Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) is between you and Cheddar Media, Inc. (“Cheddar”, “we”, or “us”). This Privacy Policy explains our information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used when you access our service (the “Cheddar Service”), which allows consumers to have access to and view certain on-demand content and live-streaming content (“Cheddar Content”). The Cheddar Service includes the www.Cheddar.com (the “Site”), the Cheddar Content and our mobile apps (the “Cheddar Apps”, each a “Cheddar App”). You can access Cheddar Content either by visiting the Cheddar Service directly or by streaming Cheddar Content via a Third Party Platform as a Platform Subscriber (see Section 1.c below).
Any capitalized term not defined herein shall have the meaning given to them in the associated Terms of Service available at https://cheddar.com/terms.
- DEFINITIONS
- INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE COLLECT IT
- HOW WE USE INFORMATION
- WHEN AND WITH WHOM WE MAY DISCLOSE INFORMATION
- THIRD PARTY DATA COLLECTION
- CHOICES YOU HAVE TO LIMIT USE AND OPT-OUT OF THE SHARING OF INFORMATION
- HOW WE SECURE YOUR INFORMATION
- CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: NOTICE OF PRIVACY RIGHTS
- ADDITIONAL STATE PRIVACY LAWS
- USING OUR SERVICES OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES
- CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
- HOW TO CONTACT US
1. DEFINITIONS. This is what we mean when we use the following terms in this Privacy Policy:
a. “Third Party Platform” is a third party platform or service through which authorized users can access and stream Cheddar Content via a channel and/or platform-specific version of a Cheddar App.
b. “Platform Subscriber” means a consumer who has access to Cheddar Content as a result of the consumer’s subscription to a Third Party Platform.
c. “Information” means the information we collect about you and your use of the Cheddar Service. It includes information you provide to us, information we collect when you use the Cheddar Service, and information provided to us by third parties. Depending on how it is used or disclosed, some Information can be Personal Information or De-identified Information, as those terms are defined below.
d. “Personal Information” means information that directly identifies or can reasonably be used to identify a particular individual (for example, email address). Personal Information does not include publicly available information or De-identified Information.
e. “De-identified Information” or “Anonymous Information” is information that does not directly identify and cannot be reasonably linked to a particular individual. We treat IP addresses and other unique identifiers – such as cookie IDs, advertising IDs, device IDs and household IDs – as De-identified Information when they cannot reasonably be used to identify a particular individual. We also consider aggregated information and Device Information to be De-identified Information.
f. “Device Information” is a type of De-identified Information that directly identifies or can reasonably be used to identify a specific browser, device, or group of devices, but doesn’t directly identify and cannot reasonably be used to identify a specific individual.
g. “Usage and Device Information”means information about your use of the Cheddar Service, including your accessing, viewing, and downloading of Cheddar Content, which includes information about your use of our Site and the Cheddar App. This includes your activities, your IP address, your browser type, your Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, your operating system or device type, date/time stamps, and related metadata. It also means information about your mobile device collected when the device interacts with the Cheddar Service, including unique device ID (including MAC ID and other identifiers), device type, device status, device serial number, and information about the settings, configurations, and software on your device.
h. “Service Provider(s)” means third party vendor(s) that perform services on our behalf in connection with the offering, operation and provision of the Cheddar Service or other legitimate business activities, for example, authentication, fraud prevention, customer service, analytics, and advertising and marketing services.
i. “First Party Advertising” is advertising or marketing communications for Cheddar products and services, including those offered under the i RateMyProfessors brand.
j. “Third Party Advertising” is advertising or marketing communications for a third party (including, for example, for non-Cheddar products and services).
k. “Audience Measurement Partners” means third party vendors that use tools and digital technologies to accurately measure, qualify and quantify the audience of people who visit the Site, use the Cheddar Service, and/or consume Cheddar content.
l. “Advertising Partners” means third party vendors that provide Cheddar with tools and digital technologies to deliver digital and linear advertisements to Platform Subscribers who who use the Cheddar Service and/or otherwise consume Cheddar content on Third Party Platforms.
