove content if it violates our terms or policies that have been applied to your profile.
  • We use data we collect to develop product updates and security patches. For example, we may use information about your device’s capabilities, such as available memory, to provide you a software update or security patch. Updates and patches are intended to maximize your experience with our products and services, help you protect the privacy and security of your data, provide new features, and ensure your device is ready to process such updates.
  • Promotional communications. We use data we collect to deliver promotional communications. You can sign up for email subscriptions and choose whether you wish to receive promotional communications from Netsweeper by email, physical mail, and telephone. For information about managing your contact data, email subscriptions, and promotional communications, see the How to access and control your personal data section of this privacy statement.
  • Relevant offers. Netsweeper uses data to provide you with relevant and valuable information regarding our products. We analyze data from a variety of sources to predict the information that will be most interesting and relevant to you and deliver such information to you in a variety of ways.
  • Netsweeper does not use what you say in email, chat, video calls, or voice mail, or your documents, photos, or other personal files to target ads to you. We use data we collect through our interactions with you, through some of our products, and on third-party web properties, for advertising in our products and on third-party properties. We may use automated processes to help make advertising more relevant to you. For more information about how your data is used for advertising, see the Advertising section of this privacy statement.
  • Prize promotions and events. We use your data to administer prize promotions and events available in our physical tradeshow booths. For example, if you enter a prize promotion, we may use your data to select a winner and provide the prize to you if you win.
  • Transacting commerce. We use data to carry out your transactions with us. For example, we process payment information to provide customers with product subscriptions and use contact information to deliver goods purchased from the Netsweeper.
  • Reporting and business operations. We use data to analyze our operations and perform business intelligence. This enables us to make informed decisions and report on the performance of our business.
  • Protecting rights and property. We use data to detect and prevent fraud, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and protect our property. For example, we use data to confirm the validity of software licenses to reduce piracy. We may use automated processes to detect and prevent activities that violate our rights and the rights of others, such as fraud.
  • Legal compliance. We process data to comply with law. For example, we use the age of our customers to ensure we meet our obligations to protect children’s privacy. We also process contact information and credentials to help customers exercise their data protection rights.
  • With appropriate technical and organizational measures to safeguard individuals’ rights and freedoms, we use data to conduct research, including for public interest and scientific purposes.

Reasons we may share personal data

We will not share your data to any third party that is not associated with you. If you use a Netsweeper product provided by an organization you are affiliated with, such as an employer or school, or use an email address provided by such organization to access Netsweeper products, we share certain data, such as interaction data and diagnostic data to enable your organization to manage the products. When you provide payment data to make a purchase, we will share payment data with banks and other entities that process payment transactions or provide other financial services, and for fraud prevention and credit risk reduction.

Finally, we will retain, access, transfer, disclose, and preserve personal data, including your content (such as log files if applicable and reports), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to do any of the following:

  • Comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agencies.
  • Protect our customers, for example, to prevent spam or attempts to defraud users of our products, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone.
  • Operate and maintain the security of our products, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks.
  • Protect the rights or property of Netsweeper, including enforcing the terms governing the use of the services—however, if we receive information indicating that someone is using our services to traffic in stolen intellectual or physical property of Netsweeper, we will not inspect a customer’s private content ourselves, but we may refer the matter to law enforcement.

How to access and control your personal data

You can also make choices about the collection and use of your data by Netsweeper. You can control your personal data that Netsweeper has obtained, and exercise your data protection rights, by contacting Netsweeper. In some cases, your ability to access or control your personal data will be limited, as required, or permitted by applicable law. How you can access or control your personal data will also depend on which products you use. For example, you can:

  • Control the use of your data for interest-based advertising from Netsweeper by visiting by unsubscribing from these communications.
  • Choose whether you wish to receive promotional emails, SMS messages, telephone calls, and postal mail from Netsweeper.

Not all personal data processed by Netsweeper can be accessed or controlled via the tools above. If you want to access or control personal data processed by Netsweeper that is not available via the tools above or directly through the Netsweeper products you use, you can always contact Netsweeper at the address in the How to contact us section.

You can access and control your personal data that Netsweeper has obtained by contacting Netsweeper. For instance:

  • If Netsweeper obtained your consent to use your personal data, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
  • You can request access to, erasure of, and updates to your personal data.

