Last Updated: June 20, 2020
We are serious about protecting the privacy of our users. This Privacy Policy describes how we use and protect your personal data. It applies to GeerGarage.com and its related mobile application (which we have collectively called the “website” in this policy).The website is operated by GeerGarage, Inc (“GeerGarage,” “we,” or “us”). As used in this Privacy Policy, the terms “users” or “you” refer to Renters who use the website to look for Gear to rent, Owners of gear who use the website and make their Gear available for rent, and general users who visit the website.
Information we collect about you will be used in the manner explained in this Privacy Policy. The website may contain links to third parties’ sites. We’re not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those sites. Therefore, please read carefully any privacy policies on those sites before either agreeing to their terms or using those sites. Unless we explain otherwise in this policy, the words and phrases used in this Privacy Policy have the same meaning as in the Terms of Service for the website (the “Terms“).
By providing information to us when subscribing, contacting us or otherwise using the website, you expressly agree to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy applies from the date last updated as noted at the top of this page. We may occasionally amend this Privacy Policy to reflect regulatory requirements, advances in technology, website updates and changes in our information collection and disclosure practices. Any new policy will automatically be effective when it is published on the website. Your continued use of the website after we make changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes, so you should therefore return here regularly to view our most up to date Privacy Policy. You should also print a copy for your records.
Who Processes Your Personal Data and Where
Your personal data (also referred to as personal information) - that is, data that identifies you, or from which you are identifiable - will be collected, processed, stored and used by us, and passed to and processed by GeerGarage and other data processors acting under our instructions. By using our website, you acknowledge and agree that you may be transferring your personal data outside of the country in which you have contributed it (“your country”), and that you consent to any transfer of information outside of your country. These countries may not have similar data protection laws to those that apply in your country. However, if we transfer your personal data outside of your country in this way, we will take steps to try to ensure that your privacy rights are protected in compliance with applicable data protection law, this Privacy Policy, and the terms of our Safe Harbor self-certification.
Because GeerGarage does not pursue business in the European Union (“EU”), actively target or market goods and services to EU persons, actively engage in tracking and collecting information about EU residents online, or monitor and create profiles of EU persons that visit the website, we are not subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). If you are a EU resident, be aware that GDPR mandates and disclosure requirements will not apply to your use of the website.
The Information We Gather
At various times you may give your personal data to us. For example, in order to process a request or inquiry from you, we may need to know all or some of the following: your full name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, your current location, and a method of payment. You may also give personal data to us at other times, such as when registering on the website or when submitting a Listing for Gear. We may also gather information from cookies or web beacons. You can find out more about how they operate in the relevant section of this policy below. We also collect IP addresses, mobile device identifier details, your location, navigation and click-stream data, the time of accessing the website, Gear you viewed, what you searched for, the duration of your visit, and other details of your activity on the website. If you ask us to connect with other sites (for example if you ask us to connect with your Facebook account) we may get information that way too. For further details on how we collect personal data, see below. We obtain data from you either by you inputting your personal details, by the automatic collection of information about you as you use the website, when we speak to you, or from third parties. Third party information may include credit information which we use to prevent and detect fraud, information from your mobile provider if you are accessing the website over a mobile device or information from a third party such as a social media or travel opinions site where you have asked us to share your data with them.
Please remember that this Privacy Policy does not apply to websites or other domains that are maintained or operated by third parties or our affiliates. Our website may link to third-party websites and services, but these links are not endorsements of these sites, and this Privacy Policy does not extend to them. When you leave our website and visit the websites of our trusted third-party partners, you may be asked to provide personal information to them such as biometric data or a copy of your government-issued identification. We do not collect or store the personal information collected by these trusted-third party partners. Because this Privacy Policy is not enforced on these third-party websites, we encourage you to read any posted privacy policy of the third-party website before using the service or site and providing any information.
How We Use Your Personal Data
Our primary purpose in collecting your personal data is to provide you with the Services you request and those which we believe will optimize your use of the website. You agree that we may use your personal data for the following purposes:
We collate statistics about website traffic, sales and other commercial information which we pass onto third parties to assist us in improving the Services we provide to you. We also use demographic information to tailor the website and we share that information with third parties so that they can build up a better picture of our customer base and general consumer trends. If you are a Member, we may also contact you about your account and your use of our Services.
How We May Disclose Your Personal Data
We may disclose your personal data to enforce our policies, or where we are permitted to do so by applicable law, such as in response to a request by a law enforcement or governmental authority, or in connection with actual or proposed litigation, or to protect our property, people and other rights or interests.
We may also share your personal data with:
You may have accessed our website through a hyperlink from the site of one of our partners. If so, you consent to your personal details and purchase information, including behavioral patterns, being shared with that trading partner in accordance with our contractual relationship with them. In the event that GeerGarage is sold, or some of its assets transferred to a third party, your personal information may also be transferred. Potential purchasers and their advisors may have access to data as part of the sale process. Similarly, your personal information may be passed on to a successor in interest in the unlikely event of a liquidation, bankruptcy, or administration. Our customer database could be sold separately from the rest of the business, in whole or in a number of parts. It could be that the purchaser’s business is different from ours, too.
