Online Privacy Notice
Effective Date:
We at the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (“MPAA”) respect your concerns about privacy. This Online Privacy Notice, which applies to www.wheretowatch.com and WheretoWatch widgets on third-party websites (collectively, the “Site”), describes the types of personal information we collect through the Site, how we use the information, with whom we share it and the choices available to users of the Site regarding our use and disclosure of the information. We also describe the measures we take to protect the security of the information and how you can contact us about our privacy practices.
Click on one of the links below to jump to the listed section:
• Information We Collect
• How We Use the Information We Collect
• Information We Share
• Notice to California Residents
• Your Rights and Choices
• Data Transfers
• How We Protect Personal Information
• Children’s Privacy
• Links To Other Websites and Apps
• Updates To Our Online Privacy Notice
• How To Contact Us
Information We Collect
The types of personal information we may obtain through the Site include:
• contact information (such as name, email address and zip code);
• gender;
• date of birth; and
• information about movies and television shows that may interest you (such as titles of trailers you search for or watch).
In addition, when you visit our Site, we may collect certain information by automated means, such as cookies, web server logs, web beacons and JavaScript.
Cookies are files that websites send to your computer or other Internet-connected device to uniquely identify your browser or to store information or settings on your device. Our Site may use cookies (such as HTTP and HTML5 cookies) and Flash cookies, as well as other types of local storage (such as browser-based or plugin-based local storage). Your browser may tell you how to be notified when you receive certain types of cookies and how to restrict or disable certain cookies. You also may be able to delete your Flash cookies or adjust your Flash cookie settings by visiting the Adobe Flash Website Storage Settings Panel and Global Storage Settings Panel. Please note, however, that without cookies you may not be able to use all of the features of the Site or other websites and online services.
In conjunction with gathering information through cookies, our web servers may log information such as your device type, operating system type, browser type, domain, and other system settings, as well as the language your system uses and the country and time zone where your device is located. We also may record information such as the address of the web page that referred you to our Site and the IP address of the device you use to connect to our Site. We also may log information about your interaction with the Site, such as which pages you visit on the Site. To control which web servers collect information by automated means, we may place tags on our web pages called “web beacons,” which are small files that link web pages to particular web servers and their cookies. We also may send instructions to your device using JavaScript or other computer languages to gather the sorts of information described above and other details about your interactions with the Site.
The providers of third-party plug-ins and widgets on our Site, such as embedded videos and social media sharing tools, may use automated means to collect information regarding your use of the Site and your interactions with the plug-ins and widgets. This information is subject to the privacy policies or notices of the providers of the plug-ins and widgets.
How We Use the Information We Collect
We may use the information described above to:
• provide you with online and in-person viewing options for movies and television shows, as well as other products and services;
• send you promotional materials or other communications;
• communicate with you about, and administer your participation in, special events, programs, promotions, offers, surveys and market research;
• respond to your inquiries;
• perform data analyses (including market and consumer research, demographic analyses and anonymization and aggregation of personal information);
• operate, evaluate and improve our business (including developing new products and services; enhancing and improving our products and services; managing our communications; analyzing our products, services and communications; and performing accounting, auditing and other internal functions);
• protect against, identify and prevent fraud and other criminal activity, claims and other liabilities; and
• comply with and enforce applicable legal requirements, relevant industry standards and our policies.
In addition to the purposes listed above, we may use information collected through automated means for other purposes. For example, we may collect information about your online activities to provide you with advertising about products and services tailored to your interests. You may see certain ads on other websites based on your visits to our Site because we engage in retargeting administered by third-party vendors. These vendors track your online activities over time and across third-party websites by collecting information through automated means, including through the use of cookies, web server logs and web beacons. The networks use this information to show you advertisements on third-party websites based on your previous visits to the Site. The information our vendors collect on the Site includes information about your visits to Site, such as the pages or advertisements you viewed and the actions you took on the Site. This process also helps us track the effectiveness of our marketing efforts. To learn more about how to opt out of retargeting, click here.
We also may use information collected through automated means to customize your visit to our Site, (ii) analyze the manner in which you interact with our Site, (iii) deliver content (including advertising) tailored to your interests and the manner in which you browse our Site, and (iv) manage our Site and other aspects of our business. We may supplement data we collect through automated means with information about your location (such as your zip code) to provide you with content that may be of interest to you. We also use this information to help diagnose technical and service problems, administer our Site, identify users of our Site and gather demographic information about our users.
In addition, we may use the information in other ways for which we provide specific notice at the time of collection.
