Privacy Policy

ANS Associates and each Member that provides material/content through the ANS Site care about the confidentiality and security of your information. This Privacy Policy applies to information that ANS collects through the ANS Site when you interact with ANS, with Members, with other users, and generally with the ANS Site.

Your information is received and controlled by ANS according to this Privacy Policy when you sign up for an ANS account or otherwise use the ANS Site.

- ANS is solely and independently responsible for its own privacy practices. No Member is responsible for ANS’s privacy practices.

- Each Member is solely and independently responsible for its own privacy practices. No Member is responsible for another Member’s privacy practices. Also, ANS is not responsible for any Member’s privacy practices.

If you do not accept the terms of this Privacy Policy, then please do not access, browse, or register for the ANS Site in any content. If you choose not to provide certain information required to provide you with various products and services offered on the ANS Site, then you may not be able to establish a user account or obtain those products or services.

Any version of this Privacy Policy in a language other than English is provided for convenience and you understand and agree that the English language version will control if there is any conflict.

This Privacy Policy is organized as follows:

- Information that ANS collects from you (including Personal Information)

- Cookies and Tracking Technologies on the ANS Site

- How your information is used

- How your information is shared

- How to manage your Personal Information

- Storage & Security

- Privacy Policy updates

- Contact information

- Glossary

INFORMATION THAT ANS ASSOCIATES COLLECTS FROM YOU (INCLUDING PERSONAL INFORMATION)

ANS Associates directly collects information when you:

- sign up for an ANS user account and create an ANS user profile;

- purchase a product or service (for example, Verified Certificates);

- send email messages to ANS (including messages to learner support);

- participate in user surveys; and

- participate in public forums, webinars, and other interactive experiences on the ANS Site.

ANS also indirectly collects usage information about your visit to the ANS Site, as explained in the section below titled Cookies and Tracking Technologies.

ANS does not itself collect or store financial account numbers or identification issued by a governmental entity, employer, or other authority. Instead, if you choose to make a purchase on the ANS Site, for example a Verified Certificate, you will be directed to ANS’s third-party payment processor and ANS’s third-party ID verification service provider. If you do not wish to submit the required authentication or payment information, then you will not be able to obtain a certificate via the ANS Site.

ANS requires your Personal Information limited circumstances when you:

- sign up for an ANS user account (name, username, email address);

- purchase a Verified Certificate (so that ANS’s third-party vendor can authenticate your identity) or other product or service (so that ANS’s third-party vendor can process payment);

- participate in remote proctoring or other course facilitation processes (so that ANS’s third-party vendor can monitor and assess the integrity of your course activity);

To the extent that ANS associates the information that ANS collects directly or indirectly with an individual (for example, you), the association is based on Personal Information in your account profile.

You may voluntarily choose to share additional Personal Information on the ANS Site, for example:

- in your ANS account profile (and you may display a limited or full profile to other ANS Site users);

- in applying for financial assistance; or

- when participating in a forum, webinar, or other interactive experience on the ANS Site (noting that in some cases, this information is shared with a third party that provides tools or other assistance for the ANS Site).

ANS encourages you to use discretion before voluntarily sharing additional Personal Information on the ANS Site. (If you later choose to delete your ANS account, deletion of your Personal Information will be subject to the process and limits outlined.

Cookies And Tracking Technologies on the ANS Associates Site

Like many companies, ANS Associates uses Cookies and other common Tracking Technologies on the ANS Site and in email communications to help ANS better understand your use and needs of the ANS Site, current and future ANS-related products and services, and how ANS and Members can improve. For example:

- based on your cookie settings, ANS tracks information indicating, among other things, which pages of the ANS Site were visited, the order in which they were visited, when they were visited, and which hyperlinks and other user interface controls were used;

- ANS may log the IP address, operating system, and browser software (including mobile use and device type when you use ANS native mobile apps) you used when accessing the ANS Site, and ANS may be able to determine from an IP address your Internet Service Provider and the geographic location of your point of connectivity; and

- ANS may track and collect information from emails that ANS sends to you, for example whether you opened the email or clicked on any links from the email.

ANS also partners with third parties to help us track and understand your activity on the ANS Site, how you interact with ANS’s social media, and how you find or may be referred to the ANS Site. Individual Members may separately use Tracking Technologies within their email communications to understand your activity and how you find or may be referred  on the ANS Site.

ANS and Members use Cookies and other Tracking Technologies for the following purposes:

- when necessary for system administration, security, and integrity to ensure the ANS Site works properly for you. Without these technologies, the ANS Site may not function correctly;

- to enable analytics, performance and functionality, to help ANS and Members gather information about how visitors use the ANS Site and monitor ANS Site performance, and to enhance your experience by recognizing and remembering whether you have visited the ANS Site before and may have any personal preferences; and

- to support marketing by enabling ANS and Members to deliver content relevant to your interests on the ANS Site and third-party sites based on how you interact with ANS or Member advertisements or content. ANS and Members use “first-party” cookies, which means cookies served by ANS or an individual Member, and also “third-party” cookies, which means cookies served by third parties that help ANS and Members track this information.

