Community Guidelines - User Agreement - Privacy Policy

AutomotoSocial Professional Community Guidelines

What types of discussions and content are acceptable on AutomotoSocial?

Last Reviewed: 07/09/2018

Report Answer Inaccuracies

AutomotoSocial is a company that aims to put its members first when it comes to making important decisions. Millions of professional conversations and shared insights are being exchanged every day on AutomotoSocial. To ensure these discussions help our members be more productive and successful, AutomotoSocial has put in place Professional Community Guidelines outlining the types of discussions and content that are acceptable on AutomotoSocial, and what may be deemed inappropriate and stopped by AutomotoSocial. These community guidelines are intended to provide our members guidance and complement the list of Do’s and Don’ts found in the User Agreement governing your use of, and participation in, AutomotoSocial's online services.

Be Real. Unlike some other online services, our members need to be real people, who provide their real names and accurate information about themselves. It is not okay to provide misleading information about yourself, your qualifications or your work experience, affiliations or achievements on AutomotoSocial’s service.
Be Professional. We ask our members to behave professionally by not being dishonest or inappropriate. We acknowledge the value of discussions around professional activities, but we do not want you to use AutomotoSocial to shock or intimidate others. It is not okay to share graphic images to shock others, and it is not okay to share obscene images or pornography on AutomotoSocial’s service.
Be Nice. AutomotoSocial shouldn’t be used to harm others. It is not okay to use AutomotoSocial’s services to harass, abuse, or send other unwelcomed communications to people (e.g., junk mail, spam, chain letters, phishing schemes). Do not use AutomotoSocial’s services to threaten violence or property damage, or for hate speech acts like attacking people because of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, political or religious affiliations, or medical or physical condition. Also, please don’t use AutomotoSocial’s services to intentionally infect others with viruses, worms, or other software that can destroy or interrupt their data or computer devices. It is not okay to interfere or disrupt AutomotoSocial’s service.
Respect Other’s Rights and Follow the Law. We do not want AutomotoSocial to be used for illegal activities or to violate the rights of others. Don’t use AutomotoSocial’s services to commit fraud. Before sharing or using someone else’s copyrighted works, trademarks, private information, or trade secrets, please make sure you have the legal right to do so.
Respect AutomotoSocial’s Rights. Please don’t violate the rights of AutomotoSocial. You can find more information about what this means in our User Agreement, but put simply, please don’t use AutomotoSocial’s services to wrongfully take data or information. It is not okay to suggest that you are affiliated with or endorsed by AutomotoSocial when you are not, and it is not okay to violate AutomotoSocial’s intellectual property rights.

User Agreement

Welcome, and thanks for using AutomotoSocial! When you use our products and services, you're agreeing to our terms, so please take a few minutes to read over the User Agreement below.

Note: You are entering into a legally binding agreement

1. Introduction Last revised on July 09, 2018

We are a social network for professionals.

Our User Agreement

1.1. Purpose

The mission of AutomotoSocial is to connect the world’s Automotive professionals to enable them to be more productive and successful. To achieve our mission, we make services available through our website, mobile applications, and developer platform, to help you, your connections, and millions of other professionals meet, exchange ideas, learn, make deals, find opportunities or employees, work, and make decisions in a network of trusted relationships and groups.

1.2. Scope and Intent

When you use AutomotoSocial, you are entering into a legal agreement and you agree to all of these terms.

You also agree to our Privacy Policy, which covers how we collect, use, share, and store your personal information.

You agree that by registering on AutomotoSocial, or by using our website, including our mobile applications, developer platform, premium services, or other information provided as part of the AutomotoSocial services (collectively “AutomotoSocial” or the “Services”), you are entering into a legally binding agreement with AutomotoSocial Canyon Lake, California 92587, USA if you reside in the United States, or if you reside outside the United States (“we,” “us,” “our,” and “AutomotoSocial”) based on the terms of this AutomotoSocial User Agreement and the AutomotoSocial Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference (collectively referred to as the “Agreement”) and become a AutomotoSocial member (“Member”). If you are using AutomotoSocial on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you are nevertheless individually bound by this Agreement even if your company has a separate agreement with us. If you do not want to register an account and become a AutomotoSocial Member, do not enter into this Agreement, do NOT click “Join Now” and do not access, view, download or otherwise use any AutomotoSocial webpage, information or services. By clicking “Join Now” (or “Join AutomotoSocial” or similar), you acknowledge that you have read and understood the terms and conditions of this Agreement and that you agree to be bound by all of its provisions. By clicking “Join Now,” you also consent to use electronic signatures and acknowledge your click of the “Join Now” button as one. Please note that the AutomotoSocial User Agreement and Privacy Policy are also collectively referred to as AutomotoSocial’s “Terms of Service.”

2. Your Obligations

2.1. Applicable laws and this Agreement

Some promises you make to us in this Agreement:

You will follow the law and AutomotoSocial’s rules.

You must comply with all applicable laws and this Agreement, as may be amended from time to time with or without advance notice, and the policies and processes explained in the following sections:

DOs and DON’Ts;
Complaints Regarding Content Posted on the AutomotoSocial Website; and
AutomotoSocial’s Privacy Policy.

2.2. License and warranty for your submissions to AutomotoSocial

You grant us a license to the information you provide us.

You own the information you provide AutomotoSocial under this Agreement, and may request its deletion at any time, unless you have shared information or content with others and they have not deleted it, or it was copied or stored by other users. Additionally, you grant AutomotoSocial a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, assignable, sublicenseable, fully paid up and royalty-free right to us to copy, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, process, analyze, use and commercialize, in any way now known or in the future discovered, any information you provide, directly or indirectly to AutomotoSocial, including, but not limited to, any user generated content, ideas, concepts, techniques and/or data to the services, you submit to AutomotoSocial, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or to any third parties. Any information you submit to us is at your own risk of loss. By providing information to us, you represent and warrant that you are entitled to submit the information and that the information is accurate, not confidential, and not in violation of any contractual restrictions or other third party rights. It is your responsibility to keep your AutomotoSocial profile information accurate and updated.

2.3. Service Eligibility

You are eligible to enter into this contract and you are at least our “Minimum Age.”

The information you provide is truthful.

To be eligible to use the Service, you must meet the following criteria and represent and warrant that you: (1) are the “Minimum Age” (defined below) or older; (2) are not currently restricted from the Services, or not otherwise prohibited from having a AutomotoSocial account, (3) are not a competitor of AutomotoSocial or are not using the Services for reasons that are in competition with AutomotoSocial; (4) will only maintain one AutomotoSocial account at any given time; (5) will use your real name and only provide accurate information to AutomotoSocial; (6) have full power and authority to enter into this Agreement and doing so will not violate any other agreement to which you are a party; (7) will not violate any rights of AutomotoSocial or third party, including intellectual property rights such as copyright or trademark rights; and (8) agree to provide at your cost all equipment, software, mobile access, and internet access necessary to use the Services.

“Minimum Age” means (a) 18 years old for the People’s Republic of China, (b) 16 years old for the Netherlands, (c) 14 years old for the United States, Canada, Germany, Spain, Australia and South Korea, and (d) 13 years old for all other countries. However, if applicable law requires that you must be older than such ages in order for AutomotoSocial to lawfully provide the Services to you (including the collection, storage and use of your information in accordance with our privacy policy) then the Minimum Age would be such older age. The Services are not intended for use by children under the age of 13.

2.4. Your Membership

You will keep your password a secret.

You will not share an account with anyone else.

You will not copy or transfer any part of the Service.

The profile you create on AutomotoSocial will become part of AutomotoSocial and except for the information that you license to us is owned by AutomotoSocial. However, between you and others, your account belongs to you. You agree to: (1) keep your password secure and confidential; (2) not permit others to use your account; (3) not use other’s accounts; (4) not sell, trade, or transfer your AutomotoSocial account to another party; and (5) not charge anyone for access to any portion of AutomotoSocial, or any information therein. Further, you are responsible for anything that happens through your account until you close down your account or prove that your account security was compromised due to no fault of your own. To close your account, please visit AutomotoSocial’s Help Center.

2.5. Indemnification

You will pay us for any losses that you cause.

You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless for all damages, losses and costs (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) related to all third party claims, charges, and investigations, caused by (1) your failure to comply with this Agreement, including, without limitation, your submission of content that violates third party rights or applicable laws, (2) any content you submit to the Services, and (3) any activity in which you engage on or through AutomotoSocial.

2.6. Payment

You will honor your payment obligations and you are okay with us storing your payment information. Also, there may be fees and taxes that are added to our prices.

We don't guarantee refunds.

