WHATABURGER PRIVACY POLICY
Effective February 7, 2023
Version 4.0
Your privacy is very important to us.
This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) describes the information practices of Whatabrands LLC and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Whataburger”, which may be referred to herein, as the context may require, as “we”, “us”, or “our”). It describes the information that Whataburger collects about you on whataburger.com, stories.whataburger.com, shop.whataburger.com, or any other authorized websites, mobile applications, Online Gift Card ordering and delivery (as described in the Whataburger Online Services Terms and Conditions), and other online services, tools or programs where this Privacy Policy appears (collectively, the “Services”), and how we use and share this information. This Privacy Policy is not a contract and does not create any legal rights or obligations. Whataburger reserves the right to modify the Privacy Policy from time to time without prior notice to you, effective upon the posting of such modified terms. Your continued use of the Services constitutes acceptance of any such changes. To ensure that you are aware of current privacy practices, we recommend that you review the Privacy Policy periodically. If you do not agree to the changed or modified Privacy Policy, do not use the Services.
Some of our restaurants are owned and operated by franchisees, who are independent third parties. This Privacy Policy does not apply to our franchisees or to websites or mobile apps they operate separately. Please see our franchisees’ privacy notices for information on how they use customer information.
This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected in connection with your use of the Services. However, we may combine the information we collect through the Services with information that we receive in other contexts (including information you provide or that we obtain over the phone, via fax, or when you visit a Whataburger restaurant, or information we obtain from franchisees or referrals), in which case we will treat the combined information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. Please note that not all of the features/functionality described in this Privacy Policy are available on or through each portion of the Services.
Your use of the Services is also governed by the Whataburger Terms and Conditions (“Terms”), which are available at https://whataburger.com/home/termsandconditions. Separate terms may also apply to certain/other programs and services offered by Whataburger. By visiting or using the Services, you represent you have reviewed this Privacy Policy, and agree to the Terms, and any other applicable program terms.
For your convenience we have organized our Privacy Policy into the following topics:
Information Collection
Information Use, Sharing and Disclosure
Cross-Device Technologies
Use of E-mail Addresses
Collection of Information by Third-Party Sites and Sponsors
Your California Privacy Rights
Children’s Privacy
User Generated Content
Usage Information; Use of Tracking Technologies
Information Security
Your Choices, Changing Your Information and Deleting MyWhataburger Accounts
Visiting the Website from Outside the United States
Contact Information
INFORMATION COLLECTION
Whataburger collects two types of information: Personal Information and Other Information regarding users of the Services, either directly or through the activities of third-party suppliers and service providers and/or franchisees (collectively, “Third-Party Suppliers”). We may combine Other Information with Personal Information, and in those circumstances we will treat the combined information as Personal Information.
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” is information that Whataburger can directly associate with a specific person or entity without additional information. Personal Information includes information that you voluntarily provide to us when you sign up to use one or more of our Services, send an e-mail, ask a question, offer an opinion, order items in the online store, apply to work for us as an employee or independent contractor, or engage in similar activities on a website. Personal information also includes, but is not limited to:
Personal details, such as your name, age, address, telephone number, e-mail address, birth date, financial and/or demographic information;
Transaction information, including information about the products you buy, prices, method of payment and payment details;
Account information, such as your username or password (or anything else that identifies you) used to access our Services or to buy or use our products and services;
Usage data that may identify you individually, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, or information about the device you are using, such as the unique device identifier or mobile equipment identifier for your mobile device;
Profile information, including products and services you like, or times you prefer to visit us; and
Other personal information you choose to give us when you interact with us, including any biometric information that may be collected by Whataburger Third-Party Suppliers for limited use purposes, such as our optional facial ID transaction services (“POP ID”).
“Other Information” is any information that is not Personal Information. Other Information includes non-personally identifiable information which is obtained by automated means in connection with your interactions with Whataburger, such as your computer/mobile device operating system and browser type, type of mobile device, the address of a referring website (if any), and activity related to how you use our Services, such as the pages you visit on our websites on in our mobile app. Additional information regarding our use of “cookies” is set forth below in this Privacy Policy.
