Your privacy is extremely important to us. This privacy policy explains how we collect and use samples and information you provide to us.
Collection and use of samples
In order to provide its services, TeloMe will collect from you saliva and possibly other biological samples. TeloMe will not sell or re-distribute these samples, except with consent provided by you or your legal representative(s). TeloMe may use the samples or processed derivatives to measure telomeres and to perform other analyses as approved or directed by you. The information derived from these analyses is protected along with other information provided by you, as described in the following section.
Collection and use of information
TeloMe collects a variety of information regarding your use of our website and services, including personally identifiable information. The "personally identifiable information" addressed by this policy refers to the following:
We collect and use Your Account Information and other personally identifiable information about you to authenticate your use of our website and services, to process your purchase transactions, to provide you with the services you or your healthcare provider have requested, to communicate with you or your healthcare provider, and to send you or your healthcare provider relevant information and materials. However, we will not, without your explicit consent, disclose or share personally identifiable information about you with third parties except as required to provide the services you have requested, in the event TeloMe is acquired by or merges into another company, or as otherwise required by applicable law. We limit access to Your Account Information and other personally identifiable information about you to appropriate TeloMe personnel on a need-to-know basis.
TeloMe may freely collect, use and disclose any non-personally identifiable information collected on our website, unless otherwise prohibited by this privacy policy or applicable law. This information may include your computer's internet protocol (IP) addresses and cookies which are placed on your computer when you access our website (see the cookies section below), as well as the date and time, your computer's operating system and web browser type, the identity of your internet service provider, and a list of web pages you have visited. In some cases, this information is collected automatically and stored in log files. TeloMe contracts with third-party web analytics companies to help us use this information, which is not intended to uniquely identify you, to track and analyze aggregate usage volume and patterns regarding our website. Under certain circumstances, we may need to review this information in combination with Your Account Information to identify and resolve an issue regarding your access to our website.
Research
TeloMe believes in giving you opportunities to maximize the value of your results, aid the process of scientific research, and in bringing you the highest quality service. Therefore, we may analyze our members' telomere and other biomarker data and associated phenotype information on an aggregated basis and de-linked from any member account information, to:
As the number of our members grows, potentially surpassing the size of currently available public data sets that we use to calculate risk estimates, our ability to study the aggregated telomere and other biomarker data and phenotype information we have collected from our members, and to publish our findings and insights, will help us to further the advancement of scientific and medical research and fulfill our mission to help you live a healthier and longer life.
We may also give you the opportunity to compare your results with others and to contribute your telomere and other biomarker information to science. If you elect to contribute your telomere and other biomarker information to science through the TeloMe service, you allow us to share your telomere and other biomarker data and Your Phenotype Information (de-linked from Your Account Information) with not-for-profit organizations who perform telomere and other biomarker or medical research, and you allow such not-for-profit organizations to separately or jointly publish study results that include your telomere and other biomarker data and Your Phenotype Information (but not Your Account Information), in peer-reviewed scientific and medical journals and otherwise, and to deposit such data and information into public data repositories or otherwise make them publicly available to the extent required by such journals.
If you elect not to contribute your telomere and other biomarker information to science through the TeloMe service, we will not share your telomere and other biomarker data or Your Phenotype Information with such organizations.
Cookies
TeloMe uses a combination of session and persistent cookies to track your navigation and use of our website, and your web browser must be configured to accept cookies in order for you to create a TeloMe user account and access many of the features on our web site. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your web browser on your computer's hard drive. Our cookies enable us to facilitate access to different aspects of your account across our website, and to enhance your experience on our website. For example, by showing when and how you and other users visit our website, cookies help us to see which pages of the website are particularly helpful to customers for providing information. This helps us improve our website, because we can eliminate pages that are unpopular and update and improve those pages that are visited frequently. Cookies also improve your ease of using our website, for example, by remembering your address or ordering information when you request information or services on our website. We also use cookies to securely link your TeloMe account with the computer you used to set up your account; if you choose to access your account from another computer, you will be asked to follow additional steps to verify your identity.
Please note that session cookies expire automatically when you close your computer's web browser, whereas persistent cookies are stored on your computer's hard drive until deleted. If you set up or access your TeloMe account from someone else's computer, or a publicly accessible computer, we recommend that when your session is complete you delete any persistent cookies on the computer by following the web browser's instructions and then close the web browser.
Communications from us
We will be sending at least three types of emails: emails required to provide you with services you have requested; alerts giving you relevant and new information about service updates; and emails informing you about promotional services. Alerts and promotional email messages will contain a link that will allow you to opt out of future mailings.
Privacy practices of third-party websites
This website may contain links to other websites. TeloMe is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of any third-party websites, including websites of any sponsors, collaborators or linked websites, or for the privacy policies or practices of any other third parties. To the extent that you disclose personally identifiable information to any collaborator websites, linked websites or other third parties, different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of any personally identifiable information you disclose to them, and we encourage you to review their privacy policies before disclosing personally identifiable information to them.
Minors
This website is not directed toward minors under 18 years of age. Given the ethical, privacy and informed consent considerations regarding telomere and other biomarker testing of minors for predisposition or carrier status of adult-onset telomere and other biomarker disorders, TeloMe does not knowingly collect or use information from minors under the age of 18.
Legally required disclosure
We may be legally compelled in the future to disclose personally identifiable information about you to satisfy a court order, subpoena, government request, law, regulation or other legal process. We will use reasonable and lawful efforts to limit the scope of any such legally required disclosure, and we will make every attempt to notify you in advance insofar as we are legally permitted to do so.
Finally, we may retain Your Account Information solely to the extent required for our accounting and compliance purposes, and as otherwise required by applicable law.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
TeloMe reserves the right to modify or amend this privacy policy at any time. Any material changes will be conspicuously posted on this website, and we will notify members by email. Changes will be effective 30 days after posting to this website and email notification.