If you purchase any services that we offer for a fee, either on a one-time or subscription basis (“Premium Services”), you agree to AutomotoSocial storing your payment information. You also agree to pay the applicable fees for the Premium Services (including, without limitation, periodic fees for premium accounts) as they become due plus all related taxes, and to reimburse us for all collection costs and interest for any overdue amounts. Failure to pay may result in the termination of your subscription. Depending on where you transact with us, the type of payment method used and where your payment method was issued, your transaction with us may be subject to foreign exchange fees or differences in prices, including because of exchange rates. AutomotoSocial does not support all payment methods, currencies or locations for payment. If the payment method you use with us, such as a credit card, reaches its expiration date and you do not edit your payment method information or cancel your account or such Premium Service, you authorize us to continue billing that payment method and you remain responsible for any uncollected amounts. Your obligation to pay fees continues through the end of the subscription period during which you cancel your subscription. All applicable taxes are calculated based on the billing information you provide us at the time of purchase. You may cancel or suspend your Premium Services. AutomotoSocial’s refund policy is explained. We do not guarantee refunds for lack of usage or dissatisfaction. You also acknowledge that AutomotoSocial’s Premium Services are subject to this Agreement and any additional terms related to the provision of the Premium Service. Additionally, if you require a printed invoice for your transaction with us, you may access it through your AutomotoSocial account settings under “Purchase History.” request one by contacting our Customer Support.

2.7. Notify us of acts contrary to the Agreement

If you think you have to breach this Agreement, you will let us know beforehand.

If you believe that you are entitled or obligated to act contrary to this Agreement under any mandatory law, you agree to provide us with detailed and substantiated explanation of your reasons in writing at least 30 days before you act contrary to this Agreement, to allow us to assess whether we may, at our sole discretion, provide an alternative remedy for the situation, though we are under no obligation to do so.

2.8. Notifications and Service Messages

You are okay with us providing you with important notices on the website, mobile apps, or email.

The contact information you provide must be accurate or you may not receive important notices.

For purposes of service messages and notices about the Services, AutomotoSocial may place a banner notice across its pages to alert you to certain changes such as modifications to this Agreement. Alternatively, notice may consist of an email from AutomotoSocial to an email address associated with your account, even if we have other contact information. You also agree that AutomotoSocial may communicate with you through your AutomotoSocial account or through other means including email, mobile number, telephone, or delivery services including the postal service about your AutomotoSocial account or services associated with AutomotoSocial. Please review your Settings to control what kind of messages you receive from AutomotoSocial. You acknowledge and agree that we shall have no liability associated with or arising from your failure to do so maintain accurate contact or other information, including, but not limited to, your failure to receive critical information about the Service.

2.9. AutomotoSocial Applications

This Agreement applies to mobile applications as well. Also, you agree certain additional information can be shared with us.

AutomotoSocial may offer the Services through applications built using AutomotoSocial’s platform (“AutomotoSocial Applications”). Examples of AutomotoSocial Applications include its smart phone applications (AutomotoSocial for Android, AutomotoSocial for Blackberry or AutomotoSocial for iPhone), and AutomotoSocial’s “Share” buttons and other interactive plugins distributed on websites across the web. AutomotoSocial Applications are distinct from third party Platform Applications addressed in Section 4.2. If you use a AutomotoSocial Application or interact with a website that has deployed a plugin, you agree that information about you and your use of the Services, including, but not limited to, your device, your mobile carrier, your internet access provider, your physical location, or web pages containing AutomotoSocial plugins that load in your browser may be communicated to us. Further, by importing any of your AutomotoSocial data through the AutomotoSocial Application, you represent that you have authority to share the transferred data with your mobile carrier or other access provider. In the event you change or deactivate your mobile account, you must promptly update your AutomotoSocial account information to ensure that your messages are not sent to the person that acquires your old number and failure to do so is your responsibility. You acknowledge you are responsible for all charges and necessary permissions related to accessing AutomotoSocial through your mobile access provider. Therefore, you should check with your provider to find out if the Services are available and the terms for these services for your specific mobile devices. Finally, by using any downloadable application to enable your use of the Services, you are explicitly confirming your acceptance of the terms of the End User License Agreement associated with the application provided at download or installation, or as may be updated from time to time.

2.10. User-to-User Communication and Sharing (AutomotoSocial Groups, Answers, Updates, Company Pages, etc.)

When you share information, others can see, copy and use that information.

AutomotoSocial offers various forums such as AutomotoSocial Groups, Answers, and Network Updates, where you can post your observations and comments on designated topics. AutomotoSocial also enables sharing of information by allowing users to post updates, including links to news articles and other information such as job opportunities, product recommendations, and other content to their profile and other parts of the site, such as AutomotoSocial Groups and AutomotoSocial Company Pages. AutomotoSocial members can create AutomotoSocial Groups and Company Pages for free, however, AutomotoSocial, in its sole discretion, may close or transfer AutomotoSocial Groups or Company Pages, or remove content from them if the content violates this Agreement or others’ intellectual property rights. Please note that ideas you post and information you share may be seen and used by other Members, and AutomotoSocial cannot guarantee that other Members will not use the ideas and information that you share on AutomotoSocial. Therefore, if you have an idea or information that you would like to keep confidential or don’t want others to use, or that is subject to third party rights that may be infringed by your sharing it, do not post it to any AutomotoSocial Group, into your Network Updates, or elsewhere on AutomotoSocial. AUTOMOTOSOCIAL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR A ANOTHER’S MISUSE OR MISAPPROPRIATION OF ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION YOU POST ON AUTOMOTOSOCIAL.

2.11. Privacy

You are okay with us collecting, using, storing, and disclosing information about you in keeping with our Privacy Policy.

You should carefully read our full Privacy Policy before using AutomotoSocial as it is hereby incorporated into this Agreement by reference, and governs our treatment of any information, including personally identifiable information you submit to us. Please note that certain information, statements, data, and content (such as photographs) which you may submit to AutomotoSocial, or groups you choose to join might, or are likely to, reveal your gender, ethnic origin, nationality, age, and/or other personal information about you. You acknowledge that your submission of any information, statements, data, and content to us is voluntary on your part and that AutomotoSocial may process such information, within the terms of the Privacy Policy.

2.12. Export Control

You won’t break export laws.

Your use of AutomotoSocial services, including our software, is subject to export and re-export control laws and regulations, including the Export Administration Regulations (“EAR”) maintained by the United States Department of Commerce and sanctions programs maintained by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control. You shall not — directly or indirectly — sell, export, re-export, transfer, divert, or otherwise dispose of any software or service to any end-user without obtaining the required authorizations from the appropriate government authorities. You also warrant that you are not prohibited from receiving US origin products, including services or software.

2.13. Contributions to AutomotoSocial

If you provide feedback to us, make sure you don’t include confidential or infringing materials. You grant us rights to your feedback.

By submitting ideas, suggestions, documents, or proposals ("Contributions") to AutomotoSocial through its suggestion or feedback webpages, you acknowledge and agree that: (a) your Contributions do not contain confidential or proprietary information; (b) AutomotoSocial is not under any obligation of confidentiality, express or implied, with respect to the Contributions; (c) AutomotoSocial shall be entitled to use or disclose (or choose not to use or disclose) such Contributions for any purpose, in any way, in any media worldwide; (d) AutomotoSocial may have something similar to the Contributions already under consideration or in development; (e) you irrevocably non-exclusively license to AutomotoSocial rights to exploit your Contributions; and (f) you are not entitled to any compensation or reimbursement of any kind from AutomotoSocial under any circumstances.

3. Your Rights

If you follow this agreement, we grant you a limited right to use AutomotoSocial.

You will only access and use AutomotoSocial in the way this agreement allows you.

On the condition that you comply with all your obligations under this Agreement, including, but not limited to, the Do’s and Don’ts listed in Section 10, we grant you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, nonassignable, nonsublicenseable license and right to access the Services, through a generally available web browser, mobile device or AutomotoSocial authorized application (but not through scraping, spidering, crawling or other technology or software used to access data without the express written consent of AutomotoSocial or its Members), to view information and use the Services that we provide on AutomotoSocial webpages and in accordance with this Agreement. Any other use of AutomotoSocial contrary to our mission and purpose (such as seeking to connect to someone you do not know or trust, or to use information gathered from AutomotoSocial commercially unless expressly authorized by AutomotoSocial) is strictly prohibited and a violation of this Agreement. We reserve all rights not expressly granted in this Agreement, including, without limitation, title, ownership, intellectual property rights, and all other rights and interest in AutomotoSocial and all related items, including any and all copies made of the AutomotoSocial website.

4. Our Rights & Obligations

4.1. Services Availability

We may change or discontinue Services, and in such case, we do not promise to keep showing or storing your information and materials.

