Privacy and Cookie Policy
Updated: 1 June 2016
We welcome you to Proto Labs' website. Proto Labs takes privacy matters seriously. Therefore, we are providing this notice (“Privacy Policy”) to inform you what type of information we collect from or about you and the way your information is collected, used, retained, protected, disclosed and transferred. By submitting information to us and/or by using our Websites, you give your consent that all information that you submit may be processed by Proto Labs as described below.
This Privacy Policy applies to Proto Labs, Inc., and all of our global business units, including Proto Labs Ltd in the UK, Proto Labs G.K. in Japan and Proto Labs GmbH in Germany.
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or practices, you may contact us via email at [email protected]. If you wish to contact our local offices, please refer to our Contact page for details.
SCOPE OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy applies to personal information and other information collected by Proto Labs or its service providers from or about you when you visit our Websites, open and respond to our e-mails, request information from us, or visit us at trade shows or events.
WHAT TYPE OF INFORMATION DOES Proto Labs COLLECT?
Information we collect directly from you: We may collect personal information from you or about you when you:
• Obtain a quote for our services,
• Register to receive a product or service on our Websites,
• Request information,
• Subscribe to marketing or promotional materials,
• Respond to promotional campaigns,
• Enter a contest,
• Respond to a survey,
• Explore employment opportunities,
• Visit us at a tradeshow, or
• Request us to act on your instructions
“Personal information” for purposes of this Privacy Policy means information that can be used to personally identify you, such as your name, phone number, email, user ID and passwords, billing address, credit card information, shipping address and similar information. You can voluntarily provide personal information in order to register for certain services or features of our Websites, but please keep in mind that unless such information is provided, you may not be able to use a particular feature on the Websites.
Information we collect when you use our Website or services: Proto Labs Websites, email messages and advertising use “cookies” and other technologies such as web beacons to collect information about you, such as the URL of the website you visited prior to accessing the Websites, what browser you are using, your IP address, or the email you open and/or share. Please refer to our Cookies Policy for further information.
OUR USE OF YOUR INFORMATION
When you provide us with your personal information, we will use it for the purposes for which it was provided. For example, we will use your personal information to fulfil orders that you place through the Websites, to respond to your request for information or assistance, or to provide you with a subscription service. We may use your personal information collected to contact you regarding a quote you have requested, an order that you placed, or services you received. If you provide us with your email address as part of a transaction or promotion through our Websites, or if you opt-in to receive communications from Proto Labs, we may periodically send you information about products and promotions and invite you to participate in surveys or to provide feedback. From time to time, we may also send you information on products or services of third parties we believe would be of interest to you. You may unsubscribe, opt out or choose not to receive promotional materials from us by following the instructions in the e-mail you receive or by notifying us as set out in the instructions below.
We may use information collected from cookies and other technologies to improve the performance of the Websites and provide you a more personalised experience.
We may also use the information we collect from or about you to create and manage your online account, to carry out our obligations or enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us, to investigate any fraud or other criminal activity, and/or for any other purpose with your consent.
Blogs/Online Posts. Our Websites may provide blogs and access to online forums for our users to provide online comments and other posts. Any information that you disclose in these forums becomes public information and could be used to send you unsolicited messages or for other purposes. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information in these forums.
Testimonials. We provide a choice as to whether a user posts his or her personal information along with testimonial. If you wish to make the request that your testimonial be removed you may contact us at [email protected]. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your testimonial in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.
Cool Idea Award Submission. If you choose to submit an application for a Cool Idea Award, your submission is subject to the rules posted. We also require you to enter your personal information on the applicable Websites. We use a third party provider to host your submission, including your personal information. Your submission will then be accessed by our Cool Idea judges and Proto Labs authorised personnel. The third party service providers may access your information only for the purpose of providing support for the hosted site. All parties who have access to your submission will be required to maintain your information in confidence and only use the information for the purposes for which it is disclosed.
Social Media and Refer a Friend. Our Websites may include social media features, such as the Facebook “Like” button, or other functionality, such as the “share this” button. These features may collect your IP address or the page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy statement of the company providing them.
