 |
|
Equity Residential Privacy Policy
|
|
Equity Residential®, its affiliates,
subsidiaries and related entities (hereinafter referred to as “Equity”) value
the relationship we have with our residents and potential residents and we are
committed to responsible information handling practices.
Since the privacy of our visitors is of paramount importance to Equity, we wish
to protect it and maintain the trust of our visitors while collecting the
information necessary to protect your privacy. Equity is fully committed to
providing information about the collection and use of personal information
furnished by, or collected from, visitors while using our websites and
services. We offer visitors the choice to decline (opt out) participation in
certain services and promotional benefits provided by Equity and/or its
carefully selected third parties. Below is an explanation of the information we
collect, how we use it, and why the use of this information will benefit our
visitors' experiences.
Equity operates businesses and Web sites under the names, among others, Equity
Residential (equityresidential.com), ERP Operating Limited Partnership, Equity
Residential Properties Management Corp. (equityapartments.com) and Equity
Corporate Housing, Inc. (equitycorporatehousing.com) Equity Condominiums
(equitycondos.com), and Fort Lewis Communities.com (ftlewiscommunities.com).
Equity is the parent company of the entities shown above, and as such, if you
provide information to any of the above entities or Web sites, this information
may be combined or shared between current or future Equity entities and
subsidiaries.
Although our businesses and Web sites have unique services and offerings, they
share a similar privacy philosophy. Equity is committed to following the
privacy principles outlined below in our conduct in the collection, use,
release and security of customer information both online and offline:
-
Providing NOTICE of our information practices.
-
Offering CHOICES about how data is used.
-
Providing the opportunity to UPDATE or CORRECT personal information.
-
Using information SECURITY safeguards.
-
Limiting the SHARING of your information.
-
COMPLYING with applicable privacy requirements.
-
Providing a means to CONTACT US about privacy-related issues.
Equity and/or each Web site maintained by Equity, may have its own privacy
policy, which it may modify as needed consistent with these principles.
|
|
|
|
|
Privacy Policy
|
|
The following Privacy Policy describes the information and privacy practices
for Equity and its web sites (the “Equity Web sites”). By visiting our leasing
offices or Web sites and submitting information, you consent to the information
practices described in this policy.
This Privacy Policy does not apply to other unrelated Web sites that may be
accessible through Equity Web sites. Our sites contain links to other sites
operated by third parties, including but not limited to third party sites that
display Equity trademarks. Please note the Equity does not control and will not
be responsible for the privacy policies of third party web sites. Third party
web sites that are accessed through links to third party web sites have
separate privacy policies and data collection practices and security measures.
We have no responsibility or liability for the practices, policies and security
measures implemented by third parties on their web sites. We encourage you to
read the privacy policies of those other sites to learn how they collect and
use information about you and to contact them to ask questions about their
privacy practices, policies and security measures before disclosing personal
information.
To assist you with reading through our Privacy Policy, we have provided answers
to questions that you may find most important:
What information does Equity COLLECT and how
is it USED?
Use of COOKIES, OTHER TECHNOLOGIES OR THIRD
PARTIES to INDIRECTLY collect information?
Does Equity SHARE the information provided?
CHOICES I have regarding how information is
used?
How can I UPDATE or CHANGE my information?
How does Equity SECURE my personal
information?
Whom can I CONTACT if I have questions or
concerns?
Will this Privacy Policy CHANGE?
|
|
|
|
|
What Information Does Equity Collect and How is It Used?
|
|
What information we collect.
We collect personal information such as your contact information (name,
address, phone number or e-mail address). When submitting personal information
on an online or paper form, we will identify which fields are required in order
to fulfill your request. Additionally, our Web server automatically collects
click-stream information such as the address (or “URL”) of the Web site that
you came from before visiting our site, which pages you visit on our site,
which browser you used to view our site and any search terms you have entered
on our site.
When we collect information.
While taking advantage of services available at Equity locations or visiting
our Web sites, we may ask that you provide certain information about yourself.
For example, we may request personal information when you set up an account
online, request information or services, participate in a sweepstakes,
promotion or survey, contact Equity with a question or concern, apply for
employment with Equity, complete a Guest Card or participate in other
activities. In addition, when using our Web sites, our servers may collect
click-stream information as described above. Equity may also use third party
providers of customer information to improve the accuracy of our customer
database, to increase our understanding of our customers or to identify
potential customers.
How the information is used.
We use the information you provide in order to 1) fulfill requests for
information, 2) provide customer service, 3) administer sweepstakes or
promotions, 4) offer new products and services, 5) measure and improve the
effectiveness of our Web sites, our marketing endeavors or our services and
offers, 6) administer surveys, 7) send marketing communications or 8) other
business purposes.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
Use of Cookies, Other Technologies or Third Parties to Indirectly
Collect Information
|
|
Cookies and other Technologies A cookie is a very small text file that is sent
to a visitor's browser from a web server and stored on the visitor's computer
hard drive. It assigns the computer a unique identifier. It is essentially the
visitor's identification card when s/he returns to an Equity Web site. Cookies
save visitors time because they help us to provide the visitor a customized
experience without having to remind us of his/her preferences each time s/he
returns to our web pages. Equity cookies cannot damage visitor files, nor can
they read information from the visitor's hard drive.