Newsletters
If you sign up as a Member on the website, you may receive our newsletter, which is an integral part of the Services we provide. Renters will be given the option to receive our Renter newsletter when they register with us. We may offer different newsletters from time to time intended to enhance the Services we offer. Users may cancel their subscription to these newsletters at any time, although it may take a short while for the changes in your preferences to become effective.
Surveys
We also use surveys to collect information about our users. From time to time, we request users’ input in order to evaluate potential features and services. The decision to answer a survey is completely yours. We use information gathered from surveys to improve our services.
Games
From time to time we may run games on the website. These games may allow for connectivity with other users or third parties. If that is the case you consent to your personal data being transferred accordingly.
Telephone Calls; Text and SMS Messages
As well as collecting data online and from correspondence we may also speak with you face to face (for example at an Owner’s meeting) or by telephone. We frequently record telephone conversations. Those recordings are also governed by this Privacy Policy and we keep this data in the same way that we keep other data. Recordings of calls may also be transferred between locations or processed worldwide.
By providing your mobile phone number, you consent to receive text messages or SMS push messages from us which may be sent by an automatic telephone dialing system. Text or SMS push messages may contain information about a reservation, the Services, special offers, and/or services that may be of interest to you. You understand that message and data rates may apply. You can respond STOP to cancel marketing text or SMS push messages.
Inquiries
Renters may send inquiries to Owners via clickable links on the Listings on the website. If you choose to send an inquiry through these links, your personal information, including your email address and any other information you supply, will be visible to the Member in question so that they might reply directly to you. Your details may also be sent to us and we may have access to those communications even if you contact the Member directly. Additionally, those messages may be hosted on, be processed by or transmitted through our servers. If you call the Member, you may be asked to leave a return telephone number. Do not share information in the e-mail or phone call that you are not prepared to allow the other Member and GeerGarage to have, including, but not limited to, credit card and bank account information. Inquiries can be sent to the individual Member you selected and to our system. The resulting inquiry is available for review by the Member to whom it was initially addressed and to our customer service people, who may share past inquiry information, or information related to past stays including your contact details with Members. We may also from time to time, use third party e-mail servers to send and track receipt of inquiry emails, and analyze the pattern of inquiry usage reported by these third-party tracking systems.
How Do We Protect Your Personal Information Once We Have It?
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to guard against unauthorized or unlawful processing of your personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, your personal data. While no system is completely secure, we believe the measures implemented by the website reduce our vulnerability to security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved. We have security measures in place to protect our user database and access to this database is restricted internally. However, it remains your responsibility:
If you have asked us to share data with third party websites, however (such as Facebook), their servers may not be secure. Credit card information is generally stored by our credit card processing partners and we ask them to keep that data secure. We also use third parties to help us optimize our website flow, content and advertising (see below). Note that, despite the measures taken by us and the third parties we engage, the internet is not secure. As a result, others may nevertheless unlawfully intercept or access private transmissions or data.
What Are Cookies, Web Beacons and Clear GIFs and Why Do We Use Them?
A “cookie” is a small file placed on your hard drive by some of our web pages. We, or third parties we do business with, may use cookies to help us analyze our web page flow, customize our Services, content and advertising, measure promotional effectiveness and promote trust and safety. Cookies are commonly used at most major transactional websites in much the same way we use them here at our website. You may delete and block all cookies from this website, but parts of the website will not work.
Even if you are only browsing the website certain information (including computer and connection information, browser type and version, operating system and platform details, and the time of accessing the website) is automatically collected about you. This information will be collected every time you access the website and it will be used for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.
You can reduce the information cookies collect from your device. An easy way of doing this is often to change the settings in your browser. If you do that you should know that (a) your use of the website may be adversely affected (and possibly entirely prevented), (b) your experience of this website and other sites that use cookies to enhance or personalize your experience may be adversely affected, and (c) you may not be presented with advertising that reflects the way that you use our website and other sites. You find out how to make these changes to your browser at www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will send cookies as soon as you visit our website. By using the website you consent to this, unless you change your browser settings. We gather and share information concerning the use of the website by users with one or more third-party tracking companies for the purpose of reporting statistics. To do this, some of the pages you visit on our website use electronic images placed in the web page code, called pixel tags (also called “clear GIFs” or “web beacons”) that can serve many of the same purposes as cookies.
Web beacons may be used to track the traffic patterns of users from one page to another in order to maximize web traffic flow. Our third-party advertising service providers may also use web beacons to recognize you when you visit the website and to help determine how you found the website. We are also committed to providing you with relevant content and information. To do this, we may, through cookies and other technologies used on this website, collect information about you, such as your search patterns. We may use this information, together with other information we have collected about you from other sources, to serve you with more relevant ads on our website, across the internet, and on other devices that you may use.