If you would like to port your data elsewhere, you can use tools Netsweeper provides to do so, or if none are available, you can contact Netsweeper for assistance.

You can also object to or restrict the use of your personal data by Netsweeper. For example, you can object at any time to our use of your personal data:

  • For direct marketing purposes.
  • Where we are performing a task in the public interest or pursuing our legitimate interests.

You may have these rights under applicable laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but we offer them regardless of your location. In some cases, your ability to access or control your personal data will be limited, as required, or permitted by applicable law.

If your organization, such as your employer, school, or service provider, provides you with access to and is administering your use of Netsweeper products, contact your organization to learn more about how to access and control your personal data.

You can access and control your personal data that Netsweeper has obtained, and exercise your data protection rights, by contacting Netsweeper.

Your communications preferences

You can choose whether you wish to receive promotional communications from Netsweeper by email, SMS, physical mail, and telephone. If you receive promotional email or SMS messages from us and would like to opt out, you can do so by following the directions in that message. You can also make choices about the receipt of promotional email, telephone calls, and postal mail by contacting Netsweeper. These choices do not apply to mandatory service communications that are part of certain Netsweeper products, programs, activities, or to surveys or other informational communications that have their own unsubscribe method.

Cookies and similar technologies

Cookies are small text files placed on your device to store data that can be recalled by a web server in the domain that placed the cookie. This data often consists of a string of numbers and letters that uniquely identifies your computer, but it can contain other information as well. We use cookies and similar technologies to store and honor your preferences and settings, enable you to sign-in, combat fraud, analyze how our products perform, and fulfill other legitimate purposes described below. Netsweeper apps use additional identifiers, such as a unique GUID, for similar purposes.

Our use of cookies and similar technologies

Netsweeper uses cookies and similar technologies for several purposes, depending on the context or product, including:

  • Storing your preferences and settings. We use cookies to store your preferences and settings on your device, and to enhance your experiences. Saving your preferences with cookies, such as your preferred language, prevents you from having to set your preferences repeatedly.
  • Sign-in and authentication. We use cookies to authenticate you. When you sign into a website using your personal Netsweeper account, we store a unique ID number, and the time you signed in, in an encrypted cookie on your device. This cookie allows you to move from page to page within the site without having to sign in again on each page. You can also save your sign-in information, so you do not have to sign in each time you return to the site.
  • We use cookies to process information that helps us secure our products, as well as detect fraud and abuse.
  • Social media. Some of our websites include social media cookies, including those that enable users who are signed into the social media service to share content via that service.
  • Netsweeper uses cookies to enable you to provide feedback on a website.
  • We use first- and third-party cookies and other identifiers to gather usage and performance data. For example, we use cookies to count the number of unique visitors to a web page or service and to develop other statistics about the operations of our products.
  • Netsweeper uses cookies to understand and improve how our products perform. For example, we use cookies to gather data that helps with load balancing; this helps ensure that our websites remain up and running.

Our use of web beacons and analytics services

Some Netsweeper webpages contain electronic tags known as web beacons that we use to help deliver cookies on our websites, count users who have visited those websites, and deliver co-branded products. We also include web beacons or similar technologies in our electronic communications to determine whether you open and act on them.

Finally, some Netsweeper products may contain web beacons or similar technologies from third-party analytics providers, which help us compile aggregated statistics about the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns or other operations. These technologies enable the analytics providers to set or read their own cookies or other identifiers on your device, through which they can collect information about your online activities across applications, websites, or other products. However, we prohibit these analytics providers from using web beacons on our sites to collect or access information that directly identifies you (such as your name or email address). You can opt out of data collection or use by some of these analytics providers by clicking any of the following links: Google Analytics (requires you to install a browser add-on).

Products provided by your organization—notice to end users

If you use a Netsweeper product with an account provided by an organization you are affiliated with, such as your work or school account, that organization can:

  • Control and administer your Netsweeper product and product account, including controlling privacy-related settings of the product or product account.
  • Access and process your data, including the interaction data, diagnostic data, and the contents of your communications and files associated with your Netsweeper product and product accounts.
  • If you lose access to your work or school account (in event of change of employment, for example), you may lose access to products and the content associated with those products, including those you acquired on your own behalf, if you used your work or school account to sign in to such products.

