Last Updated: September 27, 2023 (“Effective Date”)
Consumer Reports (hereafter “CR”, “we” or “us") is an independent, nonprofit member organization that works side by side with consumers for truth, transparency, and fairness in the marketplace. We created Permission Slip because we believe consumers should be in control of their own personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and store Personal Information when you use the Permission Slip App (“the App”) and related web site (the “Site”) (collectively, “Permission Slip”). This Privacy Policy is part of the Consumer Reports User Agreement, which contains additional information about your relationship with us. “Personal Information” is information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual.
Permission Slip collects Personal Information in order to provide the Permission Slip services to you, to improve your experience, and to communicate with you about privacy research, policy and related activities we think might be of interest. We collect Personal Information in three ways: directly from the user, through the user’s interactions with Permission Slip, and from third parties.
When you use Permission Slip, we’ll ask you for the following Contact and Account Information in order to create an account, fulfill your requests, and otherwise engage with you:
Additionally, we may collect “Feedback Information” from you about your opinions, actions and experiences regarding consumer policy issues and other topics, when providing you with customer support and when soliciting feedback about Permission Slip features and functionality.
We and our service providers collect certain information automatically about your interaction with Permission Slip through technical means, including through the use of cookies, web beacons, and other technologies (“Online Activity and Device Information”).
*By submitting your mobile phone number you agree that you are providing Consumer Reports with express written authorization to send a one-time text message to the number provided using automated technology for identity verification purposes.
We collect information to track downloads of the App, which is called “Download Information.” Download Information we collect includes:
We also collect information about how you interact with the Permission Slip, which is called “Analytics Information.” Analytics Information we collect includes:
Analytics Information includes information obtained through cookies, beacons and other online technologies to collect information about your usage.
When you send a data deletion, a do not sell my data, or other privacy requests to a company through the App, we collect information about your requests processed through the App. This is called “Privacy Request Information.” Privacy Request Information we collect includes:
We may ask for additional information necessary to process your request. Please note that companies may contact you directly for additional information in connection with your request.
We sometimes receive information about you from third parties. If you arrive at our App or Site through an ad on a search engine, social media network, or another website, the referring service may send us information about how you found us. If you log in to the App using an account on another service, such as Apple or Google, we may receive “Third Party Information” from that service.
Permission Slip relies on third-party services and applications to function, to improve your experience, and for other purposes consistent with our mission. Some of these third parties may collect information about you. For example, since we collect your mobile phone number for identity verification purposes, your wireless carrier may also collect data about your wireless device usage.
Please note that Permission Slip does not control what information these third parties collect. However, we are committed to data minimization principles and work to limit the amount of information collected by third parties.
The purpose of Permission Slip is to help you learn about companies’ data practices, exercise your data rights and options, and champion individual privacy rights. While we expect that the App’s features will grow over time, the way we use your data will always be consistent with this core mission.
The following chart details which categories of Personal Information we collect and process, what we use this information for, as well as which categories of Personal Information we disclose to third parties, sell or use for targeted advertising purposes.
| Categories of Personal Information | Disclosed to Which Categories of Third Parties | Sold to Which Categories of Third Parties | Shared with Which Categories of Third Parties for Targeted Advertising | Processing Purposes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contact and Account Information | Affiliates; service providers; legal authorities; businesses to whom your privacy requests are directed; legal authorities and parties in litigation; third party research partners. | N/A | N/A |
|
| Feedback Information | Affiliates; service providers; business to whom your feedback is directed; third party research partners; legal authorities and parties in litigation. | N/A | N/A |
|
| Privacy Request Information | Affiliates; service providers; business to whom your privacy requests are directed; third party research partners; legal authorities and parties in litigation. | N/A | N/A |
|
| Online Activity and Device Information | Affiliates; service providers; Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies; marketing partners; legal authorities and parties in litigation; third party research partners. | Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies; service providers | Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies; service providers |
|
| Data that advertising networks and social media companies already have about you, so they can identify you on their platform, such as your email address or user ID | Affiliates; service providers; Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies; marketing partners, legal authorities and parties in litigation; third party research partners. | Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies, service providers | Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies, service providers |
|
| Analytics Information | Affiliates; service providers; legal authorities and parties in litigation; third party research partners. | N/A | N/A |
|
| Download Information | Affiliates; service providers; Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies; marketing partners; legal authorities; other parties in litigation; third party research partners. | Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies, service providers | Ad networks, including those operated by social media companies, service providers |
|
| Third Party Information | Affiliates; service providers; legal authorities; other parties in litigation; third party research partners. | N/A | N/A |
|
We do not sell your personal information in a way that most people would think of as a sale. However, we do participate in online targeted advertising and use analytics which allows tech companies, in exchange for our use of their services, to use user information collected from our App to improve their own products and to improve the services they provide to others. Under some laws, this is considered our "sale" of your user data to third parties. You can opt-out of this as provided in the “How to Submit a Request” section below.