Information We Share
We do not sell or otherwise disclose personal information we collect about you through the Site, except as described in this Online Privacy Notice. We may share personal information with service providers who perform services on our behalf. Except as described below regarding Plexus Entertainment, LLC (“Plexus”), these service providers are not authorized by us to use or disclose the information other than as necessary to perform services on our behalf or comply with legal requirements. To fulfill your requests and in connection with various functionalities offered by the Site, we may disclose certain information about you to the MPAA family of companies, video service providers (such as YouTube), content distribution networks, social media providers and affiliate providers (such as Netflix). In addition, we may share personal information in aggregated form with the six motion picture studios that are members of the MPAA. Personal information about you also may be shared with service providers used by other recipients of personal information specified in this section of the Online Privacy Notice.
The personal information provided through the Site may be obtained by Plexus, which is located in the United States. Plexus provides the movie and television show discovery, alerts and notification functionality for the Site. Plexus also operates its own website, www.gowatchit.com. Personal information provided through the Site is used by Plexus for its own purposes. We strongly recommend that you review Plexus’ Privacy Policy and Terms of Use before submitting your personal information through the Site. We are not responsible for Plexus’ use of your personal information for its own purposes.
We also may disclose information about you (i) if we are required to do so by law or legal process, (ii) to law enforcement authorities or other government entities, or (iii) when we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to prevent harm or financial loss, or in connection with an investigation of suspected or actual fraudulent or illegal activity. We also reserve the right to transfer personal information we have about you in the event we sell or transfer all or a portion of our business or assets (including in the event of a reorganization, spin-off, dissolution or liquidation).
Information collected through third-party plug-ins and widgets on the Site (such as information relating to your use of a social media sharing tool) is collected directly by the providers of the plug-ins and widgets. This information is subject to the privacy policies of the providers of the plug-ins and widgets, and the MPAA is not responsible for those providers’ information practices.
Notice to California Residents
Subject to certain limits under California Civil Code § 1798.83, California residents may ask us to provide them with (i) a list of certain categories of personal information that we have disclosed to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year and (ii) the identity of those third parties. To make this request, California residents may contact us as specified in the “How to Contact Us” section below.
Your Rights and Choices
We offer you certain choices in connection with the personal information we collect from you. To update your preferences and consents, ask us to remove your information from our mailing lists or submit a request, please contact us as indicated in the “How To Contact Us” section of this Online Privacy Notice or as otherwise provided on the Site (such as by using the “Certain Opt-Out Options” link or button). To the extent provided by the law of your jurisdiction, you may request access to the personal information we maintain about you or request that we correct, amend, delete or block the information by contacting us as indicated below. Where provided by law, you may withdraw any consent you previously provided to us or object at any time on legitimate grounds to the processing of your personal information, and we will apply your preferences going forward.
If you previously consented to allow us to share information about your interest in certain movies and television shows (such as movie and television titles for which you set alerts), you may withdraw your consent by clicking on the link or button on the Site called “Certain Opt-Out Options” or on a similar link in a WheretoWatch.com-branded widget. Please note that if you withdraw certain consents, you may not be able to use all the functions of the Site or other websites or online services.
Data Transfers
We may transfer the personal information we collect about you through the Site to recipients in countries other than the country in which the information originally was collected. Those countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you initially provided the information. When we transfer your information to recipients in other countries (such as the United States), we will protect that information as described in this Online Privacy Notice. By submitting your personal information through the Site, you indicate your consent to the transfer of your personal information outside of the country in which you originally provided it.
If you are located in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or Switzerland, we will comply with applicable legal requirements providing adequate protection for the transfer of personal information to recipients in countries outside of the EEA or Switzerland. The MPAA is certified under the Safe Harbor privacy framework set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the European Commission and Switzerland regarding the transfer of personal information from the EEA or Switzerland to the United States. Click here to view our Safe Harbor Privacy Policy.
How We Protect Personal Information
We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards designed to protect the personal information you provide through the Site against accidental, unlawful or unauthorized destruction, loss, alteration, access, disclosure or use.
Children’s Privacy
Our Site is not directed to children under the age of thirteen and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of thirteen on our Site.
Links To Other Websites and Apps
Our Site may provide links to other websites and apps for your convenience and information. These websites and apps may operate independently from us. Linked sites and apps may have their own privacy notices or policies, which we strongly suggest you review. To the extent any linked websites or apps are not owned or controlled by us, we are not responsible for their content, any use of the websites or apps, or the privacy practices of the websites or apps.
Updates To Our Online Privacy Notice
This Online Privacy Notice may be updated periodically and without prior notice to you to reflect changes in our personal information practices. We will post the updated version on www.wheretowatch.com and indicate at the top of the notice when it was most recently updated.
How To Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about this Online Privacy Notice, or if you would like us to update information we have about you or your preferences, please email us at privacy@motionpictures.org. You also may write to:
Motion Picture Association of America, Inc.
Attention: Privacy
15301 Ventura Boulevard, Building E
Sherman Oaks, California 91403
Members of the MPAA
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc.
Universal City Studios LLC
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.