This privacy policy describes how Hardware Nexus collects, stores, protects, and/or processes any information that you give us. This privacy policy applies to our use of any and all Data collected by us or provided by you in relation to your use of this Website and Services. We are committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. If you provide us with personal information through HardwareNexus.com, you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
By visiting our Website, you are accepting the practices described in our privacy policy, including our use of cookies and similar online tools. If you do not agree to the terms of this privacy policy, please do not use this Website.
This privacy policy does not apply to Websites maintained by other companies or organizations to which we may link or who may link to us. We are not responsible for the actions and privacy policies of third party websites.
We reserve the right to modify or amend the terms of our privacy policy from time to time without notice. Your continued use of our Website following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.
This privacy policy should be read alongside, and in addition to, our Cookie Policy, which can be found at: https://hardwarenexus.com/cookie-policy/. Please read this privacy policy carefully.
Last update: November 4, 2022.
Definitions and interpretation In this privacy policy
- Data
Collectively all information that you submit to Hardware Nexus via this Website. This definition incorporates, where applicable, the definitions provided in the Data Protection Laws;
- Cookies
A small text file placed on your computer by this Website when you visit certain parts of the Website and/or when you use certain features of the Website. Details of the cookies used by this Website are set out in the clause below (Cookies);
- Data Protection Laws
Any applicable law relating to the processing of personal Data, including but not limited to the Directive 96/46/EC (Data Protection Directive) or the GDPR, and any national implementing laws, regulations and secondary legislation, for as long as the GDPR is effective in the UK;
- GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679;
- UK and EU Cookie Law
The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 as amended by the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) (Amendment) Regulations 2011;
- CCPA
The California Consumer Privacy Act 2018 / AB-375, a state statute intended to enhance privacy rights and consumer protection for residents of California, United States;
- User or you
Any third party that accesses the Website and is not either (i) employed by Hardware Nexus and acting in the course of their employment or (ii) engaged as a consultant or otherwise providing services to Hardware Nexus and accessing the Website in connection with the provision of such services;
- Website
The website that you are currently using, https://hardwarenexus.com, and any sub-domains of this site thereof, unless expressly excluded by their own terms and conditions.
Data We Collect
We collect two basic types of information from you in conjunction with your use of this Website: non-personally identifiable information and personally identifiable information. Non-personally identifiable information does not individually identify you, but it may include tracking and usage information about your general location, demographics, use of the Website and the Internet. Personally identifiable information is any information that can individually identify you and includes, your name, address, phone number, and email address, or non-personally identifiable information that has been linked to such personally identifiable information.
Personally Identifiable Information
As a general matter, you can browse this Website without submitting your personally identifiable information to us. However, there are a number of circumstances in which you may supply us with your personally identifiable information, including when you subscribe to our publications, newsletters, and other content, complete a poll or participate in market research, enter a contest, contact us, or when you seek employment at Hardware Nexus.
Non-Personally Identifiable Information
When you interact with the Website, we may collect certain information that does not identify you individually (“non-personally identifiable information” or “non-PII”), such as demographic data; information about your computer, mobile device, or other device that you use to access the Website, including IP address, general location information, unique device identifiers, browser type, browser language, and other transactional information.
We may also collect information about your use of the Website, including your search terms and search results, and additional “traffic data” such as time of access, date of access, software crash reports, session identification number, access times, and referring website addresses. Our servers may automatically keep an activity log of your use of our Website. In addition to non-identifiable individual information, we may collect aggregate data regarding the use of the Website.
How We Collect Data
Personal information you disclose to us
We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about us or our products and Services, when you participate in activities on the Services, or otherwise when you contact us.
- Personal Information Provided by You
The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following: names, and email addresses [e.g. When you choose to contact us through one of our contact forms].
- Sensitive Information
We do not process sensitive information, such as genetic, or biometric data [e.g. facial recognition, voice, or fingerprint scanning], data revealing racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs.
Information automatically collected
We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.
Like many website operators, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.
The information we collect includes:
- Log and Usage Data
Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings and information about your activity in the Services (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, searches, and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called “crash dumps”), and hardware settings).
