WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY – U.S.
Last Modified: October 23, 2023
Willa (“Willa,” “we”, “us”, or “our”) values its customers, their information, their privacy, and their trust. This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) applies to information collected online from users of the Willa website, willa.com (the “Site”), and explains how we collect, use, and protect that information. This Policy applies to Willa’s collection, use, processing, storage, and transfer of information associated with Willa’s Site. For the purposes of this Policy, unless otherwise noted, all references to the Site, includes Willa’s online member portal, mobile applications, and other electronic messages between you and the Site.
In connection with the Site and our Terms and Conditions, we will refer to those freelancers looking to collect money as “Merchants”. We refer to those businesses with whom the Merchants have contracted who are making payments to Merchants as “Customers” in our Terms and Conditions and throughout this Policy.
Throughout this Policy, we refer to the term “Personal Information.” “Personal Information” means data which identifies, describes, is associated with, or could be linked to an individual, such as a name, birthdate, postal address, email address, telephone number, driver’s license number, Social Security Number or other government-issued identification number, credit card number, or other unique identifiers.
Personal Information does not include anonymous or aggregated data that can no longer be used to identify a specific person, even if combined with other data. Also, we may collect information related to businesses, companies, institutions, or other entities rather than individuals (“Business Information”). We do not consider Business Information, such as title, employer’s name, work email, work phone number, work address, and other similar business information, to be Personal Information.
Information we Collect
We collect information about Merchants and Customers in two ways: 1) directly from you; and 2) indirectly from you via your use of the Site.
Information Collected Directly From You
When Merchants contact us through our website or mobile application we will collect certain Personal Information about them so that we may verify their identity, set up their Merchant account, and adequately respond to their inquiry or offer services. To do this, we may collect from Merchants their first and last name, postal address, email address, Social Security number, an image of their photo ID, and phone number. Customers will provide their information to Stripe, the company we are working with to process payments to our Merchants, when they sign up to make payments. Stripe shares with us information about the name of Customer businesses, payment prices, and payment timing.
Information Collected Indirectly from You
When you visit our Site, we may collect information about your visit and maintain that information in our web server logs, which are records of the activities on our Site. The servers automatically capture and store the information electronically. Examples of the information we may collect include: Internet Protocol (IP) address; browser type and language; Internet Service Provider (ISP), referring and exit websites and applications; websites viewed while on the Site; operating system; date/time stamp of activity; clickstream data; whether you are a first-time or a returning user; links you clicked on while in the Site; and your flow and navigation path through the Site. We use this information in a deidentified and aggregated fashion to help us administer the site, analyze its usage, protect the website and its content from inappropriate use, and improve your Site experience.
In some parts of our Site and through email messages, you will find a “click-through URL” linked to content on our Site. We track this click-through data to help us determine interest in particular topics and measure the effectiveness of our customer communications. If you prefer not to be tracked in this way, you should not click such links in our email messages.
Cookies
We use technologies, such as “cookies,” so we can remember certain information about you, remember your preferences, or recognize you when you return to the Site. Cookies also help us compile aggregate data about Site traffic and Site interaction so that we can improve our Site and protect our Site from fraud.
A cookie is a text file that is stored on your computer. As text files, cookies cannot read information on your hard drive, run programs, or deliver viruses to your computer.
Most browsers are set to accept cookies automatically. You can set your browser to decline all cookies automatically or to prompt you for a response each time a cookie is offered. If you decline cookies, you may find that you cannot access all our Site’s features.
During your browsing session, we use “session” cookies to store information and monitor Site function. These session cookies are installed during your browsing session and are deleted when the browsing session has ended.
We utilize tags for Google Analytics. Please see Google Analytics Privacy Policy https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en-US for details.
We also use log files when you visit our Site. Log files track IP addresses, browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP) identity, referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks. We utilize this information in our legitimate interest in administering the Site, preventing fraud, tracking website navigation in the aggregate, and gathering broad demographic information for aggregate use.
Web beacons, also known as clear GIFs, are often used in combination with cookies. Often transparent, these images are part of web pages, and allow us to count users who have visited certain pages and to generate statistics about how our Site are used. They are not used to access Personal Information
Pixel tags enable us to send email messages in a format that customers can read, and they tell us whether mail has been opened. We may use this information to reduce or eliminate messages sent to you.
Website Analytics
We use third-party website analytics software from third-party providers (e.g., Google Analytic)s in connection with our Site to gather data such as age, gender, and interests to provide advertising targeted to suit your interests and preferences.
You may opt out of the automated collection of information by third-party ad networks for the purpose of delivering advertisements tailored to your interests, by visiting third party pages and using their opt out methods.
This analytics software helps us target our online ads based on information collected directly from you or by automated means, like cookies. These companies also use automated technologies to collect information when you click on our ads, which helps track and manage the effectiveness of our marketing efforts.
Children’s Information
Our Site is not directed to children. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with Personal Information without your consent, please contact us by using the information in the “Questions and Contact Information” section, below, and we will take steps to remove such Personal Information from our systems.
