Introduction

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) is designed to inform users of TechTarget, Inc., and its affiliates’ (collectively „TechTarget“) network of websites about how TechTarget gathers and uses information provided to, or collected by, TechTarget and under what circumstances TechTarget will disclose such information. TechTarget will take reasonable steps to protect user privacy consistent with the guidelines set forth in this Privacy Policy and with the laws of the United States and other applicable jurisdictions.

TechTarget has certified to the United States Department of Commerce and the European Commission that it adheres to the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework (the “Privacy Shield.” The EU-US Privacy Shield a set of guidelines that establishes an adequacy standard which governs data-sharing between European Union and the United States.

TechTarget has certified that (1) it has certain protections and procedures in place which meet EU data protection and privacy standards and (2) further, that it adheres to the Privacy Shield principals of notice, choice, security, data integration and purpose limitation, access, accountability for the onward transfer of personal data, recourse, enforcement, and liability. To learn more about the EU-US Privacy Shield, and to view TechTarget’s certification, please visit www.privacyshield.gov.

TechTarget’s EU-US Privacy Shield Policy describes the manner in which TechTarget adheres to the Privacy Shield principles.

Privacy Policy Details

Key Definitions

“Advertisers” means third party clients who have purchased advertising space or materials for posting on TechTarget sites.

“Clickstream Data” means a record of any TechTarget content viewed by you, including your clicks on links to content on TechTarget Sites, and your search queries on TechTarget sites. It is the virtual trail that a User leaves behind when accessing the websites. A clickstream is a record of a User’s activity on our websites and every page the User visits, how long the User was on a page or site, in what order the pages were visited, any newsgroups that the User participates in or any comments made on the site.

“Co-Branded Site” means a website hosted by a third party business partner of TechTarget, the content and branding of which is shared with that third party business partner under contractual obligations between TechTarget and our partner.

“Content” means a white paper, analyst report, webcast, videocast, newsletter, software demo, web page or other document or media presentation that is linked to or displayed on a Site.

“Content Sponsors” means third party clients who sponsor the posting and/or creation of Content linked to or displayed on a TechTarget Site.

“Data Subscription Service” means the license that TechTarget grants to its customers to use our Clickstream and Member Data.

“Member” means a User that (i) registers on one of the Sites to become a member of that Site, (ii) subscribes to a newsletter on one of the Sites or (iii) accesses demos, brochures or other product information on or from a Site.

“Member Information” means information which you provide TechTarget which may include, but shall not be limited to your name and corporate title, the name of your company and the department in which you work, your industry group, country, zip code, email address, telephone number, information about software or hardware your company is using, plans your company may have to purchase additional information technology, as well as any Clickstream Data or Supplementary Information (as defined below) that is subsequently appended to your Member Information and  any additional information supplied by you in the process of submitting a TechTarget registration form.

„Personal Information“ as used throughout this policy, applies to any information or set of information that identifies or that is used by or on behalf of TechTarget to identify an individual, including Member Information.

“Service Provider” means a company that provides services to TechTarget with regard to the operation of its websites or the collection/review of data from the TechTarget websites.

“Sites,” “TechTarget Site,” or “Websites” means the network of websites owned and operated by TechTarget, including bitpipe.com, knowledgestorm.com and the TechnologyGuide.com sites. For purposes hereof, Co-Branded Sites shall be included in the definition of “Sites” and “Websites” except as expressly otherwise provided for herein.

“Sponsor” means a third party that owns or sponsors Content on a Site or that subscribes to TechTarget’s Data Subscription Service.

“Supplementary Information” means publicly available information or information that is made available by third parties that TechTarget may use to supplement Member Information. For example, if a Member provides the name of the company where he or she works, TechTarget may obtain information that is publicly available, or through a paid third party service, regarding the company’s number of employees and annual revenue.

“Tracking Technology” means cookies, clear GIFs, serving tracking technologies or other technology solutions performing similar functions that are used by TechTarget.

“User” or “You” means any person viewing any page of any of the Sites. A User need not be a Member.

This Privacy Policy Does Not Apply To Third Party Websites

Some Content made available through the Sites is maintained on the website of the Content Sponsor, and not on a TechTarget Site. This means that when you are on a TechTarget Site and click through to that Content, you may be leaving the TechTarget Site and may be redirected to the site of the Content Sponsor, at which time you will be subject to the policies of the Content Sponsor.

