When you browse through the pages of the site, read or download information, we may collect, note or analyze details about your visit such as:

• Your server address
• Your operating system, top level domain name and the type of web browser you use
• The date and time of your visit to the site
• Whether you have visited the site previously
• What pages of the site you accessed and what you downloaded
• Your usage pattern and characteristics in order to measure interest in and use of various areas of the site.

This information we collect relates to your server or PC rather than you yourself.

The information we collect will be used within Business Line or Equitymaster to help us improve our online services keeping in mind your needs, and to help us to provide you faster navigation and access to the various sections of the site. We may disclose this information to other persons for these purposes or for related purposes, including to information technology companies who assist us in constructing, designing and maintaining the site.

We will also collect your personal details while registering you as a user or when you wish to download certain information from our site or if you email us with a comment or query. We will use your details:

• To send you the information you have requested
• To answer your comment or query
• To monitor our responses to you
• For our internal sales and marketing analysis

We may also contact you to follow up on your request, or to provide you with further information about our products and services which may be of interest to you. Where we need to send you any documents, we may disclose your personal details to the mailing houses, printers or document management providers which Business Line or Equitymaster uses so that they can forward the documents to you on our behalf.

If you want to find out what personal information (if any) we hold in respect of you which has been collected through the site, or if you wish to update or correct your personal information, please contact us.

Collection of information The user represents that he is fully aware that in the course of using this site or in the process of subscribing to the services or part of it, Business Line or Equitymaster may obtain information relating to the user, which is of a confidential nature. Business Line or Equitymaster does not collect personal information about the user except when such users specifically provide such information on a voluntary basis. This information may be stored by Business Line or Equitymaster or its Affiliates and used by Business Line or Equitymaster and will be kept confidential. Personal information on users will not be sold or otherwise transferred to unaffiliated third parties without the approval of the user.

Privacy commitments
Business Line and Equitymaster are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of their users and have taken all necessary and reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the users information and its transmission through the world wide web and it shall not be held liable for disclosure of the confidential information when in accordance with this Privacy Commitment or in terms of the agreements, if any, with the users. Employees of Business Line and/or Equitymaster will not discuss the business affairs of any user with any other employee, except on a strict need-to-know basis.

Use of Information

Business Line and Equitymaster undertakes not to disclose the information provided by the users to any person, unless such action is necessary to:

• Conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process such as requests of the government, court, tribunal, authority or other regulatory agency and/or required by any law;
  
  
• Protect and defend Business Line and/or Equitymaster or its Affiliates' rights, interests or property;
  
  
• Enforce the terms and conditions under which its products and/or services are provided; or
  
  
• Act to protect the interests of Business Line and/or Equitymaster, its Affiliates, or its members, constituents or of other persons.

Further, some of the user information is maintained in Business Line and Equitymaster's marketing database. Business Line or Equitymaster may contact a user either by post, or by telephone or e-mail primarily as a follow-up to the user's request/enquiry or to answer any questions. Business Line or Equitymaster may also contact a user from time to time in respect of other products and services that may be of interest to users. If a user does not wish to receive information about these products or services, the user may simply contact Business Line or Equitymaster respectively by phone, e-mail or post and communicate its desire not to receive information on these products or services.

Business Line and/or Equitymaster may inform advertisers of information on user's behavior and characteristics showing interest in various areas of the site as well as number of users that have been exposed to or clicked on their advertising banner. Business Line and Equitymaster will provide only aggregate data from such analysis done by it to third parties. Also, users should be aware that Business Line or Equitymaster may sometimes permit third parties to offer subscription and/or registration-based services through the site. Business Line or Equitymaster are not responsible for any actions or policies of such third parties and users should check the applicable privacy policy of such party when providing personally identifiable information.

Opt-Out

If, at any time after registering for information or subscribing to our services, you wish to discontinue receiving information from us or you wish to opt out of our marketing or promotional emails, phone calls or discontinue receiving any other direct communication from us, please either click on the "unsubscribe" link available in the service/promotional/marketing emails or send us your request to unsubscribe at support.thehindubusinessline@equitymaster.com

Policy against advertising using unsolicited email messages

Business Line and Equitymaster ensures that all emails promoting www.thehindubusinessline.com or www.equitymaster.com or its services or the domains owned by them are sent only to subscribers who have agreed to receive such messages. Business Line and Equitymaster prohibit any advertising of their brand and Website using unsolicited email messages. If you feel that you have received unsolicited emails from Business Line or Equitymaster and would like to register a compliant, please contact us at support.thehindubusinessline@equitymaster.com We will on a best effort basis investigate all complaints related to unsolicited email messages.

Security
The user shall cooperate with Business Line and Equitymaster in order to ensure the security of the information, and we recommend that the users necessarily choose their passwords carefully such that no unauthorized access is made by a third party. The users should undertake not to disclose their password to anyone or keep any written or other record of the password such that a third party could access it.

Cookies:
Users are also aware that non-personal information and data may be automatically collected through the standard operation of Equitymaster's internet servers or through the use of "cookies." "Cookies" are small text files a web site can use to recognize repeat users, facilitate the user's ongoing access to and use of the site and allow a site to track usage behavior and compile aggregate data that will allow content improvements and targeted advertising

Cookies are not programs that come onto a user's system and damage files. Generally, cookies work by assigning a unique number to the user that has no meaning outside the assigning site. Users are also hereby being made aware that Equitymaster cannot control the use of cookies or the resulting information by advertisers or third parties hosting data for Equitymaster. If a user does not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows the user to deny or accept the cookie feature; however, users should note that cookies may be necessary to provide the user with certain features (e.g., customized delivery of information) available from Equitymaster.

Third Party Advertising

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our site. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other sites in order to provide advertisements on this site and other sites about goods and services that may be of interest to you.

Please note that this Privacy Statement does not extend to third party sites linked to this website.

Amendments
Equitymaster reserves the right to modify the whole or some sections of this Privacy Statement at any time. Please check this statement from time to time for any changes.

References

• to 'you, 'your' and yours' are references to the person(s) accessing this site.
• to 'we', 'us' and 'our' are references to mean individually and collectively Business Line, Equitymaster, its affiliates, directors, officers and employees.

Contact
You may contact us at:
103, Regent Chambers,
Above Status Restaurant,
Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400 021,
India.

Telephone: 91-22-6143 4055

Fax: 91-22-2202 8550

Email: support.thehindubusinessline@equitymaster.com