Essex
Privacy Policy
(effective December
16, 2014)
This is the privacy policy of
Essex Property Trust, Inc., its subsidiaries and related entities (“Essex,”
“we,” “our” or “us”). Essex is committed
to protecting your privacy. This Privacy
Policy describes our privacy practices with regard to information about you
that could reasonably be used to identify you personally or that is associated
with information that identifies you (“Personal Information”).
This web site (the “Web Site”) is
provided by Essex. Unless specifically
stated otherwise, this Privacy Policy applies only to Personal Information that
we gather or collect via the Web Site and any other Essex web site that posts a
link to this Privacy Policy. It does not
apply to any Personal Information collected offline or otherwise outside of the
Web Site. Except as set forth in this
Privacy Policy, Essex will never share, sell, or rent individual Personal
Information with anyone without your advance permission or unless ordered by a
court of law.
What
Information Does Essex Gather About Me?
Information
You Provide
We collect from you certain
Personal Information you voluntarily provide in order to deliver the best
possible service. For example, you may
be asked to provide Personal Information
when you fill out and submit forms (such as forms requesting information
needed to consider you for apartment rentals or potential employment
opportunities), when you initiate payments to us through the Web Site, when you
participate in promotions, contests, or sweepstakes on the Web Site, when you
post to any interactive forum, bulletin board, chat room that we may make
available on the Web Site, when you register for email communications, and when
you submit a survey response, question or request to the Web Site using a form
or the email address links on the Web Site.
If you choose to schedule a tour, request more information or seek
potential employment, we may ask you to provide us with information necessary
to contact you or mail you information including without limitation your name,
physical address, telephone number and email address. We may collect your email address so that we
can send you information you have requested. We may use your email address to
inform you about current events or to send you updates regarding information
that was previously sent to you.
Web Server Logs
When you visit our Web Site, we
may track information to administer the Web Site and analyze its usage.
Examples of information we may
track include:
·
Your
Internet protocol address.
·
The kind of
browser or computer you use.
·
Number of
links you click within the site.
·
State or
country from which you accessed the site.
·
Date and
time of your visit.
·
Name of your
Internet service provider.
·
Web page you
linked to our site from.
·
Pages you
viewed on the site.
Cookies
A cookie is a small text file
that is stored on a users’ computer for record-keeping purposes. We use cookies
on this Web Site. We may link the information we store in cookies to any
Personal Information you submit while on our Web Site.
We use both session ID cookies
and persistent cookies. We use session
cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our Web Site. A session ID cookie
expires when you close your browser. A persistent cookie remains on your hard
drive for an extended period of time.
You can remove persistent cookies by following directions provided in
your Internet browser’s help file.
We set a persistent cookie to
store your passwords, so you don’t have to enter it more than once. Persistent
cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to
enhance the experience on our Web Site and other Web sites.
If you reject cookies, you may
still use our Web Site, but your ability to use some areas of our Web Site,
such as saving properties, will be limited.
Some of our business partners
(e.g., advertisers) may use cookies on our Web Site. We have no access to or
control over these cookies. This privacy
statement covers the use of cookies by this Web Site only and does not cover
the use of cookies by any business partners or advertisers on our Web Site or
other Essex web sites. See the “Third
Party Advertisers” and “Links to Other Sites” sections of this Privacy Policy
below for more information.
We use Google Analytics and
Google AdWords on the Web Site to collect non-personally identifiable data,
such as the data listed at the beginning on this section above, to analyze how
users use the Web Site, and to provide targeted advertisements to you on our Web
Site and other Web sites. For more information
about how to opt out of having your information used by Google Analytics and
Google AdWords, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/
and http://www.google.com/settings/ads.
Clear Gifs (Web Beacons)
We may employ a software
technology called clear gifs (a.k.a. Web Beacons), that help us better manage
content on our Web Site by informing us what content is effective. Clear gifs
are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and
are used to track the online movements of Web users. In contrast to cookies,
which are stored on a user’s computer hard drive, clear gifs are embedded
invisibly on Web pages and are about the size of the period at the end of this
sentence. We may tie the information gathered by clear gifs to our customers’
Personal Information. We may use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us
know which emails have been opened by recipients. This allows us to gauge the
effectiveness of certain communications and the effectiveness of our marketing
campaigns.