- Device Data
We collect device data such as information about your computer, phone, tablet, or other device you use to access the Services. Depending on the device used, this device data may include information such as your IP address (or proxy server), device and application identification numbers, location, browser type, hardware model, Internet service provider and/or mobile carrier, operating system, and system configuration information.
- Location Data
We collect location data such as information about your device’s location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device. However, if you choose to opt out, you may not be able to use certain aspects of the Services.
We do not collect any other type of personal data. If you are accessing our website through a social media account, please refer to the social media provider’s privacy policy for information regarding their data collection.
Purpose of Data Collection
We process your information to provide, improve, and administer our Services, communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with law. We may also process your information for other purposes with your consent.
We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:
- Website Provisioning
Administer our Website, including troubleshooting, and statistical or data analysis;
- Performance And Analytics
To improve our Website and enhance user experience by ensuring you have access to personalized content in line with your interests;
- Security
To ensure that our Website remains secure and is not subject to any hacking or fraud.
- To deliver targeted advertising to you
We may process your information to develop and display personalized content and advertising tailored to your interests, location, and more.
- To identify usage trends
We may process information about how you use our Services to better understand how they are being used so we can improve them.
How We Share Your Data
We do not sell or rent your personal data to third parties. However, our partners, including ad partners, may collect data in relation to your Website usage as disclosed herein. We will not disclose your personally identifiable information collected from the Website to any organizations not part of Hardware Nexus or related entities, except as described in this privacy policy.
Third-Party Agents
We have third party agents, and partners that perform functions on our behalf, including, but not limited to, hosting, content management tools, social media integration, marketing, analytics, and customer service. These entities may have access to personally identifiable information if needed to perform their functions. If such access is required, the third parties will be obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of that personally identifiable information. They are restricted from using, selling, distributing or altering this data in any way other than to provide the requested services to the Sites. Below is a list of Third-party scripts or SDKS that may be used on Hardware Nexus:
- Google Analytics (Google Inc.)
Google Analytics is a web analysis service provided by Google Inc. (“Google”). Google utilizes the Data collected to track and examine the use of this Application, to prepare reports on its activities and share them with other Google services.
Google may use the Data collected to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.
Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.
Place of processing: US – Privacy Policy
- Facebook share button, social widgets and embedded posts (Meta, Inc.)
The Facebook social widgets is a service allowing interaction with the Facebook social network provided by Facebook, Inc.
Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.
Place of processing: US – Privacy Policy
- Twitter share button, social widgets and embedded Tweets (Twitter, Inc.)
The Twitter Tweet button and social widgets are services allowing interaction with the Twitter social network provided by Twitter, Inc.
Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.
Place of processing: US – Privacy Policy
- YouTube video widget and embedded videos (Google Inc.)
YouTube is a video content visualization service provided by Google Inc. that allows this Application to incorporate content of this kind on its pages.
Personal Data collected: Cookies and Usage Data.
Place of processing: US – Privacy Policy
- Disqus Commenting
Disqus is commenting software. Privacy Policy
Advertisers
We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web site. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.
Advertisers, as third-party vendors, use cookies to collect usage and demographic data in order to serve ads on our site. For example, Google’s use of the DART cookie enables it to serve ads to our users based on their visit to our sites and other sites on the Internet. Users may opt out of the use of the DART cookie by visiting the Google ad and content network privacy policy.
We may use the following advertisers:
- Google Ad Sense: https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Google Ad Exchange: https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Media.net: https://www.media.net/privacy-policy/
Cookies
We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to access or store information. Specific information about how we use such technologies and how you can refuse certain cookies is set out in our Cookie Notice.
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. We and some of our business partners (for example, advertisers) use cookies on our Website. These cookies track usage of the site for security, analytics and targeted advertising purposes.
We may use the following type of cookies:
Essential cookies [0]
These cookies are essential to the provision of our Website.
Functionality cookies [0]
These cookies help us remember choices you have made while on our website, remember your preferences, and personalize your Website experience.
Analytics and performance cookies [2]
These cookies help us collect statistical and analytical usage to help up analyze website usage.
Name: _ga_#
Purpose: This cookie is used by Google Analytics to persist session state.
