NiceNIC Privacy Policy

1. Why A Privacy Policy?

We respect your individual privacy. That is why we have adopted this Privacy Policy, which embodies our commitment to the protection of your privacy through adherence to fair electronic information practices. This Privacy Policy puts you, the individual, in control of how your personal information is processed, and you have our promise that we will not electronically process your personal information in any way that is incompatible with this Privacy Policy.


This Privacy Policy protects your privacy by:

> informing you about the types of personal information NiceNIC collects about you through its Web sites;
how it collects that information;
the general purposes for which it collects such information;
the types of organizations to which it discloses the information;
the choices and means by which individuals may limit its use and disclosure;
empowering you to choose whether and how certain personal information you provide is used (where such use is unrelated to the uses for which you originally disclosed it); and whether and the manner in which a third party uses certain personal information you provide (where such use is unrelated to the uses for which you originally disclosed it);
assuring you that NiceNIC takes reasonable precautions to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction;
implements reasonable policies and procedures to ensure that personal information is kept only for the purposes for which it has been gathered;
uses reasonable measures to ensure that we have accurately and completely recorded the personal information you have provided; and provides you reasonable access to your personal information as well as procedures for correcting or modifying that information where appropriate;
ensuring accountability to individuals who believe that NiceNIC has not complied with these privacy principles.

2. Getting To Know Our Customers

NiceNIC is in the business of putting people in touch with other people. That requires more than simply offering innovative technical services. It also requires that we understand you, our customer, and your needs. Indeed, we strive to become the most user friendly domain name registrar by taking the time to get acquainted with each one of our many customers.
We get to know you primarily through the information you provide to us when signing up for, or using, one or more of our services. The information you provide ranges from basic contact information, to payment information, to the technical coordinates of your host servers. All of the information we request from you when purchasing our services is obligatory unless otherwise noted on the relevant form. When you purchase our services, you agree to provide and maintain accurate, complete and updated information.
After you've signed up for our services, we may be in communication with you about your account, technical questions you may have about services provided by us, or any other matter relating to those services. Those communications are essential to our relationship with you and to our ability to provide you with quality services that are responsive to your needs. At the same time, those communications give us helpful insights about you, your preferences and the ways in which we might improve our services. We therefore may maintain this information for future use.
Additionally, for operational and quality assurance purposes, we take note of whether and how you use the information and services that we provide, such as by recording site traffic patterns and by maintaining log files of users' access to site files. Finally, in order to provide our current and upcoming interactive services, such as but not limited to email, domain parking, and various message boards, we store your messages to or from other people.
The information we receive from or about you is stored on systems designed to prevent the loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction of that information. We also encrypt your transmission of sensitive information to us (e.g., credit card numbers, account passwords) in the interest of heightened privacy protection and information integrity.
As a domain name registrar, we compile and maintain a publicly accessible registration database that includes basic information about each domain name registered with us, including the names, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of individuals designated as points of contact for a given domain name. Whether or not applicable domain name registration fees have been paid is also publicly accessible. With the gradual continued privatization of the Domain Name System, and consistent with the rules or policies applicable to that system, or to comply with any changes in law or regulation, we may, if appropriate, take steps to restrict the accessibility and amount of personally identifying information available in the registration database.

3. Information Corrections Or Changes

You have the ability to correct or change certain information in our records, such as your address and contact information. You may change this information at any time and as often as necessary. If you need assistance or have questions about correcting information, you can contact us via e-mail.