For as long as AutomotoSocial continues to offer the Services, AutomotoSocial shall provide and seek to update, improve and expand the Services. As a result, we allow you to access AutomotoSocial as it may exist and be available on any given day and we have no other obligations, except as expressly stated in this Agreement. We may modify, replace, refuse access to, suspend or discontinue AutomotoSocial, partially or entirely, or change and modify prices prospectively for all or part of the Services for you or for all our Members in our sole discretion. All of these changes shall be effective upon their posting on AutomotoSocial or by direct communication to you unless otherwise noted. AutomotoSocial further reserves the right to withhold, remove or discard any content available as part of your account, with or without notice if deemed by AutomotoSocial to be contrary to this Agreement. For avoidance of doubt, AutomotoSocial has no obligation to store, maintain or provide you a copy of any content that you or other Members provide when using the Services.

4.2. Third Party Sites and Developers

Third parties may offer their own products and services through AutomotoSocial, and we are not responsible for these third-party activities.

AutomotoSocial may include links to third party web sites (“Third Party Sites”) on www.AutomotoSocial.com, and elsewhere. AutomotoSocial also enables third party developers (“Platform Developers”) to create applications (“Platform Applications”) that provide features and functionality using data and developer tools made available by AutomotoSocial through its developer platform. You are responsible for evaluating whether you want to access or use a Third Party Site or Platform Application. You should review any applicable terms or privacy policy of a Third Party Site or Platform Application before using it or sharing any information with it, because you may give the third-party permission to use your information in ways we would not. AutomotoSocial is not responsible for and does not endorse any features, content, advertising, products or other materials on or available from Third Party Sites or Platform Applications. AutomotoSocial also does not screen, audit, or endorse Platform Applications. Accordingly, if you decide to use Third Party Sites or use Platform Applications, you do so at your own risk and agree that your use of any Platform Application is on an “as-is” basis without any warranty as to the Platform Developer’s actions, and that this Agreement does not apply to your use of any Third Party Site or Developer Application. Please note: If you allow an Platform Application or Third Party Site to authenticate you or connect with your AutomotoSocial account, that application or website can access information on AutomotoSocial related to you and your connections. For additional information regarding Platform Developers and Platform Applications, please refer to AutomotoSocial’s Privacy Policy.

4.3. Disclosure of User Information

You agree that we can use, store, and share information about you as permitted in our Privacy Policy.

You acknowledge, consent and agree that we may access, preserve, and disclose your registration and any other information you provide in accordance with the terms of the Privacy Policy if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary in our opinion to: (1) comply with legal process, including, but not limited to, civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures; (2) enforce this Agreement; (3) respond to claims of a violation of the rights of third parties, whether or not the third party is a Member, individual, or government agency; (4) respond to customer service inquiries; or (5) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of AutomotoSocial, our Members or the public. Disclosures of Member information to third parties other than those required to provide customer support, administer this agreement, or comply with legal requirements are addressed in the Privacy Policy.

4.4. Connections and Interactions with other Members

We have the right to limit the connections and interactions on the Service.

You are solely responsible for your interactions with other Members. AutomotoSocial may limit the number of connections you may have to other Members and may, in certain circumstances, prohibit you from contacting other Users through use of the Services or otherwise limit your use of the Services. AutomotoSocial reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and other members and to restrict, suspend, or close your account if AutomotoSocial determines, in our sole discretion, that doing so is necessary to enforce this Agreement.

4.5. Intellectual Property Notices

We are providing you notice about our intellectual property rights.

The Service includes the copyrights and Intellectual property rights of AutomotoSocial and except for the limited license granted to you in Section 3, AutomotoSocial reserves all of its intellectual property rights in the Service. AutomotoSocial, the AutomotoSocial and “in” logos and other AutomotoSocial trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with AutomotoSocial are trademarks or registered trademarks of AutomotoSocial in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and logos used in connection with AutomotoSocial may be the trademarks of their respective owners. This Agreement does not grant you any right or license with respect to any such trademarks and logos.

5. Disclaimer

We disclaim any legal liability for the quality, safety, or reliability of AutomotoSocial.

SOME COUNTRIES AND JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF IMPLIED TERMS IN CONTRACTS WITH CONSUMERS AND AS A RESULT THE CONTENTS OF THIS SECTION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. DO NOT RELY ON AUTOMOTOSOCIAL OR ITS SUPPLIERS, ANY INFORMATION THEREIN, OR ITS CONTINUATION. WE PROVIDE THE PLATFORM FOR AUTOMOTOSOCIAL AND ALL INFORMATION AND SERVICES ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. AUTOMOTOSOCIAL DOES NOT CONTROL OR VET USER GENERATED CONTENT FOR ACCURACY. WE DO NOT PROVIDE ANY EXPRESS WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, AUTOMOTOSOCIAL AND ITS SUPPLIERS DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, ACCURACY OF DATA, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IF YOU ARE DISSATISFIED OR HARMED BY AUTOMOTOSOCIAL OR ANYTHING RELATED TO AUTOMOTOSOCIAL, YOU MAY CLOSE YOUR AUTOMOTOSOCIAL ACCOUNT AND TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 7 (“TERMINATION”) AND SUCH TERMINATION SHALL BE YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY. AUTOMOTOSOCIAL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES FOR THE DELIVERY OF ANY MESSAGES (SUCH AS INMAILS, POSTING OF ANSWERS OR TRANSMISSION OF ANY OTHER USER GENERATED CONTENT) SENT THROUGH AUTOMOTOSOCIAL TO ANYONE. IN ADDITION, WE NEITHER WARRANT NOR REPRESENT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE WILL NOT INFRINGE THE RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES. ANY MATERIAL, SERVICE, OR TECHNOLOGY DESCRIBED OR USED ON THE WEBSITE MAY BE SUBJECT TO INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OWNED BY THIRD PARTIES WHO HAVE LICENSED SUCH MATERIAL, SERVICE, OR TECHNOLOGY TO US. AUTOMOTOSOCIAL DOES NOT HAVE ANY OBLIGATION TO VERIFY THE IDENTITY OF THE PERSONS SUBSCRIBING TO ITS SERVICES, NOR DOES IT HAVE ANY OBLIGATION TO MONITOR THE USE OF ITS SERVICES BY OTHER USERS OF THE COMMUNITY; THEREFORE, LINKEDIN DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR IDENTITY THEFT OR ANY OTHER MISUSE OF YOUR IDENTITY OR INFORMATION BY OTHERS. AUTOMOTOSOCIAL DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES WILL FUNCTION WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR ERRORS IN FUNCTIONING. IN PARTICULAR, THE OPERATION OF THE SERVICES MAY BE INTERRUPTED DUE TO MAINTENANCE, UPDATES, OR SYSTEM OR NETWORK FAILURES. AUTOMOTOSOCIAL DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR DAMAGES CAUSED BY ANY SUCH INTERRUPTION OR ERRORS IN FUNCTIONING. FURTHERMORE, AUTOMOTOSOCIAL DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY FOR ANY MALFUNCTIONING, IMPOSSIBILITY OF ACCESS, OR POOR USE CONDITIONS OF THE AUTOMOTOSOCIAL SITE DUE TO INAPPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT, DISTURBANCES RELATED TO INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS, TO THE SATURATION OF THE INTERNET NETWORK, AND FOR ANY OTHER REASON.

6. Limitation of Liability

We are trying to limit any legal liability we may have to you.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. SOME COUNTRIES DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY IN CONTRACTS WITH CONSUMERS AND AS A RESULT THE CONTENTS OF THIS SECTION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. Neither AutomotoSocial nor any of our subsidiaries, affiliated companies, suppliers, employees, shareholders, or directors (“AutomotoSocial Affiliates”) shall be cumulatively liable for (a) any damages in excess of five times the most recent monthly fee that you paid for a Premium Service, if any, or US $100, whichever amount is greater, or (b) any special, incidental, indirect, punitive or consequential damages or loss of use, profit, revenue or data to you or any third person arising from your use of the Service, any Platform Applications or any of the content or other materials on, accessed through or downloaded from AutomotoSocial. This limitation of liability is part of the basis of the bargain between the parties and without it the terms and prices charged would be different. This limitation of liability shall:

Apply regardless of whether (1) you base your claim on contract, tort, statute or any other legal theory, (2) we knew or should have known about the possibility of such damages, or (3) the limited remedies provided in this section fail of their essential purpose; and
Not apply to any damage that AutomotoSocial may cause you intentionally or knowingly in violation of this Agreement or applicable law, or as otherwise mandated by applicable law that cannot be disclaimed in this Agreement.
Not apply if you have entered into a separate agreement to purchase Premium Services with a separate Limitation of Liability provision that supersedes this section in relation to those Premium Services.

7. Termination

7.1. Mutual rights of termination

We can each end this Agreement anytime we want.

