Garmin® International's Privacy/Security Statement
Effective Date: 04/14/2008
Garmin International’s Privacy/Security Statement covers the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information that may be collected by Garmin anytime you interact with Garmin, such as when you visit our website at www.garmin.com or our blog at http://garmin.blogs.com, when you purchase Garmin products from our retail location, when you use certain of our products or applications, or when you call or email our support associates. Please take a moment to read the following to learn more about our information practices, including what type of information is gathered, how the information is used and for what purposes, to whom we disclose the information, and how we safeguard your personal information. Your privacy is a priority at Garmin, and we go to great lengths to protect it. Garmin respects your right to privacy and shares your concern about the security of any information you may submit to Garmin.
This website is owned, operated, and maintained by:
Garmin International Inc.
1200 E 151st Street. Olathe, KS 66062
Phone: 913-397-8200
Fax: 913-397-8282
E-mail: webmaster@garmin.com
Garmin is a licensee of the TRUSTe Privacy Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build user’s trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because Garmin wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.
If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact Garmin by e-mail at webmaster@garmin.com. If you do not receive acknowledgement of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will then serve as a liaison between you and Garmin to resolve your concerns.
The TRUSTe program covers only information that is collected through this Web site, and does not cover information that may be collected through software downloaded from this site.
Garmin complies with the EU Safe Harbor framework as set forth by the Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union.
What information about me does Garmin collect and how is it used?
Garmin only collects personal information about you if you voluntarily choose to share it with Garmin. Garmin does not share, rent or sell information concerning Garmin’s customers to third parties in ways other than disclosed in this privacy statement.
When you visit garmin.com, unless you voluntarily disclose personal information, Garmin does not collect or store any personally identifiable information about you. However, Garmin does collect and store certain data about the use of Garmin’s website. This is done on an anonymous basis, and the same information is collected for all hits on Garmin’s servers. The information collected may include the time and date you visited the site, the pages you looked at, and your IP address and domain name. Garmin does not link this information to anything personally identifiable to you. Garmin only uses this information for system administration and to help Garmin develop ideas about how it might tailor its site to improve your visit. This information is not rented or sold to third parties and will not be used by Garmin to contact you in any way.
When you visit shop.garmin.com, a cookie will be stored on your computer. Cookies are small text files that help Garmin keep track of your shopping cart as you move through Garmin’s store, and they only contain the necessary information to associate a shipping ID on your computer with the orders in the "shopping cart" table on Garmin’s server. Please note: At the present time, you cannot purchase from shop.garmin.com with the "cookies" feature shut off on your browser. If you place an order at shop.garmin.com or you request an unlock code for a MapSource® CD at the garmin.com MapSource unlock pages, Garmin will request and collect personal information such as your name, e-mail address, mailing address, telephone number, credit card number, and expiration date. This information is used to fill your order or process your request for a MapSource unlock code, as the case may be.
On the garmin.com website and the garmin.blogs.com website, there are several opportunities for you to share personal information about yourself with Garmin. This may include information about you such as your interests, your name, and your mailing address and e-mail address. Submission of this information is strictly voluntary. If you choose to share any personal information with Garmin, Garmin may store it and use it for internal marketing research and other marketing purposes, including e-mailing you with special promotions and other programs of interest. Garmin may also, in the event that this information is collected as part of a warranty registration process, use this information to contact you later. If the information is sent as part of a website evaluation, Garmin may also use the information to contact you about your comments. However, Garmin does not share, rent or sell your information to another company in ways other than disclosed in this privacy statement. In the case of MapSource Unlock data, certain customer information, such as name and address, may be shared with Garmin’s data providers. These providers currently use this information for internal demographic analysis. These providers may, unless you opt-out during the Unlock process, use this information to inform you when new data is released or new products become available.
You may decide to send Garmin personally identifying information in an e-mail message which might contain information or inquiries about Garmin’s products or services. Garmin will use this information to identify you as a Garmin customer and to respond to the electronic mail. Garmin will only use the information obtained to resolve the issue identified in the e-mail. Garmin never sells e-mail addresses. You may change your personal information by contacting either Product Registration or Cartography Registration (for MapSource products).
