ChowTime Privacy Policy


Welcome and thank you for your interest in ChowTime. ChowTime respects your privacy and is committed to safeguarding the privacy of all of its users. We have created this Privacy Policy to explain how ChowTime collects, stores, uses, and discloses information created and/or collected through the use of and mobile applications (the websites, and any products and services provided by ChowTime, collectively referred to as the "Service").

By using the Service, you expressly consent to the information handling practices described in this notice and otherwise represent and warrant that you have or will communicate this policy to affected individuals as appropriate or required by any applicable laws.

This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is subject to the ChowTime Terms of
Use ("Terms").  Your use of ChowTime and any information you provide through
ChowTime are subject at all time to this Privacy Policy and the Terms.  Any capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Terms.

ChowTime provides the Service to participating third-party restaurants (“Restaurants”) to facilitate a variety of restaurant management functions.

ChowTime provides the Service to Users to enable Users to make online reservations at Restaurants through its website located at www.chowtime.com, Restaurants’ websites and affiliated third-party websites.

Information ChowTime Collects Automatically:
When you use the Service, we automatically collect and store information about your computer or mobile device and your activities. This information may include, but is not limited to:
- Your computer's IP address;
- Technical information about your computer or mobile device (such as type of device, web browser or operating system);
- Your preferences and settings (time zone, language, etc.);
- Your mobile device's unique ID number;
- Your mobile device's geographic location (specific geographic location if you've enabled collection of that information, or general geographic location automatically);
- The URL of the last web page you visited before coming to our website;
- The search terms you have looked up and results you selected;
- Communications between you and other users through the Service;
- The ads you clicked on;
- How long you used the Service and which features you used; and
- For App users, the online or offline status of your App.
- In addition, we collect information related to Users’ use of the Service in order to provide more personalized service to you. For example, we may monitor the times that you typically like to eat, how many times you have been to a specific Restaurant, what type of cuisines you prefer, or the general geographical area that Restaurants that you frequent are located in. If we combine or associate information from other sources with personally identifiable information that we collect through the Site, we will treat the combined information as personally identifiable information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

For Restaurants, we collect information related to the Restaurants’ use of the Service in order to improve the service. For example, we may monitor actual seating wait times as compared to projected wait times or actual wait times as they relate to the reservation sheet template in use. ChowTime uses this information to further improve the algorithms that automate various restaurant management functions and to create new features.

Advertisements that may appear on the Site or Service are sometimes delivered (or "served") directly to users by third party advertisers. They automatically receive your IP address or device ID when this happens. Third party advertisers may also use other technologies (such as cookies, JavaScript, or web beacons) to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalize their advertising content. In this way, they may compile information about where individuals using your computer or browser saw their advertisements and determine which advertisements are clicked. Third party advertisers have no access to your contact information.

ChowTime does not provide any personally identifiable information to these third-party ad servers or ad networks without your consent. You should consult the respective privacy policies of these third-party ad servers or ad networks. The Privacy Policy of ChowTime does not apply to, and we cannot control the activities of, such other advertisers or websites.

Information You Choose To Provide:
Users may choose to create an account and provide us with information in order to use certain services or to take advantage of special offers. This information may include your name, email address, phone number, credit card information (including billing address), and demographic information (age, gender, etc.). You may provide this information directly to us or you may chose to register using your Facebook account in which case you would authorize us to access certain Facebook profile information including, but not limited to, your first name, last name, gender, birth date and email address. You may choose not to provide us with any personally identifiable information, such as by not registering for an account on the Service or connecting to the Service with your Facebook account. However, if you don't provide certain information, you will not be able to use some of the services we offer.

No other information that a User provides as part of their registration profile will be shared with Restaurants or other third parties without the User’s express consent.

ChowTime works with third party service providers for the processing of fees for specialized dining experiences by credit card, mobile payments, or online payment options such as Paypal or Google Checkout. ChowTime itself does not store or maintain your credit card information in its servers. In the course of performing services for ChowTime, these service providers may have access to or process your personally identifiable information. These disclosures are made under terms comparable to this Privacy Policy, and the recipients are limited to using the information the purpose for which it was provided.

In some instances, Restaurants may require that you provide a credit card number in order to secure your reservation or as a deposit for a special event, during holidays, or for large parties. If this information is required, the information will be provided directly to our third party credit card processor, and ChowTime and the Restaurant will not have access to and will not store or maintain your credit card information on our servers.