You may terminate this Agreement, for any or no reason, at any time, with notice to AutomotoSocial pursuant to Section 9.3. This notice will be effective upon AutomotoSocial processing your notice. AutomotoSocial may terminate this Agreement and your account for any reason or no reason, at any time, with or without notice. This cancellation shall be effective immediately or as may be specified in the notice. For avoidance of doubt, only AutomotoSocial or the party paying for the services may terminate your access to any Premium Services. Termination of your AutomotoSocial account includes disabling your access to AutomotoSocial and may also bar you from any future use of AutomotoSocial.

7.2. Misuse of the Services

AutomotoSocial may restrict, suspend or terminate the account of any Member who abuses or misuses the Services. Misuse of the Services includes inviting other Members with whom you do not know to connect; abusing the AutomotoSocial messaging services; creating multiple or false profiles; using the Services commercially without AutomotoSocial’s authorization, infringing any intellectual property rights, violating any of the Do’s and Don’ts listed in Section 10, or any other behavior that AutomotoSocial, in its sole discretion, deems contrary to its purpose. In addition, and without limiting the foregoing, AutomotoSocial has adopted a policy of terminating accounts of Members who, in AutomotoSocial’s sole discretion, are deemed to be repeat infringers under the United States Copyright Act.

7.3. Effect of Termination

Upon termination of your AutomotoSocial account, you lose access to the Services. The terms of this Agreement shall survive any termination, except Section 3 (“Your Rights”) and Sections 4.1., 4.2., and 4.3. (“Our Rights and Obligations”).

8. Dispute Resolution

8.1. Law and Forum for Legal Disputes

In the unlikely event we end up in a legal dispute, it will take place in California courts, applying California law.

This Agreement or any claim, cause of action or dispute (“claim”) arising out of or related to this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of California regardless of your country of origin or where you access AutomotoSocial, and notwithstanding of any conflicts of law principles and the United Nations Convention for the International Sale of Goods. You and AutomotoSocial agree that all claims arising out of or related to this Agreement must be resolved exclusively by a state or federal court located in Riverside County, California, except as otherwise agreed by the parties or as described in the Arbitration Option paragraph below. You and AutomotoSocial agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Riverside County, California for the purpose of litigating all such claims. Notwithstanding the above, you agree that AutomotoSocial shall still be allowed to apply for injunctive remedies (or an equivalent type of urgent legal relief) in any jurisdiction.

8.2. Arbitration Option

Each of us will have the right to choose arbitration.

For any claim (excluding claims for injunctive or other equitable relief) where the total amount of the award sought is less than $10,000, the party requesting relief may elect to resolve the dispute in a cost effective manner through binding non-appearance-based arbitration. In the event a party elects arbitration, they shall initiate such arbitration through an established alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”) provider mutually agreed upon by the parties. The ADR provider and the parties must comply with the following rules: (a) the arbitration shall be conducted by telephone, online and/or be solely based on written submissions, the specific manner shall be chosen by the party initiating the arbitration; (b) the arbitration shall not involve any personal appearance by the parties or witnesses unless otherwise mutually agreed by the parties; and (c) any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator shall be final and may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

9. General Terms

9.1. Severability

Here are some important details about how to read the Agreement.

If any provision of this Agreement is found by a court of competent jurisdiction or arbitrator to be illegal, void, or unenforceable, the unenforceable provision will be modified so as to render it enforceable and effective to the maximum extent possible in order to effect the intention of the provision; if a court or arbitrator finds the modified provision invalid, illegal, void or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of this Agreement will not be affected in any way.

9.2. Language

Where AutomotoSocial has provided you with a translation of the English language version of this Agreement, the Privacy Policy, or any other documentation, you agree that the translation is provided for your convenience only and that the English language versions of this Agreement, the Privacy Policy, and any other documentation, including additional terms of service for Premium Services, will govern your relationship with AutomotoSocial.

9.3. Notices and Service of Process

In addition to Section 2.8. (“Notices and Service Messages”), we may notify you via postings on www.AutomotoSocial.com. You may contact us here. Any notices that you provide without compliance with this section shall have no legal effect.

9.4. Entire Agreement

You agree that this Agreement constitutes the entire, complete and exclusive agreement between you and AutomotoSocial regarding the Services and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings, whether written or oral, or whether established by custom, practice, policy or precedent, with respect to the subject matter of this Agreement. You also may be subject to additional terms and conditions that may apply when you use or purchase certain other AutomotoSocial services, third-party content or third party software.

9.5. Amendments to This Agreement

We reserve the right to modify, supplement, or replace the terms of this Agreement, effective prospectively upon posting at www.AutomotoSocial.com or notifying you otherwise. For example, we may present a banner on the Services when we have amended this Agreement or the Privacy Policy so that you may access and review the changes prior to your continued use of the site. If you do not want to agree to changes to this Agreement, you can terminate this Agreement at any time per Section 7 (Termination).

9.6. No informal waivers, agreements or representations

Our failure to act with respect to a breach of this Agreement by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to that breach or subsequent similar or other breaches. Except as expressly and specifically contemplated by the Agreement, no representations, statements, consents, waivers or other acts or omissions by any AutomotoSocial Affiliate shall be deemed legally binding on any AutomotoSocial Affiliate, unless documented in a physical writing hand signed by a duly appointed officer of AutomotoSocial.

9.7. No Injunctive Relief

You waive your rights to try to stop AutomotoSocial, but we don’t waive our rights to ask a court to stop your actions.

In no event shall you seek or be entitled to rescission, injunctive or other equitable relief, or to enjoin or restrain the operation of the Service, exploitation of any advertising or other materials issued in connection therewith, or exploitation of the Services or any content or other material used or displayed through the Services.

9.8. Beneficiaries

Entities other than AutomotoSocial, that AutomotoSocial owns a 50% or greater interest in (“Affiliate”) are not parties, but intended third party beneficiaries of this Agreement, with a right to enforce this Agreement directly against you.

9.9. Assignment and Delegation

You can’t assign your rights under this Agreement, but we can.

You may not assign or delegate any rights or obligations under the Agreement. Any purported assignment and delegation shall be ineffective. We may freely assign or delegate all rights and obligations under the Agreement, fully or partially without notice to you. We may also substitute, by way of unilateral novation, effective upon notice to you, AutomotoSocial for any third party that assumes our rights and obligations under this Agreement.

9.10. Potential Other Rights and Obligations

You may have rights or obligations under local law other than those enumerated here if you are located outside the United States.

10. AutomotoSocial “DOs” and “DON’Ts.”

As a condition to access AutomotoSocial, you agree to this User Agreement and to strictly observe the following DOs and DON’Ts:

10.1. Do undertake the following:

Here’s a list of some of the specific things we ask you to do and not do on AutomotoSocial. If you want a high-level summary of these, please check out our Professional Community Guidelines.

Comply with all applicable laws, including, without limitation, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, export control laws, tax laws, and regulatory requirements;
Provide accurate information to us and update it as necessary;
Review and comply with our Privacy Policy;
Review and comply with notices sent by AutomotoSocial concerning the Services;
Use the Services in a professional manner; and
Use your real name on your profile.