When you interact with our support associates via email, telephone, or in person we may collect personal information relevant to the situation, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, and contact preferences; information about the Garmin products you own, such as their serial numbers and date of purchase; and information relating to a support or service issue.
Garmin’s navigation applications and products may collect information such as your as speed, position and direction and this information may be aggregated on an anonymous basis with similar information from other users (collectively referred to as “probe data”). This probe data may be used by Garmin and shared with some of its third party suppliers to enhance the quality and accuracy of traffic and map data.
Garmin may transfer personal information that you share within the Garmin group of companies in order to provide the products that you request. Except as specified above, Garmin will only share your personal information with third parties if:
- Garmin has your consent;
- Garmin determines that it is required to do so by law;
- Garmin determines it would be appropriate to do so only in order to assist or support a third party's theft investigation involving Garmin GPS units or a third party's theft prevention efforts relating to GPS products;
- Garmin finds that you are in breach of its terms and conditions or any of its policies or usage guidelines for specific products or services;
- it is necessary in Garmin’s opinion to do so to prevent, investigate, detect or prosecute criminal offences or attacks on the technical integrity of Garmin’s site(s) or its network;
- it is necessary in Garmin’s opinion to do so to protect the rights, property, or safety of Garmin or its employees, the users of its website(s), or the public; or
- it is necessary to fulfill your product or service order. Garmin may use an outside shipping company to fulfill your order, and a credit card processing company to process your credit card information as required for your order and to ensure that your transaction is secure. These companies do not retain, share, store or use your personally identifiable information for any other purposes.
What does Garmin do to protect the data I transmit to Garmin’s Online Store?
Garmin's online store, shop.garmin.com, uses industry standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to allow for the encryption of personal information such as your name and address, as well as critically sensitive information such as your credit card number. Garmin engages a company that is an industry leader in online security and site verification to ensure the security of Garmin’s site. Garmin's website shop.garmin.com is also registered with site identification authorities so that your browser can confirm Garmin’s identity before any personal information is sent. In addition, Garmin’s secure servers protect this information using advanced firewall technology.
What does Garmin do after it gets an order from me?
Not only does Garmin protect your purchase-related information as it is transmitted to Garmin’s servers, but Garmin also secures the servers themselves to help prevent unauthorized access to the data after it is in Garmin’s hands. Garmin has comprehensive security measures in place to protect its Internet servers, as well as its internal corporate computer resources, from loss, misuse, and alteration. In addition, your credit card and billing information cannot be read as it travels to Garmin’s ordering system.
What can I do to help make sure online shopping works correctly?
To help ensure that these measures are effective in preventing unauthorized access to your private information, you should be aware of the security features available to you through your browser. You should use a security-enabled browser to make purchases at Garmin's online store. Please note: If you do not use a SSL-capable browser, you are at risk for having data intercepted. Garmin will not be responsible for any compromise of data that is intercepted due to the customer's use of an unsecured browser.
Most browsers have the ability to notify you if you change between secure and insecure communications, receive invalid site identification information for the site you are communicating with, or send information over an unsecured connection. Garmin recommends that you enable these browser functions to help ensure that your communications are secure. You can also monitor the URL of the site you are visiting (secure URLs begin with https:// rather than the normal http://), along with the security symbol of your browser (an open or closed padlock in Netscape or a broken or complete key in Internet Explorer) to help identify when you are communicating with a secure server. You can also view the details of the security certificate of the site to which you are connected. Garmin encourages you to use this to check the validity of any site you connect to using secure communications.
If my credit card company determines that there are fraudulent charges on my account, what should I do?
If your credit card company determines that there are fraudulent charges on your account that are the result of your purchase at shop.garmin.com and they hold you liable for the unauthorized changes, please contact Garmin immediately. You can contact Garmin by e-mail at mailto:websales@garmin.com or postal mail:
Garmin International Inc.1200 E. 151st St.
Olathe, KS 66062
Attn: Webmaster (credit card fraud)
You should carefully review security/privacy policies of any third party sites accessible from Garmin’s site. Other sites accessible through Garmin’s website have their own policies and data collection, use, and disclosure practices. Please consult each site's policies and practice. Garmin is not responsible for the policies or practices of third parties. The information practices of those websites linked from Garmin’s site are not covered by this Privacy/Security Policy. These other sites may send their own cookies to users, collect data, or solicit personal information.
