Digital Setups Company: Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 1, 2015.

We understand your concerns regarding the privacy standards we uphold to protect your rights on our digital properties. These standards apply to Digital Setups (SMC-Private) Limited and Digital Setups Ltd. (referred to as ‘Digital Setups’, ‘we’, ‘us’, ‘our’, ‘DS’). Our digital properties include websites such as digitalsetups.com, digitalsetups.net, digitalsetups.pk, and digitalsetups.org, as well as DS brand sites including veristicmedia.com, barelysimple.com, underlyinghealthcare.com, and vehiclish.com (collectively known as ‘DS Websites’, ‘Digital Setups websites’, ‘Websites’, ‘Digital Setups Digital Properties’, ‘DS brands’, ‘DS brand sites’, ‘DS network sites’, ‘DS Publishing Sites’). Additionally, our mobile application comprises the PWA version of the Digital Setups website and native apps available on the official Android and Apple app stores (collectively referred to as ‘DS Apps’, ‘Apps’). Together, these websites and apps are referred to as ‘DS Platforms’ or ‘DS Publishing platforms’. The services provided through Digital Setups Digital Properties are collectively known as ‘DS Services’ or ‘Services’.

When you engage with our Websites or Apps or Services, you may share certain information about yourself. We value this information and may utilize it to enhance the content we provide, elevate our editorial, advertising, & service standards, deliver personalized advertisements, and offer you direct assistance with relevant information. Your data enables us to tailor our services to better meet your needs.

We make every effort to provide you with clear information regarding the data we collect about you, how it is utilized and shared, and the methods by which you can manage it (referred to as ‘Privacy Policy’ or ‘Privacy Standard’). We strongly encourage you to read our privacy standards in their entirety. If you believe that we have overlooked acknowledging any information we use or share, please inform us by sending an email to [email protected].

Introduction

This privacy policy explains:

1. What information do we collect, its types, and how you generally share it with us
2. How we use the collected information for editorial and advertising improvements
3. How you can manage the information that you share with us as your privacy right

We have made every effort to present the information in a clear and understandable manner on this page. We have also provided proper definitions for the terminologies used. However, if you come across an abbreviation or any other unfamiliar term, please consult the glossary assets related to data protection and privacy laws for further clarification.

What information do we collect?

When you interact with Digital Setups Digital Properties or Services, we anticipate gathering specific information about you based on your interactions or activities.

Information you provide to us by yourself

You may provide us with information for certain services in various ways, as outlined below:

• Subscription to Mailing List(s): When you subscribe to one or more of our newsletters and other mailing lists, you provide us with your first name, last name, and email address. This enables us to send newsletter emails directly to your inbox.
• Contacting us directly via contact form: If you reach out to us through our contact form to inquire about something, report an issue, explore advertising opportunities, or for any related matter, we request your first name, last name, email address, phone number, and company information (if applicable). This information allows us to effectively respond to your inquiry or address your advertising needs.
• Making a purchase or donation: When you make a donation or purchase advertising space from us, in addition to your first and last name, email address, phone number, and physical address, you share your payment details (credit/debit card for online payments or bank account information for offline payments). This information is required by payment processors to authorize and verify the transaction. We use this information for record-keeping purposes and to provide you with the requested services.
• Giving feedback on our content: If you provide feedback through the feedback option on individual article pages, we ask for your email address, first name, and last name. We do not require a phone number for feedback submission. This information helps us ensure that the feedback is genuine, and allows us to contact you for further details if necessary.
• Reporting infringement or flagging content: When you report infringed content or articles directly to us, we request your complete details to handle the case properly. This includes your first name, last name, email address, phone number, occupation, profession, address, web address, and references to your/original content. We use this information to contact you and process the case according to official guidelines.
• Surveys, Quizzes, & Polls: If you participate in surveys, quizzes, or polls advertised on our website, we collect participant data to assist our business analysts, editorial team, and support team in better understanding our performance, areas for improvement, and to provide you with relevant services, offers, and advertisements if you provide your consent.
• Partner or Advertiser Promotions: When you willingly participate in, click on, or sign up for partner or advertiser promotions advertised on our website through sponsored posts or ad units, you may share your identity, device information, location (in some cases), and personal data (where requested). Our partners and advertisers typically use this data to offer you personalized services or products. Please note that we do not directly control or store this data. However, in certain cases where the promotion is linked to our business needs, we may store the data for our own promotional purposes.
• Employment-related data: We do not advertise any employment opportunities on our digital properties other than digitalsetups.org. If you apply to our advertised jobs through digitalsetups.org or social networks, you may provide us with your identity, professional information, some personal details, and other employment-related data. We use this data to process your application, consider you for employment, or to establish future business connections if necessary. Please note that we do not collect any data directly from third-party platforms such as LinkedIn, Rozee, Indeed, or job content scraping sites. We do not collect data via Skype, Zoom, Google Meet, or other meeting platforms.
• Reaching us for Support: We also not do not require your information other than secret passes or entry passes or support PIN. Without support PIN or entry pass, our teams are not premised to provide help, support, or facilitate for any acquired service.

