Rapgenius.com Privacy Policy
This policy applies to the collection, use and transmission of data about visitors to rapgenius.com. For information about our services, please visit our “About Rap Genius” page.
This policy is effective as of, and was last updated on, June 16, 2011.
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
Thank you for visiting the Rap Genius a.k.a. Genius Media Group, Inc (“Rap Genius”) website located at www.rapgenius.com (the “Website”). This Privacy Policy describes:
- how and why we collect certain information from you via the Website and the online services provided through the Website;
- how we use and with whom we share such information;
- how you can access and update such information; and
- the choices you can make about how we collect, use and share your information.
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or our information collection and use practices, please contact us using the information in the “Contact Us” section below.
Information We Collect
Non-personal Information. Like most websites, we may collect certain technical information about your use of the Website when you visit us, and generally this is not information that could be used to identify you without reference to other information (collectively, “Usage Information”). For example, we may collect your internet protocol (IP) address, browser type, the identity of your internet service provider (ISP), the number and duration of page visits, how you were directed to the Website, what country your visit originates from, and the number of clicks you make when you use the Website. This does not include demographic information about you. We track and reference your Usage Information, in aggregation with the Usage Information of other visitors to the Website, to better understand how effective our Website is and how visitors interact with it. Only Rap Genius has access to such analysis.
A cookie is a file that web servers place on an internet user’s computer. Cookies are designed to store basic information about the user and transmit that information back to servers that recognize them. They may be used to measure visitor behavior on and in connection with a website, including through the transmission of Usage Information. When you log in, we will place a persistent cookie on your computer to identify you when you next visit the Website and allow you to interact with the Website without logging in again. A persistent cookie remains on your machine after you log out of your account and will become active again when you return to the Website.
We may also use cookies in conjunction with our analysis of Usage Information. Depending on which browser you use to access the internet (Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, etc.), you can change your settings to effect whether to accept, store, or delete cookies.
Your Submissions of Personal Information. You have the opportunity to submit personal information to us through the Website in several ways:
Your Profile. If you create an account to comment on lyrics and earn Rap IQ, you identify a unique username and password and submit your email address to us. You may, but are not required to, submit a photo to represent yourself. Although this need not be an actual picture of you, we will associate it with your account. You may, but are not required to, describe yourself in a narrative on your profile. We refer to these items collectively in this policy as “Account Information.”
Once you sign up for an account, we’ll host a profile page that includes your user name, narrative (if any) and your photo. On this page, we may display information about the pages, artists, or works upon which you have commented. Such information may include “favorites” such as artists, songs, and lines. Other users can post to a wall in this profile, where the public can view references to comments you have made on the Website. If you choose to provide it for your profile, we can may also display your user information form other sites, such as Facebook or Twitter. We refer to the information contained in your profile in this policy as “Profile Information.”
Second, you can click the “Contact Us” link from our homepage, in which case you would input your name, email address, and a message to be submitted to our team for review and response.
How We Use Information Collected from You
How We Use Your Personal Information
In addition to displaying your comments on the Website, the Personal Information we collect may be used by Rap Genius as follows:
- to sign you in to your account or to reference that account;
- for our internal records, tracking and business purposes;
- to fulfill transactions conducted by you through your Website account;
- to contact you in order to provide updates on your Rap IQ™ or lyrics you have previously commented upon;
- to populate your user profile on the Website;
- in order to contact you to respond to your questions or to provide you with technical support; and
- to provide you with information regarding changes to the Website which may affect your Website account, your use of the Website, and/or the content or services available through the Website.
Your user name and photo will be displayed alongside any comments you make on the Website. They may also be displayed on our homepage alongside your Rap IQ™ if you make The Weekly Rap IQ™ Leaderboard, on our Contributors list, or in connection with your comments and reactions to our blog and to other contributors.
We may place a link to your Account Information (through the display of your user name and photo) on other areas of the Website as our game develops. If another user clicks this link, they are taken to your Profile. Your Profile Information will be visible to all users who visit your profile over the web.
How We Use Your Non-Personal Information
Non-Personal Information collected from you is used for various purposes, such as:
- to improve our products and services;
- to customize the user experience of the Website;
- to administer the Website; and
- to analyze trends, track user movement and gather statistical information for aggregate use.
We store your Personal, Non-Personal and Account Information on cloud servers. Our cloud service provider may redistribute secure data amongst physical locations in order to process it, but they are subject to contractual restrictions which limit their use of any content we provide to providing our cloud services and do not, as a matter of course, send your information to any third parties.
