Effective Date: January 9, 2023
Privacy and data protection are important to the Flipboard community. Transparency is, too. We’ve done our best to cut through the legal jargon and explain in simple terms what information we collect about you, what we use it for, and the situations in which we share it with others. Please read this privacy policy carefully. It applies to all interactions you have with Flipboard’s products and services where this privacy policy appears or is referenced, including offline, as well as websites and apps. This privacy policy does not apply to personal information Flipboard collects from its employees and contractors. By accessing or using Flipboard’s websites, apps, or services (“Flipboard”) from which this privacy policy is referenced, you confirm that you have read, understand, and acknowledge the terms of this privacy policy.
• Overview of How we Use Your Personal Information on Flipboard
Below is a summary of the categories of personal information collect and how we use that information. If you would like to opt-out of the sale or sharing of any of the information as described below, please go to https://flipboard.com/donotsellmyinfo. We retain your information while you maintain an active account with us and for a period of time thereafter to allow us to comply with our legal obligations.
A) Information we collect, and how we use it:
• Online Identifiers, Contact and Account Information: We sell or share your online identifiers (IP address, cookie IDs and device ID) with third parties for targeted advertising on and off Flipboard.
B) We also use this information to:
• To provide Flipboard to you
• To send you email and other marketing communications, as well as to contact you about your Flipboard subscription or your application for a job with Flipboard
• To comply with our legal obligations
• For internal operations (e.g. to improve and update our products)
• For security, safety, and due diligence purposes
• To help us verify the identity of our users
• To respond to your requests or questions
• As otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection
• Payment Information: we may use this to:
• To complete your payment of purchases made through Flipboard
• For internal operations (e.g. to improve and update our products)
• For security and fraud prevention
• As otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection
C) Information You Submit to us (like your profile picture or emails for your contacts): We may use this to:
• To help you send articles and other content to your contacts
• To create your profile on Flipboard
• To respond to your requests or questions
• As otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection
D) Device, Internet and Network Activity Information: We sell or share information about your device and your internet and network activity information with third parties for targeted advertisements on and off of Flipboard.
We also use this information to:
• To provide Flipboard to you
• For internal operations (e.g. to improve and update our products)
• For security, safety, and due diligence purposes
• As otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection
E) General location information (e.g. zip code and IP address): We sell or share your location information with third parties for targeted advertisements on and off Flipboard.
We also use this information to:
• To personalize your experience on Flipboard
• For internal operations (e.g. to improve and update our products)
• For security, safety, and due diligence purposes
• As otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection
F) Inferences: We may make inferences about your interests and personal preferences (such as the content you like to consume), as well as your demographics (like age and gender). We sell or share this information with third parties for targeted advertisements on and off Flipboard.
We also use this information to:
• To personalize your experience on Flipboard.
• For internal operations (e.g. to improve and update our products)
• As otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection
G) Employment-Related Information: We may use this information to:
• To process your application for a job with Flipboard
• To conduct a background check (prior to confirming your employment with Flipboard)
• For our internal research and analytics purposes.
• To comply with our legal obligations
• The Information We Collect
When you use one of Flipboard’s products or services, we (or our service providers or other vendors we engage to perform services on our behalf) collect, receive, or develop the following categories of information from or about you:
We collect Identifiers, Contact and Account Information. When you create an account with Flipboard, you give us your full name and email address, and create a username and password to access your account. If you want, you can give us a pseudonym instead of your legal name.
We collect Payment Information. We may collect your credit card and other payment information if you subscribe to one of our paid services.
We collect Information You Submit. If you submit information when customizing your user profile or “Bio”, such as by adding a profile picture, we will collect the information you provide to us. Your profile automatically includes your name and username. We also collect information when you submit a question or comment or apply for a job, or if you provide information when entering a contest or promotion. We may also collect information about your contacts on your mobile or tablet device to help you connect with other Flipboard users, if you provide us access to that information. If you want to email something you see through Flipboard to a friend who isn’t already a Flipboard account holder, we may keep their email address for the purpose of sending the email. Recipients may contact us at [email protected] to request that we remove this information from our database.