Many Netsweeper products are intended for use by organizations, such as schools, businesses, service providers and governments. Please see the Enterprise products section of this privacy statement. If your organization provides you with access to Netsweeper products, your use of the Netsweeper products is subject to your organization’s policies, if any. You should direct your privacy inquiries, including any requests to exercise your data protection rights, to your organization’s administrator. When you use social features in Netsweeper products, other users in your network may see some of your activity. To learn more about the social features and other functionality, please review documentation or help content specific to the Netsweeper product. Netsweeper is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of our customers, which may differ from those set forth in this privacy statement.

When you use a Netsweeper product provided by your organization, Netsweepers’ processing of your personal data in connection with that product is governed by a contract between Netsweeper and your organization. Netsweeper processes your personal data to provide the product to your organization and you, and for Netsweepers’ legitimate business operations related to providing the product as described in the Enterprise products section. As mentioned above, if you have questions about Netsweepers’ processing of your personal data in connection with providing products to your organization, please contact your organization. If you have questions about Netsweepers’ legitimate business operations in connection with providing products to your organization as provided in the standard Netsweeper Online Services Terms (OST), please contact Netsweeper as described in the How to contact us section. For more information on our legitimate business operations, please see the Enterprise products section.

For Netsweeper products provided by your K-12 school, including Netsweeper Education, Netsweeper will:

  • not collect or use student personal data beyond that needed for authorized educational or school purposes.
  • not sell or rent student personal data.
  • not use or share student personal data for advertising or similar commercial purposes, such as behavioral targeting of advertisements to students.
  • not build a personal profile of a student, other than for supporting authorized educational or school purposes or as authorized by the parent, guardian, or student of appropriate age; and
  • require that our vendors with whom student personal data is shared to deliver the educational service, if any, are obligated to implement these same commitments for student personal data.

If your employer or school uses Azure Active Directory (AAD) or Google Directory Services to manage the account it provides you, you can use your work or school account to sign in to Netsweeper products if the Netsweeper system is configured to integrate with these services. If required by your organization, you will also be asked to provide a phone number or an alternative email address for additional security verification. And, if allowed by your organization, you may also use your work or school account to sign in to Netsweeper.

If you sign in to Netsweeper products with a work or school account, note:

The owner of the domain associated with your email address may control and administer your account, and access and process your data, including the contents of your communications and files, including data stored in products provided to you by your organization, and products you acquire by yourself.

Your use of the products is subject to your organization’s policies, if any. You should consider both your organization’s policies and whether you are comfortable enabling your organization to access your data before you choose to use your work or school account to sign in to products you acquire for yourself.

If you lose access to your work or school account (if you change employers, for example), you may lose access to products, including content associated with those products, you acquired on your own behalf if you used your work or school account to sign in to such products.

Netsweeper is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of your organization, which may differ from those of Netsweeper.

If your organization is administering your use of Netsweeper products, please direct your privacy inquiries, including any requests to exercise your data subject rights, to your administrator. See also the Notice to end users’ section of this privacy statement.

If you are uncertain whether your account is a work or school account, please contact your organization.

Third-party accounts. The data associated with a third-party Netsweeper account, and how it will be used, is generally like the use and collection of data associated with a personal Netsweeper account. Your service provider has control over your account, including the ability to access or delete your account. You should carefully review the terms the third party provided you to understand what it can do with your account.

Other important privacy information

Below you will find additional privacy information, such as how we secure your data, where we process your data, and how long we retain your data. You can find more information on Netsweeper and our commitment to protecting your privacy at Netsweeper Privacy.

Security of personal data

Netsweeper is committed to protecting the security of your personal data. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal data from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal data you provide on computer systems that have limited access and are in controlled facilities. When we transmit highly confidential data (such as a credit card number or password) over the internet, we protect it using encryption. Netsweeper complies with applicable data protection laws, including applicable security breach notification laws.

Where we store and process personal data

Personal data collected by Netsweeper may be stored and processed in your region, in Canada, and in any other country where Netsweeper or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers operate facilities. Netsweeper maintains presences in Australia, Netherlands, Canada, India, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, and Pakistan. Typically, the primary storage location is in the customer’s region or in Canada, often with a backup to a data center in another region. The storage location(s) are chosen to operate efficiently, to improve performance, and to create redundancies to protect the data in the event of an outage or other problem. We take steps to ensure that the data we collect under this privacy statement is processed according to the provisions of this statement and the requirements of applicable law wherever the data is located.

