Rent-Index.com - Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy (available only in english)

We value the trust you place in Rent-Index.com. That's why we insist upon the top standards for property advertisements and customer information privacy. Please read the following statement carefully to learn about our information gathering and distribution practices. Note: Our privacy policy is subject to change at any time. To make sure you are aware of any changes, please check back periodically.

Rent-Index.com is a technology platform owned and operated by Rent-Index, Inc. The rental advertisements and related services posted on Rent-Index.com are procured and provided by Rent-Index, Inc.

All references to "Rent-Index.com", "we", or "us" include Rent-Index, Inc.

Scope.
This privacy policy describes how we handle your personal information for our services available through the Web site (the "Web site"). By accepting the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use in registration, you expressly consent to our collection, storage, use and disclosure of your personal information as described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is effective upon acceptance for new users and is otherwise effective on March 31, 2006, for all users.

Collection of Personally Identifiable Information.
While you can browse some sections of the Web site without being a registered user, certain activities (such as posting a property) do oblige registration. In most cases, this information will be gathered from the Web site but it may also include personal information we gather from private-label, co-branded, and affiliate Web sites. Once you give us your personal information, you are not anonymous to us. Our servers are located in the United States. Therefore, if you choose to provide us with personal information, you consent to the transfer and storage of that information. We may collect and store the following personal information:

e-mail address upon registration to Rent-Index.com; and
various information that you may include when posting your property on Rent-Index.com.

Use.
Our primary purpose in collecting personal information is to provide you with a safe, smooth, efficient, and customized experience. For example, we may use your personal information and share your personal information within our corporate family to:

provide the services and customer support you request, including confirming e-mails related to the Web site services, and reminders;
resolve disputes, collect fees, and troubleshoot problems;
prevent potentially prohibited or illegal activities;
customize, measure, and improve our services and the Web site's content and layout;
tell you about targeted marketing, service updates, and promotional offers based on your communication preferences;
compare information for accuracy, and verify it with third parties;
do other things for you as described when we collect the information;
help promote a safe service;
measure consumer interest in our products and services;
notify you about online and offline offers, products, services, and updates;
customize your experience;
detect and protect us against error, fraud and other criminal activity;
enforce our agreements, terms, conditions, and policies; and
as otherwise described to you at the time of collection.

In our efforts to continually improve our product and service offerings, we may collect and may analyze demographic and profile data about our users' activity on our Web site. We may identify and may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with our server, and to administer our Web site. Your IP address may also be used to help us identify you and to gather broad demographic information. We may occasionally ask you to complete optional surveys. These surveys may ask you for contact information and demographic information (like zip code, age, or income level). We may use this data to tailor your experience at our Web site, providing you with content that we think you might be interested in, and to display content according to your preferences.

Rent-Index.com Renters:
Our Web site does not require you to give us any contact information unless you decide to register.
Rent-Index.com Owners & Managers:
Our Web site's registration form requires you to give us contact information (name, title, address, phone number, and e-mail address). We use this information to provide the users of Rent-Index.com the possibility of contacting you.

Rarely but possibly, we may use your personal information to market to you, we will provide you the ability to opt-out of such uses; see the Choice/Opt-Out section below.

Cookies.
A "cookie" is a small piece of information stored by a website's server on a website's browser so it can be later read back from that browser. Cookies are useful for enabling the browser to remember information specific to a given user. Rent-Index.com places both permanent and temporary cookies in your computer's hard drive. Our permanent cookies allow us to provide personalized features, such as automatically logging you into your personalized Start page. In order to use this feature, you should set your browser's preferences to allow permanent cookies. We also use temporary cookies (a.k.a. "per-session cookies") to advance the functionality and usability of our Web site. These temporary cookies are permanently erased from your computer as soon as you log out of your Rent-Index.com account. In order to use Rent-Index.com, you should set your browser's preferences to allow per-session cookies (most web browsers automatically accept cookies). We may use third-party advertising companies to serve ads on our behalf. These companies may employ cookies and action tags (also known as single pixel gifs or web beacons) to measure advertising effectiveness. Any information that these third parties collect via cookies and action tags is completely anonymous.

