INTRODUCTION

The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston (also herein referred to as “ICA” or the “Museum”) is committed to protecting the privacy of its online guests, visitors, members, donors, and friends. We understand that maintaining privacy on the Museum’s websites (icaboston.org and icastore.org, herein referred to as “the website” or “the site”) is very important, and that informing our visitors about the types of information we collect and how we use it is crucial to the Museum’s mission.

TYPES OF INFORMATION COLLECTED

The Museum does not collect any personal information about individuals, such as names, postal or email addresses, or other personally identifying data (the “Personal Data”) except when such information is knowingly provided. Personal information might be obtained from online transactions such as purchases, subscriptions, registrations, or membership pledges. Additionally, personal information may be transmitted as part of a form submission or in connection with other activities, services, or resources available on our website.

INFORMATION PROVIDED BY VISITORS

Online Mailing Lists
When you subscribe to our electronic mailing list(s), the ICA will request information necessary to process your subscription and send you the information you seek: your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and areas of interest. Your Personal Data may be used as set forth below.

Online Store Purchases and Purchases of Memberships
When you purchase an ICA membership or an item from the ICA Store online, the ICA and its third party merchants and agents will request information necessary to process your purchase or process your membership and acknowledge your contribution: your name, billing and shipping address, telephone number, e-mail address, and credit card information. Your credit card information will be used only for the purpose of processing and documenting the transaction. Your Personal Data may be used as set forth below. The ICA is in full compliance will all current data security laws and regulations that pertain to credit cards and personal information.

Online Program and Event Tickets
When you purchase online tickets through the site (including tickets for admission to ICA performances, artist talks, and film screenings), the ICA and its third party merchants and agents will request information necessary to process your order: your name, billing and shipping address, telephone number, e-mail address, and credit card information. Your credit card information will be used only for the purpose of processing and documenting the transaction. Your Personal Data may be used as set forth below.

INFORMATION COLLECTED AUTOMATICALLY

Non-Personal Information
The Museum does automatically collect some anonymous “non-personally identifiable” aggregate information about visitors when pages are requested through a browser. This information is used for statistical purposes, to help us monitor how guests navigate our site, allowing us to tailor our services for specific groups of visitors. Non-personally identifiable information may refer to information about our visitors’ browsers (e.g., Google Chrome or Internet Explorer), operating systems (e.g., Windows or Macintosh), Internet Service Providers (e.g., AOL, Earthlink, Verizon, Comcast, etc.), and other similar information.

Aggregate Information 
The Museum collects IP addresses as a component of the non-personally identifiable aggregate information. An IP address is a number assigned to your computer by a web server when you’re on the Internet. This information is used only for non-user-specific purposes such as determining how many users visited a specific area of our site. Such information could, if necessary, also be used to identify a user in order to comply with safety and/or security issues or with legal requirements, but only in extraordinary circumstances.

Cookies 
A cookie is a small text file that is sent to your browser from a website and stored on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies can’t read data from your hard drive or read cookie files that were created by other sites—the website that creates a cookie is the only one a browser will permit to access it. Examples of ways in which the ICA might use cookies are to control access to certain user features, to customize content areas, and to analyze site activity and user behavior. The ICA also reserves the right to use cookies in the future in conjunction with new content or extended functionality.

If you are concerned about the use of cookies, the ICA suggests that you explore your browser’s options to notify you whenever a cookie is set, or to disallow cookies altogether. Users should be aware, however, that prohibiting the use of cookies may restrict the user’s access to certain types of content or features. Numerous online resources explain cookies and describe how to disable them.

HOW INFORMATION IS USED

Any personal information provided to the Museum is maintained and accessible only by the Museum unless the Museum explicitly states otherwise.

Marketing and Promotion 
If you give the ICA permission, we may use any Personal Data you submit for Museum marketing and promotional purposes. For example, on occasion the Museum sends emails to inform users of new exhibitions or other events we think might be of interest. If you provide us with your email address, this will be deemed permission for us to email you information about our exhibition, events, and other programs and activities, as well as for any marketing or promotional purposes. However, you may withdraw this permission using our opt-out procedure. You will not receive such communications unless you have knowingly provided the personal information required. In some cases, you will be required to opt-in by joining a newsgroup or mailing list. If you do opt-in, you will always have the option to opt-out at any time by unsubscribing to that particular list or following the opt-out instructions included within the body of the email message.

Membership 
If you sign up for a membership online, your Personal Data will be entered into the Museum’s membership database. As a Museum member, the Museum may share your Personal Data with other reputable organizations, such as other nonprofits, art institutions, and companies.

Opt-Out 
If for any reason you do not wish to receive further email from the Museum, please follow the instructions for unsubscribing included within the body of the message that was sent to you.

WITH WHOM INFORMATION IS SHARED

The Museum may share your Personal Data, as collected under the circumstances outlined above, with other reputable organizations, such as other non-profits, art institutions, or companies.

The Museum has teamed up with reputable third-party vendors in order to provide certain services to its online users. The Museum has taken precautions to ensure that the privacy of its online visitors is protected by any online partners. In cases when users leave the Museum’s site to visit one of its partners’ sites, users are encouraged to become familiar with the privacy statements of each site they visit.

SECURITY 
The Museum protects all personal and non-personally identifiable information that it receives via the Internet against unauthorized access. In addition, the Museum’s website uses SSL encryption to process purchases made through its online store and ticketing systems. By using this technology, online customers can be confident that their personal information is protected from interception by any third party. Sensitive credit card information is not permanently stored on any ICA web server and, though your order information is retained for our records, this information is never shared with other companies or persons.

What is a secure connection? When a secure connection is established between your browser and a website, any data that is transferred over the connection is encrypted to prevent it from being viewed by a third party. Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption, the standard for most browsers and servers, makes it very difficult for anyone to intercept or decode messages exchanged over this type of secure connection.

Browsers such as Firefox and Internet Explorer display an image of a locked padlock in their status bar when connected to a secure site. Secure transactions are also indicated when the prefix in the location bar of your browser switches from http:// to https://. If you do not see the padlock at the bottom of your browser’s window, if the padlock is unlocked, or if the protocol in the location bar is not listed as https://, then any data exchanged with the website is potentially visible to others.

Depending on your browser, you may be able to view authentication information about a secure page by double-clicking on the locked padlock in the status bar. For more information on how your software establishes a secure connection, see the help files for your particular browser.

LINKS TO OTHER SITES

Users may find content on the Museum’s site that links to the sites and services of our partners, sponsors, or other third parties. In many cases, these links represent cooperative projects or are established with persons or entities that have a significant connection to or relationship with our site. Although every effort is made to ensure that any referrals are to reputable and relevant sources, the Museum does not control the content or links that appear on these sites. In addition, these sites or services, including their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their own privacy policies and customer service policies, or no policy at all. The Museum maintains a policy against the nonconsensual collection or sharing of personal information and encourages visitors to review the privacy policies of any sites they visit to ensure their personal information is being protected.

CHILDREN

The Museum does not knowingly collect personal information from children seventeen years of age and under. Children should always ask parents/ guardians for permission before providing personal information to any website or purchasing any products or services online. The ICA urges all parents/ guardians to participate in their child’s exploration of the Internet and to teach them about protecting their personal information while online.

POLICY CHANGES

Occasional changes may be made to this document as new services and content are added to our site or to reflect changes in the Museum’s policies. Visitors to the Museum’s website are encouraged to check this document periodically to stay informed of current ICA privacy guidelines.

ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

By using any of the Museum websites, you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our sites. Your continued use of any ICA site following the posting of changes to these terms will indicate your acceptance of those changes.