Our Services may collect information about the exact location of your mobile device or computer using geo-location and technology such as GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cell tower proximity. For example, if you use the Whataburger mobile app to find the Whataburger location nearest to your current location, Whataburger and its third-party providers will monitor your geo-location to deliver that information to you. For most mobile devices and computer systems, you are able to withdraw your permission for us to collect this information by using the device or web-browser settings. Please note that some functionality within the Services may not be available or may not fully function if you turn off geo-location services. For example, without geo-location services turned on, Whataburger will not be able to determine the closest Whataburger location to you. If you have any questions about how to restrict your device from providing us with exact information about your location, we recommend you contact your mobile-device service provider, the device manufacturer, or your web-browser provide
We may collect information about you from other companies and organizations. We may also collect information that is publicly available. For example, we may collect information about you when you interact with us through social media. If you link your social media account or engage with Whataburger on social media platforms, you understand that you may be allowing us to have ongoing access to certain information stored on those social media networks (e.g., your public profile, friend list, people you follow or who follow you, your email address, birthday, work history, education history, interests, current city, website, personal description, and likes, and your friends’ birthdays, education histories, personal descriptions, and likes). We may receive certain information about you which is stored on social media networks if other users of those networks give us access to their profiles and you are one of their friends or connections depending upon your settings on those third-party social networking platforms. We may also receive other information (e.g., content viewed and information about the advertisements within the content you have been shown or may have clicked on, etc.) from your interaction with our social media pages. The information we have access to from the third-party social media networks varies by network and is controlled by your privacy settings and selections on the social media networks. The information that may be passed to analytics providers and advertising partners is collected using cookies and tracking technologies. By associating an account managed by a third-party with your MyWhataburger Account and authorizing us to have access to this information, you agree that we may collect, use, and store information from such third-party account in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
INFORMATION USE, SHARING AND DISCLOSURE
Employees, contractors, and Third-Party Suppliers of Whataburger who have access to Personal Information are required to protect this information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy and the high standards of this organization. Whataburger may use information about you for purposes described in this Privacy Policy or disclosed to you within our Services. For example, we may use information about you to: (1) process and manage your purchase and use of Whataburger products and services, including your accounts, program participation and payments; (2) respond to your customer service inquiries, post your comments or statements on any blog or other online forum maintained on our websites, or take other actions in response to your inquiries or other Services activities; (3) communicate with you about or fulfill your orders or purchases, your services, accounts and program participation, a contest or sweepstakes you have entered, your requests for information, and about our brands, products, events or other promotional purposes, including co-branded offers and partner offers; (4) operate, maintain, manage, fulfill and improve our service offerings and to provide services such as technical support; and (5) protect against, identify and prevent fraud and other crime, claims and other liabilities.
If you request information about employment opportunities with Whataburger, or if you complete an application for employment with Whataburger, we collect the Personal Information that you provide in connection with such request or application. If you apply for employment with Whataburger, we may also collect additional Personal Information about you from third parties to verify, update or supplement the information you provide us in the application process. Applicable law may require that you authorize a third party to disclose your Personal Information with us before such third party can provide it to us. Failure to authorize such third party to provide us the necessary information, or failure to provide any other information requested in the employment application may negatively impact our consideration of your employment application. By applying for employment with Whataburger, you expressly consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information in the manner and for the purposes provided in this Privacy Policy.
Whataburger will not sell your Personal Information to anyone at any time without your prior permission. We will transfer or otherwise disclose the information we collect from Services visitors and users to employees and independent contractors of Whataburger and its Third-Party Suppliers if (i) the disclosure will enable that party to perform a business, professional, or technical support function for Whataburger, (ii) the disclosure will enable us to facilitate payments, (iii) the disclosure will enable us to prevent or mitigate fraud, or (iv) we are required to do so by law. We do not allow these employees, independent contractors or Third-Party Suppliers to use this information or to share it for any purpose other than to provide services on our behalf. We will also transfer or otherwise disclose Personal Information in response to judicial process, to comply with legal requirements, and, as permitted under provisions of law, to provide information to law enforcement agencies or in connection with an investigation on a matter related to public safety. We may also use your Personal Information as permitted by law to protect our rights or property, the Services, or its users.
We routinely use the Other Information that we collect to improve the design and content of our Services and to enable us to personalize your Internet experience, as well as for general system administration. We also may use this information to analyze site and app usage, as well as to offer products, programs, or services to you or other users like you.