Restaurants may choose to create an account and provide us with information in order to use certain services or to take advantage of special offers. All information collected under the “Profile” and “Chart” tabs of the “Restaurant Account Management” page on the ChowTime website shall be considered public information. ChowTime will use this information to create restaurant listings for the ChowTime website and in support of other features of the Service.

How ChowTime Uses Information: 
ChowTime uses the information that you provide or that we collect to operate and provide all of the ChowTime Services.

We will use your phone number and email address to contact you for administrative purposes, for customer service purposes, or to comply with laws and regulations related to purchases made by you through the Service. You may not opt out of such communications. We may also use your phone number and email address to send you messages about reservations, reminders, recommendations, or other alerts that you have signed up for, or let you know about promotional offers for the Service, marketing communications, or for other ChowTime or third party products and services that you may be interested in. You may configure the nature and frequency of these messages or opt out of such messages through the Service.

ChowTime may use automatically collected Information, in aggregate form such that Users and Restaurants cannot be identified, to understand the usage trends and preferences of Users and Restaurants, to improve the ChowTime interface, and to create new features and functionality for the Service.

ChowTime may also share automatically collected and other non-personally identifiable information in an aggregate form (such as user trends, application downloads, and demographic information) with a variety of third parties, including our affiliates, advertisers, publishers, and other current and prospective investors or business partners. This information may be used to assist such parties in understanding the usage, viewing, and demographic patterns for certain programs, content, services, advertisements, promotions, and/or functionality of the Service.

You may, of course, decline to share certain personally identifiable information with ChowTime, in which case ChowTime may not be able to provide to you some of the features and functionality found on the Service. You may modify or delete certain profile information at any time by logging into your account on a computer and clicking the "Profile". Information will be updated promptly in active user databases. Individuals who wish to deactivate their ChowTime account may do so by emailing us at privacy@chowtime.com. Removed information may persist in backup copies for a reasonable period of time but will not be generally available. If you have provided any information to a Restaurant, directly or via the Services, this information may continue to be accessible by the Restaurant even after you delete your account, in a similar manner as information stored in a 'pen and paper' guestbook would.

Where you make use of the communication features of the Service to share information with other individuals or make information publicly available, however, you generally cannot remove such communications.

To protect your privacy and security, we take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting you account access or making corrections to your information. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAINTAINING THE SECRECY OF ANY APPLICABLE PASSWORD AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION AT ALL TIMES.

When Your Information Is Disclosed:
Except as otherwise provided herein or in the Terms, ChowTime does not share your information with other organizations without your express consent. 

As part of the Service, ChowTime will disclose your personal information to Restaurants in order to facilitate the operation of the Service and allow the Restaurants to improve the level of service that they offer to you.

To facilitate your reservation, ChowTime will disclose your name and phone number to the Restaurant at which you have made your reservation. We do this to enable the Restaurant to confirm that the reservation has been made and to contact you with any problems regarding your reservation. You may opt to provide your email address to Restaurants, in which case you consent to receive emails from that Restaurant. ChowTime will also provide any reservation-specific information that you have provided to ChowTime with the Restaurantor any other information associated with your reservation.

For each reservation, ChowTime will only share information from the Service about your particular reservation or past reservations with the Restaurant in question, except in limited circumstances as described below. If you have made multiple reservations through the Service with a particular Restaurant or have visited the Restaurant multiple times in the past, that information may be disclosed the Restaurant in addition to your personal information for the current registration.

Restaurants may use your name and phone number to confirm that your reservation has been made and to contact you with any problems regarding your reservation. If you have consented to any sharing of any additional information, that information will also be made available to them to facilitate the desired reservation.

If you agree to provide your email address to the Restaurant, they may use your email address to contact you regarding your reservation or for any special offers or additional communications. Your email address will not be provided to the restaurant unless you have agreed to do so. ChowTime does not monitor or have access to any communications that a Restaurant may send to you other than your Reservation, so please contact the Restaurant if you no longer desire to receive their marketing communications.