Does Garmin offer opt-out or opt-in services?
When registering a Garmin product on the website, you will receive emails from Garmin regarding updates on only the products you are registering. You may initially opt-out of receiving these emails during the product registration process. As stated above, Garmin may also send you special promotions and other programs of interest via email. If you choose to stop receiving these emails in the future, please follow the unsubscribe instructions within each email communication or send an email to webmaster@garmin.com. Garmin will not provide or share any mailing lists or other information about you to another company or service for promotional purposes. Any service related emails (to confirm a purchase, etc.) generally do not offer an unsubscribe as they are necessary to provide the service you requested.
What if information I have previously submitted has changed?
If you need to change the information you have sent to Garmin on a product registration, please e-mail warranty@garmin.com. If you need to correct, amend or delete submitted information that is inaccurate please contact Garmin at webmaster@garmin.com. Garmin will respond to your email request within 10 -15 business days.
Is Garmin responsible for all of the material I see on Garmin’s website?
Garmin does maintain responsibility for and authority over all information contained on its website. However, Garmin may post links to sites that Garmin does not control. Garmin is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these sites.
What about testimonial copy?
Testimonials submitted to stories@garmin.com or to Garmin’s Blog site at http://garmin.blogs.com may be used on the website or the Blog site and in promotional newsletters and other publications. If you submit communications—either written or electronic—to Garmin, please indicate if you do not want your submission published or if you would prefer Garmin to use your initials rather than your full name.
What about Garmin’s Blog Site?
Garmin maintains a relationship with an outside service provider to administer the online Blog feature offered through Garmin’s site at http://garmin.blogs.com. This website maintains the look and feel of the www.garmin.com website. When posting a comment you will be asked to register for the blog. The personal information submitted here, although collected on the 3rd party provider website, is wholly governed by Garmin’s privacy statement. The 3rd party provider does not access nor use the information submitted here for any secondary purposes.
If you use the Blog feature, you should be aware that any personally identifiable information you submit in the comment field can be read, collected, or used by other users of these forums indefinitely, and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. Garmin is not responsible for the personally identifiable information you choose to submit in this field.
What's Garmin’s policy regarding children's use of Garmin’s website?
While Garmin encourages everyone to visit its web site and learn about the company and GPS technology and applications, Garmin has no desire to collect information from those under the age of 18. Any instance of personal information about a minor being collected would be purely accidental and unintentional. If a minor would like to submit information to Garmin, Garmin asks that the child's parent submit the information on his or her behalf. Garmin strongly encourages parents to take an active role in their children's use of the Internet and to take appropriate steps to ensure a positive and safe experience.
What about third party software applications on my Garmin product?
If your Garmin product comes loaded with third party software applications, or you choose to download third party software applications onto your Garmin product, you should read carefully the terms of use for such software applications and the privacy statements of such third parties. Garmin is not responsible for the collection, use or disclosure of any information you share with any such third parties.
Where can I learn more about using the Internet and protecting my privacy?
The United States Federal Trade Commission has a web page http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/index.html devoted to providing you with information about protecting your privacy online. Garmin encourages you to familiarize yourself with the concepts discussed on this page.
Privacy/Security Policy changes
If Garmin makes changes to any terms or conditions of this Privacy/Security Policy, these changes will be posted on Garmin’s websites in a timely manner. If Garmin decides to materially change its privacy policy, it will post those changes to this privacy statement and other places Garmin deems appropriate, which may include its website, for a period of time Garmin deems appropriate, so that you are aware of what information Garmin collects, how Garmin uses it, and under what circumstances, if any, Garmin discloses it. Garmin reserves the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it frequently.
Disclaimer
While Garmin continues to work hard to protect your personal information, no data transmission over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100 percent secure and Garmin cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Garmin over the Internet. Transmitting personal information over the Internet is done at your own risk.
Tell Garmin what you think
Garmin welcomes your questions and comments about security and privacy. Please send e-mail to webmaster@garmin.com.