TechTarget, Inc. Privacy Policy

Introduction

TechTarget, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, “TechTarget”) are committed to protecting our users' privacy. This Privacy Policy is designed to inform users of TechTarget’s network of websites about how TechTarget gathers and uses information provided to, or collected by, TechTarget and under what circumstances TechTarget will disclose such information. TechTarget will take reasonable steps to protect user privacy consistent with the guidelines set forth in this Privacy Policy and with the laws of the United States and all other applicable jurisdictions.

TechTarget has certified to the United States Department of Commerce that it adheres to the U.S.-EU Safe Harbor Framework and the U.S. – Swiss Safe Harbor Framework developed by the United States Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use and retention of personal information from European Union member countries and Switzerland. TechTarget has certified that it adheres to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principals of notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access and enforcement. To learn more about the Safe Harbor program, and to view TechTarget’s certification, please visit www.export.gov/safeharbor/.

spacer TechTarget’s EU and Swiss Safe Harbor Privacy Policy describes the manner in which TechTarget adheres to the seven Safe Harbor principles of Notice, Choice, Onward Transfer, Access, Security, Data Integrity and Enforcement.

Privacy Policy Details

  • Key Definitions
  • This Privacy Policy Does Not Apply To Third Party Websites
  • What Information Do We Collect?
  • Use and Disclosure of the Information We Collect
  • How Can You Opt Out of Use and Disclosure of Your Information?
  • Security
  • Access and Updating of Information
  • General
  • Enforcement

Key Definitions

In this Privacy Policy, we use the following key definitions (other terms are defined in the body of the Policy):

“Co-Branded Site” means a website hosted by a third party business partner of TechTarget, the content and branding of which is shared with that third party business partner under contractual obligations between TechTarget and our partner.

“Content” means a white paper, analyst report, webcast, videocast, newsletter, software demo or other document or media presentation that is linked to or displayed on a Site.

“Content Sponsor” means a third party that owns or sponsors Content on the Site(s).

“Member” means a User that (i) registers on one of the Sites to become a member of that Site, (ii) subscribes to a newsletter on one of the Sites or (iii) registers to requests demos, brochures or other product information on or from a Site.

“Member Information” means information which you provide which may include, but shall not be limited to: your name and corporate title, the name of your company and the department in which you work, your industry group, country, zip code, telephone number, information about software or hardware your company is using, plans your company may have to purchase additional information technology, as well as (i) any Supplemental Information (as defined below) and (ii) Clickstream Data (as defined below) which the Company collects.

“Sites” “TechTarget Site” or “Websites” means the network of websites owned and operated by TechTarget, including bitpipe.com, knowledgestorm.com and the TechnologyGuide.com sites. For purposes hereof, Co-Branded Sites shall be included in the definition of “Sites” and “Websites” except as expressly otherwise provided for herein.

“Sponsored Content” means Content available through the Site(s) and owned or sponsored by a third party.

“Tracking Technology” means Cookies, Clear GIFs, serving tracking technologies or other technology solutions performing similar functions that are used by TechTarget.

“User” or “you” means any person viewing any page of any of the Sites.

This Privacy Policy Does Not Apply To Third Party Websites

Some Sponsored Content made available through the Sites is maintained on the website of the Content Sponsor, and not on a TechTarget Site. This means that when you are on a TechTarget Site and click through to that Sponsored Content, you may be leaving the TechTarget Site and, in some cases, will be redirected to the site of the Content Sponsor and subject to the policies of that Content Sponsor. TechTarget Sites also feature ads from third parties (“Advertisers”); when you click on an ad, you will be leaving the TechTarget network of Sites and will be redirected to the Advertiser’s site and subject to the policies of that Advertiser. It should be clear to you when either of these site transfers occur as the “look and feel” of your web page will change, and the URL will no longer refer to the url of a TechTarget Site. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use of, or disclosure of any information you choose to disclose to the Advertiser or Content Sponsor on, the Advertiser or Content Sponsor site.

What Information Do We Collect?

Member Information: TechTarget’s primary goal in collecting Member Information is to provide you with the best and most useful content and services, and to offer you opportunities to obtain other products and services from us and our partners. Because we derive revenue mainly from advertising, collecting information is essential to keeping our services available to users. We collect Member Information when you provide it to us through the following: when you register on one of our Sites, subscribe to an e-mail newsletter, register for one of our events or register to request certain Content or through surveys, as well as when you register to receive a demonstration or “test-drive” software products. Several of the services that we offer on our Sites may require registration as a condition of use. Once you register with one of the TechTarget Sites, you are no longer anonymous to us. Additionally, we collect Clickstream Data, which becomes part of your Member Information.

Clickstream Data: When you access a Site, a small file called a “cookie” is placed on your hard drive. If you register as a Member, TechTarget will use cookies to authenticate your identity when you visit the Sites, collect the data generated in connection with your clickstream activity on the Sites (“Clickstream Data”) and to personalize your user experience on the Sites, including by serving and managing ads based on your activity on the Sites. In all cases, TechTarget uses cookies to track the Clickstream Data of Members on the Sites and to obtain non-personally identifiable information from Users, such as the number of visits to the Sites that a certain User has made, the movement of the User through the Sites, and the searches that the User conducts on the Sites. Please note that TechTarget does not collect Clickstream Data on any websites other than the Sites. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some TechTarget features and services may not be available to you if your cookies are disabled. We use electronic images known as "clear GIFs" (sometimes called "transparent GIFs", "Web bugs", “pixel tags” or "beacons") that allow us to track general user traffic patterns. TechTarget also automatically receives and records information from our servers and from your browser, including your IP address, the time, and information about the page you requested.

