Hotwire Communications’ Website Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
This website is an online information and communication service provided by Hotwire Communications. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using this site. By using this site, you signify your agreement with these Terms of Use. If you do not agree with any of the below Terms of Use, do not use this site. Hotwire Communications reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, alter or otherwise update these Terms of Use at any time. Such modifications shall be effective immediately upon posting of the modified Terms of Use. By using this service after we have posted notice of such modifications, alterations, or updates, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. Hotwire Communications retains the right to deny access to anyone at its complete discretion for any reason including for violation of any of these Terms of Use. This website provides links to many other websites affiliated with Hotwire Communications that may have Terms of Use Policies different from or in addition to, the Terms of Use specified herein, particularly in the case of websites hosting third-party content or that allow postings by third parties. By accessing such websites through links provided on this website, you agree to abide by each applicable Terms of Use policy as therein specified. In addition, please read and comply with the terms and conditions of Hotwire Communications’ Visitor Agreement located at www.gethowired.com/terms.
Internet Privacy Policy
As always, the privacy and security of your personal information is our #1 priority, and we want you to be aware of how we collect and handle information on our site. When you visit www.gethotwired.com, we may collect the following information about your visit:
- Anonymous statistics are collected as you browse the site
- The personal information you knowingly give us
What information does this website gather?
Hotwire Communications (“Hotwire”) collects personal information such as name, address, and e-mail address when you knowingly provide it to us. In addition, Hotwire may collect other information provided by you, such as your credit card number, billing address, Social Security number (SSN), and date of birth, when you set up an online account or order service online. Our Web servers automatically collect statistical information about your visit such as pages visited and which browsers are used to visit our site. None of this information is associated with you as an individual (see information about cookies). We use these statistics to monitor our site's performance and to make it easier for you to use.
What happens when I provide personal information on this website?
When you supply information for a specific purpose, such as the online ordering of a Hotwire service, we use the information for that purpose. When you use our website to order services, we may use this individually identifiable information as we would if obtained in a non-electronic manner.
If the way we use personally identifiable information changes, Hotwire will contact you notifying you of this change and giving you the opportunity to opt-out of such use.
Does Hotwire sell or give my information to non-Hotwire companies?
No. We do not sell or disclose individually identifiable information obtained online about our visitors to anyone outside of Hotwire. The only exceptions to this rule are the following:
- If you specifically authorize Hotwire to share your information with another company
- It is required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our website
- Disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of customers, employees, or property
- Sharing data with our authorized vendors, contractors, and agents, only to the extent necessary for them to perform their work, in order that Hotwire can carry out certain functions in marketing and delivering services to you.
Does Hotwire accommodate links to other sites?
Yes. Our site contains links to other websites. We are not responsible for the content or the privacy practices employed by other sites. However, in some instances where a service is provided through a non-Hotwire partner or supplier site, such as Online Bill Pay, you can feel confident that your individually identifiable information will be protected. Hotwire requires suppliers not to use the information for any purpose other than the purpose for which it was originally collected, protecting the privacy of your information.
What does Hotwire do with non-personally identifiable information collected automatically?
Hotwire uses cookies to collect this type of information in order to enhance your online experience as follows
- Ensure that you see the correct products and pricing applicable to the state in which you live.
- Manage the number of ads that you see to avoid over-delivery of the same message.
- Tailor an advertisement to better match your interests and preferences.
What does Hotwire do with personally identifiable information?
The personal information you voluntarily supply when obtaining information, purchasing products, or interacting with our advertising on www.gethotwired.com is not shared for non-Hotwire purposes. This information is Hotwire proprietary data and is not available for use by any outside company in this personalized form. Should any changes be made in the way we use personally identifiable information, Hotwire will contact you notifying you of this change and giving you the opportunity to choose to opt-out of such use.
Does Hotwire use the information provided online to profile its customers?
No. Hotwire does not combine offline information about you with the online information that you provide on our website.
We have made it a requirement that you will be clearly notified at the time of online data collection for the purpose of consumer profiling. When your online purchase behavior is intended to be combined with offline information, this intent will be clearly stated. You will then have the ability to choose not to have that information combined.
Does this site send e-mail to site visitors?
