Privacy Policy

October 23, 2023

The Realest Inc. (“The Realest,” “TheRealest,” “TR,” “we”, “our” or “us”) has implemented this Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) for its website TheRealest.com  (the “Website”), applications and software provided online and made available offline through or in connection with the service, including through a mobile device (collectively, the “Platform”) to provide our registered users (“Members”) and unregistered users and visitors (collectively “users” or “you”) information regarding the collection and use of your information on the Platform, so that you can make an informed decision about your use of the Platform. Capitalized terms that are not defined in this Privacy Policy have the meaning ascribed to them in our Terms and Conditions.

For further details on using the Platform please refer to our Terms and Conditions Agreement.

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected by The Realest and does not apply to information collected by any third-party websites to which the Platform may link or to information provided to, or collected by, third-party technologies during your visit to the Platform.

As we update and expand our Platform, this Privacy Policy may change, so please check this web page for updates to our Privacy Policy. In the event we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will provide notice through our Platform, or by other means, to provide you with an opportunity to review the changes. If you object to any changes, you may close your account or discontinue your use of the Platform.

By using the Platform, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. You acknowledge that your continued use of our Platform after we publish or send a notice about changes to our Privacy Policy means that the collection, use and sharing of your personal data is subject to this Privacy Policy.

 

THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT

When you use the Platform, we may obtain various types of information related to you and your use of the Platform. This may include information that directly identifies you such as your name, address, or contact information (this type of information may be called “personal information,” “personal data,” or “personally identifiable information”). Certain pieces of information we obtain (for example, account login or payment card information) may be considered “sensitive” under certain privacy laws. The information we obtain generally consists of information (1) you give us about yourself, (2) you give us about others, (3) automatically collected information about your interactions with the Platform, and (4) information we get from other sources.

We do not knowingly collect or provide the personal information of minors under the age of 16 to others, without affirmative authorization.

 

 

1. Personal Information You Choose to Provide.

a. Sign-Up Information and Profile. We’ll ask you to provide certain information if you choose to register with our Platform as a Member, including your name, email address, your date of birth, address, telephone number, and other information. We also collect your transactional and account activity information (e.g., data regarding listings, bids, requests and other transaction-based content that you generate or is derived from your activities on the Platform).

b. User Content. Our Platform may offer its users to the opportunity to post user content, comments, reviews, and tag messages via bulletin boards, blogs, articles, and chat rooms. If you choose to use these features, you should be aware that any Personally Identifiable Information you submit through these features can be read, collected, or used by other viewers and could be used to send you unsolicited messages. We are not responsible for the Personally Identifiable Information you choose to submit in these forums.

d. Payment information. For transactions made through the Platform (e.g., payment card number, expiration date and billing information collected via our third-party payment processors). 

2.  Information you give us about others

You may give us information about other people, such as the name and email of a friend or contact with whom you want to share our content. Do not give us information about others unless you are authorized or have their consent to do so. We will use their information for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice.

3. Information automatically collected.

The Platform automatically logs certain information about you visits to the Platform, such as the number and frequency of visitors, technical information about browsers and devices used to access the Platform, and information about technical issues regarding the Platform. In addition, we may automatically collect certain information through automated means about your activities on the Platform as well as across third-party sites, apps or other media. 

a. Cookies. The Platform may use cookies to collect information for record keeping purposes and make it easier to navigate the Website. Cookies are small text files that are stored on users’ hard drives. The Platform uses both “session ID cookies” and “persistent cookies.” Session ID cookies are used to store information while a user is logged into the site and expire when the user closes their browser. Persistent cookies are used to make tasks like logging into the site easier for returning users by remembering a user’s login information, and may be used by your browser on subsequent visits to the Website. Persistent cookies stay on a user’s hard drive from one session to the next. Persistent cookies can be removed by following your web browser’s directions. A session cookie is temporary and disappears after you close your browser.

Most web browsers can be adjusted to inform you when a cookie has been sent to you and provide you with the opportunity to refuse that cookie. However, refusing a cookie may, in some cases, preclude you from using, or negatively impact the functionality of the Platform and Website. You may choose not to receive cookies from the Platform by changing your web browser preferences, but this may make certain features of the Platform inaccessible to you.

b. Clear GIFs/Beacons. When visiting our Website, we may also use “Clear GIFs” (aka “web beacons” or “pixel tags”) or similar technologies in our Website and/or in our communications with you. A Clear GIF is typically a one-pixel, transparent image (although it can be a visible image as well), located on a Web page or in an e-mail or other type of message, which is retrieved from a remote site on the Internet enabling the verification of an individual’s viewing or receipt of a Web page or message. Clear GIFs allow us to know whether you have viewed a web page prior to visiting our Website. We use information provided from Clear GIFs to enable more accurate reporting, improve the effectiveness of our marketing, and make our Platform better for our users.

c. IP Address and Clickstream Data. Our servers automatically collect data about your Internet Protocol address when you visit us. This information, known as an Internet Protocol address, or IP Address, is a number that’s automatically assigned to your computer by your Internet service provider whenever you’re on the Internet.  When you request pages from us, our servers may log your IP Address and sometimes your domain name.  Our server may also record the referring page that linked you to us (e.g., a search engine), the pages you visit on our Website, the website you visit after this Website, other information about the type of Web browser, computer, platform, related software and settings you are using, and any search terms you have entered on this Website or a referral site.  We use this information for internal system administration, to help diagnose problems with our servers, to analyze general usage patterns, and to administer our Website. Such information may also be used to gather broad demographic information, such as country of origin and Internet Service Provider. We may aggregate user information in a non-personally identifiable manner to share with advertisers, to enhance the Website with new features, and for our general business purposes.