Third Party Clickstream Data: When you visit the Sites, we may also allow our third party partners to place their own cookies on your computer in order to serve you with relevant advertising online. This third party cookie may transfer non-personally identifiable information to the third party partner in order for them to track your activity when you visit the Sites and on sites outside the TechTarget network for purposes of serving you ads on topics in which you have a demonstrated interest based on your Clickstream Data; please note that we do not share Member Information with these third parties and we can only access cookies that we set on your computer, not the cookies sent to you by other companies. Also, when you leave the TechTarget network of Sites by clicking on Sponsored Content or advertising, these third parties may place cookies or clear GIFs on your computer. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use and disclosure of any information collected by third parties, such as through cookies or clear GIFs, when you visit their web sites or by third parties regarding your clickstream activity on sites other than TechTarget’s network of Sites.

Event Registration Information: When you register on a Site to attend a TechTarget in person event, the registration form requires Users to provide information such as your name and corporate title, company name, address, telephone, email address and/or additional information, including information about software or hardware your company is using, plans your company may have to purchase additional information technology, etc. (“Event Registration Information”).

Third Party Personal Information: The Sites include an “email a friend” feature, which allows a User to email Content to a third party; we only use the email address of that person for purposes of emailing that Content to that person.

Software Demo/Brochure Registration Information: Some of the Sites offer downloads of free demonstration software and brochures for multiple software solutions. Once a User registers to receive a demo or brochure, their registration information is shared with vendors and/or resellers of those software solutions. This information is forwarded to the vendor and/or reseller so that the User can receive additional information on products or services from that vendor and/or reseller. Additionally, this registration information may also be provided to vendors and/or resellers of similar solutions.

User Generated Content: Some Sites feature user generated content in the form of a user review section or forum communities. In order to interact in these forums, a User must first complete the applicable registration form and, in some case, terms of service for the Site. The information provided by the User may be displayed in the User's public profile in our forums and can be viewed by all visitors to this Site. However, to ensure total privacy of our Users, we do not display any User e-mail addresses.

Supplementary Information: TechTarget may supplement Member Information with information about a Member that is publicly available or that is made available by third parties through paid subscriptions. For example, if a Member provides the name of the company for whom she works, we may obtain information showing the number of employees and estimated annual turnover for that company. This information is called “Supplementary Information” and, once added to Member Information, is deemed to be included in that definition.

User System Information: TechTarget’s webcast application provides a system test that determines whether you can view a webcast from your computer. This information is used to optimize the viewing experience and to troubleshoot webcast viewing problems. We do not collect or retain personally identifiable information in conducting these tests.

Transaction Information: When you order paid Sponsored Content from the Sites or register to attend a paid in-person event on the Sites, we ask you to complete an order form that requests certain information from you, including a credit card number and expiration date and general contact details.

Use and Disclosure of Information We Collect

Member Information: The Content Sponsors make the Sponsored Content available through TechTarget in return for receiving the Member Information of Users who request their Sponsored Content, as well as, in certain cases, Clickstream Data from Users. Accordingly, if you request Sponsored Content, TechTarget may disclose your Member Information to the Content Sponsor, as set forth in more detail below. If you do not want this information disclosed to a Content Sponsor, do not request Sponsored Content. TechTarget’s customer agreements with the Content Sponsors: (a) provide that the Content Sponsor may use this information to contact you via common methods of communication; and (b) prohibit disclosure of the information to any third party other than agents of the Content Sponsor for the permitted marketing purposes set forth above. You should contact the Content Sponsor directly if you have any questions about their use of this information. We use Member Information to deliver email newsletters on topics of interest to Members who have requested those services. We may also send general promotional and marketing materials to our Members, including marketing research surveys. TechTarget, in some cases utilizing a third party provider, deploys surveys and incentives. We use Member Information in aggregated form to understand our customer base and to market our services to our customers.

Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy, TechTarget will not disclose Member Information to any third parties, unless we are required to do so by law, regulation or court order.

Clickstream Data: TechTarget uses Cookies to collect Clickstream Data on the Sites. TechTarget uses Cookies to link Members and their activity to their Member Information. Linking Members to their Member Information allows our system to confirm a user's identity on the Sites and to save and recognize Member log-in information so that Members do not have to log in each time they visit the Sites or request Sponsored Content. We use Tracking Technologies for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to:

  • Help us recognize your computer as a previous visitor, and save and remember any preferences that may have been set while you were visiting one of our Web Sites or a Co-Branded Site.
  • Track, accumulate and report information on our Sites and Content usage to our partners and customers so that they can measure the effectiveness of advertisements and content viewed on the Web Sites;
  • Help us customize the content and advertisements you are shown while visiting our Web Sites and potentially other web sites online;
  • Determine which features Users like best to help us improve our Content and Sites, personalize your user experience, and measure overall Site effectiveness; and
  • Disclose Activity Intelligence information as detailed below.
  • Disclose aggregated information as detailed below.

Co-Branded Websites: Member Information collected when you register or log in on a Co-Branded Site, and Clickstream Data collected when on the Co-Branded Site, are generally available both to TechTarget and that partner. However, each partner's use of that Member Information is governed by that partner's privacy policy and may be used for follow up by telephone, email or other common methods. You should contact these partners directly if you have any questions about their use of this information.

Disclos

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