Privacy Policy

JOINER Services LLC (“JOINER”) provides this Privacy Policy to let you know our policies and procedures regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of all information through (i) www.JoinerServices.io (“Site”), (ii) online services that are owned or controlled by JOINER and that post a link to this Privacy Policy (together with the Site, the “Service”), and (iii) information that JOINER collects offline in connection with the Service. It also describes the choices available to you regarding the using, accessing, updating and correcting your Personal Information.

If you have an unresolved privacy or data-use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, contact JOINER.

Note that certain features or services referenced in this Privacy Policy may not be offered on the Service at all times. Review our Terms of Service, which governs your use of the Service, and which is accessible at https://www.JoinerServices.io/Join.

We’ve provided short summaries in this Privacy Policy to help you understand (i) what information we collect, (ii) how we use it, and (iii) what choices or rights you may have. While these summaries help explain some of these concepts in a simple and clear way, we encourage you to read the entire Privacy Policy to understand our data practices.

Effective January 14, 2021

  1. Information Collection

Users of the Service may be Clients or Contractors (as defined in the User Agreement).

  1. Information You Provide to Us
  • Personal Information: In the course of using the Service (whether as a Client or Contractor), we may require or otherwise collect information that identifies you as a specific individual and can be used to contact or identify you (“Personal Information”). Examples of Personal Information include your name, email address, company address, billing address, date of birth, taxpayer identification number and phone number.
  • Payment Information: If you use the Service to make or receive payments, we will also collect certain payment information, such as credit card or other financial account information, and your billing address.
  • Identification Verification: We use Personal Information to validate your identity or as may be required by law such as to complete tax filings. We may request documents to verify this information, such as a copy of your government-issued identification or photo or a billing statement.
  • General Audience Service: The Service is general audience and intended for users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect Personal Information from anyone younger than age 18. If we become aware that a child younger than 18 has provided us with Personal Information, we will use commercially-reasonable efforts to delete such information from our files. If you are the parent or legal guardian of a child younger than age 18 and believe that JOINER has collected Personal Information from your child, contact us by email at: info@JoinerServices.io.
  • Non-Identifying Information/Usernames: We also may collect other information, such as zip codes, demographic data, information regarding your use of the Service, and general project-related data (“Non-Identifying Information”). We may aggregate information collected from JOINER registered and non-registered users (“JOINER Users”). In some cases, we may render Personal Information (generally, email address) into a form of Non-Identifying Information referred to in this Privacy Policy as “Hashed Information.” This is typically accomplished using a mathematical process (commonly known as a hash function) to convert information into a code. The code does not identify you directly, but it may be used to connect your activity and interests.
  • Combination of Personal and Non-Identifying: Certain Non-Identifying Information is part of your Personal Information if it is combined with other identifiers in a way that enables you to be identified (for example, combining information with your name). But the same pieces of information are considered Non-Identifying Information when they are taken alone or combined only with other non-identifying information (for example, your viewing preferences). We may combine your Personal Information with Non-Identifying Information, but JOINER will treat the combined information as Personal Information.
  • Collection of Third-Party Personal Information: We collect the following personal information from you about your contacts: first name, last name, telephone number, address, and email address when you provide it to us for the purpose of adding your contacts information.

You do not have a statutory obligation to provide us with any information, but if we do not receive certain information from you, we may not be able to provide our Service to you. If you have questions regarding this, contact us using the contact information listed in this Agreement.

  • Information Received from Third-Parties

Third-parties may also give us information about you. If we combine that information with information about you collected through the Service, we will treat that combined information as set forth in this Privacy Policy.

For example, we may supplement the information we collect with outside records, or third-parties may provide information in connection with a co-marketing agreement. If we combine the information we receive, from others with information we collect through the Service, we will treat the combined information as described in this Privacy Policy.

  • Information Collected Automatically

We receive technical information when you use our Services. We use this to (i) analyze how people use the Service, (ii) improve how our Site functions, (iii) save your log-in information for future sessions, and (iv) provide you with advertisements that may interest you.