Provider: .hardwarenexus.com
Service: Google analytics View Service Privacy Policy
Country: United States
Type: http_cookie
Expires In: 1 year 11 months 29 days
Name: _ga
Purpose: Google Universal Analytics – which is a significant update to Google’s more commonly used analytics service. This cookie is used to distinguish unique users by assigning a randomly generated number as a client identifier. It is included in each page request in a site and used to calculate visitor, session and campaign data for the sites analytics reports.
Provider: .hardwarenexus.com
Service: Google analytics View Service Privacy Policy
Country: United States
Type: http_cookie
Expires In: 1 year 11 months 29 days
Social media cookies [0]
These cookies allow you to interact with content on certain social media platforms, such a “liking” our articles. Depending on your social media setting, the social media network will have record of this and may display your name or identifier in relation to this action.
Advertising and targeted advertising cookies [0]
These cookies track your browsing habits and location to provide you with advertising in line with your interests.
To find out more about the cookies we use, why we use them, and how to manage and delete cookies in general, please refer to our Cookie Policy, which can be found at: https://hardwarenexus.com/cookie-policy/.
Links to Other Websites
This Website contains links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site, and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Website.
How Long We Keep Your Data
We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this privacy policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements). No purpose in this policy will require us keeping your personal information for longer than 2 years.
When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.
How We Keep Your Data Safe
We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.
Data Collection from Children
We do not knowingly solicit data from or market to children under 16 years of age. By using the Services, you represent that you are at least 16 or that you are visiting this Website under parental supervision. If we learn that personal information from users less than 16 years of age has been collected, we will deactivate the account and take reasonable measures to promptly delete such data from our records. If you become aware of any data we may have collected from children under age 16, please contact us at https://hardwarenexus.com/contact/.
Legal Bases We Rely on to Process Your Data
If you are located in the EU or UK, this section applies to you.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR require us to explain the valid legal bases we rely on in order to process your personal information. As such, we may rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:
- Consent. We may process your information if you have given us permission (i.e., consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
- Legitimate Interests. We may process your information when we believe it is reasonably necessary to achieve our legitimate business interests and those interests do not outweigh your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms. For example, we may process your personal information for some of the purposes described in order to:
[1] Develop and display personalized and relevant advertising content for our users
[2] Analyze how our Services are used so we can improve them to engage and retain users
- Legal Obligations. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations, such as to cooperate with a law enforcement body or regulatory agency, exercise or defend our legal rights, or disclose your information as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.
- Vital Interests. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of a third party, such as situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person.
If you are located in Canada, this section applies to you.
We may process your information if you have given us specific permission (i.e., express consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose, or in situations where your permission can be inferred (i.e., implied consent). You can withdraw your consent at any time.
In some exceptional cases, we may be legally permitted under applicable law to process your information without your consent, including, for example:
- If collection is clearly in the interests of an individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way
- For investigations and fraud detection and prevention
- For business transactions provided certain conditions are met
- If it is contained in a witness statement and the collection is necessary to assess, process, or settle an insurance claim
- For identifying injured, ill, or deceased persons and communicating with next of kin
- If we have reasonable grounds to believe an individual has been, is, or may be victim of financial abuse
- If it is reasonable to expect collection and use with consent would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province
- If disclosure is required to comply with a subpoena, warrant, court order, or rules of the court relating to the production of records
- If it was produced by an individual in the course of their employment, business, or profession and the collection is consistent with the purposes for which the information was produced
- If the collection is solely for journalistic, artistic, or literary purposes
- If the information is publicly available and is specified by the regulations
GDPR Compliance for European Territories
In compliance with European privacy laws, in particular the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Hardware Nexus provides specific additional rights for citizens of the European Territories such as the right to access, rectification, right to object, to complaint, and right to erasure.
In some regions, such as the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom (UK), and Canada, you have rights that allow you greater access to and control over your personal information. You may review, change, or terminate your account at any time. You have certain rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; and (iv) if applicable, to data portability. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. You can make such a request by contacting us at https://hardwarenexus.com/contact/.
We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
If you are located in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection supervisory authority. You can find their contact details here: https://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/bodies/authorities/index_en.htm.