Information we collect about you in the background

When you utilize our digital services, we automatically collect certain information in the background, which occurs when: –

• Cookies: When you utilize our digital services, websites, or apps, we store various cookies in your local storage (browser and/or device storage) to track certain activities. These include login/logout status, privacy settings, consent cookies, visit and session activity cookies (such as pixels, tags, and trafficking scripts), ad cookies (for interest-based and behavioral advertising), and third-party/internal party cookies for surveys, quizzes, polls, and forms. These cookies enable us to provide you with a personalized, enhanced experience across our digital services, apps, and websites. Generally, all cookies we or third parties store and retrieve from your device are necessary, but you have the option to manage your privacy settings and allow/disallow some optional cookies from our website.
• Location Information: In order to personalize and enhance your content, ads, and overall experience on our website, we collect location data. You have the ability to manage your location-sharing settings from the device or browser you use to connect to our digital channels. Please note that third parties may also collect location data, and you may encounter location-specific ads or offers if you have shared your data with them through other digital channels like Facebook, Twitter, or Google. These third parties use the data for remarketing and advertising purposes to target the right audience based on their own data stores.
• Cross-device and Cross-Platform Tracking: We gather information to better understand how you interact with our website, including details such as the referral site/channel that led you to us, where you navigated to afterwards, and the devices you use to connect with us. This enables us to centralize cookies and provide a seamless transition and synchronization of your data. Additionally, cross-platform and device data collection is vital for effective advertising, often tracked through third-party tracking scripts like Analytics and Pixels.
• Additional Data Analytics: We utilize third-party services such as Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel to collect additional data for analysis, including OS information, IP address, ISP, click activity, cross-device and platform data, datetime stamps, and more. This information helps us understand and analyze our visitor and user data, define and measure key business metrics, assess ROI on our ad-revenue model, and deliver targeted content such as editorial, sponsored content, and ads to you.
• Interaction-Driven Data: We actively monitor interactions such as click activity, downloads, and connection requests to provide you with relevant content and also prevent fraudulent or spam clicks, sign-ups, subscriptions, and connections to our services and content.
• Email Interaction-Driven Data: We capture data related to your interaction with our sent emails, including tracking which links you click or open, which emails you engage with, and more. This information helps us gauge the effectiveness of our communication with you, improve our newsletter content, respect your removal requests from our mailing list, and track conversions through email.

Here are some additional data points that we may collect to enhance our services:

• Device Information: We gather data about the devices you use to access our website, such as device type, operating system, browser version, and screen resolution. This helps us optimize our website’s performance and ensure compatibility with your device.
• Website Analytics: We utilize analytics tools to track user behavior, including page visits, time spent on each page, and navigation patterns. This data enables us to analyze user interactions, improve our website, and tailor our content to better suit your needs.
• Session Information: We collect information about your browsing sessions, such as the duration of your visit, the number of pages you view, and the actions you take. This helps us understand how users engage with our website and make informed decisions for enhancing their experience.
• Referral Data: We may collect data about the source that referred you to our website, such as a search engine or another website. This information helps us evaluate our marketing efforts and understand how users discover our site.
• Social Media Integration: If you interact with social media buttons on our website, such as sharing content or logging in with your social media accounts, we may collect data to improve the integration and provide seamless social media functionality.
• Error Logging: We log errors that occur during your browsing experience, such as broken links or technical issues. This helps us identify and resolve any problems promptly, ensuring a smooth and error-free website experience.
• Localization Data: To personalize our content and services, we may collect data related to your preferred language, currency, or region settings. This information enables us to provide you with localized content that aligns with your preferences.

Rest assured that we handle this data in accordance with our privacy policy and applicable data protection laws. We prioritize the security and privacy of your information and aim to provide you with a transparent and enjoyable browsing experience.

When and How we disclose your information?