10.2. Don’t undertake the following:

Act dishonestly or unprofessionally by engaging in unprofessional behavior by posting inappropriate, inaccurate, or objectionable content to AutomotoSocial;
Publish inaccurate information in the designated fields on the profile form (e.g., do not include a link or an email address in the name field). Please also protect sensitive personal information such as your email address, phone number, street address, or other information that is confidential in nature;
Create a Member profile for anyone other than a natural person;
Harass, abuse or harm another person, including sending unwelcomed communications to others using AutomotoSocial;
Invite people you do not know to join your network;
Upload a profile image that is not your likeness or a head-shot photo;
Use or attempt to use another's account or create a false identity on AutomotoSocial;
Upload, post, email, InMail, transmit or otherwise make available or initiate any content that:
1. Falsely states, impersonates or otherwise misrepresents your identity, including but not limited to the use of a pseudonym, or misrepresenting your current or previous positions and qualifications, or misrepresents your affiliations with a person or entity, past or present;
2. Is unlawful, libelous, abusive, obscene, discriminatory or otherwise objectionable;
3. Adds to a content field content that is not intended for such field (e.g. submitting a telephone number in the “title” or any other field, or including telephone numbers, email addresses, street addresses or any personally identifiable information for which there is not a field provided by AutomotoSocial);
4. Includes information that you do not have the right to disclose or make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as insider information, or proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements);
5. Infringes upon patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights or other proprietary rights;
6. Includes any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation. This prohibition includes but is not limited to (a) using AutomotoSocial invitations to send messages to people who don’t know you or who are unlikely to recognize you as a known contact; (b) using AutomotoSocial to connect to people who don’t know you and then sending unsolicited promotional messages to those direct connections without their permission; and (c) sending messages to distribution lists, newsgroup aliases, or group aliases;
7. Contains software viruses, worms, or any other computer code, files or programs that interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment of AutomotoSocial or any user of AutomotoSocial;
8. Forges headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any communication transmitted through the Services; or
9. Even if it is legal where you are located, create profiles or provide content that promotes escort services or prostitution.
Participate, directly or indirectly, in the setting up or development of a network that seeks to implement practices that are similar to sales by network or the recruitment of independent home salespeople for the purposes of creating a pyramid scheme or other similar practices;
Duplicate, license, sublicense, publish, broadcast, transmit, distribute, perform, display, sell, rebrand, or otherwise transfer information found on AutomotoSocial (excluding content posted by you) except as permitted in this Agreement, or as expressly authorized by AutomotoSocial;
Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, decipher or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for any underlying intellectual property used to provide the Services, or any part thereof;
Utilize or copy information, content or any data you view on or obtain from AutomotoSocial to provide any service that is competitive, in AutomotoSocial’s sole discretion, with AutomotoSocial;
Imply or state, directly or indirectly, that you are affiliated with or endorsed by AutomotoSocial unless you have entered into a written agreement with AutomotoSocial (this includes, but is not limited to, representing yourself as an accredited AutomotoSocial trainer if you have not been certified by Automotosocial as such);
Adapt, modify or create derivative works based on AutomtoSocial or technology underlying the Services, or other Members’ content, in whole or part, except as permitted under AutomotoSocial’s developer program;
Rent, lease, loan, trade, sell/re-sell access to AutomotoSocial or any information therein, or the equivalent, in whole or part;
Sell, sponsor, or otherwise monetize a AutomotoSocial Group or any other service or functionality of AutomotoSocial, without the express written permission of AutomotoSocial;
Deep-link to the Site for any purpose, (i.e. creating or posting a link to a AutomotoSocial web page other than AutomotoSocial’s home page) unless expressly authorized in writing by AutomotoSocial or for the purpose of promoting your profile or a Group on AutomotoSocial as set forth in the Brand Guidelines;
Remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary rights notices contained in or on AutomotoSocial, including those of both AutomotoSocial and any of its licensors;
Remove, cover or otherwise obscure any form of advertisement included on AutomotoSocial;
Collect, use, copy, or transfer any information, including, but not limited to, personally identifiable information obtained from AutomotoSocial except as expressly permitted in this Agreement or as the owner of such information may expressly permit;
Share information of non- Members without their express consent;
Infringe or use AutomotoSocial’s brand, logos or trademarks, including, without limitation, using the word “AutomotoSocial” in any business name, email, or URL or including AutomotoSocial’s trademarks and logos except as provided in the Brand Guidelines or as expressly permitted by AutomotoSocial;
Use manual or automated software, devices, scripts robots, other means or processes to access, “scrape,” “crawl” or “spider” any web pages or other services contained in the site;
Use bots or other automated methods to access AutomotoSocial, add or download contacts, send or redirect messages, or perform other similar activities through AutomotoSocial, unless explicitly permitted by AutomotoSocial;
Access, via automated or manual means or processes, AutomotoSocial for purposes of monitoring AutomotoSocials’s availability, performance or functionality for any competitive purpose;
Engage in “framing,” “mirroring,” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of AutomotoSocials’s website;
Attempt to or actually access AutomotoSocial by any means other than through the interfaces provided by AutomotoSocial such as its mobile application or by navigating to http://www.AutomotoSocial.com using a web browser. This prohibition includes accessing or attempting to access AutomotoSocial using any third-party service, including software-as-a-service platforms that aggregate access to multiple services, including AutomotoSocial;
Attempt to or actually override any security component included in or underlying AutomotoSocial;
Engage in any action that directly or indirectly interferes with the proper working of or places an unreasonable load on AutomotoSocial’s infrastructure, including, but not limited to, sending unsolicited communications to other Members or AutomotoSocial personnel, attempting to gain unauthorized access to AutomotoSocial, or transmitting or activating computer viruses through or on AutomotoSocial; and/or
Interfere or disrupt or game AutomotoSocial or the Services, including, but not limited to, any servers or networks connected to AutomotoSocial, or AutomotoSocial's search algorithms.

Introduction Last revised on July 09, 2018

Our mission is to connect the world’s professionals to enable them to be more productive and successful.

We protect your personal information using industry-standard safeguards. We may share your information with your consent or as required by law as detailed in this policy, and we will always let you know when we make significant changes to this Privacy Policy.

Our Privacy Policy has been updated to give you a better understanding of how we treat your data and also to call your attention to new features. Please review this Privacy Policy.

AutomotoSocial’s mission is to connect the world’s professionals to enable them to be more productive and successful. Our registered users (“Members”) share their professional identities, engage with their network, exchange knowledge and professional insights, and find business opportunities. We believe that our service allows our Members to effectively compete and achieve their full career potential. The cornerstone of our business is to focus on our Members first.

Maintaining your trust is our top priority, so we adhere to the following principles to protect your privacy:

We protect your personal information and will only provide it to third parties: (1) with your consent; (2) where it is necessary to carry out your instructions; (3) as reasonably necessary in order to provide AutomotoSocial features and functionality to you; (4) as we reasonably believe is permitted by law or regulation; or (5) as necessary to enforce our User Agreement or protect the rights, property, or safety of AutomotoSocial, its Members, and the public.
We have implemented appropriate security safeguards designed to protect your information in accordance with industry standards.

We may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time, and if we make material changes to it, we will provide notice through our website, apps, or other services (“AutomotoSocial” or “Service”) or by other means so that you may review the changes before you continue to use AutomotoSocial. If you object to any changes, you may close your account. Continuing to use AutomotoSocial after we publish or communicate a notice about any changes to this Privacy Policy means that you are consenting to the changes.

1. What information we collect

1.1. Data Controllers

Our Privacy Policy applies to anyone with a AutomotoSocial account. If you live in the U.S., AutomotoSocial controls your information.

If you reside in the United States, then the personal information provided to or gathered by AutomotoSocial is controlled by AutomotoSocial, Canyon Lake, California 92587. If you have any concern about providing information to us or having such information displayed on the AutomotoSocial services or otherwise used in any manner permitted in this Privacy Policy and the User Agreement, you should not become a Member of AutomotoSocial or visit our website. If you have already registered, you should close your account. We collect your personal information in the following ways:

1.2. Registration

When you create an account with us, you provide us with information (including your name, email address, and password) that we use to offer you a personalized, relevant experience on LinkedIn.

To create an account on AutomotoSocial, you must provide us with at least your name, email address, and a password. You can choose to provide further information about yourself during the registration process (for example, your gender and location). We use this additional information to provide you with more customized services like language-specific profile pages, updates, and content, more relevant ads, and more valuable career opportunities, and it may appear on your Automotosocial profile that is viewable by others. You understand that, by creating an account, AutomotoSocial and others will be able to identify you by your AutomotoSocial profile, and you allow Automotosocial to use this information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and our User Agreement. We may also ask for your credit card details if you purchase certain AutomotoSocial services.

1.3. Profile Information

You can add professional details – like your job title, education, and skills – to your profile. A complete profile helps you be found by other people for opportunities. It also means we can show you relevant ads and content.

After you create an account, you may choose to provide additional information on your AutomotoSocial profile, such as descriptions of your skills, professional experience, and educational background. You can list honors, awards, professional affiliations, AutomotoSocial Group memberships, networking objectives, companies or individuals that you follow, and other information including content. With your approval, your connections may provide recommendations and endorsements of you. Providing additional information enables you to derive more benefit from AutomotoSocial by helping you express your professional identity; find other professionals, opportunities, and information; and help recruiters find you. It also enables us to serve you ads and other relevant content on and off AutomotoSocial.

1.4. Address Book, AutomotoSocial Contacts, and Other Services That Sync with AutomotoSocial

We collect information when you sync non-AutomotoSocial content – like your email address book, mobile device contacts, or calendar – with your account. We use this information to improve your experience and allow you and your network to be better connected. You can remove your address book and any other synced information whenever you'd like.

You may use the AutomotoSocial contacts importer to upload individual contacts or your entire address book into AutomotoSocial. AutomotoSocial stores this information and uses it to help you manage it with “AutomotoSocial Contacts,” which can be your primary resource for storing, organizing, and utilizing your contact information. We also use this information to enhance your AutomotoSocial experience by helping you to grow your network by: identifying your contacts already on AutomotoSocial; providing a template to send invitations to your contacts that have not registered with AutomotoSocial; and suggesting people you may know but who may not be in your Automotosocial Contacts. AutomotoSocial may also use this information to show you and other AutomotoSocial members that you share the same uploaded contacts who may or may not be Automotosocial members. Please note that when you send an invitation to connect to another individual (a “connection”), that person will have access to your email address because it is displayed in the invitation. AutomotoSocial will also remind you of pending invitations. Your AutomotoSocial connections will also have access to your email address.

