Privacy Policy


Your Privacy Matters

 

At Converge, our fundamental philosophy is "members first." That value powers all of the decisions we make, including how we gather and respect your personal information.

We've crafted the policy below to be as clear and straightforward as possible. Our aim is for you--our members (and subscribers)--to always feel informed and empowered with respect to your privacy on Converge.

 

Who we are:

 

Last revised on Jan 05, 2021

 

Converge is a content amplification platform.

 

Here are the details that the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regards to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) says we have to give you as a 'data controller':

 

  Our site address is www.converge.today

  Our company name is Converge Group Ltd

  Our registered address is 22 Quay Level, St Peters Wharf, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6 1TZ

  Our [nominated representative or Data Protection Officer] is James Tennant (Founder) and they can be contacted at info@converge.today

 

Converge has been founded to help businesses amplify their content effectively and consistently. Our registered users ("Members") share their professional identities, and post and view relevant content. Content on some of our services is also visible to unregistered viewers ("Visitors"). We believe that our services allow our Members to effectively compete and achieve their full potential. In short, Converge helps you reach and influence more and bigger audiences outside of your current circles of influence.

We protect your personal information using industry-standard safeguards.

 

We may share your information with your consent or as required by law, and we will always let you know when we make significant changes to this Privacy Policy.

 

Maintaining your trust is our top priority, so we adhere to the following principles to protect your privacy:

 

  We protect your personal information and will only provide it to third parties: (1) with your consent; (2) where it is necessary to carry out your instructions; (3) as reasonably necessary in order to provide our features and functionality to you; (4) when we reasonably believe it is required by law, subpoena or other legal process; or (5) as necessary to enforce our User Agreement or protect the rights, property, or safety of Converge, our Members and Visitors, and the public.

  We have implemented appropriate security safeguards designed to protect your information in accordance with industry standards.

 

This Privacy Policy applies to Converge.today and all other Converge websites, apps, developer platforms and other products and services (collectively the "Services"). We may modify this Privacy Policy from time to time, and if we make material changes to it, we will provide notice through our Service, or by other means so that you may review the changes before you continue to use our Services. If you object to any changes, you may close your account.

 

Continuing to use our Services after we publish or communicate a notice about any changes to this Privacy Policy means that you are consenting to the changes.

 

1. What information we collect

 

We may collect and process the following data about you:

 

  Information you put into forms or surveys on our site at any time

  A record of any correspondence between us

  Details of transactions you carry out through our site

  Details of your visits to our site and the resources you use

  Information about your computer (e.g. your IP address, browser, operating system, etc.) for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers

 

Under GDPR we will ensure that your personal data is processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently, without adversely affecting your rights. We will only process your personal data if at least one of the following basis applies:

 

1.  you have given consent to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes, such as membership;

2.  processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at the request of you prior to entering into a contract;

3.  processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject;

4.  processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of you or of another natural person;

5.  processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; and/or

6.  processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party such as our credit card payment processing, except where such interests are overridden by the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

 

1.1. Data Controllers

 

Our Privacy Policy applies to any Member or Visitor. We collect information when you use our Services to offer you a personalised and relevant experience, including growing your network and enabling business opportunities.

 

The personal information provided to or collected by our Services is controlled by Converge Group Ltd, 22 Quay Level, St Peters Wharf, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE6 1TZ. If you have any concern about providing information to us or having such information displayed on our Services or otherwise used in any manner permitted in this Privacy Policy and the User Agreement, you should not become a Member, visit our websites, apps or otherwise use our Services. If you have already registered, you can close your account.

 

We specifically collect your personal information in the following ways:

 

1.2. Registration

 

When you create an account with us, we collect information (including your name, email address, and password).

 

To create an account on Converge, you must provide us with at least your name, email address, and a password and agree to our User Agreement and this Privacy Policy, which governs how we treat your information. You may provide additional information during the registration flow (for example, your postcode, and company) to help you build your profile. You understand that, by creating an account, we and others will be able to identify you by your Converge profile. You will also be asked for your credit card details to allow you to purchase our service.

