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Privacy Policy
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Last updated: 29 November, 2006
Introduction
ninemsn Pty Limited ("ninemsn") is a joint venture between Microsoft Corporation and Publishing and Broadcasting Limited. As the operator of Australia's leading online network, ninemsn delivers content drawn from the Nine Network television programs and ACP magazines, as well as providing access to leading global Microsoft applications such as Hotmail, Messenger, Search and Windows Live ID. Any information that you provide under Microsoft services provided through our site may be collected and used both by Microsoft, governed by the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement, and by ninemsn, governed by this privacy policy.
This statement sets out ninemsn's policies relating to the collection and use of your personal information. It applies to your conduct on the ninemsn network of websites (the "Network"). These policies are in addition to ninemsn's general Terms of Use governing the Network and should be read in conjunction with such Terms of Use.
Please note that separate privacy policies apply to the use of co-branded sites that are available through the Network but are not operated by ninemsn or MSN directly ("Co-Branded Sites"). Before disclosing your personal information to any Co-branded Sites you should read the relevant policy or terms of use.
Contents
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We recognise that your privacy is very important and that you have a right to control personal information. We know that providing personal information is an act of trust and we take that seriously. The following sections set out how we handle and protect your personal information and safeguard your privacy.
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ninemsn has implemented a membership system which offers a more rewarding and personalised Network experience ("Membership"). To become a member and obtain the full benefits of Membership, you register your details with us and log in as a member each time you visit the Network. (Membership is not necessary to access many of the Network websites.) The benefits of Membership include: your own personalised home page on the Network; e-mail newsletters; interactive tools and services and access to competitions. Also, to keep you up to date with what’s happening on the Network, we'll send you member only offers from our selected partners and regular updates of our products and services.
We use Windows Live™ ID as an authentication system for Membership. To become a ninemsn member, you must first obtain Windows Live ID credentials, such as a Hotmail account. At sign-up, you will be prompted for information such as your e-mail address, password, secret question, country, state and postcode. Because MSN and Windows Live services are an integrated part of ninemsn, when you sign-in to ninemsn, you will automatically be signed-in to MSN and Windows Live, and vice versa. More information on how Windows Live ID works is located here.
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There are five main ways we collect information about you:
If you are not or do not log in as a ninemsn member
Whenever you visit the Network, our servers automatically record information about your usage of the Network, such as the time of the visit, its duration and the pages you visit. This is to help us understand what parts of our Network our users enjoy the most and to help us ensure that advertisements on the Network are most directly relevant to your interests. If you have not identified yourself on the Network, such as by registering for Membership or logging in as a member, the information we collect about you remains anonymous.
If you log in as a ninemsn member
Once you have become a ninemsn member, we collect personal information about you in order to provide you with the full benefits of Membership. When you first register for Membership, we collect information from you such as your e-mail, name and suburb, and will continue to add to your member profile as you interact more on the Network, for example, if you enter a competition or subscribe to our newsletters.
If you register with one of our paid services
When you register to receive our paid services, for example, ninemsn Music, we or our carefully selected providers collect certain information, such as your name, e-mail address and credit card details, so that we can process your orders, authenticate returning users or help users who experience problems.
If you subscribe to Hoyts
If you become a Hoyts Movie Club member, you will be asked to first join ninemsn Membership. At the registration point, you will be prompted for both required and optional information. ninemsn will share personal information such as your name, address, e-mail and phone number with Hoyts. From time to time you may be prompted to provide further information, for example, if you enter a Hoyts competition. This further information will also be shared with Hoyts. You can view the Hoyts privacy policy here.
If you enter into a competition
When you enter into a competition on the Network, you may be prompted to sign in to Membership. This will streamline the entry process, as many of the competition entry fields will be pre-populated with information we already hold about you. You may be required to provide further information to satisfy the entry conditions. If the competition is being sponsored by an advertiser, you may be prompted to opt-in to receive further promotional material from that third party. If you consent to this, then at the end of the competition, we will provide the information on your entry form to that third party. Use of your personal information will be in accordance with this Privacy Policy as well as that of the third party. The URL or contact details for third party privacy policies will appear in the competition terms and conditions.
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We understand that even with our Privacy Policy, some people will not feel comfortable disclosing personal information in order to become a ninemsn member. If you don't feel comfortable disclosing your real identity but still want to take advantage of ninemsn Membership, you can register for Membership using a pseudonym (or "nym") - a different name. This way, you choose your own nym, which might be "Joe Bloggs" or "Jane Doe", and that's what we will call you. We won't know who you really are, but we will still be able to find out what you like most on our Network and therefore give you the most enjoyable and customised experience of the Network possible.
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Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your computer's hard disk for record-keeping purposes. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies. However, if you do not wish to receive any cookies, you may set your browser to refuse them (for more information on disabling cookies, click here). In some instances this may mean you will not be able to take full advantage of parts of the Network.
The use of cookies can enhance your enjoyment of what we offer, because they help us personalise your experience of our Network by providing information which is most relevant to your interests. Cookies provide us with aggregated information on how users interact on our Network, track which advertisements are effective and help us improve your Network experience. We also use cookies to operate the Membership system, as they help us identify visitors to the Network who have previously registered. Cookies do not personally identify you, but your browser.