Use of Personal Information
We only use your Personal Information for the original purposes it was given and to further our legitimate interests, such as to enroll Merchants and Customers in our services, perform services as described on the Site, provide information about our organization and services, to communicate with Site visitors about our services, and to effectuate payments through our services from Customers to Merchants. Personal Information is used also to provide users with a more enjoyable, convenient online experience. We may use your Personal Information to send you requested information, to personalize content for you, to compile, analyze, and better understand user data, demographics and behavior, and to detect, investigate, and prevent activities that may violate our policies or be illegal. We may also use your Personal Information to communicate with you about Willa events and services we believe you might find of interest and to administer Willa marketing materials and surveys in which you might participate.
We also use the information automatically collected about you during your use of the Site, as described above, to improve the effectiveness of our website, operations, mobile experience, or marketing efforts, to prevent against fraud and theft, and otherwise to protect our Site’s visitors and our organization.
Our employees and agents may view your Personal Information to perform their jobs and address your needs. We authorize their access to your Personal Information on a need-to-know basis to provide you with information or services, or for one of the other reasons listed in this section, and always in connection with a contractual obligation to protect the privacy of that information.
We may also use information you provide to us to communicate with you in the future. We may also contact you about other services or products we may offer in which you may have an interest. If you do not wish to receive such communications, you may opt out (unsubscribe) as described below in the “Access and Consent to Use of Your Personal Information” and “Questions and Contact Information” section.
Disclosure of Your Information
We will not sell, rent, or lease any Personal Information we collect from you to others. We will not make your Personal Information available to any unaffiliated parties, except as follows:
In addition, we may share aggregate, non-individual information, incapable of identifying a person, or Business Information, with third parties for lawful purposes. We will not disclose any of your Personal Information except when we have your permission or under special circumstances, such as when we believe in good faith that the law requires it or under circumstances described in this Policy. If you wish to restrict or limit any of this sharing, please contact us at the information provided in the “Questions and Contact Information” section below.
Access and Consent to Use of Your Personal Information
If you believe that the Personal Information that we have collected about you is incomplete, inaccurate, or not up to date, or if you would like to review and/or request changes or deletion of that information, please see the contact information in the “Questions and Contact Information” section.
If you do not consent or want to withdraw your consent for us to collect, use, or disclose your Personal Information as described in this Policy, please use the contact information provided in the “Questions and Contact Information” section. In your request, please identify the Personal Information at issue and the collection, use, or disclosure you wish to stop.
Denying or withdrawing consent may not allow us to provide you with some or all the products, services, or information you request.
You may opt-out of receiving marketing-related emails, targeted advertising messages, or promotional offers from Willa by emailing us at privacy@willa.com.
If you opt-out from receiving marketing emails or text messages, we may still need to send you communications about your account, membership, and other matters. If you agreed to receive future marketing communications directly from a third party through our Site, you will need to contact that party to opt-out of such communications. This process may be outlined on that party's privacy policy. We do not control third parties’ collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However, these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI“) on the NAI’s website.
Security of your Personal Information
We are committed to protecting the information we receive from you. We take appropriate security measures to protect your information against unauthorized access to or unauthorized alteration, disclosure or destruction of data. To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we maintain appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information and data stored on our system. Willa uses SSL Protocol and SSL Encryption for this purpose.
When personal information (such as a credit card number) is transmitted by Willa to other websites, it is protected through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. While no computer system is completely secure, we believe the measures we have implemented reduce the likelihood of security problems to a level appropriate to the type of data involved.
Links to Other Websites
Our Site may contain links to, or advertisements about, non-Willa websites. Other sites may also reference, advertise, or link to the Willa Site. You may be able to post content to third party Social Networking Sites on which we maintain a presence or share information from your Social Networking Sites with us. If you choose to do this, we will provide information to the Social Networking Site(s), and receive information from them, in accordance with your elections. You acknowledge and agree that you are solely responsible for your use of those websites and that it is your responsibility to review the applicable terms of use and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the availability, accuracy, content, products or services of third-party Social Networking Sites.
While you are using the Site, you may be linked or directed to other third-party websites that are beyond our control. These third-party websites may have privacy policies and terms of use which differ from ours. Please carefully review these policies. We are not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties.
Retention and Accuracy of Personal Information
We do our best to ensure that the Personal Information we hold, and use is accurate. We rely on the individuals we do business with to disclose to us all relevant information and to inform us of any changes. Personal Information is kept only for so long as is required, in accordance with our records retention policy and legal and regulatory requirements. If Personal Information is no longer required, we destroy it or render it anonymous. In any event, all Personal Information collected by us will be deleted within 24 months of your having last interacted with us or the Site, unless needed for business continuity purposes.
Changes to the Policy
From time to time, we may change this Policy and will notify you of material changes by posting the changed or modified Policy on our Site. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Policy unless otherwise specified.
Questions and Contact Information
If you have any questions, wish to access, correct, or amend your Personal Information or unsubscribe, want to register a complaint or simply want more information, you may contact us at:
Willa
263 Shuman Blvd, Suite 145
Naperville, IL 60563