We collect Device, Internet and Network Activity Information. So that we can make your Flipboard experience better, we collect information about how you interact with our websites and apps, and third-party sites with Flipboard widgets. This includes what areas of the websites you visit, for how long, and what content you view, flip and interact with. If you use our website(s) or applications, we may collect information about the browser or device you are using, operating system, device identifiers, and your IP address. We also receive some other information automatically when you use Flipboard. We might track the pages you visit. We might look at what site you came from, or what site you visit when you leave us. If you use our mobile apps, we may also look at how often you use the app and where you downloaded it. When you use our websites or apps we may also collect operating system-provided device IDs or user-specific advertising IDs for advertisement tracking. We collect this information using the tracking tools described below.
We collect Location Information. To help you connect with other Flipboard users and to personalize your Flipboard experience, we may ask for additional information, including your location. We may collect information that identifies your device’s precise location (for example, GPS latitude and longitude level). We also collect information about your general location, using your zip code or postcode and IP address. To learn more about how to control the collection of location information see the “Your Choices” section below.
We collect Employment-Related Information. When you apply for a job, we collect information you submit as part of your application and resume. This might include your work experience and previous employment, your education, the URL to your personal or professional websites, your workplace skill sets and certifications, whether you need a visa or require sponsorship, and/or salary expectations. We may also conduct a credit check, background check, and employment verification to the extent permitted by applicable law. If you apply for a job, you may choose to also voluntarily provide any of the following information: ethnicity, gender, disability status, and/or veteran status.
We collect and develop Inferences. Using the other pieces of personal information collected about you, we may draw inferences about you, reflecting what we believe to be your preferences, characteristics, predispositions, attitudes, and demographics (like age and gender).
• How We Collect Information
We collect personal information about you from various sources, directly and indirectly, including from the following sources:
We collect information directly from you. We may request and collect Identifiers, Contact and Account Information, and Payment Information directly from you, such as when you contact us, and when you create or customize your account profile, or when you purchase subscriptions from us. We also collect Information You Submit if you post a comment, make a request, or complete a survey. We collect Employment-Related Information if you apply for a job.
We collect information passively from your devices. We use various tracking technologies such as web beacons, cookies and embedded scripts to automatically collect information about you when you interact with our websites, apps, ads, and emails. We collect information about you over time and across devices this way. Learn how to manage your preferences regarding passive tracking by reading the “Your Choices” section below.
We get information from third parties. If you connect your Flipboard account with a third-party service, we collect information through that service. For example, if you don’t feel like creating an account from scratch, you may be able to sign in through an account you already have with another service, such as Facebook, Twitter, or Google. You may link your Flipboard account to other services you use, such as social networking sites, photo-sharing services and media publishers such as the New York Times. The information we receive from these services vary depending on the service and your privacy settings there, but may include your contacts on that social service, and content that you’ve made publicly available on these platforms. If you connect your YouTube account on Flipboard, you agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service and also the Google Privacy Policy. We may also receive Employment-Related Information from a job network or social network if you choose to import your information from those platforms when applying for a job with us. We also use features that let your friends give us your information. We may get information about you from other users, for example if they have forwarded content to you through our website or app.
We receive information from our vendors. For instance, we may engage with vendors and service providers to collect or provide us with information about you, such as access to location services via wireless networks or cell towers near your mobile device, or your IP address. Our employment and recruiting vendors also give us information. Our marketing agencies, advertising technology vendors, and analytics providers may also provide us with information.
We combine information. We may combine information we have collected offline with information we collect online. We may combine information we get from a third party with information we already have. We may also aggregate your information with other consumers’ information to understand preferences and trends over time.