Third Party Advertisers
The ads appearing on this Web
Site or other Essex web sites, if any, may be delivered to users by third-party
advertising companies. Third-party advertising companies may use cookies and
clear gifs on this Web Site, which allow it to recognize a user’s cookie when a
user visits this Web Site and other Web sites. The companies serve their ads
from their own web sites, independently from Essex. These companies may use
non-personally identifiable information (e.g., click stream information, web
browser type, time and date, subject of advertisements clicked or scrolled
over) during your visits to the Web Site and other websites in order to provide
advertisements about goods and services likely to be of interest to you. The
information that the third-party advertising companies collect and share
through this technology is governed by the privacy policies of those third parties.
We encourage you to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that
you visit that collects personally identifiable information.
Our systems do not recognize
browser “Do Not Track” signals, but several of our business partners who
utilize cookies, Web Beacons, or other tracking technologies on the Web Site
enable you to opt out of certain of their cookies, Web Beacons, and other
tracking technologies and the tailoring of advertisements to your
interests. To learn more about cookies,
Web Beacons, and other tracking technologies or to opt-out of advertising using
these technologies, you can visit www.networkadvertising.org
or www.aboutads.info/choices/. We also provide you with additional tools to
opt out of certain communications from us.
You can learn about this in the “Your Choices” section of this Privacy
Policy.
Facebook Connect or other OpenID provider
We may offer you the ability to
log in to our Web Site using sign-in services such as Facebook Connect or an
Open ID provider. These services will authenticate your identity and provide
you the option to share certain Personal Information with us such as your name
and email address to pre-populate our sign up form. Services like Facebook
Connect give you the option to post information about your activities on this
Web Site to your profile page to share with others within your network. Any
posting outside of the Web Site is governed by the privacy policies of the
posting service and we encourage you to read the privacy statements of each and
every posting service that collects personally identifiable information.
Links to Other Sites
This privacy statement applies
only to Personal Information collected by this Web Site. This Web Site contains links to other sites
that are not owned or controlled by Essex. Please be aware that Essex is not
responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave
our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that
collects personally identifiable information.
Framing
This Web Site may utilize framing
techniques to make it appear that the user is still on the Web Site when the
user is actually on a third party Web site.
For example, if you are on a page that has the look and feel of www.essexapartmenthomes.com, but
the URL listed in your browser is a different URL than www. essexapartmenthomes.com,
then know that any information you provide is being collected by this third
party and not governed by this Privacy Policy.
We encourage you to read the privacy statements of each and every web
site that collects personally identifiable information.
Share This
When you use “Share This” to
bookmark and share our products and Web Site, you will be taken to a third
party site. Please note that these third
party sites’ privacy policies govern the collection and use of the information
collected on those sites.
Child Protection and Privacy
Essex does not knowingly seek to
collect via the Web Site or maintain any Personal Information or other
information from children under the age of 13.
We will delete any Personal Information or other information later
determined to be provided by a child under the age of 13. Use of the Web Site by children under the age
of 13 is not permitted. By using the Web
Site to provide Personal Information to Essex, you represent that you are not
under the age of 13.
Your Choices
Depending on the functionality
associated with the Web Site feature you are using, you may be able to update
certain of your Personal Information on the Web Site. If you no longer wish to
receive marketing emails from us, you can opt out of these communications by
clicking on the “unsubscribe” link included in those emails. Please see the
“Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy for information about how to
contact us with questions.
How does
Essex use Personal Information?
Business Purposes
We retain and use Personal
Information for the following business purposes: (1) to provide you with
services or process transactions that you have requested; (2) to communicate
with you regarding information, features or offers that we believe will be of
interest to you; (3) to respond to your questions or other requests; (4) to
contact you with regard to the Web Site; (5) to process any applications,
payments or changes to your account information; (6) to process other information
or Personal Information that you submit through the Web Site; (7) to conduct
user surveys; (8) to contact you regarding a sweepstakes, contest or promotion
in which you have participated, (9) to evaluate your application for employment
and (10) to fulfill other purposes disclosed at the time you provide your
Personal Information. We may also use the information you provide to improve
the Web Site or Essex’s services, to customize your experience on the Web Site,
to serve you specific content, or for other business purposes.
If you are purchasing a service,
we will request financial information. Any financial information we collect is
used only to bill you for the services you purchased. If you purchase by credit
card, this information may be forwarded to your credit card provider. For other
types of registrations, we will ask for the relevant information. You may also
be asked to disclose Personal Information to us so that we may provide
assistance and information to you. For example, such data may be warranted in
order to provide online technical support and troubleshooting.