We transfer personal data from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland to other countries, some of which have not yet been determined by the European Commission to have an adequate level of data protection. For example, their laws may not guarantee you the same rights, or there may not be a privacy supervisory authority there that can address your complaints. When we engage in such transfers, we use a variety of legal mechanisms, including contracts, to help ensure your rights and protections travel with your data. To learn more about the European Commission’s decisions on the adequacy of the protection of personal data in the countries where Netsweeper processes personal data, see this article on the European Commission website.

Netsweeper Incorporated complies with the Canadian Privacy laws regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland to Canada.

If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and Canadian Laws, the Canadian Privacy Laws shall govern.

Our retention of personal data

Netsweeper retains personal data for as long as necessary to provide the products and fulfill the transactions you have requested, or for other legitimate purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Because these needs can vary for different data types, the context of our interactions with you or your use of products, actual retention periods can vary significantly.

Other criteria used to determine the retention periods include:

  • Do customers provide, create, or maintain the data with the expectation we will retain it until they affirmatively remove it? Examples include log file retention on a Netsweeper Logging server. In such cases, we would aim to maintain the data until the data is deleted or until a preconfigured period.
  • Is the personal data of a sensitive type? If so, a shortened retention time would generally be adopted.
  • Has Netsweeper adopted and announced a specific retention period for a certain data type? For example, log file and reporting data by removing the entirety of the IP address after 12 months, and cookie IDs and other cross-session identifiers that are used to identify an account or device after 24 months.
  • Has the user provided consent for a longer retention period? If so, we will retain data in accordance with your consent.
  • Is Netsweeper subject to a legal, contractual, or similar obligation to retain or delete the data? Examples can include mandatory data retention laws in the applicable jurisdiction, government orders to preserve data relevant to an investigation, or data retained for the purposes of litigation. Conversely, if we are required by law to remove unlawful content, we will do so.

Collection of data from children

When a Netsweeper product collects age, and there is an age in your jurisdiction under which parental consent or authorization is required to use the product, the product will either block users under that age or will ask them to provide consent or authorization from a parent or guardian before they can use it. We will not knowingly ask children under that age to provide more data than is required to provide for the product.

Once parental consent or authorization is granted, the child’s account is treated much like any other account.

Parents can change or revoke the consent choices previously made, and review, edit, or request the deletion of the personal data of children for whom they provided consent or authorization.

Early Adopters and General Availability releases

Netsweeper offers preview (EA), or other General Availability products and features (“previews”) to enable you to evaluate them while providing Netsweeper with data about your use of the product, including feedback and device and usage data. As a result, previews can automatically collect additional data, provide fewer controls, and otherwise employ different privacy and security measures than those typically present in our products. If you participate in previews, we may contact you about your feedback or your interest in continuing to use the product after general release.

Changes to this privacy statement

We update this privacy statement when necessary to provide greater transparency or in response to:

  • Feedback from customer, regulators, industry, or other stakeholders.
  • Changes in our products.
  • Changes in our data processing activities or policies.

When we post changes to this statement, we will revise the “last updated” date at the top of the statement and describe the changes on the Change history page. If there are material changes to the statement, such as a change to the purposes of processing of personal data that is not consistent with the purpose for which it was originally collected, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes before they take effect or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to learn how Netsweeper is protecting your information.

How to contact us

If you have a privacy concern, complaint, or question for the Netsweeper Chief Privacy Officer or EU Data Protection Officer, please contact us. We will respond to questions or concerns within 30 days. You can also raise a concern or lodge a complaint with a data protection authority or other official with jurisdiction.

When Netsweeper is a controller, unless otherwise stated, Netsweeper Incorporated and, for those in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, Netsweeper Limited are the data controllers for personal data we collect through the products subject to this statement. Our addresses are:

Netsweeper Privacy, Netsweeper Inc, 140 Columbia Street West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3K8. Telephone: +1 (519) 772-0889.

If you have a technical or support question, please visit Netsweeper Support to learn more about Netsweeper Support offerings. If you have a personal Netsweeper account password question, please visit Netsweeper account support.

