Privacy Policy

DESIGN OF THE TIMES, INC. PRIVACY POLICY

Last Updated: May 16, 2023.

1. INTRODUCTION

This is the Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) that governs how Design of the Times, Inc. and our affiliated companies (“Company”, “we”, “our” or “us”), use Personal Information (defined below) that we collect, receive and store about individuals in connection with the use of our website located at <https:// https://www.designofthetimesinc.com> and all subdomains, mobile versions, applications, and online media under our operation and control (collectively the “Site”).

We are committed to respecting privacy and recognize the need for appropriate protection and management of any Personal Information that is shared with us as part of using the Site. As used in this Privacy Policy, “Personal Information” means any information that may be used, either alone or in combination with other information, to personally identify an individual.

You may choose whether or not to provide or disclose Personal Information in connection with your use of the Site. If you choose not to provide the Personal Information we request, you may still visit and use parts of the Site, but may be unable to access or use certain features, options, programs, and services. If you do not agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy at any time, you should not use the Site.

The Site may contain links to third-party websites and services that are not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of third-party websites, services and advertisements, and you visit them at your own risk.

2. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY.

We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time. You can see when this Privacy Policy was last updated by reviewing the “Last Updated” legend on the top of this page. We may provide you with notice of material changes to this Privacy Policy as appropriate under the circumstances via our website. UNLESS OTHERWISE INDICATED, ANY CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY WILL APPLY IMMEDIATELY UPON POSTING TO THE SITE. If you use the Site after we have published such changes, you will be agreeing to be bound by those changes.

3. CHILDREN’S PRIVACY.

The Site is not intended for children under the age of 18. Accordingly, we do not knowingly collect, share, or sell Personal Information from or about any persons under 18 years of age. If you believe we might have any information from or about a person under 18, please contact us at privacy@designofthetimes.com. NOTICE: Visit www.OnGuardOnline.gov for tips from the Federal Trade Commission on protecting children’s privacy online.

4. INFORMATION COLLECTED AND HOW WE COLLECT IT.

We may receive and/or collect the following categories of Personal Information:

Identifiers, such as your name, email address, postal address, Internet Protocol (IP) address, and phone number;
Geolocation information, such as the region in which you are located when you access the Site and/or where your project address is located; and
Network activity, such as information collected from cookies and similar tracking technologies (as described below);

The sources from which we obtain Personal Information are described below.

4.1. Personal Information You Provide To Us On the Site.

If you send us a “Contact Us” request, you may provide us with, and we may collect, certain information that may constitute Personal Information.

We will not request on or through the Site other information that is often considered “highly sensitive,” such as financial account information (e.g., credit report information, bank account numbers), or government-issued identification (e.g., your social security card, drivers’ license, or passport).

4.2. Information Collected Automatically.

Certain information is collected automatically when you access or use the Site by means of various software tools described below. We have a legitimate interest in using such information for systems administration purposes, information security and abuse prevention, to track user trends, and to analyze the effectiveness of the Site. Alone or in combination with other information, such automatically collected information may constitute Personal Information.

The following information, some of which may constitute Personal Information, is collected automatically when you access or use the Site:

1. Log Files On The Site. The information inside the log files includes internet protocol (“IP”) addresses, type of browser, Internet Service Provider (ISP), date/time stamp, referring/exit pages, clicked pages and any other information your browser may send to us.

2. Cookies. When you visit our Site, our servers may send a cookie to your computer. Cookies are small pieces of data that a website asks your browser to store on your computer or mobile device. A cookie contains an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server. Cookies do not typically contain information that individually identifies you, but Personal Information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies. We use cookies to make interactions with our Site easy and meaningful. We may use cookies that are session-based and persistent. Session cookies exist only during one session and disappear from your computer when you close your browser software or turn off your computer. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you close your browser or turn off your computer. Please note that if you disable your web browser’s ability to accept cookies, you will be able to navigate our Site, but you may not be able to successfully use all of the features of our Site. Information regarding how we may use different categories of cookies and your options for managing cookie settings is set forth below.

Type of Cookies	Description	Managing Settings
Required cookies	Required cookies enable you to navigate our Site and use features, such as accessing secure areas of our Site and using our services. If you have chosen to identify yourself to us, we use cookies containing encrypted information to allow us to uniquely identify you. Each time you log into our Site, a cookie containing an encrypted, unique identifier that is tied to your account is placed on your browser. These cookies allow us to uniquely identify you when you are logged into our Site and to process your online transactions and requests.	Because required cookies are essential to operate our Site, there is no option to opt out of these cookies.
Performance cookies	These cookies collect information about how you use our Site, including which pages you go to most often and whether you receive error messages from certain pages. These cookies do not collect information that individually identifies you. All information collected by these cookies is aggregated and anonymous. They are only used to improve how our Site functions and performs. From time-to-time, we may engage third parties to track and analyze usage and volume statistical information from individuals who visit our Site. We may also utilize Flash cookies for these purposes.	To learn how to opt out of performance cookies using your browser settings click here. To learn how to manage privacy and storage settings for Flash cookies click here.
Functionality cookies	Functionality cookies allow our Site to remember information you enter and choices you make, and to provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies also enable you to optimize your use of our Site after logging in. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customize.	To learn how to opt out of functionality cookies using your browser settings click here.