TechTarget Sites also feature ads Advertisers. In the event that you click on an advertisement posted on a TechTarget Site, you may be  redirected to the Advertiser’s website and leave the TechTarget network of Sites, at which time you will be subject to the Advertiser’s policies. Please note that there are two indicators of when you have left a TechTarget website. TechTarget takes pride in streamlining the “look and feel” of its websites.  When you leave a TechTarget site, the look and feel of the site will change. Additionally, the URL of the TechTarget site that you were browsing prior to clicking on the advertisement will no longer reference the TechTarget Site.

This Privacy Policy does not govern the use of, or disclosure of any information to Advertisers or Content Sponsors on, their website.

What Information Do We Collect?

Member Information:A TechTarget goal in collecting Member Information is to provide you with the best and most useful content and services, and to offer you opportunities to obtain other products and services from us and our partners. Because we derive revenue from advertising, collecting information is essential to keeping our services available to users. We collect Member Information when you provide it to us through the following: when you register on one of our Sites, subscribe to an e-mail newsletter, register for one of our events or access certain Content or through surveys, as well as when you register to receive a demonstration or “test-drive” software products. Several of the services that we offer on our Sites may require registration as a condition of use. Once you register with one of the TechTarget Sites, you are no longer anonymous to us. To the extent that we combine any Clickstream Data or Supplementary Information with the information provided by you, it will be considered to be part of your Member Information.

Clickstream Data:When you access a Site, a small file called a “cookie” is placed on your hard drive. If you register as a Member, TechTarget will use cookies to authenticate your identity when you visit the Sites, collect the data generated in connection with your clickstream activity on the Sites and to personalize your user experience on the Sites, including by serving and managing ads based on your activity on the Sites. In all cases, TechTarget uses cookies to track the Clickstream Data of Members on the Sites and to obtain non-personally identifiable information from Users, such as the number of visits to the Sites that a certain User has made, the movement of the User through the Sites, and the searches that the User conducts on the Sites. Please note that TechTarget does not collect Clickstream Data on any websites other than the Sites. Most browsers are initially set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some TechTarget features and services may not be available to you if your cookies are disabled. We use electronic images known as „clear GIFs“ (sometimes called „transparent GIFs“, „Web bugs“, “pixel tags” or „beacons“) that allow us to track general user traffic patterns. TechTarget also automatically receives and records information from our servers and from your browser, including your IP address, the time, and information about the page you accessed. Although our Sites currently do not respond to “do not track” browser headers, you can limit tracking through these third-party programs and by taking the other steps discussed in the section entitled Analytics and Online Behavioral Advertising.

Third Party Clickstream Data:When you visit the Sites, we may also allow our third party partners to place their own cookies on your computer in order to serve you with relevant advertising online. This third party cookie may transfer non-personally identifiable information to the third party partner in order for them to track your activity when you visit the Sites and on sites outside the TechTarget network for purposes of serving you ads on topics in which you have a demonstrated interest based on your Clickstream Data; please note that we do not share any personally identifiable Member Information with these third parties and we can only access cookies that we set on your computer, not the cookies sent to you by other companies. Also, when you leave the TechTarget network of Sites by clicking on Sponsored Content or advertising, these third parties may place cookies or clear GIFs on your computer. This Privacy Policy does not govern the use and disclosure of any information collected by third parties, such as through cookies or clear GIFs, when you visit their web sites or by third parties regarding your clickstream activity on sites other than TechTarget’s network of Sites.

In addition to the disclosure to third parties as described above, TechTarget has contractual arrangements with certain Service Providers under which these Service Providers agree not to disclose any information we provide to them. For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, the Service Provider is to be considered to be the same as TechTarget.

Analytics and Online Behavioral Advertising: We partner with certain third parties to collect the non-personal information discussed above and to engage in analysis, auditing, research, and reporting. These third parties may use web logs or web beacons, and they may set and access cookies on your computer or other device. In particular, the Sites use Google Analytics to help collect and analyze certain information for the purposes discussed above.

You may opt out of the use of cookies by Google Analytics here.

The Sites also enable third-party tracking mechanisms to collect your non-personal information for use in online behavioral advertising. For example, third parties may use the fact that you visited the Sites to target online ads for TechTarget to you on non-TechTarget websites. In addition, our third-party advertising networks might use information about your use of the Sites to help target specific technology-related or other non-TechTarget advertisements to you based on your online behavior. For information about behavioral advertising practices, including privacy and confidentiality, visit the Network Advertising Initiative website or the Digital Advertising Alliance website.

