HappyCow, Inc. ("HappyCow") strongly believes in protecting the integrity and privacy of personal information gathered from our members and visitors to our Platform. Since the protection of your privacy is of great importance to us, we have created this Privacy Policy to communicate our practices regarding the collection and dissemination of personal information that can be linked to a specific individual, such as a name, e-mail address, IP, or any other information, provided to us by our members and Platform users.

This policy describes the types of information that we may collect from you when you access or use our websites, applications and other online services (collectively, our "Services").

These policies do not extend to external sites linked to the Platform, websites of restaurants or businesses listed within HappyCow, or other non-Platform content. Please check with these companies and sites for their policies regarding data privacy, including the use of "cookies."

HappyCow is the Data Controller of your personal data that you provide, and a Data Processor of the data we receive from other companies about you, for example, when you login using Facebook or Google. The principles set out in this Privacy Policy apply to all instances in which HappyCow receives your personal data as a Data Controller for the purposes described in this notice. Those purposes are processing of data in order to participate in the various activities available on Services or as mentioned below."

By using our Platform you accept the terms of this Privacy Policy.

All Collected Information falls into one of two categories: “Identifiable Information” or “Unlimited-Use Information”. Identifiable Information is information that personally identifies You. Unlimited-Use Information is all Collected Information other than Identifiable Information.

Examples of Identifiable Information include Your (1) name, (2) email addresses, (3) birthday, (4) IP address, and (5) mobile phone's or other mobile device's (a “Device”) unique identifier assigned by the Device's service provider.

Examples of Unlimited-Use Information include Your (1) cookie information, pixel tag information, and other digital behavior, (2) pages requested or visited, (3) frequency of requests or visits, (4) search terms, and (5) public profile and public information associated with any of the Services. In addition, Unlimited-Use Information includes but is not limited to all Identifiable Information that has been de-identified (meaning that no single person can be identified by such de-identified information) and all of Your Submissions (as such term is defined and described in the Platform's Terms of Use), regardless of the content of such Submissions.

The information we collect may include:

Your account information: Your member name (username), email address, location, veg-status, birthday, password and other information you may provide with your account, such as your gender, relationship status, website, likes and dislikes. Your profile picture that will be publicly displayed as part of your account profile. You may optionally provide us with some of this information through third-party sign-in services such as Facebook and Google Plus.

In such cases, we store whatever information is made available to us through these sign-in services.

Your preferences: Your preferences and settings such as veg-types of listings to display.

Your content: Information you provide, including your reviews, photographs, comments, lists, followers, the users you follow, favorite restaurants, public and private messages to other members, and other information you provide in your account profile.

Your Public Posts: You also may provide information (such as ratings, reviews, tips, photos, comments, likes, friends, (Trips) lists, etc.) to be published or displayed (hereinafter, "posted") on publicly accessible areas of our site and applications, or transmitted to other users (collectively, "User Contributions"). Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to others at your own risk. Although we limit access to certain pages, you may set certain privacy settings for such information by logging into your account profile. Please be aware that no security measures are perfect or impenetrable. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of our Services with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons. We may display this information on the Services, share it with businesses, and further distribute it to a wider audience through third party sites and services (such as Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, and other places for the purpose of promoting HappyCow and our content). You should be careful about revealing any sensitive details about yourself in such postings.

How does HappyCow use the information gathered from the above sources?

We use your information to send you details about our campaigns, events and activities, Platform updates and additions, occasional contests, and fun stuff.

HappyCow also uses information gathered via the Services to improve our Web-based campaigns. HappyCow performs statistical analyses of aggregate user behavior and characteristics in order to measure interest in and use of various areas on our Services and to use such information to improve our ability to serve you better.

We use the information you provide to us to enhance the functionality and improve the quality of our Services, and to personalize your experience while using our Services. We also use this information to display relevant advertising, provide support to you, communicate with you, and comply with our legal obligations.

HappyCow may also share Identifiable Information with companies or organizations connected or affiliated with HappyCow, such as subsidiaries, sister-companies, and parent companies (i.e. entities that belong to the Green Monday Group of companies).

We reserved the right to de-identify the Identifiable Information for any and all purposes.

HappyCow is permitted to use and share, without restriction or limitation, all Unlimited-Use Information in HappyCow's sole discretion. In addition, HappyCow may use Unlimited- Use Information to (i) monitor, maintain, and improve the functionality of the Services, making the Services more responsive to the needs of the visitors and users of the Services and to improve Your experience on the Platform and with respect to the Services, and (ii) for historical, statistical, scientific, and other purposes.

Cookie Policy:

At HappyCow, we are doing our best to be transparent about how we collect and use data related to you. Below you will find information about how and when we use cookies. This cookie policy applies to the HappyCow website and any product or service that links to this privacy policy or incorporates it by reference.