We and those who provide us with analytics and content may automatically collect certain information from you whenever you access or interact with the Service. This information may include, among other information, (i) the browser and operating system you are using, (ii) the URL or advertisement that referred you to the Service, (iii) the search terms you entered into a search engine that led you to the Service, (iv) areas within the Service that you visited, which links you clicked on, which pages or content you viewed and for how long, (v) other similar information and statistics about your interactions, such as content response times, (vi) download errors and (vii) length of visits to certain pages and other information commonly shared when browsers communicate with websites. We may combine this automatically-collected information with other information we collect about you. We do this to improve services we offer you, and to improve marketing, analytics, and site functionality.

The information we collect also includes the Internet Protocol (“IP”) address or other unique-device identifier (“Device Identifier”) for any device (computer, mobile phone, tablet, etc.) used to access the Service. A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned or connected to the device you use to access the Service, and our servers identify your device by its Device Identifier. Some mobile-service providers may also provide us or our third-party Service Providers with information regarding the physical location of the device used to access the Service.

JOINER and its partners use cookies or similar technologies to analyze trends, administer the website, track users’ movement around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. The technology used to collect information automatically from JOINER Users may include the following:

  • Cookies: We and our Service Providers (as defined below) use “cookies” to collect information. A cookie is a small-data file that we transfer to your computer’s hard disk for record-keeping purposes. We use (i) persistent cookies that remain on your computer or similar device (to save your registration ID, login password for future logins, and to track your compliance with the JOINER Terms of Service), and (ii) session ID cookies, which expire at the end of your browser session. If you choose to disable cookies, it may limit your use of certain features or functionality of the Service.
  • Web Beacons: We and our Service Providers may also employ software technology known as “web beacons” or “tracking tags” to help us monitor what content on our Service is effective and to provide relevant advertising to you. Web beacons are small graphics with a unique identifier that may be invisible to you, but which track your online activity. Web beacons are embedded in the web pages you review or email messages you receive.
  • Embedded Scripts: We and our Service Providers may also employ software technology known as an Embedded Script. An Embedded Script is programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Service, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your computer or other device and is deactivated or deleted when you disconnect from the Service.

In addition, we and our Service Providers may use a variety of other technologies that collect similar information for security and fraud detection purposes, and we may use third-parties to perform these services on our behalf.

  • How We Respond to Do Not Track Signals

Your browser setting may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” signal to websites that you visit. JOINER does not respond to Do-Not-Track signals.

  • Project Information Collection

We collect information about a Contractor’s work for a Client, including automatically collected information about work on a particular Project.

  • User Profiles

Contractors may create a Profile, with certain information publicly available.

You may create a Profile, which consists of information about you, and may include Personal Information, photographs, examples of your Projects, information on Project previously performed the Service and outside the Service, skills, qualifications, hourly-pay rates, feedback/rating information, and other information, including your username (“Profile”). The information in your Profile may be visible to all JOINER Users and the general public. Clients of associated individual users or companies may also have the opportunity to create an organization account Profile. If you believe that an unauthorized Profile has been created about you, you can ask us to remove it by email info@JoinerServices.io.

  • Identity Verification

Before a Contractor can complete registration on the Service, or at any time thereafter, we may request identity verification. Without limiting the manner in which we request identify verification, we may require Contractors to participate in a video call after submitting their government-issued ID to enable us to confirm that the Contractor is indeed the individual in the ID. We may record such video calls and take screenshots of the user during the call. JOINER may use the information obtained from identity verification to verify your identity, enforce our Terms of Service and other agreements, and prevent fraud.

  • Messaging

Contractors and Clients may communicate with each other through JOINER. For example, Contractors and Clients may wish to discuss Client needs or schedule an interview for a Project.

  • Community Forums

We may offer public forums or blogs. If you participate, your comments and questions will be publicly displayed.

Note that certain information, such as your name and Profile may be publicly displayed on the Service, along with your User Forum Content. Note that your use of Community Forums is subject to the JOINER Terms of Service.

Note that anything you post to a Community Forum is public — others may access to your User Forum Content, use it, or share it with third-parties. If you choose to disclose Personal Information in your User Forum Content, or use Community Forums to link to your Profile, that information becomes public information and the protections of this Privacy Policy will not apply.

To ask us to remove your Personal Information from our blog or community forum, contact our email at info@JoinerServices.io. If we are unable to remove your Personal Information, we will let you know and tell you why.

  • Testimonials

We display testimonials on our Site, in addition to other endorsements. With your consent we may post your testimonial along with your company’s name. If you wish to update or delete your testimonial, contact us at info@JoinerServices.io.