Product-specific details

Enterprise products

Enterprise Products are Netsweeper products and related software offered to and designed primarily for use by organizations. They include:

  • Cloud services, referred to as Category Name Service (CNS) for which an organization (our customer) contracts with Netsweeper for the services (“Enterprise Services”).
  • Professional services are available with Enterprise Services, such as onboarding services, data migration services, installation, configuration, or services to supplement existing features in the Enterprise Services.
  • Other services.
  • In the event of a conflict between this Netsweeper privacy statement and the terms of any agreement(s) between a customer and Netsweeper for Enterprise Products, the terms of those agreement(s) will control.
  • If any of the terms below are not defined in this Privacy Statement or the Agreement, they have the definitions below.
  • When a customer tries, purchases, uses, or subscribes to Enterprise Products, or obtains support for or professional services with such products, Netsweeper receives data from you and collects and generates data to provide the service (including improving, securing, and updating the service), conduct our legitimate business operations, and communicate with the customer. For example:
  • When a customer engages with a Netsweeper sales representative, we collect the customer’s name and contact data, along with information about the customer’s organization, to support that engagement.
  • When a customer interacts with a Netsweeper support professional, we collect device and usage data or error reports to diagnose and resolve problems.
  • When a customer pays for products, we collect contact and payment data to process the payment.
  • When Netsweeper sends communications to a customer, we use data to personalize the content of the communication.
  • When a customer engages with Netsweeper for professional services, we collect the name and contact data of the customer’s designated point of contact and use information provided by the customer to perform the services that the customer has requested.

Enterprise services

To provide the Enterprise Services, Netsweeper uses data you provide (including Customer Data, Personal Data, Administrator Data, Payment Data, and Support Data) and data Netsweeper collects or generates associated with your use of the Enterprise Services.

  • Personal Data. Customer is the controller of Personal Data and Netsweeper is the processor of such data, except when (a) Customer acts as a processor of Personal Data, in which case Netsweeper is a sub processor, (b) Netsweeper is processing Personal Data for its legitimate business operations as provided in the standard OST Data Protection Addendum, in which case Netsweeper is a controller, or (c) stated otherwise in the standard agreement. As provided in the standard agreement Data Protection Addendum, Netsweeper is a processor of Personal Data when processing Personal Data for its legitimate business operations associated with providing the service, such as billing and preparing invoices; account management; compensation; financial reporting; business planning and product strategy; improving core functionality for accessibility, privacy, and energy efficiency; and combatting fraud, cybercrime, and cyberattacks on Netsweeper products. We generally aggregate Personal Data before using it for our legitimate business operations, removing the ability to identify specific individuals. We use personal data in the least identifiable form that will support processing necessary for legitimate business operations.
  • Administrator Data. Administrator Data is the information provided to Netsweeper during sign-up, purchase, or administration of Enterprise Services. We use Administrator Data to provide the Enterprise Services, complete transactions, service the account, detect, and prevent fraud, and comply with our legal obligations. Administrator Data includes the name, address, phone number, and email address you provide, as well as aggregated usage data related to your account, such as the controls you select. Administrator Data also includes contact information of your colleagues and friends if you agree to provide it to Netsweeper for the limited purpose of sending them an invitation to use the Enterprise Services; we contact those individuals with communications that include information about you, such as your name and profile photo.

As needed, we use Administrator Data to contact you to provide information about your account, subscriptions, billing, and updates to the Enterprise Services, including information about new features, security, or other technical issues. We also contact you regarding third-party inquiries we receive regarding use of the Enterprise Services, as described in your agreement. You cannot unsubscribe from these non-promotional communications. We may also contact you regarding information and offers about other products.

  • Payment Data. We use payment data to complete transactions, as well as to detect and prevent fraud.
  • Support Data. Customers provide or authorize Netsweeper to collect data in connection with obtaining technical support for the Enterprise Services. We process Support Data to provide technical support and as described in the agreement.
  • Some Enterprise Services require, or are enhanced by, the installation of local software (e.g., agents, device management applications) on a device. At your direction, the local software may transmit (i) data, which can include Customer Data, from a device or appliance to or from the Enterprise Services; or (ii) logs or error reports to Netsweeper for troubleshooting purposes. The Enterprise Services, including local software, collect device and usage data that is transmitted to Netsweeper and analyzed to improve the quality, security, and integrity of our products.