Does HappyCow use cookies, what are they for, and how are they used?

Yes, HappyCow uses "Cookies" (vegan of course) on its web pages. A Cookie is a small piece of data that is stored on your hard drive. Cookies can be used to recognize you when you visit HappyCow, remember your preferences, and give you a personalized experience based on previous filters you've set. For example, Cookies enable us to identify if you want to see only vegan listings or want to view places which serve meat as well. Cookies may enhance your experience by saving your info so you don't need to login each visit. Cookies can help you fill out forms on HappyCow more easily. Cookies also let us know which tips to display and when to serve relevant ads to you on particular pages during a particular visit. Third party integrations on our site also use Cookies. At current time they include Facebook, Instagram, and Google, but this may change over time.

Performance or Analytics Cookies help us see how well our site performs in different locations. We use this to understand, improve, and research features and services.

Third party companies such as Google Adsense and DoubleClick also use Cookies to serve ads on the site. Google's use of Cookies enables it to serve relevant ads to you based on your visit to this site and other sites on the Internet.

Please note that the links provided to these third party sites are just references and not the policies for all the third party services used on the site.

By using this site or our Services, you are agreeing to the use of Cookies and similar technologies for the purposes described in this policy.

It is possible to disable Cookies through your device or browser settings, but doing so may affect your ability to use the Site. Any user may disable all Cookies.

The method for disabling Cookies may vary by device and browser, but can usually be found in preferences or security settings.

To find out more about Cookies, including how to see what Cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit allaboutcookies.org, or aboutcookies.org.

Social Sharing Features

The Services may offer social sharing features and other integrated tools (such as the Facebook "Like" button), which let you share actions you take on our Services with other media, and vice versa. Your use of such features enables the sharing of information with your friends or the public, depending on the settings you establish with the entity that provides the social sharing feature. For more information about the purpose and scope of data collection and processing in connection with social sharing features, please visit the privacy policies of the entities that provide these features.

Analytics, tailored advertising, and links to other sites

To help us better understand your use of the Services, we may use third-party web analytics on our Services, such as Google Analytics, Crashlytics, Firebase, Flurry, Incapsula, and New Relic. These service providers use automatically-collected information. The information collected by this technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate our users' use of the Services. To prevent Google Analytics from collecting or using your information, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.

Ads by Google and similar companies are created by other companies that want to have their ads appear next to relevant content, based on a set of keywords they specify. These listings are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google or similar agency.

By clicking on any of our advertiser links, you will leave HappyCow. The website you will go to is not endorsed by HappyCow. HappyCow does not endorse the content of any third-party website. HappyCow is not responsible for the content of links, third-party sites, sites framed within the HappyCow site or third-party advertisements, and does not make any representations regarding their content or accuracy. Your use of third-party websites is at your own risk. HappyCow does not endorse any product advertised on the HappyCow site.

Please tell us if you spot ads that are inappropriate for a vegan website (be sure to mention the page you found it and the web address of the ad), open a ticket here. Thank you.

Mediavine Programmatic Advertising (Ver 1.1)

The Website works with Mediavine to manage third-party interest-based advertising appearing on the Website. Mediavine serves content and advertisements when you visit the Website, which may use first and third-party cookies. A cookie is a small text file which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website.

First party cookies are created by the website that you are visiting. A third-party cookie is frequently used in behavioral advertising and analytics and is created by a domain other than the website you are visiting. Third-party cookies, tags, pixels, beacons and other similar technologies (collectively, “Tags”) may be placed on the Website to monitor interaction with advertising content and to target and optimize advertising. Each internet browser has functionality so that you can block both first and third-party cookies and clear your browser’s cache. The "help" feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new cookies, how to receive notification of new cookies, how to disable existing cookies and how to clear your browser’s cache. For more information about cookies and how to disable them, you can consult the information at All About Cookies.

Without cookies you may not be able to take full advantage of the Website content and features. Please note that rejecting cookies does not mean that you will no longer see ads when you visit our Site. In the event you opt-out, you will still see non-personalized advertisements on the Website.

The Website collects the following data using a cookie when serving personalized ads:

• IP Address
• Operating System type
• Operating System version
• Device Type
• Language of the website
• Web browser type
• Email (in hashed form)

Mediavine Partners (companies listed below with whom Mediavine shares data) may also use this data to link to other end user information the partner has independently collected to deliver targeted advertisements. Mediavine Partners may also separately collect data about end users from other sources, such as advertising IDs or pixels, and link that data to data collected from Mediavine publishers in order to provide interest-based advertising across your online experience, including devices, browsers and apps. This data includes usage data, cookie information, device information, information about interactions between users and advertisements and websites, geolocation data, traffic data, and information about a visitor’s referral source to a particular website. Mediavine Partners may also create unique IDs to create audience segments, which are used to provide targeted advertising.