  • Projects Through the Site

If you post a Project on the Service as a Client, your listing will be only viewable through the Service. Projects include information such as budget, location, job title, skill requirements, projected start date, and work summary.

  • Feedback

We collect feedback from Clients about their experience with Contractors on our Service. Feedback you provide or feedback provided about you, could become publicly viewable on the Service. We may remove feedback under the relevant provisions of our Terms of Service, including the Terms of Use.

  • Referral Program

JOINER lets you send Project referrals through the Service to a professional friend’s email. JOINER stores this information solely to send this email and track the success of our referral program.

Your friend may contact us by email at info@JoinerServices.io to request that we remove this information from our database.

  1. Use of Information

We use information collected through the Service to improve it, process your requests, prevent fraud, provide you with information and advertising that may interest you, comply with the law, and as you otherwise permit.

We Use Information We Collect:

  1. To provide and improve the Service, complete your transactions, address your inquiries, process your registration, verify the information you provide is valid, and for compliance and internal business purposes.
  2. To deliver administrative communications and JOINER newsletters, marketing, or promotional materials, and other information that may be of interest to you. If you no longer wish to receive those communications, follow the instructions in the Your Choices and Rights section.
  3. To tailor content we display to you and offers we may present to you, both on the Service and elsewhere online.
  4. To administer and develop our business relationship with you and, if applicable, the corporation or other legal entity that you represent.
  5. To assess your proposal to perform a Contract Project for JOINER.
  6. To enforce and comply with the law, including to conduct an investigation, to protect the property and rights of JOINER or a third-party, to protect the safety of any person, or to stop activity that may become, illegal, fraudulent, unethical, or legally-actionable activity. We may also use Device Identifiers to identify JOINER Users.
  7. For the purposes disclosed when you provide your information, with your consent, and as further described in this Privacy Policy.

We Use Your Personal Information for the Purposes Described:

  1. We process Personal Information to (i) meet our contractual obligations to our investors, and (ii) help Users become an active Service participant.
  2. We use Personal Information to further our legitimate interests in commercial activities. For example, we us it to:
    • Provide our Site and Service.
    • Analyze and improving our business.
    • Communication, including marketing and responding to your inquiries about our services.
    • Address information security needs and protecting our Users, JOINER, and others.
    • Manage legal issues.
  3. We need to use Personal Information to comply with our legal obligations.
  4. Data Retention

Unless you request that we delete certain information (see Your Choices and Rights), we retain (i) information to verify your identity for 30 days, and (ii) other information for at least 5 years. Your information may persist in backup copies and for business-continuity purposes for additional time. If you choose to provide us with Personal Information, we encourage you to routinely update the data to ensure that we have accurate and up-to-date information about you.

  1. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We may share information to provide the Services, for legal or investigative purposes, in connection with sweepstakes and promotions, or as part of a business or financing transaction. We may also share non-identifying information with third-parties. You have choices as to whether we share your Personal Information with third-parties for their own marketing purposes.

We may share aggregated Non-Identifying Information, and we may otherwise disclose Non-Identifying Information (including, without limitation, Hashed Information) to third-parties. We do not share your Personal Information with third-parties for those third-parties’ marketing purposes unless we first provide you with the opportunity to opt-in to or opt-out of such sharing. We may also share the information we have collected about you, including Personal Information, (i) as disclosed when you provide your information, (ii) with your consent, (iii) as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy, (iv) in the following circumstances:

  • Information About Contractors Shared with Clients or Partners

We share information regarding Contractors who have entered into a contract with a Client, including information about work history, with other Clients. If a Contractor is suspended from the Service, we may share that information with Clients for whom that Contractor has worked or submitted proposals for work. If you choose to view a Project or submit a proposal for work as a Contractor on the Service, we may share relevant information with the applicable Client(s), including, but not limited to, the information contained in your Contractor Profile.

  • Information About Clients Shared with Contractors

If you have entered into a Project Service Contract with JOINER, we may provide your name and address to (i) complete the transaction or (ii) facilitate resolving a claim or dispute. The Clients receiving your information are not allowed to use it for purposes unrelated to the transaction, such as to contact you for marketing purposes, unless you have expressly consented to it.

