Privacy policy

S49 Ventures LLC, S49 Express LLC, and their respective subsidiaries, parents and affiliates  (collectively, “Houseplant,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) provides this Privacy Policy , including, without limitation, any policies, rules and other terms that are expressly incorporated herein by reference (collectively, this “Privacy Policy”) to describe how we collect, use, and share the information of individuals who (a) visit any of our websites that link to this Privacy Policy and/or the Terms of Service of which this Privacy Policy is a part (the “Terms of Service”), including our website located at www.houseplant.com (collectively, the “Sites”), (b) content, information, functionality, products or services made available on or through the Sites, and (c) our SMS based service, TextBuds and the other Mobile Services (as defined in the Terms of Service ((a), (b) and (c) are referred to collectively as the “Services”).  Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using our Services.

Information Collection

When using the Sites or the other Services, you may voluntarily provide information about yourself, including your name, e-mail address, zip code, and any other information you choose to provide.  We collect this information when you subscribe to a newsletter that we offer, send an e-mail to us requesting information, or interact with us for any other purpose.  We may also collect your address and payment information when you order products from us. 

When you use the Mobile Services we may also collect information about you. For example, we may collect information you provide during registration, including your name, date of birth, mobile phone number, and zip code.  We also may collect information related to your interactions with the Mobile Services, including information you share about yourself—such as your product preferences. 

In addition, we collect information relating to your interactions with us and the Services, including browser type, IP address, pages visited and other activities on the Sites and the other Services, device type, time and date of visit, and other information we collect through the use of cookies, mobile identifiers, and similar technology.  We may use your IP address to derive your general location, and we may collect information about the precise location of your mobile device if you enable location services and grant permission.  See the “Digital Advertising & Analytics” section of this Privacy Policy to learn more about the use of this information and the choices available to you. 

Information Use

We may use your information for any lawful purpose, including the following:

  • To respond to your inquiries and fulfill your orders;

  • To send you personalized recommendations, such as what cannabis you might like;

  • To operate, personalize, and improve the Services, including for analytics purposes and to provide better services, products, and opportunities to visitors to the Sites and users of the Mobile Services or the other Services;

  • To send surveys, promotions, and marketing materials that may be of interest to you;

  • For our legal compliance and to maintain the security of the Services; or

  • With your consent or as otherwise disclosed at the time information is collected.

Information Sharing

We may share the information we collect with other parties, including the following:

  • With third party vendors who process data on our behalf, such as e-mail service providers, texting platforms, and e-commerce providers (such as Shopify);

  • With our partners, including distributors and dispensaries that we provide products and services to;

  • As part of a corporate sale, merger, or acquisition, or other transfer of all or part of our assets, including as part of a bankruptcy proceeding;

  • With third parties who engage in advertising, such as advertising networks, social media networks, or advertising/marketing companies;

  • Pursuant to a subpoena, court order, governmental inquiry, or other legal process or as otherwise required by law, or to protect our rights or the rights of third parties; or

  • With your consent or as otherwise disclosed at the time of data collection or sharing.

We may share information that has been de-identified or aggregated without limitation.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Sites and the other Services use cookies and similar technologies.  A cookie is a small file of letters and numbers that we store on your browser or the hard drive of your computer.  Cookies contain information that is transferred to your computer’s hard drive.  For the purpose of this Privacy Policy, cookies and other similar technologies (like scripts, plugins, tags, device fingerprints, Local Stored Objects, beacons and pixels) are all called “cookies.” The following cookies are used on the Sites and the other Services:

  • Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are required for the operation of the Sites and the other Services. They include, for example, cookies that enable you put items in your shopping cart.

  • Analytical/performance cookies. They allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around the Sites and the other Services when they are using the Sites and the other Services. This helps us to improve the way the Sites and the other Services work, for example, by ensuring that users are finding what they are looking for easily.

  • Targeting and advertising cookies. These cookies record your visit to the Sites and the other Services, the pages you have visited, and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make the Sites, the other Services and any advertising which may be displayed on the Sites and the other Services more relevant to your interests.  We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose.

Digital Advertising & Analytics

We may partner with ad networks and other ad serving providers (“Advertising Providers”) that serve ads on behalf of us and others on non-affiliated platforms.  Some of those ads may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information Advertising Providers collect about your use of the Sites and the other Services and other sites or apps over time, including information about relationships among different browsers and devices.  This type of advertising is known as interest-based advertising.

Houseplant adheres to the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Principles in connection with this interest-based advertising activity.  You may visit the DAA Webchoices tool at www.aboutads.info to learn more about this type of advertising and how to opt out of this advertising on websites by companies participating in the DAA self-regulatory program.  If you delete your cookies or use a different browser or mobile device, you may need to renew your opt-out choices exercised through the DAA Webchoices tool.  Note that electing to opt out will not stop advertising from appearing in your browser or applications.  It may make the ads you see less relevant to your interests.  Additionally, your browser may offer tools to limit the use of cookies or to delete cookies; however, if you use these tools, the Sites and the other Services may not function as intended.

We may also work with third parties that collect data about your use of the Sites and the other Services and other sites or apps over time for non-advertising purposes.  Houseplant uses Google Analytics and other third-party services to improve the performance of the Sites and the other Services and for analytics and marketing purposes.  For more information about how Google Analytics collects and uses data when you use the Sites, visit www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners, and to opt out of Google Analytics, visit tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Third-Party Links and Tools

The Sites and the other Services may include embedded web applications.These web applications are operated by third parties and may collect personal information about you on our behalf; however, we do not control the privacy practices of such applications and they are not covered by our Privacy Policy.  In addition, the Services may provide links to third-party websites or apps.  Such websites or apps are not covered by this Privacy Policy.  You should review the privacy policies of other websites or apps that you use to learn about their information practices.