Netsweeper software

Netsweeper software and Netsweeper appliances collect data to operate effectively and provide you the best experiences. The data we collect depends on the features you use, as well as your configuration and settings, but it is generally limited to device and usage data. Customers have choices about the data they provide. Here are examples of the data we collect:

  • During installation or when you upgrade a Netsweeper software, we may collect device or server usage data to learn whether you experience any difficulties.
  • When you use Netsweeper software or enterprise appliances, we may collect device or server usage data to learn about your operating environment to improve security features.
  • When you experience a crash using Netsweeper software or enterprise appliances, you may choose to send Netsweeper an error report to help us diagnose the problem and deliver customer support.

Netsweeper uses the data we collect from Netsweeper software and enterprise appliances to provide and improve our products, to deliver customer support, to activate the product, to communicate with you, and to operate our business.

Required service data for connected experiences

Required service data is data that enables us to deliver cloud-based connected experiences and help make these experiences secure and perform as expected. There are three types of information that are considered as required service data.

  1. Customer Content, which is content you are accessing while using the Netsweeper product.
  2. Functional Data, which includes information needed by a connected experience to perform its task, such as configuration information about the app.
  3. Service Diagnostic Data, which is the data required to keep the service secure, up to date, and performing as expected. Because this data is strictly related to the connected experience, it is separate from Required or Optional diagnostic data levels.

Diagnostics

Netsweeper collects diagnostic data to solve problems and to keep the Netsweeper Software up to date, secure, and operating properly. It also helps us improve Netsweeper products and services. This data is transmitted to Netsweeper and stored with one or more unique identifiers that can help us recognize an individual user on an individual device and understand the device’s service issues and use patterns.

There are two levels of diagnostic and activity data: Required diagnostic data and Optional diagnostic data. Certain product documentation and other materials refer to Required diagnostic data as Basic diagnostic data and to Optional diagnostic data as Full diagnostic data.

If an organization (such as your employer or school) uses Netsweeper management tools or engages Netsweeper to manage your device, we and the organization will use and process diagnostic and error data from your device to allow the management, monitoring, and troubleshooting of the organization’s devices, and for other purposes of the organization.

Required diagnostic data includes information about your device, its settings, and capabilities, and whether it is performing properly. We collect the following Required diagnostic data:

Device, connectivity, and configuration data that may be collected:

  • Data about the device such as the processor type, OEM manufacturer, type of battery and capacity, number and type of cameras, firmware, and memory attributes.
  • Network capabilities and connection data such as the device’s IP address, mobile network (including IMEI and mobile operator), and whether the device is connected to a private or public network.
  • Data about the operating system and its configuration such as the OS version and build number, region and language settings, diagnostics data settings.
  • Data about connected peripherals such as model, manufacturer, drivers, and compatibility data.
  • Data about the applications installed on the device such as application name, version, and publisher.
  • Whether a device is ready for an update and whether there are factors that may impede the ability to receive updates, such as low battery, limited disk space, or connectivity through a private or public network.
  • Whether updates complete successfully or fail.
  • Data about the reliability of the diagnostics collection system itself.

Basic error reporting, which is health data about the operating system and applications running on your device.

Optional diagnostic data includes more detailed information about your device and its settings, capabilities, and device health. Optional diagnostic data also includes data about the websites you browse, device activity (also sometimes referred to as usage), and enhanced error reporting that helps Netsweeper to fix and improve products and services for all users. When you choose to send Optional diagnostic data, required diagnostic data will always be included, and we collect the following additional information:

  • Additional data about the device, connectivity, and configuration, beyond that collected under Required diagnostic data.
  • Status and logging information about the health of operating system and other system components beyond that collected about the update and diagnostics systems under Required diagnostic data.
  • App activity, such as which programs are launched on a device, how long they run, and how quickly they respond to input.
  • Browser activity, including browsing history and search terms.

Enhanced error reporting, including the memory state of the device when a system or app crash occurs (which may unintentionally contain user content, such as parts of a file you were using when the problem occurred).

Some of the data described above may not be collected from your device even if you choose to send Optional diagnostic data. Netsweeper minimizes the volume of Optional diagnostic data it collects from all devices by collecting some of the data from only a subset of devices (sample).

Specific data items collected are subject to change to give Netsweeper flexibility to collect the data needed for the purposes described. For example, to ensure Netsweeper can troubleshoot the latest performance issue impacting users’ computing experience Netsweeper may need to collect data items that were not collected previously.

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