Privacy Bear Privacy Policy

Effective Date: July 26th, 2023

Personal information - GDPR - Security - Product & Ads - Contact

This Privacy Policy describes Privacy Bear's information practices for its website and browser extension. Your privacy is important to us and we want you to understand what information we collect exactly, how we process them, which pieces you can request us to remove, and how to contact us about this policy. Please read this privacy policy carefully. When it comes to your personal information, most of this policy applies to users who choose to donate to support Privacy Bear. If all you do is use the extension then you're practically invisible to us except for an anonymous, unique ID.

Responsibility for data collection and processing

Controller

The legal person responsible for the collection, processing and / or use of personal information in connection with our websites and products ("Controller") can be contacted here

What do we classify as personal information?

The purpose of data protection is to protect personal information. Personal information means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (" data subject"). An identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular, by reference to an identifier such as a name, location data, an identification number, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person. This information also includes information in connection with payments.

The information Privacy Bear collects

Anonymous information

The Privacy Bear extension captures anonymous usage information including, but not limited to, the version number of the extension, acceptable Ads opt-in, preferred language, opt-in to advanced features like our local content caching service, number of ads blocked, number of blocked requests, browser and operating system type. The Privacy Bear extension also assigns an anonymous, unique ID to each installation. We store aggregate statistics about the installation connected with each user ID indefinitely. We utilize this information to help us identify and fix potential issues with Privacy Bear as well as to determine the performance of Privacy Bear features.

Personal information

When you visit the Privacy Bear website we collect IP address, unique ID, logging of some of the button clicks on our website (clicking download or install for example) and user event logging data. When the Privacy Bear extension communicates with our servers, we receive the computer’s IP address. After six months we will remove any identifying information such as IP address from our log files and databases.

Extension error information

An error report is sent automatically to Privacy Bear's servers when an error occurs in the extension. The report contains the anonymous information stated above together with the current browser version and a description of the error. If a URL exists in the error description then the extension will attempt to remove it. The data is used for troubleshooting and to identify general defects which lead to unexpected crashes or errors. We remove this information after 7 days from our log files and databases.

Server logs

For up to 90 days, we keep logs for general requests made to adblock-max.com or its infrastructure. These logs include the IP address, browser, operating system, and page address. We anonymize the IP address by using a hash to encrypt this information and we immediately delete the original IP address. This data is used to generate usage statistics and to investigate potential security problems. After 90 days, we will remove this information from our log files and databases.

Logs for payment processing requests are kept, in accordance with US tax law retention periods and will be deleted after the end of the respective retention period. Information in such logs includes IP address, email (if provided), address (if provided), name (if provided), browser type and version, operating system, payment amount, payment type, card type, expiration date, and last four digits of the card if a card is used. This data is used to provide insights into the financial performance of Privacy Bear.

Analytics

Privacy Bear uses Google Analytics to gather and aggregate information about traffic patterns and how our website and extension are used. We limit the data sent to Google Analytics, with the sole purpose to improve our extension and website. You can find information about Google Analytics’ data collection practices, as well as its privacy policy here.

For users in the European Union and European Economic Area

We use Google Analytics on our Website, Google Analytics is a web analysis service of Google Inc. ("Google"). Google Analytics uses so-called "cookies" (text files which are stored on your computer and which enable us to analyse your use of our Website). The information gathered by the cookie on your use of our Website (including your abbreviated IP address) is transmitted to a Google server located in the United States and are stored there. Google uses this information to assess your use of our Website, to build reports on the activities for us and to provide more services connected with use of our Website and the internet. It may be possible that Google shall transmit this information to third parties if this is required by law, or if third parties process this information on behalf of Google.

You can deactivate Google Analytics by means of a browser add-on if you do not want to participate in Website analysis. You can download this here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=de

How does Privacy Bear process and disclose collected information

We do our best to improve Privacy Bear

We use the usage and analytics information to maintain and improve the Privacy Bear extension and website, gain insight into how our services are being used, and in our efforts to prevent fraud. The information is only used internally.