 

1.3. Profile Information

 

We collect information when you fill out a profile. A complete Converge profile that includes professional details -- like your name or your business name, business address, email address, business bio and social media accounts -- helps you get found by other people for opportunities.

 

Providing additional information enables you to derive more benefit from our Services by helping you express your professional identity; find other professionals, opportunities, and information. It also enables us to serve you ads and other relevant content on and off of our Services.

 

1.4. Customer Service

 

We collect information when you contact us for customer support.

 

When you contact our customer support services we may have to access your notifications, and other contributions to our Services and collect the information we need to categorise your question, respond to it, and, if applicable, investigate any breach of our User Agreement or this Privacy Policy. We also use this information to track potential problems and trends and customize our support responses to better serve you. We do not use this information for advertising.

 

1.5. Using the Converge Sites and Applications

 

We collect information when you visit our Services and interact with advertising on and off our Services.

 

We collect information when you use (whether as a Member or a Visitor) our websites, applications, our platform technology (such as "Share on Converge" plugins for publishers) or other Services. For example, we collect information when you view or click on ads on and off our Services, perform a search, join and participate in groups, participate in polls and share articles on our Services.

 

1.6. Cookies

 

We use cookies and similar technologies to collect information, to help us recognise you across different Services, learn about your interests both on and off our Services, improve your experience, increase security, measure use and effectiveness of our Services, and serve advertising. You can control cookies through your browser settings and other tools. By visiting our Services, you consent to the placement of cookies and beacons in your browser and HTML-based emails in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

 

1.7. Other

 

We are constantly innovating to improve our Services, which means we may create new ways to collect information on the Services.

 

Our Services are a dynamic, innovative environment, which means we are always seeking to improve the Services we offer you. We often introduce new features, some of which may result in the collection of new information. Furthermore, new partnerships or corporate acquisitions may result in new features, and we may potentially collect new types of information. If we start collecting substantially new types of personal information and materially change how we handle your data, we will modify this Privacy Policy and notify you in accordance with Section 4.2.

 

2. How we use your personal information

 

2.1. Consent to Converge Processing Information About You

 

You agree that information you provide on your profile can be seen by others and used by us as described in this Privacy Policy and our User Agreement.

 

The personal information that you provide to us may reveal or allow others to identify aspects of your life that are not expressly stated on your profile (for example, your picture or your name may reveal your gender). By providing personal information to us when you create or update your account and profile, you are expressly and voluntarily accepting the terms and conditions of our User Agreement and freely accepting and agreeing to our processing of your personal information in ways set out by this Privacy Policy. Supplying to us any information deemed "sensitive" by applicable law is entirely voluntary on your part. You can withdraw or modify your consent to our collection and processing of the information you provide at any time, in accordance with the terms of this Privacy Policy and the User Agreement, by changing your account settings or your profile on Converge.today.

 

2.2. Converge Communications

 

We communicate with you using Converge notifications, email, and other ways available to us. We may send you messages relating to the availability of the Services, security, or other service-related issues. We also may send promotional notification messages to your Converge inbox.

 

We communicate with you through email, notices posted on the Converge websites or apps, messages to your Converge inbox, and other means available through the Services, including mobile text messages and push notifications. Examples of these communications include: (1) welcome and engagement communications - informing you about how to best use our Services, new features, updates about other Members you are connected to and their actions, etc.; (2) service communications - these will cover service availability, security, and other issues about the functioning of our Services; (3) promotional communications - these include both email and notification messages (notification messages are only delivered to your Converge inbox), and may contain promotional information directly or on behalf of our partners. These messages will be sent to you based on your profile information. Please be aware that you cannot opt out of receiving service messages from us.

 

2.3. User Communications

 

With certain communications you send on our Services, the recipient can see your name, email address, and some network information.