4. Information we obtain from other sources

We receive information about you from other sources and it may be combined with other information about you. For example, we may obtain data from:

• Operators of third-party sites or apps, and platforms or other devices and technologies when you interact with our content, products, services or ads available on those platforms. The information we receive may include information about the content you view or access as well as your demographic information and information about your interests.

• Third-party data suppliers such as data aggregators, data resellers, public databases and business partners. They may provide us with demographic information, information about your transactions, and other information that helps us learn about you and other users of the Platform.

• Social Media Platforms and similar services (“Social Media Platforms”). When you engage with our content or ads on Social Media Platforms, or interact with features on the Platform that contain content or features provided by Social Media Platforms (e.g., login or sign in features or tools that allow you to share our content with others on Social Media Platforms), we may obtain information from Social Media Platforms, including your username, user ID, demographic information and other information, subject to the settings and privacy practices of the relevant Social Media Platform. 

   

HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

If you submit information to us through the Platform, including registration and profile information, then we use this information to operate, maintain, and provide the features and functionality of the Platform. By providing your email address to The Realest, you consent to our using the email address to send you Service-related notices, including among other things notices required by law. You may not opt out of Service-related e-mails. We may also use your email address to send you other messages, including changes to Service features and special offers. Additionally, we use your information for:

• Processing your requests regarding the Platform and our products or services, including listing or placing a bid or offer on a listed item or any other products or services. This also includes the publication and promotion of your listings and related content on other sites, apps or digital properties and/or cooperating with third party operators of sites, apps and other digital properties for such publication and promotion.

• Providing customer assistance or technical support and solving problems or disputes relating to auctions or claims.

• Customizing content, providing recommendations and enhancing the quality of the Platform, including presenting content in the most effective manner for the browser or device you use to access the Platform.

• Maintaining, operating, improving and developing the Platform and related content, products or services.

• Learning about you and others interact with and respond to the Platform, including by measuring and optimizing usage, reliability and performance, conducting market research, analyzing trends, and supporting our operations.

• Sending you informational messages about the Platform.

• Delivering marketing or promotional communications, including offers or promotions about our or third parties’ products and services.

• Responding to your questions or addressing your requests.

• Communicating with you about, listings, bids, promotions or events.

• Developing, managing and conducting advertising and marketing campaigns, promotions and offers and other initiatives.

• Detecting, preventing and responding to fraud or potentially illegal activities, misuse of the Platform, intellectual property infringement or other violations of law, this Privacy Notice, our Terms of Use or other applicable policies.

• Performing audits, assessments and testing or troubleshooting activities.

• Complying with and enforcing applicable industry and legal requirements (including legal process such as court orders, warrants or subpoenas) and fulfilling contractual obligations.

 

WHEN WE SHARE INFORMATION

We may provide information, including personal information, to our subsidiaries, affiliated companies, service providers or subcontractors, so such parties can, among other things (a) perform services and/or process such information on our behalf, (b) use the information to offer greater functionality and enhanced services through the Website, and provide you with additional product and service opportunities, and (c) communicate these opportunities to you. When we do this, the recipients of your information are bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy.

We may share non-Personally Identifiable Information (such as anonymous Website usage data) with third-parties to assist them in understanding our Platform, the services we provide and the success of advertisements and promotions.

We may share non-personally identifiable aggregated user data, such as aggregated gender, age, geographic, and usage data (without the inclusion of a user’s name or other identifying information) to advertisers and other third parties for their marketing and promotional purposes.

We may use analytics services provided by third parties that use cookies and other similar technologies to collect information about the Website or an application without identifying individual visitors. 

We may release your information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with state or federal laws or respond to a court order, subpoena, law enforcement or regulatory request, or search warrant. We reserve the right to collect and share any information: (i) in order to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities; (ii) as appropriate or necessary to enforce our Terms of Use or investigate potential or actual violations of the Terms of Use or Privacy Policy; (iii) take precautions against liability; (iv) to protect the security or integrity of our Website; (v) to exercise or protect our rights and property, the Website, or the rights and personal safety of The Realest affiliates, Users or others; or (vi) for other legitimate purposes.

We may assign or transfer the information we collect to a third party in the event that The Realest is acquired by or merged with a third-party entity, or due to bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, receivership, or similar situation. We reserve the right to transfer any information we have about you in the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets. 

 In addition, we may provide your information to others with your consent or at your request.

