Policy regarding Information Privacy and Confidentiality
Valid from December 5, 2018
This Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”) will be deemed accepted by Mercado Pago Users upon their using Mercado Pago’s Service.
As an ordinary part of our activity we collect and, sometimes, disclose information about the Users and Visitors to our Website. These Privacy Policies describe the information Mercado Pago collects from its users and visitors and what can be done with such information. This Policy is very detailed because it is important that all our users and visitors to our Website become aware of Mercado Pago’s practices as accurately as possible. Upon signing in and/or browsing Mercado Pago’s Website, users and/or visitors give their consent so that their personal information, as well as their credit and/or financial data, can be used according to the following policies.
The privacy of users’ information is of great importance to Mercado Pago. Therefore, all necessary precautions and measures are taken to safeguard the Users’ information, using IT security devices for the protection of information, where information is kept under such support means.
2- How we use the Information
All the Personal Information we collect is intended to:
- Develop internal studies on the interests, behavior and demography of users to better understand their needs and interests and offer them better services or provide them with related information.
- The winners of a Promotional campaign and/or contest organized by Mercado Pago hereby expressly give their permission to disclose their names, personal information and images and their relatives’ by any means and in any manner as deemed convenient for promotional and/or advertising purposes, without being entitled to compensation of any kind.
- Share personal information (including e-mail address) with service providers or outsourcing companies that contribute to enhance or facilitate transactions through Mercado Pago, including (without limitation) transportation services, payment methods, insurance brokers or payment collection agencies, call centers or loyalty programs, among others. Mercado Pago will ensure that certain standards are met by signing agreements or contracts to protect the privacy of its users’ personal information. Nevertheless, Mercado Pago will not be liable for the wrongful use of a user’s personal information by such companies or Internet sites. In some cases, these service providers will collect information directly from the user (for example, if we require them to conduct surveys or studies). Under such circumstances, users will receive notice about the engagement of a service provider in such activities, and the user at his/her sole discretion may provide any information as he/she wishes and agree to any additional use of the information provided as such providers decide to make. If, on its own initiative, a user directly discloses additional information to such providers, they will use that information in accordance with their own privacy policies. If we decide to share personal information with third parties who are not Mercado Pago’s service providers or affiliated or related companies, we will request your consent.
- Send information or short text messages (SMS) to the cell phone number provided by the user to Mercado Pago. Such short text messages may contain advertisements or promotions of Mercado Pago and/or third parties, and communicate news about Mercado Pago’s services including, in particular but without limitation, reminders about payment deadlines and other obligations arising from the use of Mercado Pago’s services.
- Supply the personal information of the users to any organization taking part in the resolution of disputes between them.
- Supply personal information to Bancolombia, its business group, affiliates and subsidiaries to be contacted for the supply of goods and services.
- By accepting this Privacy Policy, the User authorize Mercado Pago and Bancolombia to carry out the consultation, processing and analytical management of financial, commercial and credit information (present, past and future) before financial risk centers or any another entity that manages databases.
3- Confidentiality of the information
Mercado Pago will not sell, rent or share Personal Information except as established in these policies. We will do our best to protect the privacy of the information. Under certain circumstances, we may be compelled to disclose information to the authorities or to third parties by virtue of judicial orders or legal regulations, or in the event third parties have access to or intercept information or data transmissions. In such cases, Mercado Pago will not be liable for the information thus revealed.
4- Personal Password
In order to use Mercado Pago, Users will have a personal password to be determined individually by each user, which password will enable access to Mercado Pago’s Website and use of the Service. The password must be kept strictly confidential by each user and under no circumstances will it be disclosed to or shared with other persons.
Users will be responsible for all actions taken through their use of an e-mail address and under their Mercado Pago Personal Password, including being held liable for the damage suffered by other Users, third parties or Mercado Pago as a result. If a User has reasons to believe that other people know his/her Password, he/she will change it.
5- Minors
Minors cannot use Mercado Pago’s services, and therefore cannot provide Personal Information to be included in our databases. However, they can do so through their parents or guardians.
6- Use of the information by other Users
In order to facilitate the interaction among all members of the Mercado Pago, community, our service enables Users operating through Mercado Pago to provide any contact information they deem appropriate so that they can be contacted by their counterparties to the transaction, such as e-mail address, full name or corporate name, telephone numbers, address and city, among other information.
Users will only use the Personal Information of other Users obtained through our website for: (a) communications related to Mercado Pago which are not unsolicited commercial communications, and (b) any other purpose to which the relevant User who owns such Personal Information expressly consents.
Mercado Pago assumes no liability for Users’ utilization of the information obtained from the use of the Services.
7- Cookies
Any User or visitor of the Mercado Pago Website knows and accepts that Mercado Pago may employ a follow-up system by means of cookies (the “Cookies”). Cookies are small files placed on your hard drive, with a limited duration which help customize our services. We also offer certain functionalities which are only available through the use of Cookies. Cookies are used to identify the interests, behavior and demography of visitors or Users of our Website and enable us to have a better understanding of their needs and interests, so that we can offer them better services or provide them with related information. We will also use the information obtained through these Cookies to analyze the pages viewed by the visitor or User and the searches conducted; to enhance our marketing and commercial initiatives; to display promotions or advertisements, banners on interesting issues, and publish news about Mercado Pago, to customize contents; we may also use Cookies to promote and enforce the site’s rules and security. Mercado Pago may add Cookies in the e-mails it sends to assess the effectiveness of its promotions.