AutomotoSocial makes other tools available to sync information with AutomotoSocial, and may also develop additional features that allow members to use their AutomotoSocial account in conjunction with other third-party services. For example, AutomotoSocial’s iPad and iPhone applications allow you to sync your device’s calendar with AutomotoSocial to show you the AutomotoSocial profiles of meeting attendees.

Another example are software tools that allow you to see AutomotoSocial and other public social media information about the people you email and leverage AutomotoSocial to help you gain insights from and grow your network. If you grant these products (mobile applications or other AutomotoSocial applications that sync external email services) permission to access your email accounts, they will access your email header information in order to match it to AutomotoSocial and other public social media profiles. AutomotoSocial’s products that sync with external email services will also temporarily cache message content for performance reasons; however, the cached message content will be temporarily cached in a way that is unreadable by AutomotoSocial and its service providers.

Any information that you upload or sync with AutomotoSocial is covered by the User Agreement and this Privacy Policy. You can remove your information at your convenience using the features AutomotoSocial makes available or in accordance with Section 3. You can remove your address book and any other synced information at any time.

1.5. Customer Service

When you contact our Help Center, we collect information to respond to your questions and better serve you.

When you contact AutomotoSocial’s Help Center, we collect information that helps us categorize your question, respond to it, and, if applicable, investigate any breach of our User Agreement or this Privacy Policy. We also use this information to track potential problems and trends and customize our support responses to better serve you.

1.6. Using the AutomotoSocial Site and Applications

We collect information when you visit AutomotoSocial, use our mobile applications, and interact with advertising on AutomotoSocial.

We collect information when you use the AutomotoSocial website, AutomotoSocial applications (for example, AutomotoSocial for iPhone or Android), and AutomotoSocial platform technology (such as “Share on AutomotoSocial” plugins for publishers). For example, we collect information when you view or click on ads, import your address book, join and participate in groups, participate in polls, install a AutomotoSocial mobile application, and share articles on AutomotoSocial.

1.7. Using Third-Party Services and Visiting Third-Party Sites

We collect information when you use your AutomotoSocial account to sign in to other sites or services, and when you view web pages that include AutomotoSocial plugins.

You can opt out of our collection of plugin impressions anytime.

We receive information when you use your AutomotoSocial account to log in to a third-party website or application. Also, when you visit a third-party site that embeds AutomotoSocial professional plugins (such as “Share on ” for publishers) we receive information that those pages have loaded in your web browser. If you are logged in as a AutomotoSocial Member when you visit sites with AutomotoSocial plugins, we use this information to recommend tailored content to you. AutomotoSocial will use this information to personalize the AutomotoSocial-provided functionality on third-party sites, including providing you insights from your AutomotoSocial network and allowing you to share information with your network (1st and 2nd degree connection on AutomotoSocial). Users wishing to disable this personalization may opt out here. AutomotoSocial’s retention of this data is addressed in Section 3.2. We do not use this information for advertising. AutomotoSocial may provide reports containing aggregated impression information to companies hosting AutomotoSocial plugins and similar technologies to help them measure Automotosocial-generated traffic to their websites. You can opt out of AutomotoSocial using your impression data by clicking here.

1.8. Cookies

We use cookies to help personalize your AutomotoSocial experience and show you relevant ads.

We use cookies and similar technologies, including mobile device identifiers, to help us recognize you, improve your AutomotoSocial experience, increase security, measure use of our Services, and serve advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings and other tools. For more information, including the types of cookies found on AutomotoSocial, please read AutomotoSocial’s Cookie Policy. By visiting AutomotoSocial, you consent to the placement of cookies and beacons in your browser in accordance with this Privacy Policy and AutomotoSocial’s Cookie Policy.

1.9. Advertising Technologies and Web Beacons

We target ads to you on and off AutomotoSocial, based on information you included in your profile and your use of Automotosocial. We give you a number of ways to opt out of these ads, including through the Ad Choices icon shown with any AutomotoSocial ads on third-party sites. If you do not want to receive AutomotoSocial ads on third-party sites, you can opt out.

We target ads to Members both on and off AutomotoSocial through a variety of ad networks and ad exchanges, using:

Advertising technologies like web beacons, pixels, ad tags, cookies, and mobile identifiers as permitted by mobile platforms both on and off AutomotoSocial;
Member-provided profile information and categories (for example, “product managers in Texas”);
Information inferred from a Member’s profile (for example, using job titles to infer age, industry, seniority, and compensation bracket; or names to infer gender);
Your use of AutomotoSocial (for example, your AutomotoSocial search history) or clicking on a AutomotoSocial ad;
Information from advertising partners which we use to help deliver ads more relevant to you.

We do not share personally identifiable information with any third-party advertiser or ad network, although your profile is visible to other AutomotoSocial Members and through public search depending on your settings.

AutomotoSocial may show you sponsored content in your Network Update Stream (NUS), which will be designated as sponsored content and will behave like other NUS updates. If you take social action (for example, if you “like or “comment” on the sponsored content), your action will be seen by your network and other AutomotoSocial Members who are shown the sponsored content after you have acted on it.

AutomotoSocial ads that are delivered on third-party sites contain the label “Ads by AutomotoSocial.” You may opt out of these ads served to you on third-party sites here. The Ad Choices icon shows you that we adhere to the Digital Advertising Alliance’s self-regulatory principles for online behavioral advertising. Please see http://www.aboutads.info for details.

1.10. Log Files, IP Addresses, and Information About Your Computer and Mobile Device

We collect information from the devices and networks that you use to access AutomotoSocial. This information helps us improve and secure our Services.

When you visit or leave AutomotoSocial by clicking a hyperlink or view a plugin on a third-party site, we automatically receive the URL of the site from which you came or the one to which you are directed. Also, advertisers receive the URL of the page that you are on when you click an ad on AutomotoSocial. We also receive the internet protocol (“IP”) address of your computer or the proxy server that you use to access the web, your computer operating system details, your type of web browser, your mobile device (including your mobile device identifier provided by your mobile device operating system), your mobile operating system (if you are accessing AutomotoSocial using a mobile device), and the name of your ISP or your mobile carrier. We may also receive location data passed to us from third-party services or GPS-enabled devices that you have set up, which we use to show you local information (for example, weather information) on our iPad application.

1.11. Other

We are constantly innovating to improve our Services, which means we may create new ways to collect information on the Service.

AutomotoSocial is a dynamic, innovative environment, which means we are always seeking to improve the services we offer you. We often introduce new features, some of which may result in the collection of new information (for example, when the Endorsements feature launched, we began collecting information about skills for which Members were endorsed and the individuals who endorsed them). Furthermore, new partnerships or corporate acquisitions may result in new features, and we may potentially collect new types of information.

2. How we use your personal information

At AutomotoSocial, we take pride in our mantra of “Members first,” which means that above all else we strive to use your information to provide you world-class services in a professional and trustworthy manner.

2.1. Consent to AutomotoSocial Processing Information About You

When you join AutomotoSocial, you acknowledge that information you provide on your profile can be seen by others and used by us as described in this Privacy Policy and our User Agreement.

The personal information you provide to us may reveal or allow others to identify aspects of your life that are not expressly stated on your profile (for example, your picture or your name may reveal your gender). By providing personal information to us when you create or update your account and profile, you are expressly and voluntarily accepting the terms and conditions of AutomotoSocial’s User Agreement and freely accepting and agreeing to our processing of your personal information in ways set out by this Privacy Policy. Supplying information to us, including any information deemed “sensitive” by applicable law, is entirely voluntary on your part. You have the right to withdraw or modify your consent to AutomotoSocial’s collection and processing of the information you provide at any time, in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy and the User Agreement, by changing your Settings, changing your profile, or by closing your account.

2.2. AutomotoSocial Communications

We communicate with you using AutomotoSocial messaging, email, and other ways available to us. We may send you messages relating to the availability of the Services, security, or other service-related issues. We also may send promotional InMail messages to your AutomotoSocial inbox. You can change your email settings at any time.

We communicate with you through email, notices posted on the AutomotoSocial website, messages to your AutomotoSocial inbox, and other means available through the Service, including mobile text messages and push notifications. Examples of these messages include: (1) welcome and engagement messages - when you register on AutomotoSocial, we may send you a series of emails to inform you about how to best use AutomotoSocial as well as new features; (2) service messages – these will cover service availability, security, and other issues about the functioning of AutomotoSocial; (3) promotional messages – these include both email and InMail messages (InMail messages are only delivered to your AutomotoSocial InBox), and may contain promotional information directly or on behalf of our partners, including job opportunities and information from companies that are hiring. These messages will be sent to you based on your profile information and messaging preferences. AutomotoSocial tracks the open rate of your InMails to provide your InMail acceptance score. You may change your email and contact preferences at any time by signing into your account and changing your email settings. You can also opt out of promotional messages by sending a request to AutomotoSocial Help Center. Please be aware that you cannot opt out of receiving service messages from AutomotoSocial.