2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT AND HOW WE COLLECT IT. We collect Information about you and your associated devices when you provide it to us, when you use the Cheddar Service, and when it is provided to us by a Third-Party Platform or other third parties.
a. Information You Provide To Us: When you communicate with us, we collect the Information you provide to us, which may include Personal Information, such as your email address.
b. Information We Collect When You Use the Cheddar Service: When you use the Cheddar Service, Cheddar and our Service Providers automatically collect Usage and Device Information.
c. Information Collected via Cookies, Web Beacons and Similar Technologies: We and our Service Providers and Audience Measurement Partners use web tracking technologies known as “cookies”, and “Clear GIFs” (also known as “web beacons,” “Internet tags,” “pixels” or “pixel tags”) to collect additional information about your interaction with the Cheddar Site. A cookie is a small encrypted computer code added to a file on your computer as a record of your visit. It does not collect or provide your name or any other personal information about you, but can be used to recognize your device or computer when you return as a repeat visitor to our Site. Clear GIFs are lines of code that allow websites to summarize overall visitor usage patterns and to provide personalized services. When we post videos, we and our Service Providers may use local shared objects, known as “Flash Cookies,” to store your preferences for volume control or to personalize certain video features.
d. Information Provided by Third Party Platforms. When you stream Cheddar Content via a Third Party Platform the provider of that platform may collect Personal Information and Usage and Device Information about you and your interaction with the Cheddar Content (see Section 5 below). We obtain Platform Subscribers’ Usage and Device Information, such as IP address and device ID, from certain Third Party Platform providers for advertising or marketing uses, including Hulu, YouTubeTV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, DirecTV Stream, Haystack News, LocalNow, Plex, Sling TV, TCL Channel, Redbox, TiVo+, Vizio WatchFree+, Xumo Play, STIRR, FuboTV, LG Channel, Pluto TV, Tubi, Amazon, Philo, and RiverTV.
e. Information Provided by Other Third Parties. For Platform Subscribers, we obtain an authentication token from our Service Provider when you attempt to access the Cheddar Content which confirms that you are an authorized subscriber of the relevant Third Party Platform.
f. Information Collected from Minors. We do not knowingly solicit children to purchase or use our services or products and do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone under the age of 18. If you believe that we might have any Personal Data from a child under 18, please contact us at support@cheddar.com.
3. HOW WE USE INFORMATION. We use the Information we collect for legitimate business activities, including: 1) to provide and improve the Cheddar Service, 2) to communicate with you, and 3) for advertising and marketing.
a. To Provide and Improve the Services. We use the Information we collect to conduct business activities related to providing you with the Cheddar Service, including: 1) service delivery; 2) maintenance and operations, including management of the network and devices supporting our service and our systems; 3) technical support; 4) hardware and software upgrades for devices and systems; 5) understanding the use of the Cheddar Service; 6) improving our services and identifying and developing new features, products and services; 7) internal analytics and reporting; 8) detecting the unauthorized reception, use, or abuse of the Cheddar Service and to protect our subscribers from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful use of, or subscription to, the Cheddar Service; 9) protecting our rights, our personnel, and our property; and 10) complying with applicable law.
b. To Communicate with You. We also use the Information we collect to deliver and personalize our communications with you. For example, we may use the information you provide us to inform you of Cheddar Service updates or in connection with other activities related to the Cheddar Service.
c. For Advertising and Marketing. We also use the Information we collect to send you promotional communications for the Cheddar Service and to enable the delivery of First Party Advertising and Third Party Advertising we think may be of interest to you. You may opt-out of some marketing communications from us as outlined in Section 6 below.
d. Use of De-identified Information. Our collection, use, and disclosure of De-identified Information is subject to our discretion and is not subject to any of the restrictions in this Privacy Policy.
4. WHEN AND WITH WHOM WE MAY DISCLOSE INFORMATION. We only disclose Personal Information as described in this Privacy Policy. We may disclose your Information with the following types of parties:
a. Authorized Parties With Your Consent. We may disclose Personal Information about you to third parties with your consent. We may obtain your consent online or through other channels, for example, when you agree to terms of service relating to the Cheddar Service, or implicitly, for example, when you login to a Cheddar App, thereby consenting to our disclosure of your Information to the relevant Third Party Platform in order to provision the Cheddar Service.
b. Service Providers. We may disclose your Personal Information to our Service Providers. For example, we may use third party analytics services to collect data about usage of our services. We also use a third party authentication service to ensure that individuals seeking to access Cheddar Content via Third Party Platforms are authorized to do so. Our Service Providers are authorized to use your Personal Information only as necessary to provide these services on our behalf.