Additionally, we use Cookies to allow the User to enter his/her password less frequently during a browsing session, to help count and verify Users’ registration and activities, always ensuring that the installation of Cookies is for the benefit of the receiving User, and that Cookies will not be used for any purposes other than those of Mercado Pago.
It is hereby established that the installation and existence of Cookies in the User’s computer depends on his/her exclusive will, and they can be removed from the computer whenever the User so desires. To find out how to remove Cookies from your system, Users will go to the Help Section on Internet Explorer.
Furthermore, Cookies or other similar systems from third parties may be found on certain pages of our Website. For example, if Users browse a web page created by another User, there may be a Cookie on that web page.
It is hereby expressly established that these policies cover the use of Cookies by this Website and not by advertisers. We do not control the use of Cookies by third parties.
8- Web Beacons
A Web beacon is an electronic image, also called single-pixel (1x1 gif) or transparent pixel, embedded in a webpage’s code. A Web beacon is similar in purpose to Cookies. Additionally, Web beacons are used to measure user traffic patterns from one page to another in order to optimize traffic flow across the Web.
9- E-mails from Mercado Pago
The acceptance of Mercado Pago’s General Conditions, of which this annex is a part, also implies the user’s consent to receive e-mails with news, promotions, and information from Mercado Pago.
Notwithstanding the fact that Mercado Pago’s intention is to permanently keep its users on top of promotions, news, changes, etc., users may request not to receive e-mails and promotional information.
10- Orders from competent authorities – Legal Requirements
Mercado Pago cooperates with competent authorities and other third parties to ensure compliance with the applicable laws, for instance, with regard to the protection of industrial and intellectual property rights, fraud prevention and other matters.
Mercado Pago may disclose users’ Personal Information upon request by competent judicial authorities or government officials for the purpose of their investigations, even without a court or executive order or a subpoena, or regarding for example (and without limitation) criminal or fraud investigations or those associated with computer piracy. Under said circumstances, Mercado Pago will cooperate with the competent authorities in order to safeguard the integrity and security of the Website and its users.
Mercado Pago may (and users expressly give their consent to) transmit any Personal Information regarding its users in order to comply with applicable laws and cooperate with the competent authorities to the extent that we, at our sole discretion, may deem it necessary and appropriate in connection with the investigation of an illegal act or fraud, the infringement of industrial or intellectual property rights or any other activity which is unlawful or for which Mercado Pago or its users may be held liable. This right will be exercised by Mercado Pago in order to contribute to law compliance and enforcement, regardless of whether a court or administrative order exists for that purpose.
Furthermore, Mercado Pago reserves the right (and Users expressly give us their consent) to communicate any information of its users to other users, organizations or third parties if there are sufficient reasons to believe that a user’s activity is suspected of constituting, or being an attempt to commit a crime or cause harm to other persons. This right will be exercised by Mercado Pago at our sole discretion when appropriate or necessary to preserve the integrity and security of the Community and that of its users, to ensure compliance with the General Terms and Conditions and other Policies, and to contribute to law compliance and enforcement. This right will be exercised by Mercado Pago regardless of whether a court or administrative order exists for that purpose.
11- Security. Storage of Information
Mercado Pago is bound by all effective regulations in relation to security measures applicable to Personal Information. Additionally, Mercado Pago meets the industry standards with respect to the protection of the confidentiality of Users’ Personal Information including, among other devices, firewalls and Secure Socket Layers (“SSL”). Mercado Pago treats its users’ data as an asset that must be protected against any loss or unauthorized access. We use different security devices to protect such information against unauthorized access by other users, whether from inside or outside our company. However, it should be noted that there is no such thing as perfect security on the Internet.
For that reason, Mercado Pago will not be liable for the unlawful access or breach of our systems or databases by unauthorized persons, nor will Mercado Pago be liable for any wrongful use of the information thus obtained.
12- Access rights, Cancellation and Personal Information Change
Users are fully entitled to access, cancel and update their Personal Information, including their e-mail address, and they may refuse to the use thereof and require to be informed of any assignments made, in accordance with the provisions contained in the applicable regulations. In any case, users guarantee and will be held liable for the truthfulness, accuracy, validity and authenticity of the Personal Information provided, and they undertake to keep their Personal Information duly updated.
Upon registration in Mercado Pago, Users may review and change the information provided throughout the registration process, including:
- their main and secondary e-mail addresses. Notwithstanding any changes Users might introduce, Mercado Pago will keep their previous Personal Information for security and fraud control.
- registration information, such as: full name, company, address, city, region, zip code, country, main telephone number, secondary telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, etc.
- their password.
In some cases, we will keep for the period established by law the Personal Information Users requested to be removed, in order to resolve disputes or respond to claims, detect problems or incidents and solve them, and enforce the General Terms and Conditions. In any event, a user’s Personal Information will not be immediately removed from our files for legal and technical reasons, including security back-up systems. Therefore, Users should not expect us to definitely delete all their Personal Information from our databases.
In order to change any of the information provided at the time of Registration, you can access the My Account section and click on My Information.
Mercado Pago may at any time amend the terms and conditions of these Privacy and confidentiality Policies and/or its e-mail delivery practices. Mercado Pago will notify such amendments to the User by publishing on the site an updated version of the terms and conditions, indicating the date of the last update and sending an e-mail to the User’s main address. Within 5 (five) calendar days following the publication of the amendments and the delivery of the referred e-mail to the User, the User will contact the customer service if he does not accept them, in which case the contractual relationship will be terminated and the Personal Information will not be used in any way other than as indicated at the time of their collection. Upon expiration of the referred term, the User will be deemed to have accepted the new terms and the agreement will continue to be binding upon both parties.