There may be times where we may share information when it does not directly identify you. For example, we may share anonymous, aggregated statistics about your use of our Services. Or we may combine information about you with other customers and share the information in a way that does not link to a specific customer.
We may share your personal information with other business entities in connection with the sale, assignment, merger or other transfer of all or a portion of Whataburger’s business or assets to such business entity (including due to a sale in connection with a bankruptcy or dissolution). We will require any such purchaser, assignee or other successor business entity to honor the terms of this Privacy Policy.
We do not respond to web-browser “do not track” signals at this time. We await the result of work by the policy community and industry to determine when such a response is appropriate and what form it should take. However, please see the below section on “Usage Information; Use Of Tracking Technologies” on how to control cookies.
We partner with Third-Party Suppliers to engage in analytics, analysis, auditing, measurement, research, and reporting, which may be based on Personal Information or Other Information collected over time, such as through your participation in Whataburger programs, your activity on the Services, your device’s geo-location (which may include specific longitude and latitude), and your activity on unaffiliated third-party sites, mobile apps, or other online services. Our Third-Party Suppliers may use web logs or pixel tags, and/or they may set and access cookies or other tracking technologies on your computer or other device. For example, we may use Facebook, Google Analytics, Advertising Features and/or other third party services to help collect and analyze certain information for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy, including to evaluate our targeted marketing activities. We may use this data in individual form, in a format that that does not, by itself, identify you individually and/or aggregated form, we may share information that does not, by itself, identify you individually and/or aggregated information and/or statistics with others outside of Whataburger, and we may allow third parties to collect and aggregate Other Information in connection with the use of tracking technologies. Your Personal information may also be used for analytics related to tracking your activities on the Services. For example, we may track which links within our Service you clicked on.
Whataburger may make personalized marketing messages, ads or offers to you through the Services, including our mobile app, based upon: (a) your interaction with the mobile app, our websites, content, or other Services; (b) information from activities such as your purchase and transaction history, including information about you gathered through Whataburger Rewards; and (c) notifications, ads, offers or new Whataburger location announcements or Whataburger events based upon geo-location data collected from your computer or from your mobile device. Such information allows us to provide you with more useful and relevant notifications, ads, offers or announcements. We do not provide any such information to third parties other than the Third-Party Suppliers we use for delivery of notifications, ads, offers or announcements. Also, some third parties may provide us information about you from offline and online sources that we may use to provide you more relevant and useful notifications, ads, offers or announcements.
CROSS-DEVICE TECHNOLOGIES
We and our Third-Party Suppliers may use collected information to establish connections among related web-browsers and devices (such as smartphones, tablets and computers) for targeted advertising, analytics, attribution, and reporting purposes. We and/or our Third-Party Suppliers may match your browsers or devices if you log into the same online service on multiple devices or if your devices share similar attributes that support an inference that they are used by the same person or household. This means that your online behavior (information about your activity on websites or apps on your current browser or device and your device’s geolocation, which may include specific longitude and latitude) may be combined with information collected from your other browsers or devices. For example, our Third-Party Suppliers may use this information to deliver an ad on your tablet or smartphone, to limit the number of times you see an ad across your devices, and to help measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns across devices.
USE OF E-MAIL ADDRESSES
Whataburger may periodically send informational or promotional e-mail messages. Sometimes these are referred to as newsletters. You will not receive such e-mail messages unless, at the time you provide us with your e-mail address, you indicate that you wish to receive such promotional e-mails. If you are asked for your e-mail address and are not given the opportunity to opt-out of receiving additional information, then the e-mail address is to be used only for the specific service you request. If you subscribe to receive promotional e-mails from Whataburger and wish to stop receiving such e-mails, you may request discontinuation of e-mail messages by clicking the “Unsubscribe” link on the e-mail you received. Please note that even if you opt out of receiving promotional communications, we may continue to send you non-promotional emails, such as those about your account, servicing, or our ongoing business relations.