We may disclose your Personal Information in connection with a substantial corporate transaction, which may include the sale of one or more of our businesses, a merger, the creation of a separate business to provide certain of our products and services, or in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.
Occasionally, we may disclose your information to a third party for legal reasons or in connection with safety and security concerns, such as:
If we engage in any of these types of transactions, your Personal Information will be subject to our privacy policy in effect prior to the time of the transfer of that information.
To help maintain our independence and impartiality, we accept no outside advertising. However, we use third party advertising companies, including social media companies, to serve advertisements for our products to you and to others. They also help us determine the effectiveness of our product advertising.
You may receive advertisements based on information relating to your access to and use of Permission Slip and other websites or online services on any of your devices, as well as on information received from third parties. These companies place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser and use pixel tags. They also use these technologies, along with information they collect about your online use, to recognize you across the devices you use, such as a mobile phone and a laptop.
We share Personal Information about our users with third party advertising companies, including social media companies, so they can learn about the kinds of audiences that use our products and display advertisements for our services to them and users similar to them.
We may use Ad networks such as Google Ads and Meta and their associated tracking technologies to help display the Permission Slip ads you may see on other apps and websites, and to help us manage and optimize our advertising efforts. To opt out of Google Ads, you can visit Google’s Ad Settings page. To opt out of receiving behavior-based ads from Meta, you can visit Meta’s ad settings page.
If you would like more information about behavioral advertising and to learn how to opt out of behavioral advertising in desktop and mobile browsers generally, please visit http://optout.aboutads.info/#/ and http://optout.networkadvertising.org/#/. You may download the AppChoices app at www.aboutads.info/appchoices to opt out in mobile apps.
We may also use aggregated and de-identified individual-level data collected from users for research purposes consistent with Consumer Reports’ mission of fighting for fairness in the marketplace. Our research will use the information collected as described in this Privacy Policy and our Consumer Reports Survey Policy to help consumers exercise their rights, assess companies’ compliance with their obligations under applicable law, and move the marketplace to protect and empower consumers. Our research will also support CR’s engagement and advocacy efforts to influence legislators, regulatory bodies and other marketplace actors.
We may share de-identified individual-level or aggregated information with manufacturers, regulators, researchers and other third parties for research purposes to help improve the marketplace. Information shared in this way will not identify you individually without your prior written consent.
We do not knowingly collect any Sensitive Personal Information, as defined by applicable privacy laws, through Permission Slip.
We keep your information for as long as needed or permitted in light of the purpose(s) for which it was collected and to meet our own legal obligations. This generally means that your Personal Information and request history are retained while your account is active and for five years afterwards, so we can verify requests made through the App.
Other information may be subject to different retention periods. For example, analytics information about your usage of the App and the Site is generally retained for approximately 24 months. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:
We are committed to protecting your information. We have put in place physical, technical and administrative procedures designed to help safeguard and prevent unauthorized access and misuse of your information. When we transmit information over the Internet, we work to protect the information through the use of data encryption methods.
Security works best when everyone participates. To help keep your information safe, we require a strong password to create an account and recommend you do not share your password with anyone. Please notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security.
While we endeavor to protect the security and integrity of information we collect and transmit via Permission Slip, due to the inherent nature of the Internet as an open global communications vehicle, we cannot guarantee that any information, during transmission through the Internet or while stored on our systems or otherwise in our care, will be absolutely safe from intrusion by others, such as hackers.
Visit the Consumer Reports Protection of Information page to learn more about how the information you provide is secured.