4. How We Put Information To Good Use


We use information about you for purposes of monitoring and improving our internal operations, as well as to ensure that we: (i) bill you properly, (ii) administer your account in accordance with your agreements with us and (iii) properly perform the services you have requested.
We also use the information we collect to monitor and improve our internal operations, as well as to improve the experience of users in our network of sites. For example, we may correlate Web site traffic information with data about individual users. We may also break down overall usage statistics according to customers' domain names, browser types, and MIME types by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user's browser).
Another example of our use of information to enhance the experience of users in our network of sites is our reliance on cookie files. We use cookie files to make it easier for users to access our site or services. A cookie file is a small data file that certain Web sites write to your hard drive when you visit them. A cookie file can contain information such as a user ID that the site uses to track the pages you've visited. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can't read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. We use cookies to track user traffic patterns (as described above) when you register for NiceNIC services. When you register, we may use a cookie to store a unique, random user ID. We use this ID to identify you anonymously in our database and to track the pages you visit on our site.
If you've set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. You may refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser; however, some of our sites may require a cookie for access.
Finally, we use the information we collect to direct important notices and information affecting your account or services, as well as to provide general information that may be of interest to you, including newsletters, surveys, contest and sweepstake announcements, and information about our service or product offerings or the offerings of our business affiliates. You may opt out of receiving information from us simply by notifying us of your desire in accordance with the opt-out instructions contained in any information message you receive from us. Note, however, that in order to fulfill our service obligations to you, we must continue sending you notices and other important information affecting your account or services.

5. With Whom We May Share Information

When you register or reserve a domain name through us, our registrar unit must disclose your domain name and its associated Internet Protocol ("IP") numbers to the appropriate registry in order to make your chosen domain name a functional address on the Internet. Our registry unit discloses each registered domain name and its associated IP numbers ("TLD zone files") to TLD server administrators for the purpose of ensuring that the domain name operates as a functional address on the Internet. Consistent with the current rules and policies for the Domain Name System, our registry unit also discloses the TLD zone files to other interested persons, provided those persons agree, among other things, not to use the TLD zone files for improper purposes, including the transmission of unsolicited commercial e-mail.
We may share certain information about you with those of our vendors who are responsible for handling your account or performing other necessary services that you require. Although we may share sensitive financial information (i.e., credit card numbers, banking information), security information (e.g., account passwords) and personal communications (e.g., personal e-mail messages or message board postings) with such vendors where necessary and appropriate, we will not share such information with other third parties, except in response to formal requests (e.g., subpoena or court order) made in connection with litigation or arbitration proceedings directly relating to a domain name registration or other services we provide.
As noted above, our domain name registrar unit currently makes certain information about you available to the general public via our domain name registration database look- up and directory services. These services give users access to such data on a query-by- query basis. Qualified persons may also access such data on a bulk basis provided they agree, among other things, not to use the data to enable or otherwise support the transmission of mass unsolicited commercial advertising or solicitations via email; or (ii) sell or redistribute the data to third parties. Include the words ìremove bulk access? in the subject line of the e-mail and all the domain names for which you are the registrant in the body of the e-mail.
Additionally, we may share the information stored on that database, as well as other information that is not of a sensitive nature, with carefully selected business partners, including those who offer services that complement those provided by us or which may otherwise be of interest to you. Include the words "remove domain" in the subject line of the e-mail and all the domain names for which you are the registrant in the body of the e-mail. Please note, however, that, consistent with the current rules and policies for the Domain Name System, information about you must remain available in the publicly accessible registration database.

6. Our Accountability To You

By purchasing our services, you obtain the protections of, and consent to the data processing practices described in, this Privacy Policy. When you purchase our services, you also represent to us that you have provided notice to, and obtained consent from, any third party individuals whose personal data you supply to us with regard to: (i) the purposes for which such third party's personal data have been collected, (ii) the intended recipients or categories of recipients of the third party's personal data, (iii) which of the third party's data are obligatory and which data, if any, are voluntary, and (iv) how the third party can access and, if necessary, rectify the data held about them.
In addition to the privacy protections that we provide, our employees, agents and business partners are independently responsible for ensuring compliance with this Privacy Policy, as described below.

7. Employee Accountability

Only those NiceNIC employees that have a legitimate business purpose for accessing and handling personal information obtained by us are given authorization to do so. The unauthorized access or use of such information by a NiceNIC employee is prohibited and constitutes grounds for disciplinary action.
Additionally, our information management systems are configured in such a way as to block or inhibit employees from accessing information that they have no authority to access.
Our trusted vendors and business partners are responsible for processing or handling some of the information that we receive. These vendors and business partners are not authorized to use such information for purposes beyond those specified by us and are required to preserve the confidentiality with which we treat such information.