 

Many communications that you initiate through our Services (for example, an invitation sent to a non-Member) will list your name and primary email address in the message.

Other communications that you initiate through the Services, like a request for an introduction, will list your name as the initiator but will not include your personal email address contact information. Once you have connected with an individual, regardless of who sent the invitation, your contact information will be shared with that individual.


2.4. Service Development; Customised Experience

 

We use the information and content you provide to us to conduct research and development and to customise your experience and try to make it relevant and useful to you.

 

We use information and content that you and other Members provide to us to conduct research and development for the improvement of our Services in order to provide you and other Members and Visitors with a better, more intuitive experience and drive membership growth and engagement on our Services and to help connect professionals to economic opportunity.

 

We also customise your experience and the experiences of others on our Services. We try to show you content, such as news and presentations, that is relevant to you, your industry, or your profession. We also use Members information and content for invitations and communications promoting our Services that are tailored to the recipient.

 

2.5. Sharing Information with Third Parties

 

Any information you put on your profile and any content you post on Converge may be seen by others.

 

We don't provide any of your non-public information (like your email address) to third parties without your consent, unless required by law, or as described in Sections 2.5 and 2.7 of this Policy.

 

Other people may find your Converge profile information through search engines, or use services like Twitter in conjunction with your Converge account.

 

We offer a "public profile" feature that allows you as a Member to publish portions of your professional profile to the public Internet. This public profile will be indexed and displayed through public search engines when someone searches for your name.

 

The visibility of your employees' profile is only visible to other Members and not visitors

We do not rent or sell personal information that you have not posted on our Services, except as described in this Privacy Policy. We will not disclose personal information that is not published to your profile or generated through engagement with our other services, except to carry out your instructions (for example, to process payment information) or unless we have your separate consent, unless we have a good faith belief that disclosure is permitted by law or is reasonably necessary to: (1) comply with a legal requirement or process, including, but not limited to, civil and criminal subpoenas, court orders or other compulsory disclosures; (2) enforce this Privacy Policy or our User Agreement; (3) respond to claims of a violation of the rights of third parties; (4) respond to Member service inquiries; or (5) protect the rights, property, or safety of Converge, our Services, our Members, Visitors, or the public. See Section 2.7 for additional details about our compliance with legal requests for information.

 

2.6. Testimonials and Advertisements Placed through Converge Ads

 

If you provide any testimonials about our goods or services, we may post those testimonials and examples of advertisements you place in connection with our promotion of these services to third parties. Testimonials and advertisements may include your name and other personal information that you have provided.

 

2.7. Compliance with Legal Process and Other Disclosures

 

We may disclose your personal information if compelled by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or if necessary to enforce our User Agreement.

 

It is possible that we may need to disclose personal information, profile information, or information about your activities as a Member or Visitor when required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, whether in the United States, Ireland, or other jurisdictions, or if we have a good faith belief that disclosure is reasonably necessary to (1) investigate, prevent, or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities or to assist government enforcement agencies; (2) enforce the User Agreement, investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations, or protect the security or integrity of our Service; or (3) exercise or protect the rights, property, or safety of Converge, our Members, personnel, or others. We attempt to notify Members about legal demands for their personal information when appropriate in our judgment, unless prohibited by law or court order or when the request is an emergency. In light of our principles, we may dispute such demands when we believe, in our discretion, that the requests are overbroad, vague or lack proper authority, but do not commit to challenge every demand.

 

2.8. Disclosures to Others as the Result of a Change in Control or Sale of Converge Corporation

 

If there is a change in control or sale of all or part of Converge, we may share your information with a third party, who will have the right to use that information in line with this Privacy Policy.

We may also disclose your personal information to a third party as part of a sale of the assets of Converge Group LTD, a subsidiary, or division, or as the result of a change in control of the company or one of its affiliates, or in preparation for any of these events. Any third party to which we transfer or sell our assets will have the right to continue to use the personal and other information that you provide to us in the manner set out in this Privacy Policy.