Sharing of information.
We may also disclose personal information if permitted to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to respond to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process.

We may also share some or all of your personal information with:

law enforcement offices, third party rights owners, or others in the good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: enforce our Terms of Use or Privacy Policy; respond to claims that an advertisement, posting or other content violates the rights of a third party; or protect the rights, property or personal safety of our users or the general public.
another business entity should we (or our assets) plan to merge with, or be acquired by that business entity. Should such a transaction occur, that other business entity (or the new combined entity) will be required to follow this privacy policy with respect to your personal information.

Lead Responder.
When a Renter contacts a Property Owner through the Web site (by sending a message from the details page) we will collect the Renter's e-mail address in order to provide a possibility of communication between the two parties. We may collect the content of the e-mail in addition to other information related to the e-mail. We may share with Property Owners a log of these communications, to allow them to manage their communications with Renters. Without limiting any other provisions of this Policy, you expressly agree that we may use this data ("impression data") to enforce our rights to collect any fees payable by the Property Owner.

Links to Other Sites.
Our website links to other websites that may collect personally identifiable information about you. Rent-Index.com is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of those linked websites.

Security Precautions.
Our Web site has stringent security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. Once your information is in our possession we adhere to strict security guidelines, protecting it against unauthorized access.

Choice/Opt-Out.
Rent-Index.com provides all users with the opportunity to avoid receiving non-essential (promotional, marketing-related) communications from us on behalf of our partners, and from us in general, after setting up an account. To remove your contact information from all Rent-Index.com lists and newsletters, simply send us a message indicating so.

Account Protection.
Your password is the key to your account. Use unique numbers, letters, and special characters and do not reveal your Rent-Index.com password to anyone. If you do share your password or your personal information with others, remember that you are responsible for all actions taken in the name of your account. If you lose control of your password, you may lose substantial control over your personal information and may be subject to legally binding actions taken on your behalf. Therefore, if your password has been compromised for any reason, you should immediately inform Rent-Index.com and change your password if it is possible.

Accessing, Reviewing and Changing Your Personal Information.
You can see, review and change most of your personal information by logging into the Website. Generally, we will not manually modify your personal information because it is very difficult to verify your identity remotely. You must promptly update your personal information if it changes or is inaccurate. Once you make a public posting, you may not be able to change or remove it. Upon your request, we will close your account and remove your personal information from view as soon as reasonably possible based on your account activity and in accordance with applicable law. We do retain personal information from closed accounts in order to comply with law, prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, resolve disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with any investigations, enforce our Terms of Use, and take other actions otherwise permitted by law.

Security.
Your information is stored on our servers located in the United States. We treat data as an asset that must be protected and use lots of tools (encryption, passwords, physical security, etc.) to protect your personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure. However, as you probably know, third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications, and other users may abuse or misuse your personal information that they collect from the Web site. Therefore, although we work very hard to protect your privacy, we do not guarantee, and you should not expect, that your personal information or private communications will always remain private. Rent-Index.com assumes no responsibility for any outcome that may result from any information that is downloaded from this site. If your use of this Web site or the materials therein results in any damages, whether directly or indirectly through contact made to those properties represented in this site, Rent-Index.com is not responsible for those damages.

Third Parties.
Except as otherwise expressly included in this Privacy Policy, this document addresses only the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. If you reveal your information to others, whether they are Renters, Property Owners or other sites throughout the Internet, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the information you disclose to them. Since Rent-Index.com does not control the privacy policies of third parties, you are subject to the privacy policies of those third parties. We encourage you to ask questions before you disclose your personal information to others.

General.
All services described by this Web site are subject to conditions, exclusions and limitations as established by Rent-Index.com. We reserve the right to limit or edit information of our clients if is our belief that it will cause harm to Rent-Index.com or to other clients of Rent-Index.com that are represented on this Web site. We may amend this Privacy Policy at any time by posting the amended terms on the Web site. All amended terms automatically take effect 5 days after they are initially posted on the Web site.

Questions.
Questions regarding this statement should be sent to us by e-mail from the Contact Us page.