If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices to opt-in or opt-out of this data collection, please visit National Advertising Initiative opt out page. You may also visit Digital Advertising Alliance website and Network Advertising Initiative website to learn more information about interest-based advertising. You may download the AppChoices app at Digital Advertising Alliance’s AppChoices app to opt out in connection with mobile apps, or use the platform controls on your mobile device to opt out.

For specific information about Mediavine Partners, the data each collects and their data collection and privacy policies, please visit Mediavine Partners.

How is information used in HappyCow's newsletter?

You will only receive email newsletters from us if you have expressly signed up for them on the HappyCow Platform (during registration, from your member profile, or from the MooZine signup page). The information that we gather from subscribers to our newsletter list (including email addresses) is not shared with other organizations or companies. From time to time, we may send out e-mail messages that might include information about these like-minded organizations and companies, but we do not provide them with access to any personal information that you have provided.

In order to provide you with better and more relevant information, we compile information about e-mail response and Platform usage. This information helps us to better understand Platform usage patterns and also what types of content and information may help improve your user experience on the HappyCow Platform.

All email messages sent to email newsletter subscribers contain a link to unsubscribe or to modify your profile. You may subscribe or unsubscribe to any e-news or e-mail communication from HappyCow's newsletters at any time.

If you have any questions about HappyCow newsletters, please open a ticket or Email: privacy@happycow.net.

HappyCow iPhone and Android Apps: Why does HappyCow need all of these permissions?

How does HappyCow protect your information?

HappyCow is extremely protective of the information gathered through its membership and Platform. Our Platform has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. Our Platform server is located in a locked, secure environment. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or via mobile device, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security and thereby usage in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy.

We assume no liability or responsibility for disclosure of your information due to errors in transmission, unauthorized third-party access, or other causes beyond our control. You play an important role in keeping your personal information secure. You should not share your user name, password, or other security information for your HappyCow account with anyone. If we receive instructions using your user name and password, we will consider that you have authorized the instructions.

Third party links and services

The Services may contain links to third-party websites. Your use of these features may result in the collection, processing or sharing of information about you, depending on the feature. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of other websites or services which may be linked to our services. We do not endorse or make any representations about third-party websites or services. Our Privacy Policy does not cover the information you choose to provide to or that is collected by any third party. We strongly encourage you to read such third-party privacy policies.

Your choices regarding your personal data: Data retention, account termination, deleting information

We offer you choices regarding the collection, use, and sharing of your personal data. Despite your indicated email preferences, we may send you notices of any updates to our Terms of Use or Privacy Policy. You may change any of your personal data in your account by editing your profile. You may also delete your member account from that page or by requesting deletion of your member account information by us by sending an email to privacy@happycow.net, but please note that we may be required (by law or otherwise) to keep this information and not delete it (or to keep this information for a certain time, in which case we will comply with your deletion request only after we have fulfilled such requirements). We will respond to such requests within 30 days. When we delete member account information, it will be deleted from the active database, but may remain in our archives. We will otherwise retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services as well as is necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

We will remove your public posts from view and/or dissociate them from your account profile, but we may retain information about you for the purposes authorized under this Privacy Policy unless prohibited by law. Thereafter, we will either delete your personal information or de-identify it so that it is anonymous and not attributed to your identity. For example, we may retain information to prevent, investigate, or identify possible wrongdoing in connection with the Services or to comply with legal obligations. To prevent the collection of device information you may install the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on.

You may view a copy of your member information stored by HappyCow by viewing your member account, and by clicking on 'edit profile'.

California Privacy Rights

If you are a user of the Services and a California resident, California's "Shine the Light" law (California Civil Code § 1798.83) permits you to request and obtain from us once a year, free of charge, information regarding our disclosure of your personal information (if any) to third parties for direct marketing purposes. If this law applies to you and you would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to privacy@happycow.net.

Does HappyCow rent, sell, or trade my information?

No, HappyCow never rents, sells, or trades your email address, name, nor postal addresses to other organizations and commercial companies. Only HappyCow will have access to your personal information. If you have opted-in we might occasionally send you promotional marketing from vegan companies we work with, but they will never be given your personal information by HappyCow.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, the features of our Services, or advances in technology. Please check this page periodically for changes. Use of information we collect is subject to the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is used. If we make any material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the changes here. Please review the changes carefully. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will constitute your consent and acceptance of those changes.

Additional questions? Contact us

If you have any questions about our privacy policy, the information that we have collected from you online, the practices of this Platform, or your interaction with the Platform, contact us.

You can also reach us via mail:

HappyCow Inc
attn: Privacy Officer
1501 Lincoln Blvd. #1171
Venice, CA 90291
USA
Email: privacy@happycow.net