Gearwire Privacy Policy

Gearwire respects your privacy. Our default position is to ask you upfront for your personal information and to tell you how we plan to use it. We feel the smartest way to build trust is to be trustworthy. We want you to know what's going on behind the scenes so you will continue to visit and enjoy our site!

At the same time, you should be aware that collecting user information is a necessary part of providing any Web service. When you surf the Web, pretty much everything you do creates a log record on a server somewhere, so complete anonymity is impractical if possible at all. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either uninformed or simply not being upfront about it.

The good news is that most of this type of information is generated automatically by computers (including yours) and is valuable only in the aggregate. For example, things like IP addresses tell us how many different people are visiting the site, but they don't tell us anything about who those people are as individuals. Gearwire, like nearly every site, collects such information on a routine basis. Other things include but are not limited to browser type, language settings, date and time data, and cookies. Such information lets us learn how the Gearwire site is being used and helps us figure out ways to improve the experience.

Signing up to use Gearwire services--such as posting on forum boards--requires some information that can identify you, but not in a very interesting (i.e., sensitive) way. Namely, when you set up a Gearwire account, we ask for your name, email address and a password to get you up and running and to make sure you are a person and not a spam bot.

The real sensitive stuff is commonly referred to as personally identifying information (PII), and it includes things like your social security number, phone number, address, etc. You may submit some of this information in the course of your interactions with Gearwire. We pledge to treat your PII with the utmost respect. The balance of this document details how we do so.

Cookies

Geawire may store a "cookie" file on your computer that uniquely identifies your browser. Cookies enable us to store your preferences, analyze how our visitors use the site, and collect data to improve the Gearwire service. If you disable cookies in your browser, you might not be able to access all the features on the Gearwire site.

Your PII

Gearwire takes an opt-in approach to sharing your PII. That is, we will ask for your permission before we rent or sell your personally identifying information to anyone else. The following exceptions apply:

• We may retain third-party companies to process PII data for us, but these companies will not be allowed to share your PII with anyone else as PII. In other words, it will all be handled in the strictest confidence.
• We may also share PII data if required by law or we conclude that such disclosure is necessary to preserve the rights, legal standing, property, or safety of Gearwire, our members, our affiliates, or the public.
• We may share your Gearwire account information among our services if doing so is necessary to integrate those services. In other words, we may tie your account info into new parts of the Gearwire site if we expand, as hopefully we will!
• We may leverage information about your behavior across sites with which we have established relationships. The purpose of this practice is to personalize your experience. Understand that any PII you share with these sites may be tied together for this purpose. However, Gearwire will not sell or rent PII you provide via the Gearwire site without explicitly notifying you or providing you with an opportunity to opt out.
• We may transfer PII to data storage and processing facilities that are not located in your country. By using the Gearwire site you consent to such transfer. Such transfer is bound by the limits and obligations described in this policy document.
• If Gearwire gets acquired by another company, we will send notice prior to any transfer of your PII or change in policy regarding your PII.
• Any data we collect can be used in the aggregate in any way (such as how many different people visited a new feature on the site). This aggregation is not bound or limited by these terms and will very likely be shared, crunched and analyzed in minute detail.

The security of your information

Gearwire takes great pains to secure your information against theft, destruction, and unauthorized alteration. Unless we gain your permission to do otherwise, access to your PII is granted on "need-to-know" basis. Only employees who must access your PII in order to operate, maintain, or expand Gearwire services will be able to do so.

You are responsible for updating your information. Gearwire may periodically ask you for current information, but in the end its yours, so please keep it up-to-date.

Links

Gearwire exerts no control over the privacy policies of external sites linked to from any Gearwire page. Be aware that external sites will have their own policies regarding cookies, data collection, and the use of PII.

Gearwire may format links in a way that indicates whether or not they have been clicked. This information is useful for enhancing the quality of the Gearwire site--for example, in gauging the effectiveness of our internal site features.

Gearwire is a network of sites, not just gearwire.com. All references to "Gearwire" in this privacy policy refer to this network of sites.

Changes to the Gearwire privacy policy

Be aware that Gearwire's privacy policy is subject to change as circumstances warrant. Such changes will be reflected on this page, so check back periodically.

We are open to questions and suggestions. Don't hesitate to contact Gearwire at any time.