We created HotFlation to get a better understanding of why our collective concept of “hotness" seems to vary so much across geographical regions. Being the math geeks we are, we wanted to quantify this analysis, and so that’s where our picture ratings and heatmaps come into play. We make it easy for you to rate and share photos with your friends and people around you all over the world. Of course, in order to generate the heatmaps, we must collect certain information regarding the IP addresses of our visitors, so we have an idea of where our photos’ ratings are coming from (without that, we’d have some pretty lame heatmaps, dontcha think??). However, we realize that you may not want everyone to have the information you share with us, and so that is why we give you control.
When you visit HotFlation you provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected by us, and information collected by us as you interact with www.hotflation.com (the “Web Site").
When you register with HotFlation, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, your email address and any other personal or preference information that you provide to us.
When you enter HotFlation, we collect your browser type and IP address. This information is gathered for all HotFlation visitors, and in fact is the raw material from which we are able to generate our heatmaps. In addition, we store certain information from your browser using "cookies." A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user's computer tied to information about the user. We use session ID cookies to confirm that users are logged in. These cookies terminate once the user closes the browser. By default, we use a persistent cookie that stores your login ID (but not your password) to make it easier for you to login when you come back to HotFlation. You can remove or block this cookie using the settings in your browser if you want to disable this convenience feature.
When you use HotFlation, you may set up your personal profile, upload photos, make comments, and generally transmit information through various channels. We collect this information so that we can provide you the service and offer personalized features. When you update information, we usually keep a backup copy of the prior version for a reasonable period of time to enable reversion to the prior version of that information.
You post User Content (as defined in the HotFlation Terms of Use) on the Site at your own risk. We cannot control the actions of other Users with whom you may choose to share your information. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that User Content you post on the Site will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Site. You understand and acknowledge that, even after removal, copies of User Content may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or if other Users have copied or stored your User Content.
Any improper collection or misuse of information provided on HotFlation is a violation of the HotFlation Terms of Use and should be reported to privacy@HotFlation.com.
HotFlation may also collect information about you from other sources, such as newspapers, blogs, instant messaging services, and other users of the HotFlation service through the operation of the service (e.g., photo tags) in order to provide you with more useful information and a more personalized experience.
By using HotFlation, you are consenting to have your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States.
We recommend that minors over the age of 13 ask their parents for permission before sending any information about themselves to anyone over the Internet.
When you register with HotFlation, you create your own profile. We may occasionally use your name and email address to send you notifications regarding new services offered by HotFlation that we think you may find valuable.
Profile information is used by HotFlation primarily to be presented back to and edited by you when you access the service and to be presented to others permitted to view that information.
Your name and any other information you provide for the purposes of your profile will be available in search results across the HotFlation network and those limited pieces of information may be made available to third party search engines. This is primarily so your friends can find you. People who see your name in searches, however, will not be able to access your profile information. HotFlation may also send you service-related announcements from time to time through the general operation of the service.
When you use HotFlation, certain information you post or share with third parties (e.g., a friend or someone in your network), such as personal information, comments, messages, photos, videos, or other information, may be shared with other users. All such sharing of information is done at your own risk. Please keep in mind that if you disclose personal information in your profile or when posting comments, messages, photos, videos or other items, this information may become publicly available.
HotFlation may contain links to other websites. We are of course not responsible for the privacy practices of other web sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by HotFlation.
Advertisements that appear on HotFlation are sometimes delivered (or "served") directly to users by third party advertisers. They automatically receive your IP address when this happens. These third party advertisers may also download cookies to your computer, or use other technologies such as JavaScript and "web beacons" (also known as "1x1 gifs") to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. Doing this allows the advertising network to recognize your computer each time they send you an advertisement in order to measure the effectiveness of their ads and to personalize advertising content. In this way, they may compile information about where individuals using your computer or browser saw their advertisements and determine which advertisements are clicked. HotFlation does not have access to or control of the cookies that may be placed by the third party advertisers. Third party advertisers have no access to your contact information stored on HotFlation unless you choose to share it with them.
This privacy policy covers the use of cookies by HotFlation and does not cover the use of cookies or other tracking technologies by any of its advertisers.
Access and control over most personal information on HotFlation is readily available through the profile editing tools. HotFlation users may modify or delete any of their profile information at any time by logging into their account. Information will be updated immediately. Individuals who wish to deactivate their HotFlation account may do so on the My Account page. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available to members of HotFlation.
Where you make use of the communication features of the service to share information with other individuals on HotFlation, however, (e.g., posting a comment on a photo you uploaded) you generally cannot remove such communications.
HotFlation takes appropriate precautions to protect our users' information. Your account information is located on a secured server behind a firewall. When you enter sensitive information (such as your password), we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL). Because email and instant messaging are not recognized as secure communications, we request that you not send private information to us by email or instant messaging services. If you have any questions about the security of HotFlation Web Site, please contact us at privacy@HotFlation.com.
Your use of HotFlation, and any disputes arising from it, is subject to this Privacy Policy as well as our Terms of Use and all of its dispute resolution provisions including arbitration, limitation on damages and choice of law. We reserve the right to change our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use at any time. Non-material changes and clarifications will take effect immediately, and material changes will take effect within 30 days of their posting on this site. If we make changes, we will post them and will indicate at the top of this page the policy's new effective date. If we make material changes to this policy, we will notify you here, by email, or through notice on our home page. We encourage you to refer to this policy on an ongoing basis so that you understand our current privacy policy. Unless stated otherwise, our current privacy policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account.
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at privacy@HotFlation.com.