• How We Use Your Information
A big part of Flipboard is sharing content you find interesting. That’s why your Flipboard profile, the people and sources you follow or that follow you, the magazines you create, the comments you post and the content you flip are all public. Aside from that, we use the categories of information described above as follows:
We use information to provide you with services and administer our websites and apps. For example we use Payment Information to process payment for your subscription(s). We might also use your information to send push notifications on our app and to notify you about content you might be interested in or activity updates. We use information to analyze and improve our products and services. For example, we may use your information to make our websites, apps, services, and products better. We might use your information to better understand how you use our service, customize your experience with us (including the content, marketing materials, and advertisements you see) and to conduct research and analysis. We also use your information for troubleshooting, data analysis, and testing.
We use information for marketing purposes. For example, we might use personal information to provide you with information about our services. We might tell you about new features or services. You may opt-in to receive our email newsletters. To learn about your choices for these communications, read the Your Choices section below.
We use information for security, safety, and due diligence purposes. For example, we may use personal information to protect our company, customers, and business partners and their respective personnel. We may also use personal information to protect our websites or our services, prevent abuse, as well as to detect and investigate activities that may be illegal or prohibited (such as cyberattacks or fraudulent transactions). We may also use information to conduct background, employment, and credit checks and to assess financial, reputational, credit, and other risks arising from any relationship or prospective relationship with you.
We use information for hiring purposes. For example, we use Contact Information and Employment-Related Information to review your job applications and contact you about employment opportunities. If you choose to voluntarily submit your ethnicity, gender, disability status, and/or veteran status in connection with a job application, we may use that information for statistical tracking purposes (not for hiring decisions), in accordance with applicable law.
We use information for verification purposes. For example, we will use certain pieces of personal information to verify your identity if you make requests pursuant to this privacy policy. The verification steps and the pieces of personal information that we request may vary depending on the sensitivity and nature of your request.
We use information to respond to your requests or questions. We use information to contact you in response to your feedback or other matters related to our relationship with you (such as about this privacy policy or our Terms of Use).
We use information as otherwise required or permitted by law, or as we may notify you at the time of collection.
We may use personal information to create deidentified or aggregated data which does not identify you or any other individual, or from which your identity cannot reasonably be ascertained. We may use and disclose deidentified, anonymous or aggregated data as we choose.
• How We Disclose Your Personal Information
We share your personal information under these circumstances:
We share Online Identifiers, Contact and Account Information, Inferences, and Device, Internet and Network Activity Information with our marketing partners. Flipboard may work with advertising partners to serve you third-party advertisements, including interest-based advertisements, on Flipboard and on other services. Personal information received by our marketing partners and other parties may also be subject to their privacy policies. To learn about how to control how we share your information with marketing partners see the “Your Choices” section below.
We may share all categories of personal information listed above when needed to comply with the law, to protect ourselves, our customers and others, and for safety and security purposes. We may share your information if we believe it’s reasonably necessary to comply with a law, regulation or legal process, including to respond to a court order or subpoena. We may also share this personal information if a government agency or investigatory body requests it. Nothing in this privacy policy is intended to limit any legal objections or defenses you might have to prevent efforts by third parties to compel disclosure of your information, including legal orders from the government. We might share your personal information in order to enforce our agreements and to protect our rights and/or the rights of others. We might share your personal information when we are investigating potential fraud, including any promotions fraud.
We share all categories of personal information listed above with vendors and service providers that work on our behalf to help us offer and improve our service. We may share information with vendors that provide Flipboard with certain technical tools and services (such as email and analytics services) that help us understand how people use Flipboard so we can make it better. We also share Payment Information with our service provider to process your payments. These vendors and service providers are only permitted to use your personal information in connection with the services provided to us.
We may share all categories of personal information listed above if we sell, transfer or otherwise share some or all of our assets in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets in the event of a bankruptcy. For example, if Flipboard sells any of its businesses or assets, applies for loans, or opens bank accounts, we may disclose your personal information to the prospective buyer, lender or bank, as the case may be, as part of certain due diligence processes. We also share information for the purpose of management and administration of our business. If part of our business (including any of our affiliates, divisions, and business units) is acquired by a third party, we may include personal information as part of that transaction, which may include some or all categories of your personal information. We may also share your personal information if there is a change to our corporate structure. We may also share your information with others as they conduct diligence of our corporate changes.