The Sites and the other Services may also include integrated social media tools or “plug-ins,” such as social networking tools offered by third parties.  If you use these tools to share personal information or you otherwise interact with these features on the Sites and the other Services, those companies may collect information about you and may use and share such information in accordance with your account settings, including by sharing such information with the general public.  Your interactions with third-party companies and your use of their features are governed by the privacy policies of the companies that provide those features.  We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policies of any accounts you create and use.

HIPAA

Houseplant is not an entity that is covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (“HIPAA”).  The HIPAA privacy rules apply generally to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and to health care providers. This means that the information that you provide to Houseplant is not protected by the HIPAA privacy rules and regulations.

California Privacy Rights  

This section contains disclosures required by the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) and applies only to “personal information” that is subject to the CCPA.

Categories of Sources. We collect personal information from the following categories of sources:

  • Consumers;

  • Advertising networks;

  • Data analytics providers;

  • Operating systems and platforms;

  • Social networks;

  • Service providers; and

  • Affiliated entities irrespective of whatever marks they may use.

Personal Information We Collect.  We collect the following categories of personal information about California consumers.

  • Personal and online identifiers (such as first and last name, email address, or unique online identifiers);

  • Categories of information described in Section 1798.80(e) of the California Civil Code (such as physical characteristics or description, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information);

  • Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law (such as race or gender);

  • Commercial or transactions information (such as records of personal property or products or services purchased, obtained or considered);

  • Internet or other electronic network activity information (such as browsing history, search history, interactions with a website, email, application, or advertisement);

  • Biometric information (such as call recordings);

  • Geolocation information;

  • Sensory information (such as audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information);

  • Professional or employment-related information;

  • Education information;

  • Inferences drawn from the above information about your predicted characteristics and preferences; and

  • Other information about you that is linked to the personal information above.

Why We Collect, Use, and Share California Information. We use and disclose the personal information we collect for our commercial and business purposes, as further described in this Privacy Policy.  These commercial and business purposes include, without limitation:

  • Our commercial purposes, including:

    • To provide you with products and services;

    • To advertise our products and services;

    • To provide you with news and information;

  •  

    Our business purposes as identified in the CCPA, which include:

    • Auditing related to our interactions with you;

    • Legal compliance;

    • Detecting and protecting against security incidents, fraud, and illegal activity;

    • Debugging;

    • Performing services (for us or our service provider) such as account servicing, processing orders and payments, and analytics;

    • Internal research for technological improvement;

    • Internal operations;

    • Activities to maintain and improve the Services; and

    • Other one-time uses.

Recipients of California Personal Information. We sell each category of personal information we collect to the following categories of third parties:

  • Advertising/marketing companies;

  • Advertising networks;

  • Social networks; and

  • Affiliated entities irrespective of whatever marks they may use.

In addition, we disclose each category of personal information we collect to the following categories of third parties for business purposes:

  • Service providers who process data on our behalf, such as e-mail service providers, texting platforms, and e-commerce providers (such as Shopify);

  • Our partners, including distributors and dispensaries that we provide products and services to;

  • Affiliated entities irrespective of whatever marks they may use;

  • Advertising networks;

  • Advertising/marketing companies;

  • Social networks;

  • Third party recipients who receive personal information as part of a corporate sale, merger, or acquisition, or other transfer of all or part of our assets; and

  • Government entities.

Your Rights Regarding Personal Information. California residents have certain rights with respect to the personal information collected by businesses.  If you are a California resident, you may exercise the following rights regarding your personal information, subject to certain exceptions and limitations:

  • The right to know the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect, use, disclose, and sell about you; the categories of sources from which we collected personal information about you; our purposes for collecting or selling personal information about you; the categories of personal information about you that we have either sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and the categories of third parties with which we have shared personal information.

  • The right to request that we delete the personal information we have collected from you.

  • The right to opt out of our sale(s) of your personal information. Please note that if you opt out of certain types of sales, we will be unable to provide you with the services that rely on such sales.

  • The right not to receive discriminatory treatment for the exercise of the privacy rights conferred by the CCPA.

To exercise any of the above rights, please contact us using the following information and submit the required verifying information, as further described below:

Verification Process and Required Information. Note that we may need to request additional information from you to verify your identity or understand the scope of your request, although you will not be required to create an account with us to submit a request or have it fulfilled.  We will require you to provide, at minimum, your full name and an email address or a mobile phone number.

Authorized Agent. You may designate an authorized agent to make a CCPA request on your behalf by providing the authorized agent written permission to do so.  We may require you to verify your own identity directly with us for requests to access or delete personal information. 

Minors’ Right to Opt In. We do not have actual knowledge that we sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age.

Your Choices

To opt out of our e-mail marketing, you can use the link provided at the bottom of each marketing message.  To opt out of receiving text messages from us, please reply to a text message from us and respond “STOP.” 

For choices with respect to third-party interest-based advertising activities, please see the “Digital Advertising & Analytics” section above.

Updating Your Information

You may request to review, change, or update your contact information by e-mailing us at privacy@houseplant.com. 

Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will text you, e-mail you and/or post a notification on the Sites and/or in the other Services in the event of any material changes to this Privacy Policy.  Such changes, whether in the form of modifications, additions, or deletions, shall be effective when specified in the relevant notification and will apply to information we collect after the changes are effective.  If the change is not material, the change shall be effective immediately upon appearing on the Sites and the other Services regardless of the date of notice.  Please check this Privacy Policy periodically for changes.  

Terms of Service

This Privacy Policy and its terms and provisions are incorporated into, and a part of, our Terms of Service.  

Contact

If you have questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at hello@houseplant.com.