Maryland Zoo Privacy Policy

Last updated October 22, 2020

Intro:

This website and all associated domains directed to this site are owned and operated by the Maryland Zoological Society Inc. ( “Maryland Zoo,” “We,” “Our,” “Us”).

We recognize that online privacy is important and are committed to the protection of your privacy on this website. This privacy policy has been established to inform you of the Maryland Zoo’s information privacy practices as they relate to your personal information and activity on this website.

Personal Information Collection:

This site collects personal information to operate the site and to deliver the services you request. This information helps us understand our audience, and that allows us to better meet the needs of website users. Personal information is only collected on this site when it is knowingly provided by the user to this website. Such information may include, but is not limited to, name, address, e-mail address, phone number, and credit card or other payment information. Personal information may be voluntarily collected from you at various times during your visit to the Maryland Zoo website, including when you subscribe to our newsletter, purchase an admission ticket to visit the Maryland Zoo, register for an event, register to become a member or volunteer, make a donation to Maryland Zoo, apply for a job or internship, or submit feedback or a question.

In the event you submit personal information on our website for someone other than you, you are doing so with the agreement and representation that you have that person’s permission to supply their personal information and that they are over the age of 13.

How We Use Information:

We use your personal information when you place an order or filling out a form on our website, such as a registration, ticket purchase, or contact us, to complete that order/registration and for other legitimate business purposes.

We use the information you provide about you or someone else when placing an order or filling out an online form only to ship products, confirm delivery or carry out the intended business purpose of the form. We do not share this information with outside parties, except to the extent necessary to complete that order and/or to carry out other legitimate business.

We use email addresses provided by users at checkout and through the submission of forms on this website to communicate about that purchase, registration, request, etc. Users who provide contact information will likely receive e-newsletters and other email updates from Maryland Zoological Society, Inc.. In order to respect privacy, users are always given the opportunity to opt-out of further communications not directly related to purchases. We provide an “unsubscribe” link on the bottom of all marketing email communications. Email addresses are not sold to or traded with outside parties.

If you would like to receive our newsletter, you can sign up using the subscription box at the bottom of this website.

Children’s Privacy:

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. Our website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any personal information to [or on] the Website. Online users under 13 should always seek assistance from a parent or guardian to use this site. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on this Website or through any of its features, register on the Website, make any purchases through the Website, use any of the interactive or public comment features of this Website, or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address, or any screen name or user name you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at info@marylandzoo.org.

Non-Personal Information:

The website automatically collects information about computer hardware and software. This can include IP addresses, browser types, domain names, access times, and the referring websites that visitors use to access this website. The site uses this information to maintain the quality of the service while you are on the website, as well as to collect general statistics about the site. We may compile aggregate statistics and provide them to third parties, but these statistics will not include information that identifies individual website users.

Ad Partners:

When we work with our Ad Partners to serve you personalized, interest-based advertising, we do not share information with them that they can use to identify you or associate with you as a specific individual unless you have knowingly provided an email address or contact information and the partner is executing legitimate Zoo marketing efforts. Similarly, if one of these Ad Partners has information about you saved in one of their own Cookies on your browser, they use that information to help us send you a relevant ad, but they do not share with us information that we can associate with you as an individual.

We work with third parties, such as Google Analytics, to provide analytics services that use the Cookies set on your device to measure the performance of advertising and track traffic to the Zoo. We have also implemented Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting, which categorizes Cookie information so that we and third-party service providers can better deliver advertisements that are relevant and useful to you on various websites across the internet.

You can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Preferences page, and, if you want to, you can opt out of interest-based advertising entirely by cookie settings or permanently using a browser plugin.

You can set your preferences for how Facebook advertises to you using the Ad Preferences page in your Facebook settings. Find instructions for updating here.

Links to Third Party Sites:

For your convenience, this website contains links to other sites, including our profiles on social media. Clicking a link on this website may direct you to other websites that are beyond our control. The Maryland Zoo is not responsible for the privacy practices and content of linked websites. Links to third party websites do not imply endorsement by the Maryland Zoo.

Security:

We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers behind firewalls. Any payment and donation transactions will be encrypted using SSL technology.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website.

Changes to This Statement:

The Maryland Zoo reserves the right to change or modify the practices described herein. Any changes to this policy will become effective when they are posted to our website. We will provide you with notice of changes to our privacy policy on the top of our homepage. Please check our privacy policy regularly to ensure you accept any changes to this policy. Your continued use of the Maryland Zoo website constitutes acceptance of any such changes. The date the privacy policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page.

Acceptance of Terms:

By using this website, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this website.

Contact:

If you have any questions, concerns, or a complaint regarding the Maryland Zoo’s Privacy Policy or website, please contact us using the information below.

Email: info@marylandzoo.org

Phone: 410-396-7102