2.3. User Communications

With certain communications you send on AutomotoSocial, the recipient can see your name, email address, and some network information.

Many communications that you initiate through AutomotoSocial (for example, an invitation sent to a non-Member) will list your name and primary email address in the header of the message. Messages you initiate may also provide the recipient with aggregate information about your network (for example, how many people are in your network). Other communications that you initiate through the Services, like a request for an introduction, will list your name as the initiator but will not include your personal email address contact information. Once you have connected with an individual, regardless of who sent the invitation, your contact information will be shared with that individual.

2.4. Customized Content

We use the information you provide on your profile to customize your experience on AutomotoSocial.

We use information that you provide to us to customize your experience and the experiences of others on AutomotoSocial. For example, when you sign in to your account, we may display the names of new Members who have recently joined your network or recent updates from your connections and companies you follow. We also use aggregated information from your network to show you content, such as news relevant to you, your industry, or your profession.

2.5. Sharing Information with Affiliates

We may share your personal information with our AutomotoSocial affiliates outside of the AutomotoSocial entity that is your data controller (for example, AutomotoSocial may share your information with other AutomotoSocial operating entities) as necessary to provide the Services. By agreeing to this Privacy Policy, you are consenting to this sharing.

2.6. Sharing Information with Third Parties

Any information you put on your profile and any content you post on AutomotoSocial may be seen by others. We don’t provide any of your non-public information (like your email address) to third parties without your consent, unless required by law, or as described in Sections 2.6 and 2.14 of this Policy. Other people may find your AutomotoSocial profile information through search engines (you can choose which parts of your public profile are accessible to public search engines in your settings), or use services like Twitter in conjunction with your AutomotoSocial account.

AutomotoSocial offers a “public profile” feature that allows Members to publish portions of their AutomotoSocial profile to the public Internet. This public profile will be indexed and displayed through public search engines when someone searches for your name. You may choose the parts of your profile that search engines index or completely opt out of this feature in your settings. However, third-party search engines may not automatically update their caches, which may contain old public profile information. Unless you delete it, your profile on AutomotoSocial is always viewable on the AutomotoSocial Services.

We do not rent or sell personal information that you have not posted on Automotosocial, except as described in this Privacy Policy. We will not disclose personal information that is not published to your profile or generated through engagement with other AutomotoSocial services, such as Groups and Company Pages, without your consent or to carry out your instructions (for example, to process payment information) unless AutomotoSocial has a good faith belief that disclosure is permitted by law or is reasonably necessary to: (1) comply with a legal requirement or process, including, but not limited to, civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures; (2) enforce this Privacy Policy or our User Agreement; (3) respond to claims of a violation of the rights of third parties; (4) respond to Member service inquiries; or (5) protect the rights, property, or safety of AutomotoSocial, our Members, or the public. See Section 2.14 for additional details about AutomotoSocial’s compliance with legal requests for information.

AutomotoSocial supports middleware providers that offer archiving solutions to firms subject to financial services regulation, which, with your permission, facilitate the archiving of your communications and other AutomotoSocial activity by a third party for compliance purposes. Content distributed through AutomotoSocial’s sharing features and third-party integrations may result in displaying some of your personal information outside of AutomotoSocial. For example, when you post content to a AutomotoSocial Group that is open for public discussion, your content, including your name as the contributor, may be displayed in search engine results. Also, if you have bound your AutomotoSocial account to your Twitter account, you can easily share content from AutomotoSocial to Twitter. Further, AutomotoSocial allows third parties to look-up profile information (subject to your privacy settings) using your email address or first and last name information through its profile API (see Section 2.7. below).

Third parties (for example, your email provider) may give you the option to upload certain information in your AutomotoSocial contacts onto their own service. If you choose to share your Automotosocial contacts, you will be granting your third party provider the right to store, access, disclose and use your AutomotoSocial contacts in the ways described in such third party's terms and privacy policy.

2.7. Developers Using AutomotoSocial Platform Services

We work with developers to build Platform Applications using AutomotoSocial’s developer tools. Whether you use Platform Applications is up to you. If you have given a Platform Application access to your AutomotoSocial account, you can revoke that permission anytime. Also, you can opt out of providing information to developers through your connections.

We collaborate with and allow third parties to use AutomotoSocial’s developer platform to offer services and functionality in conjunction with AutomotoSocial. These third-party developers have either negotiated an agreement to use AutomotoSocial platform technology or have agreed to our self-service API and Plugin terms in order to build applications (“Platform Applications”). Both the negotiated agreements and our API and Plugin terms contain restrictions on how third parties may access, store, and use the personal information you provide to Automotosocial. If you choose to use a Platform Application, you will be asked to confirm acceptance of the privacy policy and user agreement of the third-party developer. To revoke permission granted to a Platform Application, please visit your settings. Note, however, that even if you revoke the permission granted to a Platform Application, your connections may still be using the Platform Application, so the Platform Application may still have access to certain information about you, just as your connections do. You may opt out of providing information to third-party developers through your connections by accessing the “Turn on/off data sharing with third-party applications” control in the “Groups, Companies, and Applications” tab under settings.

2.8. Polls and Surveys

We conduct our own surveys and polls and also help third parties do this type of research. Your participation in surveys or polls is up to you. You may also opt out of getting invitations to participate in surveys.

Polls and Surveys may be conducted by AutomotoSocial, Members, or third parties. Some third parties may target advertisements to you on the results page based on your answers in the poll. AutomotoSocial or third parties may follow up with you via InMail regarding your participation unless you have opted out of receiving InMail messages. We may use third parties to deliver incentives to you to participate in surveys or polls. If the delivery of incentives requires your contact information, you may be asked to provide personal information to the third party fulfilling the incentive offer, which will be used only for the purpose of delivering incentives and verifying your contact information. It is up to you whether you provide this information, or whether you desire to take advantage of an incentive. Your consent to use any personally identifiable information for the purposes set forth in the poll or survey will be explicitly requested by the party conducting it. You may opt out of participating in surveys by changing your settings to stop receiving these inquiries and requests.

2.9. Search

AutomotoSocial helps you search for other professionals, companies, groups, professional content, and jobs.

You can search for Members, employment opportunities, information about companies, and community content from AutomotoSocial Groups on AutomotoSocial. For example, you can find Members with particular expertise or experience, or Members that you may know from your industry or profession. You can also find employment opportunities and information about companies. You can also find content from AutomotoSocial Groups and AutomotoSocial Today. We use personal information from AutomotoSocial, including Member profiles, Groups content, and Company Pages, to inform and refine our search service.

2.10. Groups

You are responsible for any information you post on AutomotoSocial, and this content will be accessible to others.

If you participate in AutomotoSocial Groups, share content on your Network Update Stream, or import a blog or other content, you should be aware that any information you choose to disclose using these services can be read, collected, and used by other Members in these forums, developers, and other third parties. AutomotoSocial is not responsible for the information you choose to submit in these forums. Some content in AutomotoSocial Groups may be public and searchable on the Internet if the group owner has not closed the group for public discussions. You can identify closed groups by the padlock icon next to the group name. You can remove your AutomotoSocial Groups posts at any time. However, others may have copied and used the information that you shared.

2.11. Testimonials and Advertisements Placed through AutomotoSocial Ads

If you provide any testimonials about our goods or services or place advertisements through the AutomotoSocial Ads, we may post those testimonials and examples of advertisements you place in connection with our promotion of these services to third parties. Testimonials and advertisements may include your name and other personal information that you have provided. For more information about AutomotoSocial Ads, please see the AutomotoSocial Ads Terms of Use.

2.12. Recruiters

We offer a premium service to recruiters, which can be used to search for, organize, and communicate with potential candidates. Subscribers to this service may export limited information from members’ public profiles to effectively manage candidate sourcing. You can control how your information is exported by changing which parts of your public profile are accessible to search engines.