If you choose to use our referral service to tell a friend about our products, services or promotions, we will ask you for your friend's personal information. You should always obtain the consent of your friend before you pass us their personal information. We will send your friend a one-time communication inviting him or her to visit the Websites. Proto Labs does not store this information, except to the extent permitted by law.
SHARING YOUR INFORMATION WITH THIRD PARTIES
Proto Labs may share your personal information with its affiliates, subsidiaries or sales offices worldwide, including in the EU, USA, Japan and elsewhere. Any transfer of your personal information to our affiliates, subsidiaries or sales offices is done in order to meet legal or regulatory obligations or other lawful business purposes.
In order to provide you with the information about our products and services, personal information may occasionally be transferred or shared with third parties who act for or with us, for further processing in accordance with the purposes for which the data was originally collected or for purposes to which you have consented. For example, sometimes a third party may have access to your personal data in order to support our customer relationship management or to handle online job applications, promotional e-mails, or credit card payments on our behalf. In addition, where local law allows, we may share your email address with trusted third parties for sharing information with you about products or services we believe may be of interest to you.
We may also disclose your personal information (i) if Proto Labs is required by law to do so, such as in connection with inquiries or investigations into potentially illegal activities, (ii) in the event of a transfer of ownership of Proto Labs, merger or other similar transaction, (iii) as is necessary for purposes of protecting our operations or users, or (iv) to enforce the terms of any agreement with Proto Labs.
Your personal information covered by this Privacy Policy may be transferred to, and processed and stored in, the United States or any other country in which Proto Labs or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. If the level of data privacy required in that country is less than that required by the European Union, Proto Labs will ensure that: (i) such transfers are in accordance with local data privacy law (ii) appropriate privacy and security protections are in place; and (iii) your personal information is only used for the purpose for which it was disclosed to them.
LINKS TO INFORMATION COLLECTED BY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
Our Websites may contain links to third-party websites, such as YouTube or Facebook. These third-party websites may collect and transmit information about you and your use of their services, including information that can be used to identify you personally. Proto Labs does not control and is not responsible for the collection practices of these third-party websites. Your decision to use their services is entirely voluntary. You should ensure that you are comfortable with how these third-party websites use and share your information by reviewing their privacy policies and/or modifying your privacy settings directly on those third-party websites before electing to use their services.
INFORMATION SECURITY AND RETENTION
While we endeavour to maintain appropriate measures to protect the security, confidentiality and integrity of your personal information, we cannot guarantee the absolute security of personal information and urge users to take every precaution to protect personal information while using the Internet or transmitting information electronically. We have implemented appropriate security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorised access or use. Some of these measures include encryption software, firewalls, and use of Secure Socket Layers (SSL) protocols. We offer a two-step verification process when you access your online account. If a password is used to establish and protect your account(s), it is important for you to protect it against unauthorised access. If your password is compromised, notify our Customer Service department as soon as you become aware of any such event. Please refer to our Contact page for the Customer Service department contact information and hours of operation in each of our local offices. Proto Labs retains your personal information for as long as needed to provide you services. In the event you wish to delete your personal information, please contact us as set forth below. Even after we discontinue using your personal information to provide you services, we still may retain, use and disclose your information as necessary for our internal business purposes or in order to comply with our legal, compliance or other regulatory obligations.
ACCESSING AND UPDATING YOUR INFORMATION
In the event you wish to access your personal information to update or correct this information, you may send an email to [email protected] with your request and Proto Labs will make a good faith effort to promptly process your request.
OPT-OUT PROCEDURE
You can unsubscribe or choose not to receive promotional materials from Proto Labs by following the instructions in the e-mail or other communication you receive from us or by notifying us by e-mail at [email protected].
CHILDREN
This Website is not intended for children under the age of 13. Proto Labs does not knowingly collect, use or disclose personal information from or about visitors under 13 years of age. If you are under the age of 18, you must obtain the consent of your parent or guardian to use this Website and to provide us with your personal information.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update or amend our Privacy Policy, from time to time, as we deem necessary. When updates or amendments are made, we will post the revision date at the top of the document. Please consult this Privacy Policy regularly so you remain aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we may disclose it.
