Privacy Policy

Welcome to 21 Vets Privacy Policy

This policy sets out how we handle your personal information if you’re a 21 Vets Incorporated (hereinafter 21 Vets) user or visitor to our site.  It applies across https://21vets.org, https://21vets.com, and/or any other domain with the words “21 Vets” in its name.

When we say ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘21 Vets’ it’s because that’s who we are, and we own and run the site.

If we say ‘policy’ we’re talking about this privacy policy.  If we say ‘user terms’ we’re talking about the rules for using the site.

 The type of personal information we collect –

We collect certain personal information about visitors and users of our site.

It is our policy that we will never sell your information to a third-party!

The most common types of information we collect include things like:  user-names, member names, email addresses, other contact details, forum comments, and web analytics data.  If you opt to make a donation to support our Veterans, we also collect payment information such as payment agent details, transactional details, and tax information.  In the event we post vacancy announcements, we will also collect personal information from job applications (such as, your CV, the application form itself, cover letter and interview notes).

How we collect personal information –

We collect personal information directly when you provide it to us, automatically as you navigate through the site, or through other people when you use services associated with the site (such as the donation feature).

We collect your personal information when you provide it to us when you complete membership registration and buy products on our site, subscribe to a newsletter, email list, submit feedback, enter a contest, fill out a survey, or send us a communication.

Personal information we collect about you from others –

Although we generally collect personal information directly from you, on occasion, we also collect certain categories of personal information about you from other sources.  In particular:

  • Financial and/or transaction details from payment providers located in the US, UK, EU, Australia and other countries in order to process a transaction (this applies to donations from generous donors worldwide); and,
  • Third party service providers (like Google, Facebook, Twitter and others) who are located in the US, UK, EU and other countries, which may provide information about you when you link, connect, or login to your account with the third-party provider and they send us information such as your registration and profile from that service. The information varies and is controlled by that service provider or as authorized by you via your privacy settings at that service provider.

How we use personal information –

We will use your personal information to process transactions that take place on the site, like where you purchase an item from our store or process a tax-free donation.  This includes sending your data to companies such as ZEFFY, STRIPE, and PAYPAL to process payments.

Where this is necessary for purposes which are in our, or third parties, legitimate interests.  These interests include:

  • Operating the site;
  • Providing you with services described on the site;
  • Verifying your identity when you sign in to any of our site;
  • Updating you with operational news and information about our site and services e.g. to notify you about changes to our site, website disruptions or security updates;
  • Carrying out technical analysis to determine how to improve the site and services we provide;
  • Monitoring activity on the site, e.g. to identify potentially fraudulent activity and to ensure compliance with the user terms that apply to the site;
  • Managing our relationship with you, e.g. by responding to your comments or queries submitted to us on the site or asking for your feedback or whether you want to participate in a survey;
  • Managing our legal and operational affairs (including, managing risks relating to content and fraud matters);
  • Training 21 Vets staff about how to best serve our user community;
  • Improving our products and services;
  • Providing general administrative and performance functions and activities; and,
  • Processing your job application to 21 Vets.

Where you give us consent:

  • Providing you with marketing information about products and services which we feel may interest you; and,
  • Customizing our services and website, like advertising that appear on the site – where this involves the use of cookies or similar technologies – in order to provide a more personalized experience.
  • For purposes which are required by law;
  • For the purpose of responding to requests by government, a court of law, or law enforcement authorities conducting an official investigation.

When we disclose your personal information –

We will disclose personal information to the following recipients:

  • Subcontractors and service providers who assist us in connection with the ways we use personal information (as set out above), in particular: security and fraud prevention services; subscription management services; payment processing services; identification verification services; and operational tooling services.
  • Our professional advisers (lawyers, accountants, financial advisers etc.);
  • Regulators and government authorities in connection with our compliance procedures and obligations;
  • A third party to respond to requests relating to a criminal investigation or alleged or suspected illegal activity;
  • A third party, in order to enforce or defend our rights, or to address financial or reputational risks;
  • A rights holder in relation to an allegation of intellectual property infringement or any other infringement; and,
  • Other recipients where we are authorized or required by law to do so.

Where we transfer and/or store your personal information –

We are 100% based in the United States so your data will be processed in the US.  Some of the recipients we have described in sections above, and to whom we disclose your personal information, are based outside the United States.  We do this on the basis of your consent to this policy.  In order to protect your information, we take care where possible to work with service providers who we believe maintain an acceptable standard of data security compliance.

How we keep your personal information secure –

We store personal information on secure servers that are managed by us and our service providers, and occasionally hard copy files that are kept in locations we reasonably believe to be secure.  Personal information that we store or transmit is protected by security and access controls, including one or more of:  username and password authentication, two-factor authentication, and data encryption where appropriate.

How you can access your personal information –

You can access some of the personal information that we collect about you by logging in to your account.  You may also have the legal right to make a request to access other personal information we hold about you and to request corrections of any errors in that data.  You can also close the account you have with us at any time.  To make an access or correction request, contact our privacy advocate using the contact details at the end of this policy.  Note that closing your account with us does not automatically remove data that we already have stored – it just prevents you or anyone else from logging in and using your account in the future.

Marketing Choices regarding your personal information –

Where we have your consent to do so (e.g. if you have subscribed to one of our e-mail lists or have indicated that you are interested in receiving offers or information from us), we send you marketing communications by email about products and services that we feel may be of interest to you.  You can ‘opt-out’ of such communications if you would prefer not to receive them in the future by using the “unsubscribe” facility provided in the communication itself.

You also have choices about cookies, as described below.  By modifying your browser preferences, you have the choice to accept all cookies, to be notified when a cookie is set, or to reject all cookies.  If you choose to reject cookies some parts of our site may not work properly.

Information you make public or give to others –

If you make your personal information available to other people, we can’t control or accept responsibility for the way they will use or manage that data.  There are lots of ways that you can find yourself providing information to other people, like when you post a public message on a forum thread, share information via social media, or make contact with another user (such as a third-party Author) whether via our site or directly via email.  Before making your information publicly available or giving your information to anyone else, think carefully.  If giving information to another user via our site, ask them how they will handle your information.  If you’re sharing information via another website, check the privacy policy for that site to understand its information management practices as this privacy policy will not apply.

How long we keep your personal information –

We retain your personal information for as long as is necessary to provide the services to you and others, and to comply with our legal obligations.  If you no longer want us to use your personal information or to provide you with 21 Vets services, you can request that we erase your personal information and close your account.  Please note that if you request the erasure of your personal information, we will retain information from deleted accounts as necessary for our legitimate business interests, to comply with the law, prevent fraud, collect fees, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with investigations, enforce the terms of service and take other actions permitted by law.  The information we retain will be handled in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

When we need to update this policy –

We will need to change this policy from time to time in order to make sure it stays up to date with the latest legal requirements and any changes to our privacy management practices.

When we do change the policy, it will be posted to this page a copy of the latest version of this policy will always be available on this page.

 How you can contact us –

If you have any questions about our privacy practices or the way in which we have been managing your personal information, please contact our privacy advocate in writing at:  contactus@21vets.com.

We’re really glad you made it to the end of the Privacy Policy, because knowing this stuff is the best way to understand how your personal information is used and how to best manage it!

Both personal information and personal data have the same meaning in the context of this Privacy Policy.

Update History

10 July 2024:  Policy published.

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