Effective Date: October 15th, 2007
At General Mills, we are very sensitive to the privacy concerns of visitors to all
of our websites, including this one. Though we do not obtain any personal information
that individually identifies you (e.g., your name, address, phone number, e-mail
address, etc.) unless you affirmatively provide it to us, many visitors do choose
to provide us with such information. This Privacy Policy explains our online information
practices and the choices you, as a visitor to this site, can make about the collection
and use of your information.
What personal information might we ask you for and how do we use it?
We collect personal information from you (such as your name, address, phone number,
e-mail address, etc.) only when you voluntarily provide it to us. Depending on the
purpose for which the information was provided, we may use the information to communicate
with you regarding our products, services, and promotions, to provide you with other
information that you request, and/or to improve our product and service offerings.
Here are the circumstances in which we might ask for personal information from our
consumers though our site, the types of information we obtain, and how we use the
information:
- If you contact one of our Consumer Services Representatives through our site,
we may ask you for personal information such as your name, address, phone number,
or e-mail address so that we can respond to your questions or comments. (Of course,
if you send us an e-mail, we will at a minimum obtain your e-mail address.)
You may be asked to provide personal information if
you:
- register for a sweepstakes, contest, or other promotion;
- register as a user of our site;
- register to receive coupons through our site;
- join a club through our site;
- participate in a survey, a consumer research panel, or similar type of activity;
- ask to receive an online newsletter or other information or material from us; or
- otherwise participate in features of our website that ask for personal information.
- If you purchase or otherwise request a product, publication, or promotional offering
from us or take advantage of a rebate or similar offer, you may be required to provide
your contact and/or payment information (such as a credit card number) in order
for us to process your request.
Your participation in any of these activities (and therefore your provision of personally
identifiable information) is entirely voluntary. We may use the information you
provide to respond to your questions or comments, to administer our promotions and
sites, to fulfill your request, subscription, or order, or to otherwise provide
or improve our products and services. We will not send you any online newsletter
or similar e-mail communication unless you expressly consent to receive such a communication
from us. And if you do choose to receive any such e-mail communication from us,
you will always have the opportunity to “unsubscribe” from receiving the e-mail
at any time.
How do we use cookies, web beacons, or similar technologies?
We may employ cookie technology, web beacons, and similar devices on our site to
facilitate site administration and navigation and to provide an enhanced online
experience for our visitors. Information tracked through these mechanisms includes
but is not limited to (1) a user’s IP address (e.g., yahoo.com - 192.168.1.1), (2)
the type of web browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer) and operating system (e.g., Windows
or Linux) being used, (3) the pages of the site a user visits, and (4) other websites
a user visited before visiting our site.
Most browsers accept cookies automatically, but can be configured not to do so or
to notify the user when a cookie is being sent. If you wish to disable cookies,
refer to your browser help menu to learn how to disable cookies. Please note that
if you disable cookies, you may be unable to access some customized features on
our site. Cookies do not collect or contain your name or e-mail address.
Web beacons are 1x1 single-pixel graphics that allow us to count the number of users
who have visited a particular web page or to access certain cookies. We may use
web beacons on our websites to count users and to recognize users by accessing our
cookies. Being able to access our cookies allows us to personalize our website and
improve your experience at our website. We may also include web beacons in HTML-formatted
e-mail messages that we send to determine which e-mail messages were opened. Like
cookies, web beacons do not collect or contain your name or your e-mail address.
When might we provide other parties with your personal information?
We may share your personal information with other parties if you consent to us sharing
such information with third parties.
We also may provide your personal information to third parties who provide services
on our behalf. These parties may use the information solely in conjunction with
the specific services they provide for us (e.g., fulfillment of an order, responding
to your question or comment, providing a sweepstakes prize, deployment of a consumer
survey, investigation of a complaint, etc.).
We reserve the right to transfer any information we have about you in the event
that we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets to a third party.
We also reserve the right to share information within General Mills amongst our
various businesses.
We reserve the right to disclose any personal information as needed if such information
is requested by law enforcement agencies or if we are required to do so by law,
regulation, subpoena, court order, or by a government entity. We also may disclose
personal information to third parties if we have reason to believe that disclosing
such information is necessary to conduct investigations of possible breaches of
law, to cooperate in any legal investigation, or to identify, contact, or bring
legal action against someone who may be violating the terms of use of our site.
Security for credit card, data and transaction information
At General Mills, we are committed to keeping your online transactions safe and
secure. In order to reasonably assure the privacy and security of your credit card
and other personal data when making an order, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
technology. SSL uses encryption technology to create a secure connection between
your computer and ours. We have also put procedures in place to safeguard the information/data
we collect from you. We cannot absolutely guarantee the security of any information
you provide online; you provide it at your own risk.
Links to other sites
Our site may contain links to the websites of our subsidiaries and affiliates, and
to websites that are owned and operated by third parties. These other websites may
have their own privacy policies and would not be governed by this Privacy Policy.
We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of websites owned
and operated by any such third parties. Other websites may collect and treat information
collected differently, so we encourage you to carefully read and review the privacy
policy for each website you visit.
Chat rooms and message/bulletin boards
Users of chat rooms and message/bulletin boards that may be on our site should be
aware that when they voluntarily disclose personally identifiable information (e.g.,
name, e-mail address, etc.) on a message/bulletin board, in a chat area, or other
interactive area where personal information can be posted, the information can be
collected and used by other internet users. This may result in unsolicited messages
from other posters or parties. We make no representations and undertake no obligations
as to the security of information you voluntarily post in chat rooms and message/bulletin
boards.
Send-to-a-friend tools
This site may, from time to time, include a send-to-a-friend application that makes
it easy for you to forward information or materials from our site to friends or
family by e-mail. In order to address your e-mail message, the application will
ask you to input the recipient’s e-mail address and/or similar information (including
your e-mail address). This information is only used by the application to address
your message so that it can be properly sent. General Mills does not retain any
of this information for any purpose.
Our commitment to children’s privacy
A special note to parents: This site is not directed to children and we will not
request any information from children under 13 at this site. General Mills does
have other websites that are geared in whole or in part to a child audience. Our
commitment to the privacy of children is described more fully in the privacy policies
of those websites. General Mills and its affiliated companies takes special care
of the privacy of children under the age of 13. We have developed our privacy practices
as they relate to children from guidelines established by the Children’s Advertising
Review Unit (CARU) and in compliance with the requirements established by the Children’s
Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”). We also recommend that parents
monitor their children’s Internet activities and learn and employ software or other
tools which can help their children enjoy the fun and entertainment of an on-line
experience without compromising their personal safety or allowing them to use the
Internet in a manner inconsistent with their parents’ preferences.
United States only
This website is intended for use by residents of the United States of America only.
All matters relating to this site are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota
in the United States of America. If you are located outside of the United States
of America and you contact us, please be advised that any information you provide
to us will be transferred to the United States of America and that by submitting
information, you explicitly authorize its transfer.
Changes in our online privacy policy
We reserve the right to change or replace this Privacy Policy at our sole discretion
at any time. Please check back from time to time to ensure that you are aware of
any updates or changes in this Privacy Policy.
Your consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy
By using this website, you signify your assent to all of the terms of this Privacy
Policy and our Terms of Use. If you do not agree with any term of this Privacy Policy
or our Terms of Use, please do not use this site or submit any personally identifiable
information.
How to contact us
Should you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or about our
collection or use of information, please e-mail us at corporate.response@generalmills.com.
You may also reach us by telephone at 1-800-248-7310 (7:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. CST,
weekdays).
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