With your consent, we may share your personal information if we have let you know what information will be shared, and with whom.
We may disclose anonymous, aggregate information about how our users use Flipboard in a manner that doesn’t identify you individually. We may share non-personally identifiable, non- aggregate information with companies that help us improve our products and services, including advertising (such as research companies and analytics providers).
We may share personal information for other reasons we may describe to you from time to time or as permitted or required by law.
• Rights and Choices for U.S. Users
Our U.S. users have the rights and choices outlined below. If you are in the EU, please review the section below for our For European Users of Flipboard.
• Access – You can request, up to two times every 12 months, that we disclose to you the categories of personal information we collected about you, the categories of sources from which we collected the personal information, the categories of personal information we sold or disclosed, our business or commercial purpose for collecting, selling, or sharing the personal information, the categories of third parties with whom we shared the personal information, and the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you. You also have the right to request a portable copy of your personal information.
• Correction – You have the right to request that Flipboard correct inaccurate personal information collected from you, subject to certain exceptions allowed under applicable law. If, we determine, based on the totality of the circumstances, that the information is not accurate, we will respond to the request by correcting the information, deleting the information (if deletion of the information does not negatively impact you), or providing you with the name of the source from which we have received the alleged inaccurate information (if we are not the source).
• Deletion – You can request that we delete your personal information that we maintain about you, subject to certain exceptions.
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information – You can request that we not sell or share your personal information. Under California law, “sell” is defined very broadly to cover the sale of your personal information to an outside party for monetary or other valuable consideration, subject to certain exceptions. The same is true with respect to the definition of “share,” except that sharing under California law relates to the targeting of advertising based on personal information from an individual’s interaction with other websites and services. We may sell or share the following categories of personal information to companies that provide marketing and advertising services to us, as well as advertisers that place advertisements on Flipboard: Identifiers, Contact and Account Information, Demographic Information, Device, Internet, and Network Activity Information, Location Information, and Inferences. This information is shared to help us understand who our users are, so that we can sell ads on Flipboard and advertise and market Flipboard to new users.
We may collect race and ethnicity information if you provide it in connection your application for employment. We only use this information to understand the demographics of our applicant pool. We do not use it to create profiles or make other inferences about you.
How to Submit a Request.
• If your local laws apply, you can also request that we not sell or share your personal information by clicking Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information on the website and in the app in the Privacy section of the Settings menu with your request. Please note that any opt-outs through these tools are specific to the device and browser you are using, so you should opt-out for each web browser and on each device you use. Your opt-out preferences will be deleted any time you clear your web browser’s cookie cache.
• Some browsers offer you the ability to opt out of cookie-based and other online tracking, which may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” of your personal information. At this time, we only respond to browser-based opt-out signals sent through the Global Privacy Control: https://globalprivacycontrol.org/. When you opt-out of sale or share via the GPC, we accept that signal and honor it. We do not respond to do not track or other browser-based signals.
How We Verify Your Identity. We will take reasonable steps to verify your identity prior to responding to your requests. For example, we may utilize a third party verification provider to assist with verifying your identity. The verification steps may vary depending on the sensitivity of the personal information and whether you have an account with us.
Authorized Agent. You can designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf. However, we will require written proof of the agent’s permission to do so and we will need to verify your identity directly.
Appeals. You have a right to appeal decisions concerning your ability to exercise your consumer rights. Please contact us at [email protected] to request an appeal concerning decisions on your consumer request.
Note that Flipboard is not intended for users under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 16, nor do we sell or share the information of anyone under age 16. Please see our section on Minor Children for more information. Flipboard will not discriminate against you because you made any of these requests. We may deny certain requests, or fulfill a request only in part, based on our legal rights and obligations. For example, we may retain personal information as permitted by law, such as for tax or other record keeping purposes, to maintain an active account, and to process transactions and facilitate customer requests. Note that for purposes of these requests under this Privacy Policy, personal information does not include information about employees and other of our personnel; information about employees and other representatives of third-party entities we may interact with; or information we have collected as a service provider to our clients.