We use the independent company Nielsen//NetRatings to measure and analyse Internet usage across the Network. The Nielsen//NetRatings SiteCensus tracking code collects the following core information on usage of the ninemsn Network:
- The number of page views (or page impressions) ;
- The number of unique visitors;
- How long these unique visitors (on average) spend on the Network
- Common entry and exit points into the Network.
This aggregate, non-personal information is collated by Nielsen//NetRatings and provided to us to assist in analysing usage of the Network. The Nielsen//NetRatings data is also accessible by media organisations and research companies for the purpose of conducting industry comparisons with other Internet portals.
All pages on the Network are coded with the SiteCensus software. This is transparent to the user, as the software makes use of an invisible image (via Javascript) or an invisible Java Applet*, at the bottom of the web page. This software stores a cookie in your browser, which contains a unique identifier. This enables Nielsen//NetRatings to track the number of unique visitors to the Network. In no way does this unique identifier identify a user personally. We do not and will not marry any data collected by Nielsen//NetRatings with any personal information collected on the Network.
Nielsen//NetRatings software code cannot be disabled entirely on the ninemsn pages, as the SiteCensus code takes into account all web-browser configurations, including the disabling of Java and Javascript. However, if cookies are disabled in your browser, then Nielsen//NetRatings cannot track you as a unique visitor and will consider you a new visitor each time you browse a new page on the Network. To learn how to disable your cookies, refer to the beginning of this section.
To learn more about Nielsen//NetRatings' privacy policy, click here.
ninemsn uses Accipiter to manage advertising on the Network and provide aggregate information on the use of our Network. Accipiter uses cookies to build anonymous profiles which can be used by the various websites on the Network to tailor their content, promotions and advertising and perform anonymous market research. We do not allow Accipiter to collect any personally-identifiable information, nor is the information ever merged with personal information such as your name, address or e-mail address or any information that is considered sensitive or would compromise your privacy. You can view the Accipiter privacy statement here.
*The use of Javascript and/or Java Applet is dictated by the browser you use. Typically, Internet Explorer users with Version 4 or above will use the Javascript method. Netscape users or users whose browser does not support Javascript 1.1 will use the Java Applet method.
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We will not disclose any information about you without your consent unless it is:
- Required by law;
- We believe it necessary in order to provide you with a service which you have requested;
- We suspect that your use of the Network is in breach of the Terms of Use;
- To protect the rights or property of ninemsn, any ninemsn user or any member of the public; or
- To lessen a serious threat to a person's health or safety.
We will never share your personal information with a third party or allow a third party to promote its products and services directly to you without your explicit consent.
In order to operate the Network or deliver a service you have explicitly requested, we sometimes share your personal information with an affiliate or with a service partner (such as Microsoft, which operates Passport Network and Windows Live, and MSN for Hotmail and Messenger applications).
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We send our members service e-mails which contain important information about updates, changes and developments on the Network, such as if we take down a service which we know you are currently using, or, if we have improved a service and want to communicate its new functionality to you. For you to continue to make the most of what’s available on the Network, it is essential that we send these communications.
From time to time, we will send you member-only offers from our carefully selected partners, e-mail newsletters to which you have subscribed, and tell you about new competitions.
You can manage the type of information you receive from us by:
- updating your Membership profile;
- unsubscribing from the message you receive; or
- e-mailing us on our privacy feedback form (please allow seven days for this request to be processed).
Hotmail customers
If you are receiving unsolicited e-mails from within your Hotmail account or would like to enquire about how to protect yourself online, view our support page on this topic by clicking here.
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We will take all reasonable steps to keep secure any information we hold about you and to keep this information accurate and up to date. Your information is stored on secure servers that are protected in controlled facilities.
In addition, our employees and the contractors who provide services related to our information systems are obliged to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by us. However, we will not be held responsible for events arising from unauthorised access to your personal information.
You can also play an important role in keeping your personal information secure by maintaining the confidentiality of any password and accounts used on the ninemsn Network. Please notify us immediately if there is any unauthorised use of your account by any other Internet user or any other breach of security.
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If you are a ninemsn member, you can access, change and update your Membership profile at any time on the Network. If you wish to know what other information we have gathered about you while you have been logged in to the Network, you can request this information via our privacy feedback form. We will endeavour to respond to your request within seven days.
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We provide links to websites outside the Network. These linked sites are not under the control of ninemsn and we do not accept responsibility for the conduct of companies linked to our Network. Before disclosing your personal information on any other website, we advise you to read the terms and conditions and privacy policy of that website.
There are also a number of Co-Branded sites on the Network which may operate under their own terms and conditions and privacy policy.
Before disclosing your personal information to any Co-Branded sites, you should read the relevant policy or terms of use. In some cases, the specific terms on the Co-Branded site will override ninemsn’s own policies.
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If you make us aware of any ongoing concerns or problems with our Network, we will take these issues seriously and work to address these concerns. You can contact us using the privacy feedback form.
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Our commitment to make ninemsn Australia's leading website means that we are constantly adding new sites and features to the Network. We will continuously review our Privacy Policy to ensure that it protects your privacy while supporting your user experience on the Network. We encourage you to keep visiting our Privacy Policy to see if any updates have been made.
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For more information about privacy issues in Australia, visit the Australian Federal Privacy Commissioner's website.
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