If you would like more information about this and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.
Phishing or False emails
If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from us or one of our Members that requests personal information (such as your credit card, login, or password), or that asks you to verify or confirm your account or other personal information by clicking on a link, that email was likely to have been sent by someone trying to unlawfully obtain your information, sometimes referred to as a “phisher” or “spoofer.” We do not ask for this type of information in an email. Do not provide the information or click on the link. Please contact us at support@geergarage.com if you get an email like this.
Job applicants, current and former employees
If you use the website to apply to work with us, we will use the information you supply to process your application and to monitor recruitment statistics. Where we want to disclose information to a third party, for example, where we want to take up a reference, will not do so without informing you beforehand unless the disclosure is required by law. Personal information about unsuccessful candidates will be held for twelve (12) months after the recruitment exercise has been completed, it will then be destroyed or deleted. We retain de-personalized statistical information about applicants to help inform our recruitment activities, but individuals should not be identifiable from that data. GeerGarage is based in the US and employee and recruitment data is held there.
Once a person has taken up employment with us, we will compile a file relating to their employment. At that stage we will give you more details about how we store employee details.
How do I correct or update my information?
You can see personal information processed by us. The best way of seeing this if you are an Owner is to log on to your account by using the ‘Owner Login’ tab at the top of the screen. You can see your basic details and correct or update them there at any time to suit you. We also want to give you the opportunity to identify any inaccuracies in any other information we hold about you or your Gear. Where possible, if we’re told about the inaccuracy of any personal information, we will make appropriate corrections. You can ask to see, update or amend any information we hold on you by contacting us.
How do I opt-out of receiving marketing communications from you?
We will contact you from time to time for marketing purposes. Unless you have opted out, this could include contacting you by phone or email. You may opt-out of receiving marketing communications from us by the following means:
Please remember that if you change your preferences it may take a short time for those preferences to become effective.
Your California Privacy Rights
Pursuant to California Civil Code Section § 1798.83, we will not disclose or share your personal information with third parties for the purposes of third-party marketing to you without your prior consent.
Other than as disclosed in this Privacy Policy, the website does not track users over time and across third-party websites to provide targeted advertising. Therefore, the website does not operate any differently when it receives Do Not Track (“DNT”) signals from your internet web browser.
If you are a California consumer, as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, you are afforded additional rights with respect to your “Personal Information” as that term is explicitly defined under California law. Any Personal Information we collect is collected for the commercial purpose of effectively providing our services to you, as well as enabling you to learn more about, and benefit from, our services. You may exercise each of your rights as identified below, subject to our verification of your identity.
Access: You may email us at support@geergarage.com to request a copy of the Personal Information our website databases currently contain.
Prohibit Data Sharing. When applicable, you may prohibit the sharing of your Personal Information by submitting a request via email to support@geergarage.com. In your email, please explain how you wish us to prohibit the sharing of your personal data, and which categories of third parties you want to prohibit from receiving your Personal Information. When such prohibitions are not possible to provide our services to you, we will advise you accordingly. You can then choose to exercise any other rights under this Privacy Policy.
Portability. Upon request and when possible, we can provide you with copies of your Personal Information. You may submit a request via email to support@geergarage.com. When such a request cannot be honored, we will advise you accordingly. You can then choose to exercise any other rights under this Privacy Policy.
Deletion. If you should wish to cease use of our website and have your Personal Information deleted from our website, then you may submit a request by emailing us at support@geergarage.com. Upon receipt of such a request for deletion, we will confirm receipt and will confirm once your Personal Information has been deleted. Where applicable, we will ensure such changes are shared with trusted third parties.
We do not sell your Personal Information. If we ever decide to sell Personal Information, we will update you via this Privacy Policy and include a link entitled “Do Not Sell My Personal Information,” to provide you with an opportunity to opt out of sales of your Personal Information. In addition to the email address provided above, you may also submit requests at the following toll-free telephone number: 1-(425)-224-6196 or at the mailing address: 4911 Fremont Avenue N Apt 204, Seattle, WA 98103.
In addition, if a California resident exercises his or her rights under California law, including the CCPA, we shall not discriminate against that California resident by denying our goods or services, charging different prices or rates to similarly situated consumers, providing a different level or quality of our goods or services, or taking any other adverse action.
Children’s Issues
We will not knowingly collect any information from individuals under the age of 13. If you are under the minimum age required for use of the Services, do not use or provide any information on the Services or on or through any of its features, register on the Services, make any purchases through the Services, use any of the interactive or public comment features of the Services or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use. Should we determine that you do not meet the age requirements for using our Services, your registration will be terminated immediately. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a user under the required minimum age, we will delete that information.
How long will we keep your personal data?
We will retain your personal data only as long as is necessary for the purposes to which you consent under the Terms and this Privacy Policy, or as is required by applicable law, and then we will delete it.
How do I contact you?
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, the practices of this website, or your dealings with this website, we encourage you to contact us at support@geergarage.com.