We utilize the gathered information to enhance our editorial standards, refine our advertising approach and strategy, deliver an improved service experience, and provide you with a better overall experience on our websites, apps, and service channels. Please refer to the following use cases to gain insight into how we utilize the personal and public information collected through our direct channels and from third-party sources:

1. Enhancing User Experience: We utilize the shared information to provide a seamless and personalized user experience across all our digital channels, including websites, apps, and social media platforms.
2. Personalizing Ad Recommendations: Your information helps us improve the relevance of our ad recommendations, sponsored stories/posts, and core services. By understanding your preferences, activities, and consent for interest-based ad targeting, we ensure that you receive tailored ads without being overwhelmed with irrelevant content.
3. Analyzing and Optimizing Growth: We analyze traffic demographics, user behavior, preferences, and reactions to optimize our growth key performance indicators (KPIs). This information enables us to enhance our editorial and technical standards, align workflows, and improve content delivery strategies.
4. Identifying and Providing Relevant Services: Your information allows us to identify you as a member, visitor, or client, ensuring that we serve you the right services, ads, or content. Additionally, this identification helps us maintain a safe and permissible usage of our service/products/platforms based on our terms of use.
5. Secure Transactions: When you make purchases, donations, or transactions, we prioritize secure measures, including identity-theft protection and fraud prevention services. We maintain transaction records to track sales, deliver services or products, and offer applicable discounts and deals.
6. Effective Communication: We communicate with you through various channels, including email, profile messages, push notifications, and feedback platforms. These communications encompass general and promotional messages, ensuring they align with your consent and preferences.
7. Ensuring Rights and Investigating Security Issues: We utilize the collected information to protect our rights, investigate security issues or misconduct, handle requests, defend against legal claims, and manage related administrative and legal matters.
8. General and Legal Purposes: We may use your information for other general and legal purposes not explicitly mentioned in this privacy policy. By using or connecting to our digital platforms, you provide consent to accept enabled cookies, privacy policies, terms of use, and disclaimers. However, you have the ability to manage necessary and unnecessary cookies stored by our websites and apps through your device, browser, and ad choices settings, as explained in the next section.
9. Improving Product Development: We may use the shared information to gather insights and feedback on our products and services. This input helps us identify areas for improvement, develop new features or offerings, and tailor our offerings to better meet the needs and preferences of our users and clients.
10. Conducting Market Research: Your information may be utilized for market research purposes, such as conducting surveys or polls to gather valuable data and opinions. This research enables us to understand market trends, preferences, and demands, helping us refine our strategies and offerings accordingly.
11. Providing Customer Support: The information you provide allows us to offer efficient and effective customer support. By understanding your needs and preferences, we can address any inquiries, issues, or concerns promptly and provide personalized assistance when required.
12. Customizing Content and Recommendations: We leverage the collected information to deliver personalized content, recommendations, and suggestions that align with your interests and preferences. This ensures that you receive relevant and engaging content that enhances your overall user experience.
13. Enhancing Data Security: We employ the shared information to strengthen our data security measures and protect the integrity of our digital platforms. This includes implementing encryption, access controls, and monitoring systems to safeguard your information against unauthorized access, breaches, or malicious activities.
14. Compliance with Legal and Regulatory Requirements: We may use the collected information to fulfill our legal and regulatory obligations. This includes complying with applicable laws, regulations, and industry standards, as well as responding to legal requests, subpoenas, or court orders.
15. Business Operations and Internal Processes: Your information is essential for the smooth operation of our business and internal processes. It aids in managing user accounts, analyzing user behavior, tracking website traffic, conducting audits, and carrying out other administrative tasks necessary to support our operations.
16. Aggregated and Anonymous Data: We may aggregate and anonymize the collected information to generate statistical or analytical insights. This aggregated data helps us understand overall trends, conduct market research, and improve our services without compromising individual privacy.

Rest assured that we handle your information with utmost care and adhere to industry best practices and applicable regulations to ensure the protection and responsible use of your data.

When and How we disclose your information?

In addition to using your information directly for administrative, strategic, editorial, service provision, and advertising purposes, we may also disclose your information to third parties when necessary. The following are the main situations in which we might share your information:

• Trusted Service Providers: We may share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in delivering our services, such as hosting providers, payment processors, email marketing platforms, and analytics providers. These service providers have limited access to the information necessary to perform their functions and are obligated to protect your information.
• Personnel Access: Our dedicated team of employees, contractors, and authorized personnel may access your information in accordance with their roles and responsibilities to ensure the seamless provision of our Services.
• Advertising Partners: We may share information with advertising partners, such as ad networks, to display targeted advertisements based on user interests and preferences. This may involve sharing demographic information, browsing behavior, and other data to deliver relevant ads.
• Business Partners: We may disclose information to our business partners with whom we collaborate on joint initiatives, promotions, or co-branded services. These partners may use the information in accordance with their own privacy policies.
• Legal Compliance: We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in response to a valid legal request, such as a court order, subpoena, or government investigation. We may also disclose information to protect our rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety of our users or others.
• Merger or Acquisition: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, user and client information may be transferred to the acquiring entity. We will notify you and provide choices regarding your information in such transactions.