  • Service Providers

We may employ third-parties to facilitate our Service, to provide the Service on our behalf, to perform Service-related services (e.g. maintenance services, database management, web analytics and online advertising, payment processing, and fraud detection) or to assist us analyze how our Service is used. These third-parties may have access to your Personal Information to perform these tasks on our behalf.

  • What Happens if You Agree to Receive Information from Third-Parties or Request that We Share Your Information

You may be given an opportunity to receive information and marketing offers from third-parties. If you accept, your Personal Information will be disclosed and will be subject to the third-party’s privacy policy and practices, for which we are not responsible. If you decide that you no longer want to receive such communications, you must contact that third-party directly. You also may request that we share information about you with a third-party, and we will typically honor your request.

  • Legal and Investigative Purposes

JOINER shares information with government agencies (i) as required by law in response to lawful requests, and (ii) in connection with reporting earnings. We cooperate with government and law enforcement officials and private parties to enforce and comply with the law. We will disclose information about you as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to respond to claims and legal process, or, at the request of government authorities and others conducting an investigation where we determine in our discretion the disclosure is necessary to (i) protect the property and rights of JOINER or a third-party, (ii) protect the safety of any person, or (iii) prevent or stop activity that may be or become illegal, fraudulent, unethical, or legally-actionable activity.

  • Internal and Business Transfers

JOINER may share information, including Personal Information, to current or future subsidiaries or affiliates, for business and operational purposes. We may sell, transfer, or otherwise share some or all of our assets, including your Personal Information, in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets (including, in each case, as part of the due-diligence process with any potential acquiring entity) or in the event of bankruptcy.

  • Sweepstakes, Contest, and Promotions

We may offer sweepstakes, contests, and other promotions (any, a “Promotion”) that may require registration. By participating in a Promotion, you are agreeing to the official rules that govern it, which may include specific requirements including, except where prohibited by law, allowing the sponsor(s) of the Promotion to use your name, voice, likeness, or other indicia of persona in advertising or marketing associated with the Promotion. If you enter a Promotion, your Personal Information may be disclosed to third-parties or the public in connection with administrating the Promotion, including in connection with winner selection, prize fulfillment, and as required by law or permitted by the Promotion’s official rules, such as on a winner’s list.

  1. Third-Party Analytics Providers, Ad Servers and Similar Third-Parties

We earlier defined Service Providers, which include advertising agencies and vendors who use technology to help us understand how people use our Site. These vendors may use technologies to provide advertisements that may interest you. You can choose to opt out of receiving interest-based advertising.

JOINER may work with Service Providers and other vendors to provide us with information regarding traffic on the Service, and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Service and the effectiveness of our advertisements. Our Service Providers may collect certain information about your visits to and activity on the Service as well as other websites or services, they may set and access their own tracking technologies on your device (including cookies and web beacons), and may use that information to show you targeted advertisements. Some of these parties may collect Personal Information when you visit the Service or other online websites and services. We may also share certain Non-Identifying Information with these parties, including Hashed Information, in connection with the services they provide to us. If you wish to opt out of interest-based advertising. If you choose to opt out, note you may continue to receive generic ads.

  1. Your Choices and Rights

You have certain choices regarding how we may communicate with you.

Registered JOINER Users may update their choices regarding the types of communications you receive from us by email at info@JoinerServices.io. You also may opt-out of receiving marketing emails from us by following the opt-out instructions provided in those emails. We reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to your account or using the Service (for example, administrative and service announcements) email and other means, and these transactional account messages may be unaffected if you opt-out from receiving marketing communications. You may opt-out of receiving text messages by replying “STOP” to any text message received.

All Users may request access to or correction of any Personal Information we have about them or close their account and request that we delete Personal Information we have about them. In certain jurisdictions, Users may have certain rights with regard to their Personal Information. We will honor User requests to the extent we can reasonably do so and as required by law, but some information will remain on the Services, such as information you posted publicly.

Upon request, JOINER will let you know if we hold any of your Personal Information. You are responsible for maintaining the accuracy of the information that you submit to us, such as your contact information. You may access, correct, or ask us to delete your Personal Information by contacting JOINER. If you request to access all Personal Information you’ve submitted, we will respond to your request within 30 days or as otherwise required by law. If your information is deleted, your account may become deactivated. If your account is deactivated, or you ask to close your account, you will no longer be able to use the Service.