In order to provide the best service to you, the Restaurant may also use and store any additional personal information that you provide to them through your communications with them or at the Restaurant. For example, the restaurant may store and use any personal information that you disclose to them including your dietary restrictions, allergies, information about people you dine with, birthdays and other important dates, or specific dining preferences, that allow them to provide an improved dining service for you. This information may be stored by the restaurant on the Service and may be disclosed to ChowTime.

Restaurants may use your credit card information to facilitate transactions or as required by their policies to secure a reservation or as a deposit for a special event, during holidays, or for large parties. If you provide your credit card information to the Restaurant as required to complete a reservation, the information will be provided directly to our third party credit card processor, and ChowTime and the Restaurant will not have access to and will not store or maintain your credit card information on our servers. In some instances, Restaurants may place a charge on your credit card when you make your reservation to guarantee your reservation.

While ChowTime requires that all Restaurants comply with applicable laws on the use of personal information and their privacy policy (if applicable), the Restaurants are separate businesses from ChowTime and ChowTime cannot be held responsible for their use of personal information. Once you make your personal information available to a Restaurant, ChowTime cannot control how your personal information is collected, used, and disclosed by the Restaurant. Any questions regarding a Restaurant's collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information should be directed to the Restaurant.

ChowTime may also disclose information that we have collected about our Users through the Service to Restaurants in an aggregate, non-personally identifiable manner. This information may include information derived from our data analytics and is used to allow the Restaurants to improve their service to you. Any information disclosed in such manner cannot be used to identify or contact you.

We may disclose your information to affiliated companies, or other businesses or persons to: provide ChowTime hosting, maintenance, and security services; conduct data analysis and create reports; and assist ChowTime in improving the Service.  We require that these parties process such information in compliance with this Privacy Policy, we authorize only a limited use of such information, and we require these parties to use reasonable confidentiality measures.

ChowTime may disclose information it collects if it believes such disclosure is required by law or including to respond to a court order, judicial or other government subpoena, or warrant.  In some cases, we may be required to make such disclosures without providing notice to Users or others.

ChowTime also reserves the right to disclose information that we believe, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to take precautions against liability; protect ChowTime from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful uses; to investigate and defend ourselves against third-party claims or allegations; to assist government enforcement agencies; to protect the security or integrity of the Service; or to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of ChowTime, Users, Restaurants, or others.

Data Security:
ChowTime takes certain precautions to protect our users' information and to limit the risk that it will be accessed without authorization, including use of certain industry standard technologies and practices. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to ChowTime, and you do so at your own risk.

If ChowTime learns of a security systems breach, then we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. ChowTime may post a notice through the Service if a security breach occurs. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing. To receive a free written notice of a security breach, or if you have any questions about the security of the ChowTime Service or applications, please contact us at privacy@chowtime.com.

Children's Privacy:
The Service is not intended for use by children under the age of 13. We recognize that children under the age of 13 may not fully understand the consequences of submitting personal information through the Service. Therefore, we encourage parents to supervise the online activities of their children and educate them on the responsible use of the Internet. We do not knowingly allow children under age of 13 to register for the Service, and we do not knowingly collect any personally identifiable information from children under age of 13.

International Restaurants and Users:
If you use the Service from countries outside the United States, please note that your personally identifiable information may be transferred to the United States. By using the Service, you consent to having your personally identifiable information transferred to and processed in the United Sates.

Change Of Control:
In the event that all or a portion of ChowTime or its assets is acquired by or merged with a third-party entity, we reserve the right, in any of these circumstances, to transfer or assign the information that we have collected through the use of the Service, including personally identifiable information, in connection with such merger, acquisition, sale, reorganization, recapitalization, or other change of control.

Changes And Updates: 
Please revisit this page periodically to stay aware of any changes, as ChowTime may periodically change, modify, add, or remove portions of this Privacy Policy, and reserves the right to do so in its sole discretion. If we do, we will post those changes on this page and indicate the new effective date so that you are always aware of what information we collect and how we use it.

Effective Date: October 30, 2012 -  Date Last Modified: September 15, 2014

ChowTime Contact Information:
Any improper collection or misuse of information provided by the Service is a violation of the Terms of Use and should be reported to privacy@chowtime.com. If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@chowtime.com. You may also contact us by mail at:

ChowTime

1015 Rose Avenue 
Oakland, CA 94611

Attn: Privacy Officer

 


Copyright ©2015 ChowTime. All Rights Reserved.