You have some options for managing Cookies and other Tracking Technologies. These include:

- Modifying your browser settings: You should be able to control how and whether your web browser accepts Cookies by adjusting its privacy and security settings. The “help” feature of the menu bar on most browsers will tell you how to stop accepting new Cookies, how to receive notification of new Cookies, and how to disable existing Cookies. If you reject ANS’s Cookies, many functions and conveniences of the ANS Site may not work properly.

Opting-out of certain third-party tracking and advertising: Some of the third parties used by ANS or a Member for Cookies and Tracking Technologies offer the ability to opt-out from their tracking by following processes described on their websites. A list of some such third parties is maintained and available at the ANS learner Help Center and includes, for some, links to applicable opt-out processes. Neither ANS nor any Member is responsible for the effectiveness of any third-party opt-out options.

HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS USED

ANS and Members use information, including Personal Information, to carry out the following purposes:

Operate and improve the ANS Site – This includes creating and improving features that support the ANS community and enable ANS Site usage at scale. This also includes personalizing the ANS Site, so your learning experience is tailored to your interests and needs.

Develop and maintain the security and performance of the ANS Site – This includes tracking ANS Site outages and creating software solutions, detecting violations of the Terms of Service, and monitoring uses, misuses, and potential misuses of the ANS Site.

Communicate with you – This includes answering your content and platform questions, notifying you  ANS Site maintenance and updates, marketing to you about content offerings, programs, news, and related products and services of ANS or ANS affiliates, and as permitted under applicable law, sending you communications about products or services of selected business partners that may be of interest to you.

Exercise, enforce, and comply with legal rights and obligations – This includes responding to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; and investigating, preventing, or taking action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, security or technical issues, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of ANS, Members, or others, and as otherwise required by applicable law.

ANS or a Member may also seek your consent for additional uses of information, including Personal Information, and will use it only for the purpose described to you. All use of Personal Information is subject to applicable law.

HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS SHARED

ANS and Members share information, including Personal Information, with third parties for the following purposes:

With service providers, contractors, and other third parties that help carry out the uses described above – ANS requires third parties to: (1) abide by this Privacy Policy and applicable law; (2) handle Personal Information in a confidential manner and maintain adequate security; and (3) use Personal Information only as needed to fulfill the relevant purpose(s). In some cases, the ANS Site  are integrated with third-party services or contain links to websites published by third parties, including other content providers as well as service providers. These third parties are responsible for their own privacy practices, so you should pay attention anytime you are redirected to a third-party website and be sure to review its privacy policy.

With affiliates of ANS or a Member, or with successors in the event of a merger, acquisition, or reorganization, for their use consistent with this Privacy Policy.

ANS or a Member may also seek your consent for additional disclosures of information, including Personal Information, and will share it only as described to you. In addition, ANS or a Member may share with the public and with third parties, including but not limited to researchers and business partners, information and Personal Information that is de-identified or aggregated in a manner that does not personally identify you.

HOW TO MANAGE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

You can manage your Personal Information through learner features on the ANS Site and requests to the ANS support team. If your request involves information controlled by a Member, ANS  support will notify and coordinate with the appropriate Member to address your request. ANS will provide support to the extent required by applicable law and more broadly when possible, as a courtesy in our sole discretion. ANS will notify you in the event that ANS is unable to meet a request that is not legally required. Similarly, Members will only be obligated to comply with requests to the extent legally required, but may choose to comply with other requests in their sole discretion.

Access and correct your Personal Information

Much of your Personal Information is available in your ANS account. Your name, email address, and other identifiable profile information is editable through the profile settings in your ANS account except as noted below. Your account dashboard lists  and includes links to any Verified Certificates you may have earned. 

Exceptions:

- Usernames cannot ever be changed. This is an ANS system restriction. Because usernames identify you in content and elsewhere on the ANS Site, ANS encourages you to use discretion in choosing your username. If you want to protect your identity, do not use your real name or a name identifiable to you as your username.

- ANS does not track or index every time or every place on the ANS Site when or where a learner may volunteer Personal Information, so neither ANS nor Members will be able to help you locate or manage all such instances. ANS encourages you to use discretion before volunteering Personal Information on the ANS Site.

Restrict or object to the processing of Personal Information

If you want to manage emails and other communications to you, you may update your preferences in your ANS account dashboard, follow the steps described in links at the bottom of email messages, or contact ANS learner support. You may object to, or request that ANS or a Member stop, its use of your Personal Information for other purposes by contacting the ANS support team. If your request involves information controlled by a Member, ANS support will notify the appropriate Member of your request. Please note that if you choose to restrict ANS’s or a Member’s ability to process Personal Information, and the processing is otherwise required to provide you with various services and services offered on the ANS Site, you may not be able to establish an ANS user account, ANS or a Member may not be able to provide you with those services or products.

Delete account and Personal Information

To request deletion of your ANS account and Personal Information, you should click the button labeled “Delete my account” in your ANS account settings. Because deletion on the ANS system is a permanent action and cannot be reversed, ANS may ask you to complete a process that aims to confirm your authority to manage the ANS account affected by your request.

