Our Privacy Policy

Virtual Grounds Interactive, LLC ("VGI" "we" "our" or "us") respects your privacy regarding information we may collect while operating our website. Our Privacy Policy describes what information we collect, how we use the information and how you can control what information you provide us.

All references to “you” or “your” and “user” or “users” refers to users accessing and using the www.virtualgrounds.com website, including our blogs (collectively, the “Website”) and/or signing up for products and services available via our Website (collectively, the “Services”). The words “personal information” and “Data” describes information about you and which identifies you.

Owner and Data Controller

The owner and data controller for the purpose of data protection law regarding personal information is the Virtual Grounds Interactive, located at 14205 North Mopac Expressway, 5th Floor, Austin, Texas, 78728, USA. We can be contacted at webdev@virtualgrounds.com or by phone at +1 (513)307-8238.

Types of information we collect

Among the types of Personal Data that our website collects, by itself or through third parties, there are: email address, first name, last name, Cookies and Usage Data. This information may be provided:

  • •  in the course of communications between you and us (including by phone, email, chat, Website or otherwise)

  • •  when you order or inquire about Services

  • •  when you sign up for our newsletter or other materials

  • •  when you report a problem with our Website or Services

Personal information may be freely provided by the User, or, in case of Usage Data, collected automatically when using this website, such as online activity information and technical information about your usage activities. Technical information is collected automatically through your electronic device and may include your IP address (i.e. your computer’s address on the internet), location, operating system (OS) type (Windows or Mac) and version, internet browser type and version, and language.

Information on your use of our Website is also collected, i.e. access date, pages visited and time spent on pages. This information is used for proper functionality of the Website and the Services and also to improve the Website. Any use of Cookies – or of other tracking tools – by this website or by the owners of third-party services used by this website serves the purpose of providing the Service required by you, in addition to any other purposes described in the present document and in the Cookie Policy, if available.

Cookies

Cookies are data files that are placed on your device or computer and often include an anonymous unique identifier. We may use the information to gather statistical information about the usage of the Services, to understand how they are used and to improve functionality, track responses of popups and campaigns, and assist with questions about Services. For more information about cookies, and how to disable cookies, visit http://www.allaboutcookies.org. The refuse of cookies may lead to experience inconveniences in the use of the Website and Services.

How the personal information is processed and used

Your personal information is used in connection to the Website and Services to communicate to you. If have supplied your email address, we may occasionally send you an email about new events, solicit your feedback, or just keep you up to date with what’s going on with the VGI. Your personal information is collected to allow us to provide its Services, as well as for the following purposes: Contacting the User, Analytics and Interaction with external social networks and platforms.

We take appropriate security measures to prevent unauthorized access, disclosure, modification, or unauthorized destruction of your personal information. Data processing is carried out using computers and/or IT enabled tools, following organizational procedures and modes strictly related to the purposes indicated. In addition to us, in some cases, the Data may be accessible to certain types of persons in charge, involved with the operation of this website (administration, sales, marketing, legal, system administration) or external parties (such as third-party technical service providers, mail carriers, hosting providers, IT companies, communications agencies) appointed, if necessary, as Data Processors by us. The updated list of these parties may be requested from the VGI at any time.

Legal basis of processing

We may process personal information relating to you if one of the following applies:

You have given your consent for one or more specific purposes. Note: Under some legislations we may be allowed to process personal information until the User objects to such processing (“opt-out”), without having to rely on consent or any other of the following legal bases. This, however, does not apply, whenever the processing of personal information is subject to European data protection law;

•  provision of Data is necessary for the performance of an agreement with you and/or for any pre-contractual obligations thereof;

•  processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the VGI is subject;

•  processing is related to a task that is carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in us;

•  processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party.

In any case, we will gladly help to clarify the specific legal basis that applies to the processing, and in particular whether the provision of personal information is a statutory or contractual requirement, or a requirement necessary to enter into a contract.

Where personal information is transferred

The VGI operates in the United States. Your data is processed at our operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located. Depending on your location, data transfers may involve transferring the user's data to a country other than their own. To find out more about the place of processing of such transferred data, you may check the section containing details about the processing of personal information.

You are also entitled to learn about the legal basis of personal information transfers to a country outside the European Union or to any international organization governed by public international law or set up by two or more countries, such as the UN, and about the security measures taken by us to safeguard their personal information. If any such transfer takes place, you can inquire with the VGI using the information provided in the contact section.