3. Other Tracking Technologies. When you visit the Site, we may collect your IP address to track and aggregate information. For example, we may use IP addresses to monitor the regions from which you navigate the Site. We may also use web beacons alone or in conjunction with cookies to compile information about your usage of the Site. Web beacons are clear electronic images that can recognize certain types of information on your computer, such as cookies, when you viewed a particular site tied to the web beacon. We may use web beacons to operate and improve our Site.

4. Analytics Software Tools. We may use analytics software such as Google Analytics and/or Adobe Analytics on our Site to help us analyze the traffic on our Site. For more information on Google Analytics’ processing of Personal Information, please see http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. By using a browser plugin http://www.google.com/ads/preferences/plugin/ provided by Google, you can opt out of Google Analytics.

5. THE PURPOSES FOR WHICH WE USE PERSONAL INFORMATION.

If you submit or we collect Personal Information through the Site or as otherwise described above, we may use such Personal Information for the following general purposes:

To comply with our legal and regulatory obligations;
To provide, analyze, administer, and improve the Site;
To communicate with you in connection with the Site and notifications;
For research and development relating to the Site and the products and services we offer and/or provide to you;
To protect our rights and/or our property and to ensure the technical functionality and security of the Site;
For the performance of our contract with you or to take steps at your request before entering into a contract; and
Where you have given consent.

6. HOW WE DISCLOSE PERSONAL INFORMATION.

We do not sell, lease, rent or otherwise disclose the Personal Information collected on or through the Site to third parties unless otherwise stated below or with your consent.

6.1. Our Third-Party Providers.

We transfer Personal Information to our third-party service providers, including our client-intake concierge service, The Prototype LLC, to perform tasks on our behalf and to assist us in providing the Site. We use commercially reasonable efforts to only engage or interact with third-party service providers that take appropriate measures to protect your Personal Information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, we will comply with applicable laws regarding Personal Information transfers.

6.2. In the Event of Merger, Sale, or Change of Control.

We may transfer or assign this Privacy Policy and any Personal Information to a third-party entity that acquires or is merged with as part of a merger, acquisition, sale, or other change of control.

6.3. Other Disclosures.

We may disclose Personal Information about you if we have a good faith belief that disclosure of such information is helpful or reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or governmental request; (ii) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud or security issues; or (iii) protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of us, our users, or the public.

7. RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION.

We will keep your Personal Information while we are providing our services to you. Thereafter, subject to any applicable laws and/or regulations, we may hold Personal Information about you for as long as is necessary:

To comply with applicable law and fulfill the purposes described in Section 5 above (“The Purposes For Which We Use Personal Information.”); or
To respond to any questions, complaints or claims made by you or on your behalf.

We will not retain your Personal Information for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

8. YOUR RIGHTS.

8.1. Rights Relating to Personal Information.

Subject to applicable law, if you would like to otherwise access, amend, correct, delete, export (e.g. data portability), or object to the processing of Personal Information collected in and through the Site, or withdraw your consent (as applicable), you may submit a request to privacy@designofthetimes.com,  write to us at: Attention: Privacy Officer 234 N. Pine Valley Road, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104. We will promptly review all such requests in accordance with applicable laws. Depending on where you live, you may have a right to lodge a complaint with a regulatory agency if you believe that we have violated any of the rights concerning Personal Information about you. We encourage you to first reach out to us at privacy@designofthetimes.com so we have an opportunity to address your concerns directly before you do so.

9. DATA SECURITY.

The security of Personal Information is important to us. We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it. For example, we have implemented an information security program that contains administrative, technical and physical controls that are designed to reasonably safeguard Personal Information from unlawful use, unauthorized access, or disclosure. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

10. TRANSFERS OF PERSONAL INFORMATION FROM THE EU, THE UK, OR SWITZERLAND TO THE UNITED STATES.

If you are visiting from the European Union or other regions with laws governing information collection and use that may differ from United States law, please note that you are transferring your Personal Information to the United States. The laws of some countries may not provide the same levels of protection of Personal Information as your home country, particularly if you are resident in the European Union. By submitting information, you agree to the collection, transfer, storage, use and processing of information about you for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. When you provide Personal Information to us or our service providers, you consent to the processing of your information in the United States as the Site is offered from the United States. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that information about you is treated securely in accordance with this Privacy Policy, and that all information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers or those of our service providers.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES TREAT YOUR INFORMATION IN A MANNER THAT MAY BE SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT FROM, AND LESS PROTECTIVE THAN, THE TREATMENT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAWS OF OTHER COUNTRIES AND JURISDICTIONS. IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR INFORMATION TRANSFERRED TO THE UNITED STATES, YOU SHOULD NOT SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH US, OR MAKE USE OF THE SITE.

TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY THE LAW OF THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU ARE LOCATED, YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT YOU MAY HAVE TO REQUIRE US TO TREAT YOUR IDENTIFYING INFORMATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF ANY COUNTRY OR JURISDICTION OTHER THAN THE UNITED STATES. HOWEVER, THE FOREGOING WAIVER MAY NOT BE LEGALLY BINDING IN SOME COUNTRIES, SUCH AS THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. TO THE EXTENT IT IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING IN THE COUNTRY IN WHICH YOU ARE LOCATED, THIS FOREGOING WAIVER DOES NOT APPLY TO YOU.

11. HOW WE RESPOND TO DO NOT TRACK SIGNALS.

As explained above in Section 4.2, the technologies used on the Site may be used to track Site users’ activity on the Site. How browsers communicate user preferences related to the Do Not Track signal is not yet uniform, so a standard technological response has not yet been developed. For this reason, the Site may not respond to Do Not Track signals at this time.

12. NOTICE TO CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS.

California Residents: Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2019 (“CCPA”) and the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (“CPRA”) (the CCPA and CPRA are hereinafter referred to as the “California Privacy Laws”), you have certain rights with respect to your Personal Information. For the purposes of this Section, Personal Information is used as defined in the CCPA. We reserve the right to verify all requests made pursuant to the California Privacy Laws.

12.1. Requests to Know.

You have the right to request that we disclose:

The categories of Personal Information we have collected about you;
The categories of sources from which we have collected Personal Information about you;
Our use of the Personal Information we have collected about you;
The categories of Personal Information about you we have sold or disclosed for a business purpose;
The business or commercial purposes for selling or collecting Personal Information about you;
The categories of Personal Information sold or shared about you, as well as the categories of third parties to whom the Personal Information was sold, by category of Personal Information for each party to whom Personal Information was sold; and
The specific pieces of Personal Information collected about you for the twelve (12) months prior to the date of your request. The delivery of our response may take place electronically or by mail. We are not required to respond to requests to know more than twice in a 12-month period.

12.2. Requests to Delete.

You have the right to request that we delete any Personal Information about you that we have collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. We may deny your deletion request if retaining the Personal Information is necessary for us or our service provider(s) to:

Complete the transaction for which we collected the Personal Information, provide a good or service that you requested, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
Debug products to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et. seq.).
Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
Comply with a legal obligation.
Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

12.3. Right to Out of the Sale of Personal Information.

You have a right to opt out of the sale of Personal Information. You may, at any time, direct us to not sell Personal Information about you to third parties. If you exercise your right to opt out of the sale of Personal Information about you, we will not sell Personal Information about you. Any Personal Information collected in connection with your request to opt-out of the sale of Personal Information about you will be used only to facilitate that request.

12.4. Requests to Correct Inaccurate Personal Information.

You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information that we maintain, or which pertains to you.

12.5. Authorized Agents.

You may designate an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf. You must provide an authorized agent written permission to submit a request on your behalf, and we may require that you verify your identity directly with us. Alternatively, an authorized agent that has been provided power of attorney pursuant to Probate Code sections 4000-4465 may submit a request on your behalf. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.

12.6. Methods for Submitting Consumer Requests and Our Response to Requests.

To make a request pursuant to your California Privacy Laws rights, you may send an email to privacy@designofthetimes.com or write to us at the following address:

Attention: Privacy Officer

234 N. Pine Valley Road

Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27104

Upon receipt of a request, we may ask you for additional information to verify your identity. Any additional information you provide will be used only to verify your identity and not for any other purpose. We will acknowledge the receipt of your request within ten (10) days of receipt. Subject to our ability to verify your identity, we will respond to your request within 45 days of receipt. In order to protect your privacy and the security of Personal Information about you, we verify your request by requesting for additional identifying information that will only be used to verify your identity and for no other purpose.

12.7. The Right to Non-Discrimination.

You have the right not to be discriminated against for the exercise of your California Privacy Laws rights described above. Unless permitted by the California Privacy Laws, we will not:

Deny you goods or services.
Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.

12.8. Shine the Light Law.

A California privacy law that went into effect on January 1, 2005, the “Shine the Light” law, allows California residents to obtain a list of third parties to whom a business has disclosed Personal Information if it shares such information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes. However, if a business adopts and discloses in its privacy policy a policy of not disclosing customers’ Personal Information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless the customer first affirmatively agrees to the disclosure, the business may comply with the law by notifying the customer of his or her right to prevent disclosure of Personal Information and by providing a cost-free means to exercise that right.

Personal Information submitted will only be used for marketing and promotional purposes; and whenever you agree to allow us to collect Personal Information, we provide you with an option to prevent such information from being shared for marketing and promotional purposes with third parties. Furthermore, you may exercise this cost-free option at any time by sending an email to privacy@designofthetimes.com.

Because we include a comprehensive Privacy Policy and provide you with details on how you may opt-out of the use of your Personal Information by third parties for direct marketing purposes, we are not required to provide you with the third-party list.

13. CONTACTING US.

Any comments, concerns, complaints, or questions regarding our Privacy Policy may be addressed to privacy@designofthetimes.com.