It’s important to note that we take appropriate measures to ensure the confidentiality and security of your information when sharing it with third parties. We hold your privacy in the highest regard, and thus, we assure you that we will only utilize your information for legitimate business purposes. We do not sell or misuse your data in any manner. Your presence and trust are valued, and we strive to avoid any form of disappointment.

We carefully select and review our partners’ privacy practices to ensure they adhere to similar privacy standards. However, when it involves third parties such as Google, Bing, Facebook, Meta, or other advertising and data tracking networks, we cannot guarantee how they might employ your information. We strongly advise you to read their privacy policies in addition to ours to gain clarity on how they handle your information.

How to manage your information that we collect or you share with us

We are committed to providing you with the necessary tools and options to manage your information in a way that aligns with your preferences and privacy needs.

Disclaimer

“Do Not Track” (DNT) is a privacy preference feature available in select web browsers. While you can find more information about DNT here, it’s important to note that our service, like many others, currently does not acknowledge or respond to DNT signals initiated by web browsers. We continue to prioritize user privacy and employ other measures outlined in our privacy policy to safeguard your information.

Opt-out of personalized ads

Opt-out of personalized ads from 3rd party ad networks on our network sites, visit the following pages: –

• Digital Advertising Alliance’s WebChoices Tool
• Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out

Opt-out of personalized ads of our brands or network sites on 3rd party advertising platforms: –

• If you’re seeing our ads on Google platforms, manage ad personalization
• If you’re seeing our ads on Facebook or Meta platforms, manage ad settings

Opt-out of personalized direct sold ads or our internal network ads on our network or brand sites: –

At present, our advertising approach does not involve displaying internal network or directly sold ads tailored to our users’ activity or behavior. Instead, the ads shown are contextually relevant to the content displayed on the page where the ad is presented. This ensures that our users are exposed to advertisements that are in line with the topic and theme of the page, promoting a more seamless and cohesive user experience.

Opt-out of ‘sales’ or ‘sharing’ or ‘targeted advertising’:-

As cleared earlier, on our brand sites, we only show ads that are contextually relevant, however, to promote our services/products/events/etc. via 3rd party such as Google Ads and Meta Ads, we may use the location and activity signals to target highly relevant audience.

You may opt-out of targeted advertising via Privacy Settings. This will ensure that we are not targeting you to deliver ‘targeted’ ads.

Rights to your stored information

At Digital Setups, we recognize that you may have specific rights concerning your personal information or personal data, as defined by applicable law in your jurisdiction. These rights include, but are not limited to, the ability to:

• Request access to and/or a copy of your personal information that we hold.
• Obtain information about the categories of personal information we collect or disclose about you, the sources from which we obtain this information, the business or commercial purpose for collecting it, and the parties with whom we share it.
• Rectify any inaccurate personal information we have about you.
• Request the deletion of certain personal information we hold about you.

Please be aware that your jurisdiction of residence may grant you additional or different rights. For instance, you may have the right to object to, restrict, or opt out of the processing of certain information. For more information about region-specific rights, please refer to the Regional Privacy Notices provided below.

We would like to note that certain requests may be exempted or limited by applicable law. In some cases, retaining specific information is necessary for us to continue providing our services to you. Additionally, we may need to retain certain information to comply with legal obligations or protect our legal rights.

To ensure the security of your personal information, we may need to verify your identity before addressing certain requests. This verification process may involve confirming your name and email address, depending on the nature and sensitivity of the information involved. If permitted by applicable law, you can authorize an agent to make requests on your behalf. To do so, you or your authorized agent must provide us with written authorization or a power of attorney signed by you. However, please note that you are still required to personally verify your identity with us.

If we rely on your consent to process your information, you have the right to revoke that consent at any time. To revoke your consent, please email us at [email protected] with the subject line “Revoke Consent” and indicate the specific information for which you wish to withdraw your consent. It is important to understand that revoking consent will not affect the validity of any consent given prior to revocation.

In some jurisdictions, you may also have the right to lodge complaints regarding our practices with the appropriate data protection authority. We encourage you to initially contact us directly to address any concerns or requests, but if necessary, you can consult your jurisdiction’s data protection authority website for further guidance.