Shine the Light. If you reside in California, you have the right to ask us one time each year if we have shared personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make a request, please send us an email, or write to us at the address listed below. Indicate in your letter that you are a California resident making a “Shine the Light” inquiry
Other Rights and Choices
You can opt out of receiving our marketing emails. To stop receiving our promotional emails, you can follow the instructions in any promotional message you get from us. Even if you opt out of getting marketing messages, we will still send you transactional messages. These include responses to your questions.
You have choices with respect to the use of your location information. In order to use certain functionality in our mobile applications, such as location-based services and technology, you must either (a) enable “location services” in the mobile application; and/or (b) set the permissions in your mobile device to allow communication of this information. More information about adjusting location services on iOS devices may be found here, and additional information on managing an Android device’s location settings may be found here. If you allow for location sharing, your device may communicate with us in ways that allow for us to customize the content you receive and to customize advertising you see.
You can control certain cookies and tracking tools. Cookies and HTML5 local storage are ways to keep information about your use of Internet services on your own mobile device or computer. We use cookies and HTML5 local storage to help us create your session, know when you’re logged in and help us remember certain information about how you interact with Flipboard. You can find more information about these tools in our Cookie Statement. If you’d rather not use cookies or HTML5 local storage, most browsers give you the option to turn them off, or require your approval before using them to keep information. If you choose not to keep information in cookies or HTML5 local storage, though, portions of Flipboard may not work as intended. Your browser may also give you the ability to control cookies or other tracking tools. How you do so depends on the type of tool. Certain browsers can be set to reject browser cookies. Please note that this privacy policy explains Flipboard’s policies only, and doesn’t cover the practices of other services.
• You can learn more about interested-based advertising, including how to opt out of third-party partners’ advertising you see on Flipboard and on other services, by visiting http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ and https://optout.privacyrights.info/ and http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices. We also use and share certain hashed information to enable targeted advertising through marketing partners that use common online identifiers for use in online, in-app, and cross-channel advertising, you can opt out of this network HERE.
• Users in European countries can visit http://www.youronlinechoices.eu/ for more information on these topics. Alternatively, you can opt out by discontinuing your use of Flipboard. We use Google Analytics to better understand how our users interact with our websites. You can learn about Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.
• For European Users of Flipboard
If you reside in the UK or a country in the European Economic Area (EEA), under European data protection law, data controllers are required to have a lawful basis for each use or disclosure of personal information. We rely on the following legal bases when we process your personal information:
• When necessary for our legitimate interest in providing services to our users. These legitimate interests include to respond to your inquiries and requests for information, maintain, improve, and analyze our websites, mobile applications, ads, and the content and services we offer, detect, prevent, or investigate security breaches or fraud, and facilitate the functionality of our websites and mobile applications. In specific situations, we require your personal information to pursue our legitimate interests in a way which might reasonably be expected as part of running our business and which does not materially impact your rights, freedom or interests. We will use legitimate interest after we have properly evaluated the data processing and conducted a necessary balancing test.
• When necessary for the performance of a contract. This includes processing your personal information in order to fulfill your request or provide the services that you have requested, including for example, when you have created a Flipboard account and subscribed to the Flipboard service.
• When you provide your consent for us to use your information. In some cases, we may rely on your consent. If we process any information where your consent is our lawful basis, you will have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
• To comply with our legal obligations. This is our legal basis for certain uses and disclosures of information required by applicable UK and EEA laws. For example, we can pass on details of people involved in fraud or other criminal activity affecting us to law enforcement. Please note that as Flipboard provides a tailored service to each user, it is a requirement of the service that information on your use of the service is collected. If Flipboard is not able to collect such information the service will not be available and you will need to close your Flipboard account.
If you are a resident of the UK or a country in the EEA, you also have certain rights and protections under the law regarding the collection, processing, and use of information about you.