 

YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS 

You have the right to “opt in” and/or “opt out” of certain of our uses of your Personally Identifiable Information. For example, you may have the opportunity to elect whether you would like to receive correspondence from us and/or third party service providers. Your personal information will not be shared with third party service providers unless consent is given by you. You will have the opportunity to opt out of our promotional e-mails by clicking the “opt out” or “unsubscribe” link in the e-mail you receive. You can also request this by sending an e-mail to support@therealest.com specifying whether: (i) you would like to opt out of receiving promotional correspondence from The Realest in general, or just via e-mail, postal mail and/or by phone, and/or whether (ii) you would only like to opt out of certain of our e-newsletters or correspondence. Please understand that if you opt out of receiving promotional correspondence from us, we may still contact you in connection with your relationship, activities, transactions and communications with us.

Residents of states with applicable privacy laws are afforded certain rights with respect to their personal information. Subject to certain exceptions, you may be entitled to the rights described below.

1. Right to Access Your Personal Information. you have the right to know the types and the specific pieces of the personal information we hold about you. 

2. Right to Delete Your Personal Information. In some circumstances, you may ask us to delete your personal information. Please note that this is not an absolute right under applicable privacy laws, and we may not be able to delete all or some of your personal information. 

3. Right to Correct Your Personal Information. You may request that we modify or update your personal information if it is inaccurate. Please be aware that not all personal information is able to be corrected, and we reserve the right to deny a request to correct your information where exceptions apply. 

4. Right to Opt Out. Applicable privacy laws may provide you with the right to limit or opt out of the use of your personal information for certain purposes, including the below:

   Right to Limit Processing of Sensitive Personal Information: Certain pieces of personal information that we have about you may be considered “sensitive” under applicable laws, including information needed to provide access to the Platform (i.e., account login and payment card information). These pieces of information are not subject to the right to limit.

   “Do Not Track” Settings: You may be accessing the Website via a browser that has a “Do Not Track” setting. If you have turned this setting in your browser on, or if you are using a browser with the default setting of “Do Not Track”, please be advised that all features of the Website may not function in such setting. As detailed above, we collect a variety of functional and analytic cookies in order for you to completely engage with our services.

   If you wish to opt-out of the collection of tracking information you may do so according to your browser settings; however, please be advised that such an election may limit the functionality of the Website available to you.

5. Right to be free from discrimination. You may exercise any of the above rights without fear of being discriminated against.

 

Please note that if you submit a request to exercise any of the above rights (a “Privacy Rights Request”), we may request additional information to enable us to process your request. We will use the information you provide to verify your identity, locate your personal information that we may hold about you, and to fulfill your request. 

If you have any questions regarding your privacy rights, please contact us at support@therealest.com

For additional information regarding our California-specific data practices, please see Notice for California Residents.

 

RETENTION PERIOD

The Realest has a variety of obligations to retain the data that you provide to us, both to ensure that transactions can be appropriately processed, and also to comply with laws applicable to us and to our banking providers and credit card processors. Accordingly, even if you close your account we will retain certain information as necessary to meet our legal obligations and fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.

We retain your Personally Identifiable Information even after you have closed your account if reasonably necessary to comply with our legal obligations (including law enforcement requests), meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, maintain security, prevent fraud and abuse, enforce our Terms of Use, or fulfill your request to “unsubscribe” from us. We will retain de-personalized information after your account has been closed.

Information you have shared with others (e.g. comments, posted reviews, group posts) will remain visible after you closed your account or deleted the information from your own profile, and we do not control the data that other Account holders copied out of our Platform.

 

INTERNATIONAL USERS

The Platform is hosted in the United States and is intended for and directed to Users in the United States. The Platform is void where prohibited. If you are accessing the Platform from outside the United States, your use of the Platform is governed by U.S. law, you are transferring your Personally Identifiable Information to the United States, and you consent to that transfer.

By providing Personally Identifiable Information to us through this Platform, you agree that it may be used by us and our affiliates for the purposes described herein and you further understand and consent to the collection, maintenance, processing and transfer of such information in and to the United States and other countries and territories, which may have different privacy laws from your country of residence and which may afford varying levels of protection for your Personally Identifiable Information. Regardless of the laws in place in these countries, we will treat the privacy of your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy. By providing your Personally Identifiable Information to this Platform, you consent to our transmission to, and processing of your information in, any jurisdiction, in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

 

DATA SECURITY

We have implemented commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to secure your Personally Identifiable Information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration or disclosure. Such measures include, but are not limited to, the utilization of Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to transmit sensitive information through the Website. However, we cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will never be able to circumvent those measures or use your personal information for improper purposes. You acknowledge that you provide your Personally Identifiable Information at your own risk.

While The Realest strives to protect the security and integrity of your Personally Identifiable Information on our Website, due to the inherent nature of the Internet, we cannot guarantee that your information, during transmission through the Internet or while otherwise in our care, will be safe from intrusion of others. You should also be aware that if you are accessing the Platform from a mobile device, your communication may not be secure due to the inherent nature of mobile data carrier networks. We will have no liability for disclosure of your information due to errors or unauthorized acts of third parties during or after transmission.

If you feel that the security of any account with us has been compromised, please immediately notify us of the problem immediately.

 

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about this Privacy Notice or Privacy Rights Requests, please contact us by email at support@therealest.com.