NYBGshop.org collects customer information for a variety of reasons, including as part of our ongoing efforts to provide superior customer service, to improve our customers' shopping experience, and to communicate with our customers about our products, services and promotions, including those that we believe may be of particular interest to you based on information we have collected.
Types of Information Collected
The New York Botanical Garden ("NYBG" or "the Garden") does not collect any personal information about individuals—such as names and postal or e-mail addresses—except when such information is knowingly provided to the Garden. Personal information might be obtained from online transactions such as purchases or membership subscriptions. Additionally, personal information may be transmitted as part of a form submission or in connection with other activities, services, or resources made available on our site. Any personal identification information retrieved by the Garden must be voluntarily submitted by the user.
The Garden's Web site does collect some anonymous "non-personally identifiable" aggregate information about visitors automatically when pages on our Web site are requested through a browser. This information is used for statistical purposes and to help us monitor how guests navigate our site, allowing us to tailor our services for the majority of visitors. Non-personally identifiable information may refer to information about our visitors' browsers, operating systems, Internet Service Providers, or other similar information.
The Garden's Web site collects Internet Protocol (IP) addresses as a component of the non-personally identifiable aggregate information. An IP address is a number assigned to your computer by a Web server when you're on the Internet. This information is used only for non-userspecific purposes such as determining how many users visited a specific area of our site. Such information could, if necessary, be used to identify a user in order to comply with safety and/or security issues or with legal requirements.
How Information is Used
Any personal information provided to the Garden is maintained and accessible only by the Garden unless the Garden expressly states otherwise.
The following are examples of how the Garden may use the personal information it collects:
- If you made a purchase at the Garden's online store, the required personal information (similar to that provided during a telephone or mail-order purchase) will be used to complete your order.
- If you indicated that you were interested in receiving Garden-related news and information, you might receive e-mails that we feel may be of interest to you.
The following is an example of how the Garden may use the non-personally identifiable information it collects:
- Aggregate data could be analyzed to describe the collective characteristics and behaviors of online visitors and subsequently be used to further optimize the effectiveness of our site.
With Whom Information is Shared
The Garden may share with trusted third parties information you provide when becoming a Member. If you prefer not to have your personally identifiable information shared in this way, you may check the box indicating your preference on the form you fill out to become a Member. Additionally, you may e-mail or write the Garden at the addresses below to review the information collected about you, to request corrections, or to let us know your preference about sharing your information.
Security
The Garden protects all personally and non-personally identifiable information that it receives via the Internet against unauthorized access.
In addition, the Garden's Web site uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to process purchases made on its online store and ticketing systems. By using this technology, online customers can feel confident that their personal information is protected from interception by any third party. Sensitive credit card information is not permanently stored on any NYBG Web server and though your order information is retained for our records, this information is never shared with other companies or persons.
What is a secure connection?
When a secure connection is established between your browser and a Web site, any data that is transferred over the connection will be encrypted to prevent it from being viewed by a third party. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, the standard for most browsers and servers, makes it very difficult for anyone to intercept or decode messages exchanged over this type of secure connection.
Browsers such as Netscape Communicator and Internet Explorer display an image of a locked padlock in their status bar when connected to a secure site. Secure transactions are also indicated when the prefix in the location bar of your browser switches from http:// to https://. If you do not see the padlock at the bottom of your browser's window, if the padlock is unlocked, or if the protocol in the location bar is not listed as https://, then any data exchanged with the Web site is potentially visible to others.
Depending on your browser, you may be able to view authentication information about a secure page by double-clicking on the locked padlock in the status bar. For more information on how your software establishes a secure connection, see the help files for your particular browser.
Sensitive credit card information related to ticket purchases is stored in an encrypted database on a secure NYBG server. For other transactions with NYBG, credit card information is not permanently stored on any NYBG Web server and though your order information is retained for our records, this information is never shared with other companies or persons.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file that is sent to your browser from a Web site and stored on your computer's hard drive. Cookies can't read data from your hard disk or read cookie files that were created by other sites—the Web site that creates a cookie is the only one a browser will permit to access it.
Examples of ways in which the Garden might use cookies would be to control access to certain user features, to customize content areas, or to analyze site activity and user behavior. The Garden also reserves the right to use cookies in the future in conjunction with new content or extended functionality.
If you are concerned about the use of cookies, the Garden suggests that you explore your browser's options to notify you whenever a cookie is set, or to disallow cookies altogether. Users should be aware, however, that prohibiting the use of cookies may restrict the user's access to certain types of content or features.
Links to Other Sites
Users may find content on the Garden's site that links to the sites and services of our partners, sponsors, or other third parties. In many cases, these links represent cooperative projects or are established with persons or entities that have a significant connection to or relationship with our site. Although every effort is made to ensure that any referrals are to reputable and relevant sources, the Garden does not control the content or links that appear on these sites. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies, or no policy at all. The Garden maintains a policy against the non-consensual collection or sharing of personal information and encourages visitors to review the privacy policies of any sites they visit to ensure their personal information is being protected.
Policy Changes
Occasional changes may be made to this document as new services and content are added to our site or to reflect changes in the Garden's policies. Visitors to the Garden's Web site are encouraged to check this document periodically to stay informed of current NYBG privacy guidelines.
Acceptance of Terms
By using the Garden's Web site, you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our site. Your continued use of any NYBG site following the posting of changes to these terms will indicate your acceptance of those changes.
Contact Information
The New York Botanical Garden
2900 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, New York 10458-5126
www.nybg.org