How long we keep your personal information

Your personal information shall be processed and stored for as long as required by the purpose they have been collected for. Therefore:

Personal information collected for purposes related to the performance of a contract between the VGI and you shall be retained until such contract has been fully performed.

Personal information collected for the purposes of our legitimate interests shall be retained as long as needed to fulfill such purposes. You may find specific information regarding the legitimate interests pursued by us within the relevant sections of this document or by contacting the VGI.

We may be allowed to retain personal information for a longer period whenever you have given consent to such processing, as long as such consent is not withdrawn. Furthermore, we may be obliged to retain personal information for a longer period whenever required to do so for the performance of a legal obligation or upon order of an authority. Once the retention period expires, your personal information shall be deleted. Therefore, the right to access, the right to erasure, the right to rectification and the right to data portability cannot be enforced after expiration of the retention period.

Your rights on controlling the information we collect

You may exercise certain rights regarding personal information processed by us. In particular, you have the right to do the following:

Withdraw their consent at any time. You have the right to withdraw consent where you have previously given consent to the processing of personal information.

Object to processing of your data. You have the right to object to the processing of your data if the processing is carried out on a legal basis other than consent. Further details are provided in the dedicated section below.

Access your data. You have the right to learn if your personal information is being processed by us, obtain disclosure regarding certain aspects of the processing and obtain a copy of the data undergoing processing.

Verify and seek rectification. You have the right to verify the accuracy of your personal information and ask for it to be updated or corrected.

Restrict the processing of your data. You have the right, under certain circumstances, to restrict the processing of your personal information. In this case, we will not process your personal information for any purpose other than storing it.

Have your personal information deleted or otherwise removed. You have the right, under certain circumstances, to obtain the erasure of your data from us.

Receive your data and have it transferred to another controller. You have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format and, if technically feasible, to have it transmitted to another controller without any hindrance. This provision is applicable provided that the data is processed by automated means and that the processing is based on your consent, on a contract which the user is part of or on pre-contractual obligations thereof.

Lodge a complaint. You have the right to bring a claim before their competent data protection authority.

Where your personal information is processed for a public interest, in the exercise of an official authority vested in us or for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us, you may object to such processing by providing a ground related to their particular situation to justify the objection. You must know that, however, should your personal information be processed for direct marketing purposes, you can object to that processing at any time without providing any justification. To learn, whether the VGI is processing your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may refer to the relevant sections of this document.

Any requests to exercise your rights can be directed to us through the contact details provided in this document. These requests can be exercised free of charge and will be addressed by the VGI as early as possible and always within one month.

Links to third-party websites

The Website may contain links to websites of third parties, i.e. when donating to us or purchasing tickets to events. We have no control over the operations of such websites or over confidentiality and privacy practices of the operators. Any personal information submitted to such websites are governed by their privacy policies. It is your responsibility to find out third-party policies so your personal information is protected.

Personal information of minors

VGI does not knowingly collect information from children; to use the Services or the Website you must be the age of legal majority to consent for the processing of your personal data on your place of residence and may allow a parent or guardian to consent for you in your behalf in certain countries. We don’t use mechanisms to determine the age of the users of our website. If we learn that information associated with a minor was submitted to us, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to delete the information as soon as practicable.

Additional information about User's Personal Data

In addition to the information contained in this privacy policy, this website may provide you with additional and contextual information concerning particular Services or the collection and processing of personal information upon request.

System logs and maintenance

For operation and maintenance purposes, this website and any third-party services may collect files that record interaction with this website (System logs) use other personal information (such as the IP Address) for this purpose.

Information not contained in this policy

More details concerning the collection or processing of personal information may be requested from you at any time. Please see the contact information at the beginning of this document.

How “Do Not Track” requests are handled

This website does not support “Do Not Track” requests at this time. To determine whether any of the third-party services it uses honor the “Do Not Track” requests, please read their privacy policies. More information about “do not track” is available at www.allaboutdnt.org.

Changes to this privacy policy

We reserve the right to make changes to this privacy policy at any time by giving notice to its users on this page and possibly within this website and/or - as far as technically and legally feasible - sending a notice to you via any contact information available to us. It is strongly recommended to check this page often, referring to the date of the last modification listed at the bottom. Should the changes affect processing activities performed on the basis of your consent, we shall collect new consent from you, where required.

Latest Update: February 18, 2024