COOKIES POLICY
This Cookies Policy applies to the use of cookies by or on behalf Proto Labs, Inc. and its subsidiaries on any websites and branded pages on third party platforms (such as Linked In or Facebook) or within any emails, subscription services or advertising. It should be read together with our Privacy Policy and Conditions of Use.
YOUR CONSENT TO THE USE OF COOKIES
By using Proto Labs websites, you are consenting to our use of cookies in accordance with this Cookies Policy. If you do not agree to our use of cookies in this way, please refer to the paragraph below regarding managing or deleting cookies.
WHAT ARE COOKIES?
Cookies are files containing a small amount of data, usually a unique string of letters and numbers. They are commonly used throughout the Internet and are placed on your computer or tablet when you visit a website (including the Proto Labs websites). This allows the website that issued the cookie to recognise your visit from those of other users of the website. You can find more information at www.allaboutcookies.org and www.youronlinechoices.com.
WHAT DO WE USE COOKIES FOR?
When you enter the Proto Labs websites, we may automatically collect information, where available, about your computer, such as your IP address, operating system and browser type. You do not have to register on our websites before we can collect this type of information. Such information does not by itself identify you personally.
The information collected in cookies is used and analysed to improve the performance of the Proto Labs websites and make it more compatible with the technology used by our visitors’ devices, to customise your experience on the Proto Labs websites, to develop other features of the Proto Labs websites and to provide access to the services you request. Information from cookies and technologies or about website usage is not combined with information about you from any other source.
WHAT TYPES OF COOKIES DO WE USE?
Proto Labs uses the following types of cookies on our websites:
1)Strictly Necessary Cookies: These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the Proto Labs websites and use its features, such as accessing secure areas of the websites. Without these cookies, services you have asked for cannot be provided.
2)Performance Cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors use our Proto Labs websites, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and allow us to compile statistical reports. This is very important as it allows us to constantly review and improve our sites so that you have a better experience when using them. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous.
3)Functionality Cookies: These cookies allow Proto Labs websites to remember choices you make (such as your user name or language preferences) and provide enhanced or more personal features. The information these cookies collect may be anonymised and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
4)Targeting or Advertising Cookies: Proto Labs uses cookies to collect information about your browsing habits while visiting our websites. We use this information to make predictions about your interests or preferences in order to display targeted advertisements that may be of interest to you while you visit other sites on the Internet. We have designed our systems to deliver ads to you based only on data that does not personally and directly identify you. For example, we may select the ads we display according to certain general interest categories that we have inferred based on demographic or interest data you may have provided or that we acquired from our trusted third party vendors.
We may work with third party service providers, authorised to place third party cookies on our sites with our permission to help us deliver our advertising or content, and compile anonymous metrics and analytics. We do not permit these service providers to collect any of your personal information.
To opt out of the use of advertising-related cookies, refer to www.youronlinechoices.com. Please note that opting out does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising. It only means that you will no longer receive ads tailored to your preferences and interests.
MANAGING OR DELETING COOKIES
Most internet browsers are initially set up to automatically accept cookies. You can change the privacy settings to block cookies or alert you when cookies are being sent to your device. The help function on most browsers contains instructions on how to set your browsers in order to manage cookies.
Please be aware that if you disable some of the cookies that we use, it may prevent you from using certain functions and features of our websites.
OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES USED
Web beacons are small bits of code that communicate with third parties and are embedded in web pages, our ads or in emails. We may use web beacons to deliver or communicate with cookies, to count users who have visited a web page, to understand usage patterns or other third party functionality. We also may include web beacons in e-mails to learn if messages have been opened, acted on, or forwarded.
Proto Labs uses a click-through link in some of its email messages. These links are sent to forms or content on Proto Labs website(s). Proto Labs tracks click-through statistics to assist in tracking interest in different topics. If you do not want to be tracked in this way, you should not click text or graphic links in Proto Labs’ emails.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions or need further information about our cookies practices, you may contact us via email at [email protected]. If you wish to contact our local offices, please refer to our Contact page for details.
CHANGES TO THIS COOKIES POLICY
We may update or amend our Cookies Policy, from time to time, as we deem necessary. When updates or amendments are made, we will post the revision date at the top of the document. Please consult this Cookies Policy regularly so you remain aware of how Proto Labs Sites are using cookies and other technologies.