Privacy Policy

ObesityHelp takes the issue of online privacy seriously. It is important that our members know what information we collect and how it will be used.

What information do we collect?

We collect information about you to deliver a better experience while visiting ObesityHelp.com. Information collected helps us define our audience, and determine what types of services our members need most.
 
This information can be broken down into two categories:
 
  1. Information you provide us. Although most of our site is available to the general public, some areas require membership. When registering, you provide us with general information about you, such as:

    First Name, Last Name, Email, Your Surgical Status, and Postal Code.

    You also provide us information about yourself while using our various tools. For example, we provide you with the ability to upload photos, track your weight, upload avatars, and share your personal goals. Our tools allow you to adjust the privacy settings that you are most comfortable with so you can maximize your experience on our site.

  2. Information we gather from you using our services. We may also collect information about how you use our services. Some of this information helps us adapt our website to better serve your needs. This could include:
1.     Device Information. This could include browser version, operating system and mobile device name.

2.     Logs. When using ObesityHelp.com we automatically collect certain information in our server logs. This information usually includes the pages you visited and the times you visited them.

What we do with the information we collect.

We use this information to understand your needs and provide you with better service, in particular for the following reasons:

  • Improve our products and services.
  • We may periodically send you promotional emails about new products and services, special offers, and other relevant information.
  • We may contact you for market research purposes. We will use the appropriate method of contact, based on your contact preferences.
  • We may use your information to adjust the website to be more relevant to you and your interests.
  • If you have requested, we may share your information with third-parties for marketing and promotional purposes.
  • If you have requested surgery placement assistance, we may share your information with surgeons/surgery centers/or hospitals for the purpose of helping you locate a suitable program in your area.
  • We will never sell your information.
  • Internal record keeping.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Cookies

A “cookie? is a small file containing a string of characters that is sent to your computer when you visit a website. When you visit the website again, the cookie allows that site to recognize your browser. Cookies may store user preferences and other information. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some website features or services may not function properly without cookies.

Updating your personal information

We try to be transparent with data we collect about you.  You can view this information on the settings page, and are encouraged to correct any inaccuracies.  We will attempt to correct incorrect info we have if you point it out, but we reserve the right to decline unreasonable requests.  If you wish to deactivate your account, you can do so here.  Deactivating your account will remove your personal information from ObesityHelp.com, however any message board posts will continue to display as a “deactivated member?.  If the content of your posts contain any personal information, we ask that you remove it before deactivating.  You can review a list of your postings here.  It may take a period of time before changes percolate through all our servers and the Internet as a whole.  For technical reasons, and to remain in compliance with any laws, residual copies of deleted data may remain in our database and or backup systems, but will no longer be displayed publicly on our site.

Public information and your safety

ObesityHelp is dedicated to the education, empowerment, and support of all individuals affected by obesity, along with their families, friends, employers, surgeons and physicians. For this reason, we have always been a public source of information that does not require membership to access. A consequence of being open is that most information on ObesityHelp.com can be indexed by search engines, shared by social services, and linked to by other websites.  We have limited control over the indexing, linking and sharing of your publicly shared content on ObesityHelp.com, however, we have created customized tools in order to help you protect your privacy. If you are concerned about your privacy, here are some ways to protect your privacy while enjoying our site:
 
  • Use a non-identifiable username as your display name instead of your real name.
    change your display name preference
  • Upload an avatar that is not a picture of you or someone in your family.
    change your avatar
  • Make your profile “Visible to friends Only?.
    change your profile visibility
  • Adjust photo and comment settings in your photo albums to fit your comfort level.  Apply the adult content flag to your plastic surgery photos and utilize the Password Protect option for sensitive surgical photos, only giving out the password to those you trust.  change your photo settings
  • Control who can see your Health Tracker information, which can be displayed in community updates, widgets & tickers, and on your health professional's profile/website. change your health tracker settings
  • Adjust your blog setting visibility and commenting process.  You can utilize your blog as a personal diary, share with friends only, normal site visitors, or share it publicly.  
    change your blog settings
  • When posting on our message boards, do not share information that could be used to identify who you are. For example, do not include your real name in your posts or signature.
 
Affiliates

You can opt in to allow your surgeon to display some of your profile information on their own site.  We do not control the content displayed on affiliate sites.  Based on your desire to be contacted regarding WLS procedure, your contact information may be shared with surgeons in our network.  This information is made available to surgeons on our network at your request (e.g. opt in).

                                                                                                                         
Published:  2/16/2012

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