The use of online tracking mechanisms by third parties is subject to those third parties’ own privacy policies, and not this Policy. If you prefer to prevent third parties from setting and accessing cookies on your computer, you may set your browser to block cookies. Additionally, you may remove yourself from the targeted advertising of companies within the Network Advertising Initiative by opting out here, or of companies participating in the Digital Advertising Alliance program by opting out here. Although our Sites currently do not respond to “do not track” browser headers, you can limit tracking through these third-party programs and by taking the other steps discussed above.

Third Party Personal Information: The Sites include an “email a friend” feature, which allows a User to email Content to a third party; we only use the email address of that person for purposes of emailing that Content to that person.

User Generated Content: Some Sites feature user generated content in the form of a user review section or forum communities. In order to interact in these forums, a User must first complete the applicable registration form and, in some case, terms of service for the Site. The information provided by the User may be displayed in the User’s public profile in our forums and can be viewed by all visitors to this Site. However, to ensure total privacy of our Users, we do not display any User e-mail addresses.

User System Information: TechTarget’s webcast application provides a system test that determines whether you can view a webcast from your computer. This information is used to optimize the viewing experience and to troubleshoot webcast viewing problems. We do not collect or retain personally identifiable information in conducting these tests.

Transaction Information: When you order paid Content from the Sites or register to attend a paid in-person event on the Sites, we ask you to complete an order form that requests certain information from you, including a credit card number and expiration date and general contact details. We do not retain the credit card information.

How does TechTarget collect Personal Information?

TechTarget collects Personal Information online through websites and other online resources. TechTarget also offers online resources in collaboration with other online service providers, from it may receive personal information about Users of such resources. These online collaborations are governed by agreements that require Personal Information to be protected appropriately.

Why does TechTarget collect, use, and disclose Personal Information?

TechTarget collects Personal Information so that it can provide its Users with valuable and useful Content and services, and to offer you opportunities to obtain other high-quality products and services our partners.  TechTarget analyzes Personal Information collected online to identify and offer additional services and promotions that we believe you might find interesting.

Use and Disclosure of Information We Collect

Member Information: Certain TechTarget Sponsors receive or are granted access to reports that may include your Member Information and, in some instances, information about your areas of interest derived from your Clickstream Data. If you do not want this information shared, please see “How Can You Opt Out of Use and Disclosure of Your Information?” below. TechTarget’s customer agreements with Sponsors: (a) provide that the Sponsor may use this information to contact you via common methods of communication; and (b) prohibit disclosure of the information to any third party other than agents of the Sponsor for the permitted marketing purposes set forth above. You should contact the Sponsor directly if you have any questions about their use of this information. We use Member Information to deliver email newsletters on topics of interest to Members who have accessed those services. We may also send general promotional and marketing materials to our Members, including marketing research surveys. TechTarget, in some cases utilizing a Service Provider, deploys surveys and incentives. We also use Member Information in aggregated form to understand our Member base, and to market our services to our customers. In addition, under certain conditions we will inform a customer of TechTarget that a pre-existing contact in their CRM system is also a Member.

Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy, TechTarget will not disclose any personally identifiable Member Information to any third parties, unless we are required to do so by law, regulation or court order.

Clickstream Data: TechTarget uses Cookies to collect Clickstream Data on the Sites. TechTarget uses Cookies to link User activity to their Member Information. Linking User activity to Member Information allows our system to confirm a user’s identity on the Sites and to save and recognize Member log-in information so that Members do not have to log in each time they visit the Sites or access Content. We use Clickstream Data for a variety of purposes, including, but not limited to:

  • Help us recognize your computer as a previous visitor, and save and remember any preferences that may have been set while you were visiting one of our Web Sites or a Co-Branded Site.
  • Track, accumulate and report information on our Sites and Content usage to our partners and customers so that they can measure the effectiveness of advertisements and content viewed on the Web Sites;
  • Help us customize the content and advertisements you are shown while visiting our Web Sites and potentially other web sites online;
  • Determine which features Users like best to help us improve our Content and Sites, personalize your user experience, and measure overall Site effectiveness;
  • Share non-personally identifying information about your areas of interest to third parties to allow targeted advertising elsewhere on the internet using Tracking Technologies; and
  • Disclose aggregated information as detailed below.