Your information is not for sale

We never have and never will sell your personal information to any third party without your consent. We sometimes share anonymized and aggregated information that cannot be associated with an individual with third parties or the public.

Privacy Bear may disclose personal information as required by law

We cooperates with all valid United States law enforcement requests and court orders. If possible, we'll notify you of requests for your information using the email stored in our system. Some circumstances prohibit us from contacting you about a request or order (e.g. an order under 18 U.S.C. § 2705(b) or § 215 of the Patriot Act). "Warrant canary": Privacy Bear has never received an order under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, and if this sentence ever disappears, you'll know it's because we have received such an order -- or similar order -- and the U.S. Government made us delete it.

Privacy Bear discloses personal information as part of business development

We will not transfer your personal data to third parties as a matter of course without letting you know in advance. We will ask for your prior permission unless the transfer of such data is permitted by GDPR or any other applicable EU laws.

Data security

All personal and usage information that we collect is stored in our databases and we take reasonable steps to keep it secure. That said, no database or server is 100% totally secure and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of your data in our system or while being transmitted over the Internet. We do our best effort, but aware that you are using Privacy Bear's website and browser extension at your own risk.

What is the legal basis?

Privacy Bear collects and process your personal information in compliance with the GDPR and the applicable EU laws.

Collection and processing based on your consent: Art. 6 (1) a GDPR, Art. 4 (11) GDPR

We will always ask for your consent to collect and process your personal information for the specific purposes mentionned above, unless the collection and processing of your personal information is permitted by statutory laws. Where you have provided your consent to the collection and processing of your personal information for the above mentionned specific purposes, you have the right to withdraw your consent any time.

Collection and processing is necessary prior to enter into a contract: Art. 6 (1) b GDPR

The collection and processing of your personal information may be necessary for the execution of a contract to which you may be a party. Before entering such contract, the collection and processing of your personal information may also be necessary in order to take steps at your request. This applies for installation and the use of our extension as well as any payment processing in connection with donations.

The collection and processing of your personnal information is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Controller is subject: Art. 6 (1) c GDPR

The collection and processing of your personal information may be necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which Privacy Bear is subject under EU laws or the laws of a EU Member State.

The collection and processing of your personal information is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests: Art. 6 (1) f GDPR

The collection and processing of your personal information may be necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests. We use information collected and processed via subscription downloads, extension update checks, emergency notifications and feedback data sent by you, for technical reasons, including but not limited to, ensuring the security of the extension version used by you. Ensuring the security of Privacy Bear extension is in your and our vital interest and therefore we use such data. We collect and process server logs for technical reasons, including but not limited to, preventing denial of service attacks. Denial of service is typically operated by flooding a targeted machine or resource with superfluous requests attempting to overload systems and prevent some or all legitimate requests from being fulfilled. Preventing such overloads of our systems and any security issues by denial of service attacks is in your and our vital interest and therefore we use the website logs. Furthermore, we collect and process such data to make sure that our website and extension are constantly improved and adapted to the changing requirements for an efficient usability and the technical environment. Ensuring the usability of Privacy Bear websites and extension is in your and our vital interest and therefore we use such data.

What are your rights?

In accordance with the GDPR and the applicable EU laws and to the extent legally permitted, you have the following rights to protect your personal information collected and processed by us:

Information, access, rectification and restriction rights

You have the right to request and receive details about the personal information stored by us about you and information about how we collect, process and store your personal information. Where that is the case, you have the right to gain access to your personal information stored by us. You have the right to request the rectification of your inaccurate personal information. Taking into account the purposes of collecting and processing your data, you have the right to have incomplete personal information completed. You have the right to request restriction of processing.

Erasure of your data

You have the right to request from us the erasure of your personal information, where one of the following grounds applies:

• If we no longer need your personal information for the aforementioned purposes.
• If you chose to withdraw your consent on which the collection and processing is based and where there are no other legal grounds for the collection and processing.
• If you object to the collection and processing and there are no overriding legitimate grounds for the collection and processing.