COLLECTION OF INFORMATION BY THIRD-PARTY SITES AND SPONSORS
The Services may contain links to various other websites that are not maintained or related to Whataburger. These links and devices are not sponsored by or affiliated with the Services or Whataburger. Whataburger has not reviewed any or all of the sites hyperlinked to or from the Services. While we encourage other site developers to adopt privacy policies that build users’ trust and confidence, we are not responsible for the privacy policies, practices or the content of websites linked to our Services or to which we link. The links are accessed and used at your own risk, and Whataburger makes no representations or warranties about the content, completeness or accuracy of these links, or the sites hyperlinked to or from the Services. Third party websites that are accessible by hyperlinks from the Services may use cookies and other tracking technologies that are not subject to this Privacy Policy. Visitors should consult the other websites’ privacy policies, terms and conditions, and their other policies to learn how they collect and use personal information before providing personally identifiable information to them. Whataburger does not implicitly endorse third party sites hyperlinked to the Services.
We may also provide access to third-party providers of other apps, tools, widgets and plug-ins on our Services, such as Facebook “Like” buttons, which may also use automated methods to collect information about how you use these features. These organizations may use your information in line with their own privacy policies and you are encouraged to check your privacy settings within such third-party platforms and services.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits any California residents who use the Services to request certain information regarding our disclosure of Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us by sending us an email or letter to the address specified in the “Contact Information” section below. Requests must include “California Privacy Rights Request” in the first line of the request and include your name, street address, city, state, and zip code. Please note that Whataburger is not required to respond to requests made by means other than through the provided email address or mail address.
CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
The Services are not intended for or directed toward children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information online from children under the age of 13 without parental or guardian consent. You must be 18 to use some portions of the Services. Please contact us via the contact information provided below if you believe we may have collected such information without parental or guardian consent or other than in a manner authorized by law, and we will delete it.
Notice to California residents under 18 years of age: If you are a registered user of online services under the age of 18, and we have actual knowledge of your age, then under California law you may request and obtain removal of certain content or information you have posted on our Services. To do so, please contact us at the address, phone number or email address below. Please note that removal does not ensure complete or comprehensive removal of the content. For example, removal may not be possible or permitted if another provision of law requires the content to be maintained, if it was posted or reposted by others, or if we paid compensation to you in exchange for the posting.
USER GENERATED CONTENT
Our Services may allow visitors to post messages and submit their own content (e.g., stories, comments, blogs, postings, tweets, etc.), which may include Personal Information. Any information you post, tweet or otherwise submit via the Services becomes public information and is not subject to this Privacy Policy. By posting or tweeting content, you agree that we may, at our discretion, use your real or social media user name and all or part of the content of your post or tweet (including all accompanying images) on our Services to promote our company, products and services for such time period as we wish. Whataburger is not responsible for the results of such postings. Additional terms regarding our use of your posts, tweets and other social media communications submitted via the Services are contained in the Terms & Conditions, which are available at the “Terms and Conditions” link at the bottom of the main page of the whataburger.com website.
USAGE INFORMATION; USE OF TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES
Like most websites, apps and other like services, the Services gather traffic patterns, usage information, and similar data. This usage data may identify you individually and we may associate it with Personal Information that we collect from you on the Services and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy. We may use this data in aggregated form or share aggregated statistics about visitors to and users of the Services with others outside of Whataburger, and we may allow third parties to collect and aggregate Other Information through the Services and/or Third-Party Supplier sites accessible from or through the Services.
Cookies and other “tracking technologies” — now and hereafter developed — may be used to collect information about your interactions with the Services, including information about your browsing and activity behavior. Such tracking technologies include, but are not limited to:
Cookies: The Services’ servers, or the servers of Third-Party Suppliers that are used to operate the Services, may place a “cookie” on your computer, store data in your computer web-browser or access pre-existing removable tracking features on your mobile device in order to allow you to use the Services and to personalize your experience. Cookies are small text files sent by a web server to your computer, which then may be stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. Whataburger may use cookies for various purposes, including to recognize visitors to our Services, determine the number of visitors to or users of the Services and ascertain which pages they visit, personalize user experiences and to generally serve our visitors and users better. Cookies and browser storage are also useful in allowing more efficient log-in for users, tracking transaction histories and preserving information between sessions. We may associate information we collect via cookies with the Personal Information we collect online. In some cases your computer must accept cookies in order for us to complete the service or transaction you are requesting. The information collected from cookies and browser storage may also be used to improve the functionality of the Services
Types of cookies and tags on our Services include:
Functionality: Used to remember your preferences and for facilitating transactions such as purchases.