Co-Branded Websites: Member Information collected when you register or log in on a Co-Branded Site, and Clickstream Data collected when on the Co-Branded Site, are generally available both to TechTarget and that partner. However, each partner’s use of that Member Information is governed by that partner’s privacy policy and may be used for follow up by telephone, email or other common methods. You should contact these partners directly if you have any questions about their use of this information.

Disclosure of Aggregated Information: We provide summary reports, based on our analysis of Clickstream Data, which may include a description of your level of activity on our Sites, as well as activity related to editorial and vendor content. For example, a summary report may include a statement similar to the following „3,000 people looked at the xyz white paper this week and, of those 3,000 people, 60% clicked through to read the full white paper.“ Information provided in summary reports is aggregated and does not disclose any Member Information. TechTarget may also disclose aggregated user statistics (for example, “25% of our users are interested in Networking”) to our customers, prospective customers and partners and other third parties, and for other lawful purposes.

TechTarget Event Registration Information: When you register to attend a vendor-sponsored TechTarget in person event (including Conferences, Custom Media events and Editorial events), your contact information is used to confirm registrations and send product information and promotional material from TechTarget and the event sponsors. This information may also be used to compile broad demographic information. TechTarget may disclose Member Information provided during the event registration process vendors sponsoring the event. The sponsoring vendor’s use of your Event Registration Information is governed by the vendor’s privacy policy.

How Can You Opt Out of Use and Disclosure of Your Information?

TechTarget operates on the basis that Users can access Content and apply to events in return for having Member Information provided to a Sponsor. TechTarget will only use your Member Information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as subsequently authorized by you. You can avoid having your Member Information and Clickstream Data disclosed to Sponsors in the following ways: a) do not provide us with Member Information; b) do not access or request Content; or c) email us at [email protected] to request that we deactivate your membership and delete your information.

Following the registration process, we also allow Users the option to opt-out of receiving emails from TechTarget. Users who opt-in may also remove themselves from emailing lists at any time through the edit profile pages or by following the instructions at the end of any email they received from TechTarget.

If you do not want to receive future communications from TechTarget, please contact us at [email protected] and we will remove you from future email communications.

Member Information provided to us by you is, however, subject to disclosure pursuant to applicable laws.

Security

TechTarget has implemented reasonable security measures to protect information from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. Our security systems include authenticated access to internal databases, audits of procedures, and regular reviews of overall Web security.

Access and Updating of Information

The instructions to review, amend, or delete your information may be found in the edit profile area on any of our sites. Users may change information at any time and as often as necessary. Users who are experiencing problems with our services or who have questions about how our services work can contact us by sending an email to [email protected].

General

Registration Password: Your Member Information is password-protected to control access to this profile information by third parties. We recommend that you do not divulge your password to anyone. TechTarget never asks for passwords in unsolicited phone calls or unsolicited emails.

Links: The network of TechTarget Sites contains links to other Web sites. TechTarget is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those sites. Users should be aware of this when they leave our Sites and review the privacy statements of each Web site they visit that collects information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by the TechTarget network of Sites.

Business Transfers: We are always seeking to improve our network of Web sites and our business. If all or part of TechTarget is sold, merged or otherwise transferred to another entity, the Member Information and Clickstream Data may be transferred as part of that transaction.

Amendments: TechTarget may modify or amend this policy from time to time. If we make anymaterial changesin the way in which your Member Information is collected, used or transferred, we will provide you with appropriate notice. If you object to any of the changes, or the overall policy, you can have us delete your information from our database by contacting [email protected].

Options: Users who would rather not provide any of the user data requested by our registration process do not need to register with us. You can still view much of the content and use many of the services offered by our Sites without registering. Note: If you choose not to provide certain Member Information when accessing a site, certain products or services may not be available to you.

Enforcement

Complaints. TechTarget is committed to resolving complaints about your privacy and our collection or use of your personal information.  If you believe that TechTarget has not complied with this Privacy Policy, or if you have any other complaint with regard to collection, use or disclosure of information by TechTarget, please complete the online Complaint Registration Form or send your complaint by mail to the following address.  Residents of the European Union should submit any such privacy complaints using the Complaint Registration Form.

TechTarget, Inc.
275 Grove St.
Newton, MA 02466
Attention: Member Services
Fax: (617) 431-9205
E-mail: [email protected]

TechTarget will investigate your complaint and respond to you promptly.

Last Revised 8/22/2016