Third Parties
You agree that we may retain
details of transactions you make on our Web Site for the following uses: 1) we
may share certain aggregated demographic information with our business partners
regarding the users of our websites; 2) we may share certain Personal
Information with our business partners regarding applicants and other
consumers; and 3) we may from time to time communicate service offerings to
applicants and other consumers via our co-marketing partners.
Subject to the above paragraph,
we will not disclose Personal Information we collect from you to third parties
without your permission except to the extent necessary including:
·
To fulfill
your service requests for services,
·
To protect
ourselves from liability,
·
To respond
to legal process or comply with law, or
·
In
connection with a merger, acquisition, or liquidation of our company.
Third Party Service Providers
We may share your Personal
Information with third parties who perform services on our behalf or on behalf
of the owner of one of our properties and who may use this information for
their own purposes, including sending advertising to you. This includes, without limitation, third
parties that send communications, process payments, analyze data, assist with
utility billing or renters insurance, provide credit checks, resident
screening, or collection services, provide marketing assistance, or create,
host and/or provide customer service on our behalf. These third parties may
have access to Personal Information in order to provide these services to us or
on our behalf.
For more information about a
third party service provider, please contact us via e-mail at privacy@essexpropertytrust.com.
Affiliated or Subsidiary Companies
We may share Personal Information
with our affiliated or subsidiary companies who require access to Personal
Information for business purposes related to your tenancy or to process any application,
request, inquiry, or other information or Personal Information you submit via
the Web Site. This includes the owner of any community where you submit an
application or where you lease, as well as the management company for such
community.
Legal Requirements and Law Enforcement.
We may disclose Personal
Information when we believe in good faith that the law requires it; at the
request of governmental authorities conducting an audit or investigation;
pursuant to a court order, subpoena, or discovery request in litigation; to
verify or enforce compliance with our Terms of Use or other agreements or
policies governing the Web Site and applicable laws, rules, and regulations; or
whenever we believe disclosure is necessary to limit our legal liability or to
protect or enforce the rights, interests, or safety of the Web Site, its users
or other third parties. We also reserve the right to report to law enforcement
agencies any activities that we, in good faith, believe to be unlawful.
Sweepstakes and Promotions.
If you choose to enter a
sweepstakes, contest or other promotion, your personal information may be
disclosed to third parties in connection with the administration of such
promotion, including, without limitation, in connection with winner selection,
prize fulfillment, and as required by law, such as on a winners list. Also, by
entering a promotion, you are agreeing to the official rules that govern that
promotion, which may contain specific requirements of you, including, except
where prohibited by law, allowing the sponsor(s) of the promotion to use your
name, voice and/or likeness in advertising or marketing associated with the
promotion.
Notice to California Residents/Your California Privacy Rights
To opt out of sharing your
Personal Information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes,
please e-mail Essex at marketingandcommunications@essexpropertytrust.com
and clearly state your request, including your name, mailing address, e-
mail address and phone number. Please
see the “Your Choices” section of this Privacy Policy for additional
information.
Security
Essex will take reasonable steps
to secure the Personal Information you agree to provide via the Web Site. Please note that no transmission of Personal
Information over the Internet or the subsequent electronic storage of this
information can be absolutely guaranteed.
Before submitting any Personal Information via the Web Site, please be
aware of these inherent risks and know that you do so at your own risk.
Information Retention
Please note that in accordance
with our routine corporate record-keeping practices, we may store, transfer or
delete records that contain your Personal Information. We are under no obligation
to store such information indefinitely and disclaim any liability arising out
of, or related to, the destruction of such information.
Changes in this Privacy Statement
We reserve the right to alter,
modify, update, add to, subtract from or otherwise change this Privacy Policy
at any time, which will become effective as of posting on the Web Site. We encourage you to periodically review this
privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the
Personal Information we collect.
Compliance with Law
Essex intends to implement and
update this Privacy Policy in a manner consistent with all applicable
laws. Please contact us at privacy@essexpropertytrust.com if
you have any questions or concerns about the Privacy Policy legal compliance.
Jurisdiction
The Web Site is operated in the
United States of America. If you are
located in another jurisdiction, then please be aware that any Personal
Information you elect to supply will be transferred to the United States of
America and be subject to its laws regarding data privacy and collection. By using this Web Site, you expressly agree
to any such transfer.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or
suggestions regarding our Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@essexpropertytrust.com.
Essex Property Trust, Inc. | 925 East Meadow Drive | Palo Alto, CA 94303