Equity cookies do not follow visitors when traveling on the Internet after
leaving Equity websites. We track the usage of our websites in order to modify
it according to our visitors' needs. We pay attention to what information is
requested and attempt to make it easier to find such information in the future.
If visitors do not want the benefits of these cookies they can set their
browser to reject the cookies. Visitors should consult the instructions for
their particular browser on how to do this. However, visitors should understand
that rejecting cookies might affect their ability to perform certain
transactions on our websites and our ability to recognize their browser from
one visit to the next.
Equity also uses invisible pixels, sometimes called web beacons, to count how
many people visit certain web pages. Information collected from invisible
pixels is used and reported in the aggregate without personally identifiable
information. Equity may use this information to improve marketing programs and
content.
Third Party Service Providers Our Web sites may use third party service
providers to serve ads, send e-mails and analyze Web site traffic on our
behalf. These companies may use technologies similar to those outlined above to
measure the effectiveness of ads and e-mails. They may also use information
about your visits to this and other Web sites so that we can provide
advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. For this purpose,
we may also provide these third party service providers anonymous information
about your site navigation and purchases.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
Does Equity Share the Information Provided?
|
|
Equity may need to share personal information with third parties in limited
circumstances. For example, we may release personal information to third
parties to perform services on our behalf such as; fulfilling our customer’s
requests, sending Equity marketing communications from Equity, conducting
research or surveys, sending regular mail and e-mail on behalf of Equity, or
processing credit card payments. Equity does not sell or rent customer
information to third parties.
Any information you may provide to us either online or offline may be combined
or shared between current or future Equity entities and subsidiaries.
From time to time, we may be required to provide personal information in
response to a valid court order, subpoena, government investigation, or as
otherwise required by law. We also reserve the right to report to law
enforcement agencies any activities that we, in good faith, believe to be
unlawful. We may release certain personal information when we believe that such
release is reasonably necessary to protect the rights, property, and safety of
others and ourselves. We may also release personal information in the event of
a corporate sale, merger, reorganization, dissolution or similar event.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
Choices Regarding How Information is Used
|
|
If your information is currently being used to send you marketing
communications, you can opt-out at any time. All marketing e-mail and direct
mail communications from Equity, such as special offers, tell you how to stop
receiving them.
To opt-out of receiving marketing communications from Equity:
Follow directions on a marketing e-mail or direct mail communication from
Equity. Send an e-mail with your current contact information to:
webmaster@eqr.com Send a request by mail to: Equity Residential, 1715 North
Westshore Blvd., Suite 200, Tampa, Florida 33607, Attn: Webmaster If you send a
written request by e-mail or regular mail, please be sure to write “Equity
Residential – Privacy” include your full name, address, phone number and e-mail
address and indicate specifically what type of marketing communications you
wish to stop receiving. This will ensure we identify you correctly in our
systems and accurately process your opt-out request. Equity will take the
appropriate steps to implement your request to opt-out. Please note that due to
production and mailing timelines, it may take up to 10 business days for
e-mails and up to six weeks for direct mail to make the requested change. Until
that change takes effect, you may still receive marketing communications from
us.
Also, please note that you may still receive business-related communications
such as communications from an apartment management employee if you are a
resident or other administrative communications.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
How Can I Update or Change My Information?
|
|
Equity wants your information and preferences to be accurate and complete. We
provide several different methods for you to update or change the information
you give us.
To update or change your information:
-
Send an e-mail with your current contact information to: webmaster@eqr.com
-
Send a request by mail to: Equity Residential, 1715 North Westshore Blvd.,
Suite 200, Tampa, Florida 33607, Attn: Webmaster
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
How Does Equity Secure My Personal Information?
|
|
Although we cannot guarantee against any loss, misuse, unauthorized disclosure,
alteration or destruction of data, we take reasonable precautions to prevent
such unfortunate occurrences. Equity has implemented internal privacy policies
including disposal procedures for all consumer information. However, Equity
cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us by
e-mail and you do so at your own risk.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
Whom Can I Contact if I Have Questions or Concerns?
|
|
Please contact our Privacy Manager to report any known or suspected privacy or
security breaches or to submit privacy-related questions or complaints. After
receiving your inquiry, we will respond within five business days. You may
contact us in the following ways:
-
Send an e-mail with your current contact information to: webmaster@eqr.com
-
Send a request by mail to: Equity Residential, 1715 North Westshore Blvd.,
Suite 200, Tampa, Florida 33607, Attn: Webmaster
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
|
Will This Privacy Policy Change?
|
|
Because our Web sites and businesses will continue to implement new
technologies and improve the services and features we provide, this policy is
subject to change. If there are changes or additions to this Privacy Policy, we
will post those changes here or in other formats we deem acceptable, so that
you will always know what information we collect online or offline, how we use
it and what choices you have. If we change our information practices or this
Privacy Policy in such a way that your personal information may be used or
shared in a different manner, we will give you the opportunity to opt-out of
having your information used or shared in that new manner.
Back to Top
|
|
|
|
| This privacy policy was last modified on
06/15/05. Equity recommends that visitors review this Privacy Statement
periodically, as Equity may revise it from time to time. |
|
