I. Collection of Information

We do not request any personally identifiable information from children under 13 other than a valid e-mail address, which we ONLY use to send a single account activation e-mail after they sign up. We do NOT permanently store the child's e-mail address after they sign up. Instead, once the initial activation e-mail is sent out, we "hash" the e-mail address into a unique, non-reversible string using the MD5 hashing algorithm, and we permanently store that in a completely separate location that is not linked to the child's account in any way.

The child's actual e-mail address is then permanently DELETED from our system. Since this e-mail "hash" is NOT reversible and is not linked to any account on the site, the e-mail address becomes completely invalid and unidentifiable. The SOLE reason we store this "hashed" version of the e-mail address is to prevent multiple accounts from being created with the same e-mail address (as outlined in our Terms of Service).

As an example of what a hashed e-mail looks like, the e-mail address "info@urbaniacs.com" would be turned into "1b39901aabe3d76bc737acee62777d2f". This method of storage allows us to keep new account signups unique while avoiding the necessity to actually store your child's valid e-mail address.

Certain features and activities, such as UrboGrams (site messaging between players), Birthday emails, etc., require that the player get written parental consent before participating. By submitting the consent form, the parent's understand that their child may then enter their email address and have it stored with their account.

During signup and possibly on various other portions of the site, we may request children less than 13 years of age to provide certain non-personally identifiable information, such as gender, birth date, state/province, zip code, and country.

From time to time, we may have contests or activities that would require the player to enter personally identifiable information if they wished to participate. At such time, we will only request the personal information that is necessary for them to participate in the activity, and only after receiving verifiable consent from the child's parent. A child under 13 that enters and wins an Urbaniacs' contest will be notified via e-mail and, depending on the type of prize, may be required to provide their mailing address in order to have the prize shipped. This information would only be stored long enough to complete the fulfillment of the activity and would then be deleted.

For those players that are 13 years of age or older, Urbaniacs.com requires them to provide a valid e-mail address, gender, birth date, first and last name, state/province, zip code and country. Players may also supply optional information such as street address and city, but it is not required in order to create and activate your Urbaniac account.

Winners of any Urbaniacs' contest that are minors, i.e. under the age of 18, must have written parental permission to receive the prize.

When browsing on our site, our server will set one or more cookies on your machine. A "cookie" is a small text file that is stored on your computer's hard drive which contains non-personal information. Cookies allow us to help personalize your experience while playing on Urbaniacs.com by keeping track of your progress on various activities and by personalizing the content that you see while visiting our site.

In addition, we also use cookies to help keep track of how many unique visitors are visiting our sites and to help analyze our site traffic, i.e. what pages are most popular, length of time spent on the various pages, etc. This information helps us determine what parts of the site are successful, and what parts of the site could use improvement to make them more enjoyable.

We may also use a technology known as a "beacon", or clear GIF, in order to notify us of actions such as an e-mail being opened or an action being completed with a sponsor.

For more information on what cookies are and how they are commonly used, you can go to Cookie Central's excellent FAQ at: http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/.

Our site automatically collects some non-personally identifiable computer information such as the type of operating system you use (e.g., Mac OS or Windows XP, etc.), type of web browser (e.g., Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer), your ISP, and your IP address(es).

II. Usage of Information

We use player's personally identifiable information in order to allow them to participate in various Urbaniac contests and other activities such as submitting entries for our Chronicles, and to subscribe to our online newsletter to receive special announcements and site updates. Any personally identifiable information acquired specifically for a contest or sweepstakes is ONLY used for that specific activity, and is promptly deleted once the activity is completed. In the case of subscribing to our newsletter, the subscriber's name and e-mail address will only be used for delivery of that newsletter. The subscriber will always have the option of unsubscribing from the newsletter, at which time the personal information will be completely removed from the list.

We use player's personal information internally to help track usage of our site and activities, and to ensure that all of our Terms of Service are being adhered to by all members. We also may utilize this information in aggregate to further analyze site usage, as well as to offer products, programs, or services.

From time to time, we may employ outside contractors to help coordinate services to our members such as fulfilling prize delivery for contests or providing other services necessary. In such cases, we mandate that all of our contractors keep the member's personal information confidential and to utilize the information ONLY for the specific service for which they were contracted to perform.

We utilize member's non-personally identifiable information to help improve the overall site design and content, to customize offers and services, and to personalize the player's experience on Urbaniacs.com.

We may disclose personally identifiable information when required to do so by law, e.g. in response to a court order or a subpoena. We also may disclose such information in response to a law enforcement agency's request. In addition, we may transfer information about our members if we are acquired by or merged with another company.

Various sections of our site may contain links to third-party sites, including sponsors and advertisers. Visitors should consult the privacy policy of these third-party sites when visiting them since our privacy policy and practices may differ from theirs. We never give a member's e-mail address or other personally identifiable information to such third parties without their permission, which is granted by choosing to opt-in (selecting a box to allow the member's information to be given to that third party), registering with one of our sponsors, or by not opting-out (un-checking a checked box for a particular sponsor).

III. Parental Review

At Urbaniacs, we strive to ensure that kids have a safe and fun online experience. We believe that it is very important that parents are given the opportunity to see what kind of information has been collected from their child, to be able to modify and/or delete any personally identifiable information, and/or request that no further personally identifiable information is collected on their child.

When contacting us to review your child's information, please be sure to include an e-mail address and phone number where we can reach you. In order to protect your child's privacy and security, we must take necessary steps to verify your identity to ensure that you are in fact the child's parent or legal guardian.

IV. Contact Information

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding our privacy policy, please feel free to contact us at the following:

Urbaniacs, Inc.
P.O. Box 17192
Encino, CA 91416-7192
Toll-Free: (888) 262-3695
Fax: (310) 317-7833
privacy@urbaniacs.com