With respect to your ANS account, ANS will permanently:

- deactivate your ANS account,

- remove the active profile,

- retire your username, and

- remove you from ANS email lists.

With respect to your Personal Information, ANS will permanently delete your ANS account profile Personal Information from the ANS Site.

As noted above, to the extent that ANS associates the information that ANS collects directly or indirectly with an individual (for example, you), the association is based on Personal Information in your ANS account profile. By erasing the Personal Information in your ANS account profile, the remaining information about your activity on the ANS Site will no longer be associated with you, except as noted below.

These changes will be applied to data stores that are used for operation of the ANS Site including course administration by Members.

Exceptions:

- Deletion will not apply to historical activity logs or archives unless and until these logs and data naturally "age-off" the ANS system.

- ANS does not track or index every time or every place on the ANS Site when or where a learner may volunteer Personal Information, so neither ANS nor Members will be able to help you locate or manage all such instances. ANS encourages you to use discretion before voluntarily sharing your Personal Information on the ANS Site.

- ANS will archive data (in a manner and to the extent permitted under applicable law) to serve its mission to enable scientific research on cognitive science. These archives are used to produce encrypted research data packages for Members, and Personal Information may not be deleted from research data packages retained by Members.

- ANS and each applicable Member cannot always delete records of past interactions and transactions. For example, records relating to previous purchases on the ANS Site must be retained for financial reporting, audit, and compliance reasons.

- ANS and each Member will retain and use Personal Information as necessary to comply with its legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce its agreements, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law.

Data retention

ANS will retain your Personal Information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you with services; to maintain a record of your transactions for financial reporting, audit, and compliance purposes; and to comply with ANS’s legal obligations, resolve disputes, enforce its agreements, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law.  Upon your request that ANS deactivate your account and delete your information, ANS will follow the process described above, including without limitation archiving your data (in a manner and to the extent permitted under applicable law) to serve its mission to enable scientific research on cognitive science. These archives will be used to produce encrypted research data packages for Members, and each such Member may also keep and use data for scientific research.

STORAGE & SECURITY

ANS stores information, including Personal Information, on its own servers and also on servers of companies that ANS hires to provide services. Each Member also stores information, including Personal Information, on its own servers and/or on servers of companies that the Member hires to provide services. In each case, information may be stored in the United States and in other countries where ANS or a Member operates, and in countries where ANS and each Member’s respective service providers operate. If you are in the European Union, Switzerland, or other regions with laws governing data collection and use, you acknowledge that ANS and each Member may transfer, process and store your personal information in the United States and other countries, the privacy laws of which may be considered less strict than those of your region.

ANS controls its own copy of information collected through the ANS Site and has an information security program designed to protect information in its possession or control. This is done through a variety of privacy and security policies, processes, and procedures. ANS uses administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that reasonably and appropriately protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the information that it collects, receives, stores, or transmits. Nonetheless, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure; and therefore, ANS cannot guarantee its absolute security. While ANS works hard to ensure the integrity and security of its network and systems, ANS cannot guarantee that its security measures will prevent "hackers" or other unauthorized persons from illegally accessing or obtaining information.

If ANS learns of a security breach involving its copy of your Personal Information, ANS may attempt to notify you electronically so that you may take appropriate protective steps. By using the ANS Site or providing Personal Information to ANS, you agree that ANS can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of the ANS Site. If a security systems breach occurs, ANS may post a notice on the ANS homepage (www.ans.org) or elsewhere on the ANS Site and may send an email to you at the email address associated with your ANS account. Depending on where you are located, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach, involving your Personal Information, in writing.

If a Member learns of a security breach involving that Member’s copy of your Personal Information, the Member may attempt to notify you electronically so that you may take appropriate protective steps. Depending on where you are located, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach, involving your Personal Information, in writing.

Privacy Policy Updates

This Privacy Policy will be reviewed and updated from time to time. When changes are made, the Privacy Policy will be labeled as "Revised (date)," indicating that you should review the new terms, which will be effective immediately upon posting on this page, with an updated effective date. By accessing the ANS Site after any changes have been made, you accept the modified Privacy Policy and any changes contained therein. In case you miss the notification referenced above, be sure to return to this page periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version of this Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

If you have privacy concerns, have disclosed data you would prefer to keep private, or would like to access the Personal Information that ANS maintains about you, please contact us at sales@ansassociates.net. You may also write to us at: ATTN: PRIVACY, ANS Address. If your request involves a Member, ANS will notify the appropriate Member of your request.

Glossary

Cookies are unique identifiers usually in the form of small data files placed on your device that send certain information about your activity on the ANS Site or in an email communication back to ANS or the authorized third party that served the cookie. ANS or third parties may also use Flash cookies.

ANS Associates Site consists of all content and pages located within the ansglobal.org web domain

Personal Information is information that specifically identifies you or that, when combined with other information, could be used to identify you.

Tracking Technologies are web beacons, clear gifs, pixels, and similar technologies that are also unique identifiers used to track your online activity but are not stored on your device.

Effective Date: January 11, 2021