Please note, if some data needs to be retained for legal purposes pursuant to Art. 17 (3) GDPR, we will restrict the use of such data.

Data portability

You are also entitled (a) to receive all personal information related to you and which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and (b) to transmit that data to another controller.

Right to file a complaint with a supervisory authority

You have the right to file a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the collection and processing of personal information relating to you infringes the GDPR.

Right to object to the processing of your data

You have the right to object, at any time, to the collection and processing of your personal information on grounds relating to your particular situation, when collection and processing is based on our legitimate interest (Art. 6 (1) f GDPR).

Consent withdrawal at any time

You are entitled to withdraw your consent at any time, when you have provided us with your consent to the collection and processing of your personal information for one or more specific purposes.

Changes and updates to this policy

We reserve the right to change this policy for any reason, and may make small, inconsequential changes to this policy with or without notice. Each time this policy is changed we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of this page. When substantial changes are made to the disclosure of your personal information we will attempt to notify you through the email that was provided during the payment process. Your continued use of the Privacy Bear website or browser extension constitutes your agreement to this Privacy Policy and any revisions or updates.

Product Marketing & Ads

About Privacy Bear

Privacy Bear is an ad blocker, we prevent ads from thousands of sources to be displayed on your computer. We also blocks aggressive pop ups. Privacy Bear is NOT full proof, ad networks use new domains every day and we are updating our blocking list to keep up with it as much as possible.

Monetization with Sponsored Search Ads

Privacy Bear monetize by inserting Sponsored Search ads at the top of the Google search results page. Shall you click on one of these ads, we will get a portion of the revenue generated by each clicks. These results are not provided by Google. These search results are based on the keyword you used on Google.
Sponsored Search results are only available on a limited number of markets.

Ads Opt out

Your can opt out any time of any monetization by sending us an email, disabling or uninstalling the extension.

Affiliate Marketing

We may enable at any time an affiliate marketing program that will generate revenue for us upon your web purchases at no additional cost to you.

Email Marketing Message Feature

We are committed to safeguarding your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This section of our Privacy Policy outlines how we handle your data when you use the Email Marketing Message feature in our Chrome browser extension, to promote the extension called Privacy Bear.

1. Data Collection and Usage

When you opt to use the Email Marketing Message feature, the Extension will collect certain data from your email account solely for the purpose of promoting the Privacy Bear extension. This data may include but is not limited to:

• Your email address
• Recipient email addresses
• Email subject lines
• Email body content

The collected data will be used to customize and insert marketing messages within your outgoing emails to promote the Privacy Bear extension. We will not access or read the content of your emails for any other purpose beyond the marketing message insertion.

2. Consent

By enabling the Email Marketing Message feature, you expressly provide consent to process and use your email data as described in this section. You also acknowledge that the marketing messages may be visible to recipients of your emails.

3. Data Security

The security of your data is of utmost importance to us. We implement industry-standard security measures to protect the data collected through the Email Marketing Message feature. All data transmission and storage will be encrypted to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

4. Data Retention

We will retain the collected data for the duration of your use of the Email Marketing Message feature. If you decide to disable the feature or uninstall the Extension, we will promptly delete all data related to the Email Marketing Message feature from our servers.

5. Third-Party Integration

To provide the Email Marketing Message feature, we may collaborate with third-party service providers. These providers will only process your data on our behalf and are strictly bound by confidentiality agreements. We will never sell, rent, or lease your email data to any third party for marketing purposes.

6. Opt-Out

We understand that you may change your mind about using the Email Marketing Message feature. If you wish to stop receiving marketing messages in your outgoing emails, you can contact us using the form and we will disable this feature for you. Disabling the feature will prevent any further marketing messages from being added to your emails.

Contact

You are always very welcome to contact us for questions, comments or suggestion about our privacy policy using the form below or by regular mail :

Fondation Suisse pour la Protection de la vie privée
Bremgartenstrasse
Niederrohrdorf, 5443
CH