We offer customized people-search functionality along with organizational and communications tools as part of our “AutomotoSocial Recruiter” premium service. AutomotoSocial Recruiter allows subscribers – generally, enterprises and professional organizations - to export limited information from Members’ public profiles, such as name, headline, current company, current title, and location (for example, San Francisco Bay Area), in order to effectively manage candidate sourcing. You may limit or prevent AutomotoSocial Recruiter subscribers from exporting your profile information by configuring your public profile visibility settings to restrict access to these fields. We do not provide email or other contact information to Recruiter subscribers. However, if you post that information as part of your profile it will be available to others. A AutomotoSocial Recruiter subscriber may also manage and store information it has independently obtained about you outside of the Service, such as a resume, in its licensed AutomotoSocial Recruiter platform. Any personal information obtained independently of AutomotoSocial services are not under AutomotoSocial’s control but are subject to the policies of the AutomotoSocial Recruiter subscriber. We store such information on behalf of the AutomotoSocial Recruiter subscriber who can remove it at any time. We do not further process such information.

2.13. Pages for Companies, Schools, Influencers, and Other Entities

Companies and other entities can create pages on AutomotoSocial. If you follow one of these pages, you’ll be listed as one of the company’s followers, and non-identifiable information about you will be provided to the page’s administrators.

AutomotoSocial allows companies, schools, charities, and other organizations as well as thought leaders and influencers to create pages dedicated to their brand, business, and mission. These pages are public, and any communications or information shared through them will be accessible by the entity that created them. If you follow a page, you will be listed among the page’s followers, which can be viewed by others. AutomotoSocial uses aggregate information about followers and viewers to provide data about the page’s performance (for example, visits and updates).

2.14. Compliance with Legal Process and Other Disclosures

We may disclose your personal information if compelled by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if necessary to enforce our User Agreement.

It is possible that we may need to disclose personal information, profile information, or information about your activities as a AutomotoSocial Member when required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if AutomotoSocial has a good faith belief that disclosure is reasonably necessary to (1) investigate, prevent, or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities or to assist government enforcement agencies; (2) enforce the User Agreement, investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations, or protect the security or integrity of our Service; or (3) exercise or protect the rights, property, or safety of AutomotoSocial, our Members, personnel, or others.

2.15. Disclosures to Others as the Result of a Change in Control or Sale of AutomotoSocial

If there is a change in control or sale of all or part of AutomotoSocial, we may share your information with a third party, who will have the right to use that information in line with this Privacy Policy.

We may also disclose your personal information to a third party as part of a sale of the assets of AutomotoSocial, a subsidiary, or division, or as the result of a change in control of the company or one of its affiliates, or in preparation for any of these events. Any third party to which AutomotoSocial transfers or sells AutomotoSocial assets will have the right to continue to use the personal and other information that you provide to us in the manner set out in this Privacy Policy.

3. Your Choices & Obligations

3.1. Rights to Access, Correct, or Delete Your Information, and Closing Your Account

You can change your AutomotoSocial information at any time by editing your profile, deleting content that you have posted, or by closing your account. You can also ask us for additional information we may have about your account.

You have a right to (1) access, modify, correct, or delete your personal information controlled by AutomotoSocial regarding your profile, (2) change or remove your content, and (3) close your account. You can also contact us for any account information which is not on your profile or readily accessible to you. If you close your account, your information will generally be removed from the Service within 24 hours. We generally delete closed account information and will de-personalize any logs or other backup information within 30 days of account closure, except as noted below.

Please note: Information you have shared with others (for example, through InMail, network updates, content sharing, or AutomotoSocial Groups) or that others have copied may also remain visible after you have closed your account or deleted the information from your own profile. AutomotoSocial Groups content associated with closed accounts will show an unknown user as the source. In addition, you may not be able to access, correct, or eliminate any information about you that other Members copied or exported out of AutomotoSocial, because this information may not be in our control. Your public profile may be displayed in search engine results until the search engine refreshes its cache.

3.2. Data Retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active or as needed. For example, we may keep certain information even after you close your account if it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations, meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce this agreement.

We retain the personal information you provide while your account is in existence or as needed to provide you services. AutomotoSocial may retain your personal information even after you have closed your account if retention is reasonably necessary to comply with our legal obligations, meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes between Members, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce this Privacy Policy and our User Agreement. We may retain personal information, for a limited period of time, if requested by law enforcement. AutomotoSocial's Customer Service may retain information for as long as is necessary to provide support-related reporting and trend analysis only, but we generally delete or de-personalize closed account data consistent with Section 3.1., except in the case of our plugin impression data, which we will try to de-personalize at the time of collection, but in any event, we will de-personalize within 7 days.

3.3. Your Obligations

Please respect the terms of our User Agreement, our Policies, and your fellow AutomotoSocial Members.

As a Member, you have certain obligations to other Members. Some of these obligations are imposed by applicable law and regulations and others have become commonplace in communities of like-minded Members such as AutomotoSocial:

You must, at all times, abide by the terms and conditions of the current Privacy Policy, User Agreement, and other policies of AutomotoSocial. This includes respecting all intellectual property rights that may belong to third parties, such as trademarks or copyrights.
You must not upload or otherwise disseminate any information that may infringe on the rights of others or which may be deemed to be injurious, violent, offensive, racist, or xenophobic, or which may otherwise violate the purpose and spirit of AutomotoSocial and its community of Members.
You must keep your username and password confidential and not share it with others.

Any violation of these guidelines or those detailed in our User Agreement or elsewhere may lead to the restriction, suspension, or termination of your account at the sole discretion of AutomotoSocial.

4. Important Information

4.1. Minimum Age

You have to meet AutomotoSocial’s minimum age requirements to create an account.

Visit our Safety Center for tips on using AutomotoSocial smartly and securely.

As described in Section 2.3. of the User Agreement, persons must be of Minimum Age to use AutomotoSocial. Please visit AutomotoSocial’s Safety Center for additional information about safely using AutomotoSocial.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this Policy, you should first contact AutomotoSocial.

AutomotoSocial complies with the U.S.-E.U. and U.S.-Swiss Safe Harbor Frameworks as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal data from European Union member countries and Switzerland. AutomotoSocial has certified that it adheres to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles of notice, choice, onward transfer, security, data integrity, access, and enforcement. To learn more about the Safe Harbor program, and to view, please visit http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/.

4.3. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We will notify you when we change this Privacy Policy.

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes in the way we treat your personal information, or to the Privacy Policy, we will provide notice to you on the Service or by some other means, such as email. Please review the changes carefully. If you agree to the changes, simply continue to use our Service. If you object to any of the changes to our terms and you no longer wish to use AutomotoSocial, you may close your account. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Policy applies to all information that AutomotoSocial has about you and your account. Using AutomotoSocial after a notice of changes has been communicated to you or published on our Service shall constitute consent to the changed terms or practices.

4.4. California's Shine the Light Law

We don’t share any of your personal information with third parties for direct marketing.

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our customers who are California residents to request and obtain from us a list of what personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes in the preceding calendar year and the names and addresses of those third parties. Requests may be made only once a year and are free of charge. Under Section 1798.83, AutomotoSocial currently does not share any personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.

4.5. Security

We take privacy and security seriously and have enabled HTTPS access to our site (turn on HTTPS), in addition to existing SSL access over mobile devices. Also, please know that the Internet is not a secure environment, so be careful and select strong passwords.

We have implemented security safeguards designed to protect the personal information that you provide in accordance with industry standards. Access to your data on AutomotoSocial is password-protected, and sensitive data (such as credit card information) is protected by SSL encryption when it is exchanged between your web browser and the AutomotoSocial Services. We also offer secure https access to the website. To protect any data you store on our servers, we also regularly monitor our system for possible vulnerabilities and attacks, and we use a tier-one secured-access data center. However, since the Internet is not a 100% secure environment, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you transmit to AutomotoSocial. There is no guarantee that information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. It is your responsibility to protect the security of your login information. Please note that emails, instant messaging, and similar means of communication with other AutomotoSocial Members are not encrypted, and we strongly advise you not to communicate any confidential information through these means. Please help keep your account safe by using a strong password.

11. Complaints Regarding Content Posted on the AutomotoSocial Website

If you think someone has stolen or misused your intellectual property on AutomotoSocial, please check out our Copyright Policy.

We built AutomotoSocial to help you be a more successful professional, and to help professionals succeed. To achieving this purpose, we encourage our Members to share truthful and accurate information. We also respect the intellectual property rights of others. Accordingly, this Agreement requires that information posted by Members be accurate and not in violation of the intellectual property rights or other rights of third parties. To promote these objectives, AutomotoSocial provides a process for submission of complaints concerning content posted by our Members. Our policy and procedures can be found here: AutomotoSocial Copyright Policy. Claims regarding Copyright Infringement. Claims regarding content (other than copyright).

Your Privacy Matters

At AutomotoSocial, our fundamental philosophy is “members first.” That value powers all of the decisions we make, including how we gather and respect your personal information.

We’ve crafted the policy below to be as clear and straightforward as possible. Our aim is for you—our members—to always feel informed and empowered with respect to your privacy on AutomotoSocial. Visit our Safety Center for tips on using AutomotoSocial smartly and securely.

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