Performance or Analytics: Used to measure site activity to improve user experience.
Targeting: Used to display information and offers that specifically interest you.
You can adjust the settings in your browser in order to restrict or block cookies that are set by the Services (or any other website on the Internet). Your browser may include information on how to adjust your settings. Alternatively, you may visit www.allaboutcookies.org to obtain comprehensive general information about cookies and how to adjust the cookie settings on various browsers. This site also explains how to delete cookies from your computer.
Local Storage: We use Local Storage, such as HTML5 storage, to store information related to whether a user has chosen to “Remain Logged In” as well as tokens if third party services are used. Third parties with whom we partner to provide certain features on our Services or to display advertising based upon your web browsing activity use Local Storage such as HTML 5 storage to collect and store information. Various browsers may offer their own management tools for removing HTML5 Local Storage.
Web Beacons: Web beacons are small graphic images, also known as “tracking pixels,” “internet tags” or “clear gifs,” embedded in web pages and email messages. Web beacons may be used to count the number of visitors to the Services, to monitor how users navigate the Services, and to count content views.
Embedded Scripts: An embedded script is programming code designed to collect information about your interactions with the Services. It is temporarily downloaded onto your device from our web server or a third party with whom we work, is active only while you are connected to the Services, and deleted or deactivated thereafter.
Location-identifying Technologies: GPS (global positioning systems) software, geo-filtering, and other location-aware technologies locate (sometimes precisely) you for purposes such as verifying your location and delivering or restricting relevant content based on your location.
Device Fingerprinting: Device fingerprinting is the process of analyzing and combining sets of information elements from your device’s browser, such as JavaScript objects and installed fonts, in order to create a “fingerprint” of your device and uniquely identify your device and applications.
In-App Tracking Methods: There are a variety of tracking technologies that may be included in mobile applications, and these are not browser-based like cookies and cannot be controlled by browser settings. Some use device identifier, or other identifiers such as “Ad IDs” to associate app user activity to a particular app and to track user activity across apps.
INFORMATION SECURITY
Whataburger is committed to the protection of the information covered by this Privacy Policy, and uses reasonable measures to maintain appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures and safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, use or disclosure of the information we collect via the Services. However, no method of electronic transmission or storing of data is guaranteed to be 100% secure, and therefore, we do not guarantee that the information collected will never be accessed, used, or disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy
YOUR CHOICES, CHANGING YOUR INFORMATION AND DELETING MYWHATABURGER ACCOUNTS
We provide you with the ability to review or change certain elements of your Personal Information and make certain choices about how we use or share Personal and/or Other Information. You may review, change, or exercise choice regarding certain of your Personal Information and/or Other Information as follows:
• To update, verify, or delete certain of your Personal Information, please edit the applicable MyWhataburger Account. If you need assistance, please contact us using one of the methods listed under the “Contact Information” section below. Note that not all fields are able to be changed.
• To opt out of informational or promotional e-mail messages from us, see the “Use of E-mail Addresses” section above, and to opt out of standard Whataburger cookies and other tracking technologies, see the “Usage Information; Use of Tracking Technologies” section above.
• To stop sharing your specific longitude and latitude information (e.g. geo-location information) with us, you may adjust your location preferences on your computer, browser, or mobile device.
• To delete your MyWhataburger Account, please select the “Delete Account” function either in the Whataburger mobile application or the applicable Whataburger website.
• Other choices may be available within your MyWhataburger Account page or presented to you in certain communications.
In some cases this information may not be immediately updated or deleted, subject to retention for MyWhataburger Account program administration, dispute resolution, troubleshooting, and other legal or business reasons, including within our Third-Party Supplier’s records. Your historical MyWhataburger Account usage information may remain in our or our Third-Party Supplier’s records.
VISITING THE WEBSITE FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES
If you are accessing the Services from outside of the United States or otherwise contacting or visiting us from outside of the United States, please be aware that your personal information may be transferred to, stored or processed in the United States, where our servers are located and our database is operated. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in the country from which you are accessing the Services. By providing your information, you understand that it may be transferred to our facilities and to those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.
CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please write or call us at:
Whataburger
300 Concord Plaza Dr.
San Antonio, TX 78216
1-800-6-BURGER