Sharing of Your Information
We will not share your Personal Information with third parties other than as provided in this Privacy Policy. In addition to the sharing described above in the “How We Use Your Information” section, we may share your Personal Information with third parties in one or more of the following ways:
Affiliates
We may share your Personal Information and Non-Personal Information with any parent or subsidiaries, or other companies or entities which control, are controlled by or under common control with Rap Genius, in which case we will require such parties to honor this Privacy Policy with respect to such shared information.
Third Party Service Providers
We may provide your Personal Information and Non-Personal Information to third party companies to perform services on our behalf, including marketing assistance, e-mail delivery, hosting services, cloud servers, customer service and data analysis. We may use independent contractors to provide services on our behalf and they may access your Personal Information in the course of providing those services. We require such third party service providers to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed to them and to not use your Personal Information for any purpose other than to provide services to Rap Genius.
Safety, Security and Compliance with Law
We may disclose any information, including Personal Information, we deem necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, to enforce our rights or to protect the safety and security of our Website or other users.
Business Transitions
In the event Rap Genius undergoes a business transition, such as a major investment transaction, merger, acquisition by another company, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, we may transfer your Personal Information to the actual or intended successor organization in such transaction or permit its examination under confidentiality restrictions by our counterparty. If material changes to Rap Genius’s privacy practices will occur as a result of the business transition, Rap Genius will attempt to notify you via email and will post a notice on the Website alerting you to the business transition prior to transferring your Personal Information.
Other Third Parties
As of June 16, 2011, Rap Genius does not engage in any direct marketing or targeted third party advertisements, either via email or through the use of cookies or other technical means on the Website and therefore does not use your username or email address for such purposes. HOWEVER, we reserve the right to implement targeted marketing through the Website or allow reasonable third party partners to submit offers of potential interest to our users if we deem it necessary, in our sole discretion, to do so in order to support site functionality. In such cases we may share your email address and username (not your password) with a third party partner. We may use cookies to target any such advertising. If you wish to have your email or account excluded from any such future sharing with partners, please email [email protected] with the subject “Direct Marketing Opt-Out”. We will NOT send you an individualized notification that this policy is being updated if we elect to share information with a partner in this manner, so you must opt-out now. If you have any questions about this opt-out or any other part of this Privacy Policy, please email us at [email protected].
How to Access and Update Your Personal Information
At any time, you may contact Rap Genius to request that we make changes to your Personal Information or delete your account entirely. If you request that Rap Genius update or otherwise modify your information, we will amend your Personal Information within a reasonable time after your request. To inquire about which items of Personal Information Rap Genius possesses about you or to request modifications thereto, please email us at [email protected]
However, please note that, after your Personal Information is changed, Rap Genius will continue to have the right to store all Personal Information collected from you through the Website (including Personal Information which is no longer in active use due to its amendment in accordance with this Section) in our archives and to use and disclose such Personal Information for certain purposes permitted or required by applicable laws, including as we deem necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request, to enforce our rights, or to protect the safety and security of our Website or other users.
How We Secure Your Information
Rap Genius uses reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect user’s Personal and Non-Personal Information, online and offline. Because of the nature of our website, WE DO NOT CURRENTLY ENCRYPT ANY TRANSMISSIONS TO OR FROM THE WEBSITE IN ANY MANNER. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE UNENCRYPTED TRANSMISSION OF THE PERSONAL INFORMATION DESCRIBED HEREIN, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT INFORMATION TO US THROUGH THE WEBSITE.
Our employees, contractors, and third party service providers are generally subject to restrictions which limit their use of information obtained from Rap Genius to the business purpose of the relationship for which we contract.
However, while we take reasonable precautions against possible security breaches of the Website and our customer databases and records, no website or Internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. We urge you to take steps to keep your Personal Information safe (including your account information), and log out of your Website account after use, if applicable.
Our Policies Concerning Children
This Website is not intended for children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect any Personal Information from such children. Children under the age of 13 should not use our Website or our online services at any time. In the event that we learn that we have inadvertently gathered Personal Information from children under the age of 13, we will use reasonable efforts to erase such information from our records.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
If we decide to make material changes to our Privacy Policy, we will notify you and other users of the Website by sending a notice to the email address that you have provided in connection with your Website account and/or Website by placing a notice on our Website, and you should periodically check the Website for such notices. Regardless of any changes we make to our Privacy Policy, we will only use your Personal Information in accordance with the version of the Privacy Policy in place at the time you provided your information (including without limitation the opt-out provided herein), unless you later give your express consent for us to do otherwise.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy and/or practices, please send an email to: [email protected] or click here.
Rap Genius
Genius Media Group, Inc
184 Kent Ave, #C702
Brooklyn, NY 11249