 

2.9. Service Providers

 

We may employ third parties to help us with the Services

 

We may employ third party companies and individuals to facilitate our Services (e.g. maintenance, analysis, audit, marketing, and development). These third parties have limited access to your information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated to Converge not to disclose or use it for other purposes.

 

3. Your Choices & Obligations

 

3.1. Rights to Access, Correct, or Delete Your Information, and Closing Your Account - the right to be forgotten

 

You can change your Converge information at any time by editing your profile, deleting content that you have posted, or by closing your account. You can also ask us for additional information we may have about your account. You have a right to (1) access, modify, correct, or delete your personal information controlled by Converge regarding your profile, (2) change or remove your content, and (3) close your account. You can request your personal information that is not viewable on your profile or readily accessible to you (for example, your IP access logs) through Converge's Help Centre. If you close your account, your information will generally be removed from the Service within 24 hours. We generally delete closed account information and will de-personalise any logs or other backup information through the deletion process within 30 days of account closure, except as noted below.

 

Please note: Information you have shared with others (for example, through notifications, network updates, content sharing) or that others have copied may also remain visible after you have closed your account or deleted the information from your own profile. In addition, you may not be able to access, correct, or eliminate any information about you that other Members copied or exported out of our Services, because this information may not be in our control. Your public profile may be displayed in search engine results until the search engine refreshes its cache.

 

3.2. Data Retention

 

We keep your information for as long as your account is active or as needed. For example, we may keep certain information even after you close your account if it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations, meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce this agreement.

 

We retain the personal information you provide while your account is in existence or as needed to provide you services. We may retain your personal information even after you have closed your account if retention is reasonably necessary to comply with our legal obligations, meet regulatory requirements, resolve disputes between Members, prevent fraud and abuse, or enforce this Privacy Policy and our User Agreement. We may retain personal information, for a limited period of time, if requested by law enforcement. Our Customer Service may retain information for as long as is necessary to provide support-related reporting and trend analysis only, but we generally delete or de-personalize closed account data consistent with Section 3.1.

 

4. Important Information

 

4.1. Minimum Age

 

You have to meet Converge's minimum age requirements to create an account.

 

As described in Section 2.1 of the User Agreement, persons must be of Minimum Age to use Converge.

 

4.2. Changes to this Privacy Policy

 

We will notify you when we change this Privacy Policy.

 

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes in the way we treat your personal information, or to the Privacy Policy, we will provide notice to you on the Services or by some other means, such as email. Please review the changes carefully. If you agree to the changes, simply continue to use our Services. If you object to any of the changes to our terms and you no longer wish to use our Services, you may close your account. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Policy applies to all information that we have about you and your account. Using our Services after a notice of changes has been communicated to you or published on our Services shall constitute consent to the changed terms or practices.

 

4.3. Security

 

We take privacy and security seriously and have enabled HTTPS access to our site, in addition to existing SSL access over mobile devices. Also, please know that the Internet is not a secure environment, so be careful and select strong passwords.

 

We have implemented security safeguards designed to protect the personal information that you provide in accordance with industry standards. Access to your data on our Services is password-protected, and data such as credit card information is protected by SSL encryption when it is exchanged between your web browser and the Services. We also offer secure https access to the converge.today website. To protect any data you store on our servers, we also regularly monitor our system for possible vulnerabilities and attacks. However, since the Internet is not a 100% secure environment, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information that you transmit to us. There is no guarantee that information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards. It is your responsibility to protect the security of your login information. Please note that emails, instant messaging, and similar means of communication with other Members are not encrypted, and we strongly advise you not to communicate any confidential information through these means. Please help keep your account safe by using a strong password.

 

5. How To Contact Us

 

If you want to send us notices or service of process, please contact us:

 

EMAIL at: hello@converge.today

 

OR BY MAIL at:

 

Converge Group Ltd

22 Quay Level,

St Peters Wharf,

Newcastle Upon Tyne,

NE6 1TZ