JOINER calculates the Client evaluations of Contractors. If you believe that we have miscalculated your rating, or you would like to exercise any rights with regard to your Personal Information, email us at info@JoinerServices.io for assistance.

We will use commercially-reasonable efforts to honor your requests for deletion; however, certain information will actively persist on the Service even if you close your account, including information that you posted to the Service. In addition, the rights described may be limited. For example, if fulfilling your request would reveal Personal Information about another person, or if you ask us to delete information that we are required by law to keep or that we have compelling legitimate interests in keeping (such as for fraud-prevention purposes). Your Personal Information in our archives and information you update or delete, or information within a closed account, may persist internally for our administrative purposes. In addition, we typically will not remove information you posted publicly through or on the Service. Bear in mind that neither you nor JOINER can delete all copies of information that has been previously shared with others on the Service.

  1. Security

We take a number of steps to protect your data, but no security is guaranteed.

JOINER takes commercially-reasonable steps to help protect and secure the information that it collects and stores about JOINER Users. All access to the Site is encrypted using industry-standard secure sockets layer (“SSL”). We also use HTTPS strict-transport security to add an additional layer of protection for our JOINER Users. But remember no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Thus, we strive to protect your Personal Information, JOINER cannot ensure, and does not warrant, the security of any information you transmit to us.

  1. International Transfer of Personal Information

Because we are a U.S. company, we process and store your information in the United States. Our Service Providers may process and store it elsewhere.

If you live outside the United States and provide information to us, JOINER transfers Personal Information to the United States for processing. Our Service Providers process Personal Information in the United States and elsewhere. These countries may not have the same data-protection laws as the country from which you initially provided the information. When we transfer your information to the United States, we will protect it as described in this Privacy Policy.

  1. Link to Other Sites

Our Service contains links to other websites. If you choose to click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third-party’s website. Our linking to a website is not an endorsement, authorization, or representation of our affiliation with that third-party, nor is it an endorsement of their privacy or information-security policies or practices. We do not control third-party websites. These other websites may place their own cookies or other files on your computer, collect data, or solicit Personal Information from you. We encourage you to read the privacy policies or statements of the other websites you visit.

  1. Private and Public Profile

The Profile you create on our Site is intended to be privately viewed. Contractors will only be able to view Client Projects, and Clients will only be able to view Contractor Profiles. Contractors will not be able to view other Contractor Profiles. Clients will not be able to view other Clients Projects.

However, Client and Contractor Profiles may be used publicly for marketing, sales, training, or other means to promote JOINER’s platform.

  1. Phishing

Phishing websites imitate legitimate websites to obtain personal or financial information. Identity theft and phishing are of great concern to JOINER. For more information about phishing, visit the website of the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0003-phishing. In addition, if you believe you have received an email or had a similar interaction with a third-party pretending to be JOINER, report it to info@JoinerServices.io.

  1. California and Nevada Residents – Your Privacy Rights

Notice for California Residents:

Contact JOINER and we will provide you with additional details on your rights available to California residents, and how to exercise such rights.

Notice for Nevada Residents:

Under Nevada law, certain Nevada residents may opt out of the sale of “personally identifiable information” for monetary consideration to a person for that person to license or sell such information to additional persons. “Personally identifiable information” includes first and last name, address, email address, phone number, Social Security Number, or an identifier that allows a specific person to be contacted either physically or online.

We do not engage in such activity; however, if you are a Nevada resident who has purchased or leased goods or services from us, you may opt out of any potential future sales under Nevada law by emailing to info@JoinerServices.io. Note we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity and the authenticity of the request. Once verified, we will maintain your request if our practices change.

  1. Changes to This Policy

If we make substantial changes to this Privacy Policy, we will provide notice.

JOINER may update this Privacy Policy at any time, and any changes are effective upon posting. If there are substantial changes how we treat your Personal Information, we will display a notice through the Services before the change is effective. We may also notify you by email. However, we will use your Personal Information in a manner consistent with the Privacy Policy in effect at the time you submitted the information, unless you consent to the new or revised policy.

  1. Contacting Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us by email at info@JoinerServices.io, or by mail addressed to JOINER, Attn: Legal, 400 Renaissance Center, Suite 2600, Detroit, MI 48243, USA.