c. Affiliated Businesses. We may share Information, including Personal Information, with our employees, agents, and affiliated companies, brands and businesses (including RateMyProfessor) in connection with the provision of the Cheddar Service or the products or services of these affiliates, or for First Party Advertising or Third Party Advertising purposes. We may also share Information, including Personal Information, in the event of a merger, acquisition or sale or all, or components of, our business. When we do this, those employees, agents and affiliates will use and protect your Information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy.
d. Lawful Disclosures. You acknowledge and agree that we may disclose your Personal Information if we are required to do so by law or if we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary: 1) to comply with applicable law, a subpoena, court order or other legal process; 2) to investigate violations of this Privacy Policy, or other contracts we have with you; 3) to respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties; 4) to respond to your requests for customer service; and 5) to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of the public, Cheddar, their respective agents and subscribers, or the Cheddar Service. We may also disclose Personal Information to law enforcement agencies in emergency circumstances, where the disclosure of such information is consistent with the types of emergency disclosures permitted or required by law.
e. Advertising Partners. We share the Platform Subscriber Usage and Device Information that we receive from certain Third Party Platforms (see Section 2.d) with our ad server and Supply Side Platform (SSP) partners for the delivery of Third Party Advertising to you on the Third Party Platforms.
5. THIRD PARTY DATA COLLECTION.
a. Third Party Platforms. When you use an application that runs on a Third Party Platform (e.g., iOS, Roku, Samsung, etc.), the provider of that Third Party Platform may collect Personal Information and Usage and Device Information about you and your use of our Cheddar App. We refer you to privacy policies of these platforms for information on their privacy practices.
b. Audience Measurement. Some of the Service Providers who place tracking technologies on the Site and Cheddar App may also use the information collected, such as IP address and device ID, as Audience Measurement Partners for audience measurement or marketing analytics services or to facilitate the delivery of customized advertising to you. Please see Section 6.d below for your choices with respect to these uses.
c. Links. We may provide links to third party websites and applications. Please be aware that the terms of this Privacy Policy do not apply to these outside websites or applications, or to any collection of your Personal Information after you click on links to such outside websites. We have no control over such services and therefore refer you to their privacy policies for information on their respective privacy practices. The links to third party websites or locations are for your convenience and do not signify our endorsement of such third parties or their products, content or websites.
6. CHOICES YOU HAVE TO LIMIT USE AND SHARING OF INFORMATION.
a. Third Party Platforms. If you are Platform Subscriber who accesses Cheddar content via a Third Party Platform that provides us with Usage and Device Information for marketing and advertising purposes (see Section 2.e above) we encourage you to review the privacy policy for that platform and understand the choices provided to you with respect to the sharing of this information with Cheddar.
b. Emails. We may send you newsletters and other emails about new or upcoming Cheddar products, services, or offers. If you decide you no longer wish to receive these emails, you may opt-out as instructed in each email.
c. Interest Based First Party Advertising. Some advertising that you see on the internet or in mobile applications on your devices are tailored to your interests and based on your activity online or in mobile applications. If you do not wish to receive interest based ads for Cheddar products and services on other websites or mobile applications, you may opt-out of most such advertising by going to the following websites operated by industry trade and self-regulatory organizations: http://networkadvertising.org/choices (operated by the Network Advertising Initiative) or http://www.aboutads.info (operated by the Digital Advertising Alliance). Please note, your opt-out preferences may not take effect immediately and do not retroactively apply to existing advertising/promotional messages or campaigns.
d. Audience Measurement Tracking Technologies. The Site features Comscore’s audience measurement software, which collects Information about your visit to the Site. Comscore has implemented an opt-out mechanism, which allows You to opt-out of data collected by Comscore globally. The opt-out is available on http://www.scorecardresearch.com/preferences.aspx. You can opt out of Comscore’s sharing for Interest-Based Advertising purposes at https://optout.aboutads.info and https://www.scorecardresearch.com/preferences.aspx.
7. HOW WE SECURE YOUR INFORMATION. We employ physical, electronic, administrative and procedural safeguards to protect your Information, including Personal Information. Despite these measures, we do not guarantee the security of Information stored in our database or that unauthorized parties will not intercept Information you send or receive over the internet. As a shared resource, the internet subjects our services and you to the risk of unauthorized access to files and data, even when security measures are implemented.
8. CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS: NOTICE OF PRIVACY RIGHTS.We provide this notice to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020 (the “CCPA”). Any capitalized terms not defined herein have the same meaning as defined in the CCPA have the same meaning when used in this notice. Under the CCPA, we, as a “Business,” are required to provide California residents (“CA Residents”) with certain disclosures regarding the collection, use and disclosure of personal information, as well as certain rights with respect to their personal information, including the right to access, delete, and correct certain personal information we collect about them. The law also restricts the “Sale” or “Sharing” of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and limits the use of “Sensitive Personal Information,” as defined by the law and described in the categories below. It also provides that California residents have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment for exercising the privacy rights described in this notice.
a. Categories, Collection, Purpose, and Categories of Third Parties with whom CA Personal Information is disclosed for a Business Purpose. The definition of personal information under California law (“CA Personal Information”) is broader than the definition of Personal Information in Section 1.f above and may include Usage and Device Information, such as IP addresses, cookie IDs, and device IDs, to the extent such information is reasonably capable of being associated with or linked to a particular consumer or household. The table below lists the categories of CA Personal Information we have collected in the preceding 12 months, the categories of sources of that information, the business or commercial purposes for which the information was collected, and the categories of third parties with whom it was disclosed (including Service Providers as we define the term above).
Category of CA Personal Information
Information Collected and Categories of Sources
Business or Commercial Purpose for Collection
Categories of Third Parties With Whom CA Personal Information Was Disclosed for a Business Purpose
Identifiers
Usage and Device Information collected when you use Service or visit Site (see Sections 2.b and 2.c)
Provide Service and Communicate with you (see Sections 3.a and 3.b)
Advertising and Marketing (see Sections 3.c and 5.b)
Service Providers (see Section 4.b)
Affiliated Businesses (see Section 4.c)
Audience Measurement Partners (see Section 5.b)
Advertising Partners (see Section 4.e)
Internet/
Electronic Network Activity Information
Usage and Device Information collected when you use Service or visit Site (see Sections 2.b and 2.c)
Provide Service and Communicate with you (see Sections 3.a and 3.b)
Advertising and Marketing (see Sections 3.c and 5.b)
Service Providers (see §
4.b)
Affiliated Businesses (see § 4.c)
Audience Measurement Partners (see Section 5.b)
Advertising Partners (see Section 4.e)
In addition, we may have disclosed all the categories of CA Personal Information identified aboveto the following categories of third parties: (i) judicial courts, regulators, or other government agents purporting to have jurisdiction over us, our subsidiaries or our affiliates, or opposing counsel and parties to litigation; and (ii) other third parties as may otherwise be permitted by law. We may disclose CA Personal Information to all of the third parties listed above to comply with our legal obligations or for the business or commercial purposes identified above.Additionally, we may disclose your CA Personal Information to third parties upon your request, at your direction or with your consent.
We may disclose or make available your CA Personal Information with our Service Providers such as our website provider, other entities that have agreed to limitations on the use of your personal information, or as otherwise permitted by, the CCPA.
b. Right to Opt Out of the Sale or Sharing of CA Personal Information. To the extent that allowing Comscore’s audience measurement software to collect Usage and Device Information on the Site constitutes a sale or sharing or personal information under California law, CA Residents can access Comscore’s an opt-out mechanism, which allows you to opt-out of data collected by Comscore globally, at http://www.scorecardresearch.com/preferences.aspx. You can also opt out of Comscore’s sharing of information for Interest-Based Advertising purposes at https://optout.aboutads.info and https://www.scorecardresearch.com/preferences.aspx. CA Residents may also click the CA Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information link to opt out of the sale of sharing of CA Personal Information.
c. Right to Know, Correct and Delete Requests. CA Residents have the right to request that we disclose the categories of CA Personal Information we have collected about them, the categories of sources of that information, the business or commercial purposes for which the information was collected, and the categories of third parties with whom it was shared disclosed. This information is set forth in Section 8.a above. California law also provides CA Residents with the right to submit requests to know the specific pieces of CA Personal Information collected about them or to have their personal information corrected or deleted, subject to certain exceptions (such maintaining the information to continue to provide our services). However, we will only be able to honor such requests for CA Residents whose identities we can verify and, because the CA Personal Information we collect as a Business is limited to Usage and Device Information we collect when you visit the Site (see Section 2.c), we do not have any reasonable way to verify the identity of a CA Resident making any such requests. Nevertheless, requests can be submitted by emailing us at CCPA@cheddar.com or via the request forms available here (for right to know specific pieces of CA Personal Information collected) and here (for correction or deletion).
d. Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information. Certain CA Personal Information is considered “Sensitive Personal Information” under California law, including racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, information regarding a mental or physical health condition or diagnosis, information regarding sex life or sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, union membership, genetic or biometric data, and precise geolocation data. We do not knowingly collect Sensitive Personal Information from CA Residents. To the extent that any of the information you provide or we otherwise collect about you is Sensitive Personal Information under California law, we will only use and disclose such information for the purposes specific in Section 7027(m) of the CCPA regulations.
e. Platform Subscribers’ CA Personal Information, We consider the Third Party Platform to be the Business with respect to Platform Subscriber Usage and Device Information provided to us by Third Party Platforms for marketing and advertising purposes. CA Residents who stream Cheddar Content via one of the Third Party Platforms listed in Section 2.d above should review the privacy policy for that platform to understand the notice and opt-out choices it provides with respect to the sharing of this information with Cheddar.
We will not further sell or share this information unless the Third Party Platform provided notice and an opt-out right with respect to the sale of their CA Personal Information. We will act as a “Service Provider” (as defined in the CCPA) for the Third Party Platform with respect to the delivery of advertising to any CA Resident who opt-outs of the Third Party Platform’s sale of this information to Cheddar.
f. Authorized Agents. CA Residents may use an authorized agent to submit an opt out, right to know, correction or deletion request on their behalf provided that the CA Resident gives the authorized agent written permission to do so, the authorized agent submits verifiable proof of such written permission and their identity to us, and the CA Resident subsequently verifies to us that permission has been provided. CA Residents or their authorized agents can contact us at CCPA@cheddar.com for instructions and identity verification requirements for authorized agent requests.
g. Shine the Light Law (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.83). A separate California law requires that we provide CA Residents with notice and choice with respect to the disclosure of their personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We provide this notice and choice in Sections 4.e, 6.c and 6.d above. This satisfies our obligation to otherwise maintain or furnish users with a list of the names and addresses of third parties who receive Personal Information from us for marketing purposes.
h. CA Privacy Questions. If you are a CA Resident and have additional questions regarding our collection, use or sharing of your CA Personal Information, or your CCPA or Shine the Light law rights as described in this Section, you may send us your questions by email to the Privacy Administrator at privacy@cheddar.com. All requests should be labeled “Your California Privacy Rights” on the email subject line. For all requests, please clearly state that the request is related to “Your California Privacy Rights”.
9. ADDITIONAL STATE PRIVACY LAWS. Other states, such as Connecticut, Colorado and Virginia, have also enacted privacy laws which provide their residents with various rights regarding their personal information – such as access, correction, deletion and opt out of targeted advertising – in certain circumstances. We do not believe that these provisions apply here, in part because the Usage and Device Information we collect is not is linked to or associated with the resident of any particular state. However, we provide residents of all states with opt out information relating to the use and disclose of Usage and Device Information by our Audience Measurement Partner in Section 6.d above.
10. USING OUR SERVICES OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES. This Privacy Policy is intended to cover collection of information on or via our Cheddar Service from residents of the United States. If you are using our Cheddar Service from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. The data privacy and protection laws of the United States might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using our Cheddar Service, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we disclose as described in this Privacy Policy, and you consent to such transfer.
11. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY. We may change this Privacy Policy at any time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the revised Privacy Policy on the Site. We encourage you to periodically review the Privacy Policy to inform yourself of any changes. The revised Privacy Policy will be effective on the date it is posted unless the revised notice states otherwise. You understand and agree that, if you use the Cheddar Service after the effective date of the updated Privacy Policy, Cheddar will consider your use as acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. If we make material changes that will result in a new use, disclosure, or permission of access to Personal Information previously collected, we will obtain your appropriate consent before implementing such change as required by applicable law.
12. HOW TO CONTACT US. Please contact us if you have any questions about this Privacy Policy:
Cheddar Media, Inc.
1 Court Square, 45th Floor, Long Island City, New York 11101 Attn: Legal Dept.
Effective: January, 2024