You have the right to:
• Information – You may request that we confirm whether we have personal information about you.
• Access – You may request access or request a copy of your personal information. We may verify your identity before providing you any information. There is no cost to you in requesting to see your data, but please note that we reserve the right to charge you if you make subsequent requests.
• Correction – You can request that we correct personal information we have about you, in certain circumstances, and subject to some specific legal reasons where we may need to retain personal information as is. You can also edit some of your personal information through your Flipboard account.
• Deletion – You can request that we delete your personal information, subject to specific legal reasons where we may need to retain personal information. We may also deidentify or anonymize personal information in response to your request. You can also delete some of your information by deleting your Flipboard account.
• Restrict or Object Processing – Restrict or object to certain processing of your personal information where we do not have a legal basis to process your information. These rights may be limited in some circumstances under applicable law.
Please know that in order for us to respond to your request we may require that you verify your identity. For security, privacy, or operational reasons, Flipboard may only respond to valid requests when required by law or regulation.
You can also control certain choices via the Cookie Statement and through the Privacy Manager. We will retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide the services you have requested, including to administer your Flipboard account, while taking into account any legal requirements and tax and accounting rules. If you need further assistance regarding your rights, please contact our Data Protection Officer at [email protected] and we will consider your request in accordance with applicable laws.
• Data Retention and Security
The Internet is not 100% secure. We use standard security measures. We cannot promise that your use of our websites, apps, or services will be completely safe. Any transmission of your data to our websites is at your own risk. We encourage you to use caution when using the Internet. We keep personal information as long as it is necessary or relevant for the practices described in this Privacy Policy, including, for example, for legal compliance, dispute resolution, contract enforcement, backup, archival, and other internal operations purposes. This includes data you or others provide to us and data generated from your use of our services. We also keep information as otherwise required by law.
• Data Storage Outside the EEA and International Transfer
As a California-based company, we store and use personal data outside the EEA. The Flipboard services are offered globally so it is necessary to transfer your information internationally. In particular, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States where our servers are located. The data protection and other laws of other countries, such as the United States, may not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using our websites or mobile apps, or submitting your personal information, you consent to such transfer, storing and processing. We rely on multiple legal bass to lawfully transfer personal data internationally. These include EU Commission approved model contractual clauses, which require certain privacy and security protections. To ensure adequate protection of personal data in cross-border transfer and/or processing, we use appropriate safeguards as allowed under applicable law or regulation.
• Links to Third Party Sites
We may link to third-party sites that we do not control. This Privacy Policy does not apply to the information practices of those websites. You should read the privacy policy of other websites carefully before disclosing any of your information. You access such linked websites at your own risk. We are not responsible for such third-party sites.
• Minor Children
Flipboard’s websites and applications are not intended for children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 16. If you are a parent or legal guardian and think your minor under the age of 16 has given us information, you can contact us at [email protected].
• Changes to This Privacy Policy
As Flipboard continues to develop, we may decide to revise this privacy policy from time to time. The most current version will govern our use of your information and will always be posted on the websites and apps to which this policy applies, and older versions are available upon request. If we make changes that we think will substantially alter your rights, we will notify you by posting a notice on our website. Your continued use of our websites, apps, or services means that you consent to any changes or revisions to the updated privacy policy.
• YouTube Notice
YouTube content may be included with or made available via Flipboard. Google requires this notice:
• Use of YouTube is subject to the provisions of the YouTube Terms of Service found at https://www.youtube.com/t/terms
• By using YouTube, You hereby accept the Google Privacy Policy found at https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Contact
We’d love to hear your questions, concerns and feedback about this privacy policy. If you have suggestions for us, let us know at [email protected]. You can also write to us at the address below:
Legal Department Flipboard 555 Bryant Street #352 Palo Alto, CA 94301
For EEA and UK users, if you feel you haven’t received a timely or satisfactory response from us with respect to a question or complaint related to this policy, you may raise the issue with data protection authority in your country, without prejudice to any other rights you may have. A list of data protection authorities is available at https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/article29/items/612080.