Hotwire strives to continuously improve our customers' online experience by providing them with the latest information about the benefits of Hotwire’s products and services and in other circumstances described below. We may provide this information in any number of ways, including e-mails to our customers, online visitors, and others who have provided their e-mail addresses to Hotwire. In addition, unless you have chosen to opt-out from receiving e-mail messages from Hotwire, Hotwire may send e-mails to:
Inform customers that their bills are available for review online
- Conduct online surveys
- Provide marketing information about Hotwire products and services
- Provide information to those who have voluntarily provided their e-mail addresses to third parties in order to receive promotional material
Moreover, in the following situations, Hotwire reserves the right to communicate through e-mail with online users, including those who have opted out of receiving solicitation based e-mails, to
- Notify customers about service or product affecting changes
- Respond to an online user's e-mail
- Confirm transactions, orders, payments, and registrations placed online
- Send information that a customer or potential customer has requested
- Provide emergency, security, and online account maintenance information
Hotwire supports and complies with all laws governing its e-mail communications and will update this policy as needed to ensure ongoing compliance.
Security Issues
How does Hotwire protect my personal information?
We are committed to protecting the information you give us, so we implement the appropriate safeguards to do so. Any information that you give us is protected by a password. Within Hotwire, your information is stored in password-protected, limited-access servers. Wherever possible, Hotwire servers reside behind a corporate firewall that maintains tight controls on any access to the system from both our internal network and the Internet. Hotwire uses Thawte SGC CA to transmit sensitive information such as credit card numbers and SSN. Thawte SGC CA is a transport-level technology for authentication and data encryption between a web server and a Web browser. Thawte SGC CA sends data over the "socket" which is a secure channel at the connection layer.
Does Hotwire’s website collect information from children?
Hotwire believes that protecting the privacy of children on the Internet is very important. The Hotwire website is not designed to attract children under the age of 13, and we do not intentionally collect personal information from children on our websites. Ordering online products and services is limited to adults 18 or over.
Children should exercise caution before providing personal information online and should discuss with an adult or guardian before doing so. Hotwire also urges parents and guardians to consider using one of the low-cost software programs designed to protect children while they are online.
Cookies
What are cookies and why does Hotwire use them?
A cookie is a small data string our server writes to your hard drive. This data string contains your unique user ID for our website. This technology also allows us to customize your experiences when you visit the Hotwire website. For example, we're able to deliver content specific to your interests, keep track of your online ordering and alert you to new products or money-saving opportunities based on your current services.
What information is collected by the site or in cookies?
Hotwire collects non-personally identifiable information regarding your visit, usually in the form of cookies, log files, or clear .gif files. Cookies contain a session identification number that our systems use to recall previous authentication or order information from our servers. We may also collect your domain name, IP address, the address of the last URL you visited prior to coming to our website, and your browser and platform type. We use third-party tracking services to help us analyze this information in the aggregate to evaluate the effectiveness of our site. In some cases, the information is collected directly by the third party and in others, it is forwarded by Hotwire to the third party. The third party is not permitted to use the information for any other purpose.
How do I disable cookies on my browser?
It's important you know that a cookie cannot be used to access or otherwise compromise the data on your hard drive. Your privacy is always protected. However, at any time you may choose to change your browser settings to disable cookies. Please be aware that cookies may be required to complete certain functions on this website.
Online Advertising
What is Hotwire’s position regarding online advertising and third-party ad servers?
As an online advertiser, Hotwire uses information supplied from third-party companies in several ways. This is aggregated data that does not personally identify any individual online user. This data is used to:
Evaluate and prioritize site selection when developing online media plans
- Geographically target advertising
- Deliver product and pricing information applicable to the customer's state
- Gauge the effectiveness of our online advertising
Again, personally identifiable information such as name, address, phone number, or email address is not collected unless you voluntarily supply this data to Hotwire or to a third-party partner in order to get further information about Hotwire products and services.
Third-party advertising companies may also utilize technology in order to measure the effectiveness of ads. Some Hotwire webpages contain clear .gif files (also known as Web beacons), electronic images that allow the third party to collect anonymous information. This anonymous information about your visits to our site is used to provide advertisements about goods and services of potential interest to you. No personally identifiable information is collected during this process.