If you choose to close your Permission Slip account:
Because Permission Slip makes data requests to other companies on your behalf, we need to retain information about your use of the App even if you close your account. Inactive information will be deleted after five years unless specific circumstances (such as an ongoing dispute with another company) require us to retain it longer.
When you sign up for a Permission Slip account, you agree to receive email communications from us. Some of these emails are required. By using Permission Slip, you agree to receive email communications about important topics such as:
For all other communications, including marketing and product updates, you can opt out of communication via an unsubscribe link found in the footer of all emails.
Please allow up to 10 business days for changes to your email preferences to take effect. During that time, you may continue to receive email communications from us that were already in process.
Please note that opting out of receiving email or other communications will not affect your receipt of service-related communications such as those relating to your account, order confirmations, renewal/expiration notices, and payment card notifications (if applicable).
From time to time, we may conduct in-depth research studies with Permission Slip users to understand their experiences and views on privacy and related issues
Some U.S. state laws give residents certain rights to learn about and control how some businesses that meet certain criteria use their data. Specifically, they require that companies covered by the law make certain disclosures regarding the Personal Information they collect, sell and disclose with respect to their state residents.
As a not-for-profit organization, CR is not covered by each of these laws, but we make the following disclosures consistent with our role as marketplace leader regardless of your state of residence.
Some U.S. state laws give their residents certain rights in relation to the use and disclosure of their Personal Information. These rights include the following, subject to exceptions allowed by the applicable law:
We will verify and respond to your request consistent with applicable law, taking into account the type and sensitivity of the Personal Information subject to the request. Colorado residents have the rights to request access, deletion and correction of their Personal Information, and the right to opt-out of our sale of their Personal Information or use or disclosure of it for targeted advertising. We may decline to honor your request where an exception applies, or where there is no legal obligation with which CR must comply. We may need to request your phone number and your email address, in order to verify your identity (including via SMS message) and help protect against fraudulent requests.
To request to opt out of our future sale of your Personal Information and/or our “sharing” of your Personal Information for purposes of cross-context behavioral advertising, or any future processing for purposes of targeted advertising, click here to go to the web form or email us at permissionslip@cr.consumer.org.
If you are a Colorado resident and if we refuse to take action on your request, you may appeal this refusal within a reasonable period after you have received notice of the refusal. You may file an appeal by contacting us via permissionslip@cr.consumer.org.
If an agent would like to make a request on your behalf as permitted under applicable law, the agent may use the submission methods noted in the section entitled “Your Data Rights.” We will process the agent’s request consistent with applicable law. As part of our verification process, we may request that the agent provide, as applicable, proof concerning their status as an authorized agent. In addition, we may require that you verify your identity as described in the section entitled “Your Data Rights” or confirm that you provided the agent permission to submit the request.
California residents have the right to request information on how their Personal Information is disclosed for direct marketing purposes. However, CR does not disclose any Permission Slip information for direct marketing, so we do not provide a system for opting out of such requests in connection with this service.
Permission Slip is intended for general audiences and is not directed to children. We do not “sell,” “share,” or knowingly process the Personal Information (including Sensitive Personal Information) of minors under 16 years of age. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under age 13 and believe your child has provided us with his or her Personal Information in connection with Permission Slip, please contact us at permissionslip@cr.consumer.org. You must be 18 or older to participate in certain activities, such as contests and sweepstakes.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version is always available in the App and the Site, with the date of the new “effective date” at the top. If we make significant changes to this Policy, we may also notify you about changes by additional means, such as by sending an email to the email address we have on file for you, providing an alert in the App and the Site or by other means consistent with applicable law. Continuing to use the App and the Site after the new effective date constitutes your agreement to the revised terms, provided that we will obtain your affirmative consent where legally required and otherwise subject to applicable law.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, you can reach us via email permissionslip@cr.consumer.org or by calling +1(914) 378-2159.
If you feel that we have not followed our Privacy Policy, please let us know by emailing us at permissionslip@cr.consumer.org and we will do our best to address your concerns. You may also contact:
Your state or local consumer protection office, The Better Business Bureau (BBB), or The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by phone at (202) 326-2222 or online at http://www.ftc.gov.
Any disputes regarding this Privacy Policy are subject to our User Agreement.