If you are located in Switzerland, the contact details for the data protection authorities are available here: https://www.edoeb.admin.ch/edoeb/en/home.html.
Cookies and similar technologies: Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies. If you choose to remove cookies or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our Services.
CCPA Privacy Notice
If you are a resident of California, you are granted specific rights regarding access to your personal information.
California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.
If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Services, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from all our systems (e.g., backups, etc.).
The California Code of Regulations defines a “resident” as: (1) every individual who is in the State of California for other than a temporary or transitory purpose and (2) every individual who is domiciled in the State of California who is outside the State of California for a temporary or transitory purpose
All other individuals are defined as “non-residents.”
If this definition of “resident” applies to you, we must adhere to certain rights and obligations regarding your personal information.
Categories of personal information we collect
We have collected the following categories of personal information in the past twelve (12) months:
| Category | Example | Collected |
|---|---|---|
| Identifiers | Contact details, such as name, alias, email address, and Internet Protocol address | Yes |
| Identifiers | Postal address, telephone or mobile contact number, unique personal identifier, online identifier, and account name | No |
| Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute | Education, employment, employment history, and financial information | No |
| Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law | Gender and date of birth | No |
| Commercial information | Transaction information, purchase history, financial details, and payment information | No |
| Biometric information | Fingerprints and voiceprints | No |
| Internet or other similar network activity | Online behavior and interactions with our websites, applications, systems, and advertisements | Yes |
| Internet or other similar network activity | Browsing history, search history, online behavior, interest data, and interactions with other websites, applications, systems, and advertisements | No |
| Geolocation data | Device location | Yes |
| Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information | Images and audio, video or call recordings created in connection with our business activities | No |
| Professional or employment-related information | Business contact details, work history, and professional qualifications if you apply for a job with us | No |
| Education Information | Student records and directory information | No |
| Inferences drawn from other personal information | Inferences drawn from any of the collected personal information listed above to create a profile or summary about, for example, an individual’s preferences and characteristics | No |
Additionally, you have the following rights:
Right to request deletion of the data — Request to delete
You can ask for the deletion of your personal information. If you ask us to delete your personal information, we will respect your request and delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions provided by law, such as (but not limited to) the exercise by another consumer of his or her right to free speech, our compliance requirements resulting from a legal obligation, or any processing that may be required to protect against illegal activities.
Right to be informed — Request to know
Depending on the circumstances, you have a right to know:
- whether we collect and use your personal information;
- the categories of personal information that we collect;
- the purposes for which the collected personal information is used;
- whether we sell your personal information to third parties;
- the categories of personal information that we sold or disclosed for a business purpose;
- the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and
- the business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information.
In accordance with applicable law, we are not obligated to provide or delete consumer information that is de-identified in response to a consumer request or to re-identify individual data to verify a consumer request.
Right to Non-Discrimination for the Exercise of a Consumer’s Privacy Rights
We will not discriminate against you if you exercise your privacy rights.
Verification process
Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. These verification efforts require us to ask you to provide information so that we can match it with information you have previously provided us. For instance, depending on the type of request you submit, we may ask you to provide certain information so that we can match the information you provide with the information we already have on file, or we may contact you through a communication method (e.g., phone or email) that you have previously provided to us. We may also use other verification methods as the circumstances dictate.
We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. To the extent possible, we will avoid requesting additional information from you for the purposes of verification. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes. We will delete such additionally provided information as soon as we finish verifying you.
Other privacy rights
- You may object to the processing of your personal information.
- You may request correction of your personal data if it is incorrect or no longer relevant, or ask to restrict the processing of the information.
- You can designate an authorized agent to make a request under the CCPA on your behalf. We may deny a request from an authorized agent that does not submit proof that they have been validly authorized to act on your behalf in accordance with the CCPA.
To exercise these rights, you can contact us or by referring to the contact details at the bottom of this document. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you.
Updating This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated “Revised” date and the updated version will be effective as soon as it is accessible. If we make material changes to this privacy notice, we may notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to review this privacy notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.
Contacting Us About This Privacy Policy
If you have questions or comments about this policy, you may contact us at https://hardwarenexus.com/contact/.