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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 09/27/2022

EX® is a digital program run by Truth Initiative Foundation doing business as Truth Initiative® (“Truth Initiative”). EX® helps people in the US to quit tobacco. We respect your privacy. This policy is about the information we collect and how we use it. If you have questions about this policy, please contact us.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information you provide to us

As you use EX®, you may provide personal information such as:

  • name
  • age group or date of birth
  • gender
  • zip code
  • email address
  • mobile phone number (if you sign up for text messages)
  • information about your efforts to quit
  • the name of your Sponsor (if you have one)
  • your username and password
  • information you share in EX® Community discussions, coaching chats, and customer service requests

Users with access to enhanced features on EX® through a Sponsor (such as their employer or health plan) can chat with an EX® Coach on the EX® website or mobile app, and schedule a future chat. Chat and scheduling are hosted by TeamSupport and YellowSchedule, third-party service providers that have their own privacy and opt-out policies.

You can post information about yourself in the EX® Community. This information will be public and not confidential. The EX® Community is hosted by Khoros, an independent third-party service provider that has its own privacy policies.

You can edit your personal information on the EX® website (www.becomeanex.org). You can also contact us to have it deleted.

1.2 Information we collect automatically

EX® automatically collects data about users to help deliver the best possible program. This includes things like:

  • your Internet protocol (IP) address (which can provide general information about your location, country, region, or city, but not your precise location)
  • browser and operating system type and version
  • time zone setting
  • date and time of each visit
  • pages you visit on the EX® website and mobile app

1.3 Information we obtain from other sources

If you have access to enhanced features on EX® through a Sponsor, we may receive personal information from that Sponsor. We will protect any personal information we receive from a Sponsor according to applicable laws and as required by the Sponsor. Please review any Sponsor privacy notices related to your use of EX®. Such notices may include rights and choices you may have about your personal information.

2. How We Use Your Information

Our use of personal data follows applicable legal requirements. We will never sell your personal information. We may decide to use your information in a way we have not yet described in this privacy policy. If we do, we will post changes on this page. The ways we use personal data are described below.

2.1 To provide and operate EX®

We use your information to customize the program for you. We may use your name, date of birth, gender, and zip code to confirm your access to an enhanced version of EX® through a Sponsor. We use your email address to send you emails related to your account, such as password resets. If you sign up for personalized emails and/or text messages from EX®, we use your information to send you messages related to your quitting progress. If you post a message to the EX® Community, we may use information you provide to help other tobacco users quit. From time to time, we may reach out for feedback or for input on new features. If we contact you, we hope you will respond, but you do not have to. Your ability to use EX will not change whether you provide feedback or not.

2.2 For research purposes

We may use your information for our own research on how to improve EX® and to advance the science about nicotine dependence treatment.

2.3 For other business purposes

We use personal data to run our business, for record-keeping and corporate governance purposes, to respond to questions from users, to prevent fraud or harm, and to comply with legal requirements or other such reasonable purposes related to running our business.

3. How We Share Your Information

We share your information with the entities described below in accordance with legal and contractual requirements:

3.1 Third party service providers

We share information with third-party service providers who process your information on our behalf and in accordance with our instructions and applicable law. These organizations will only use your personal data to the extent necessary to perform their support functions. They include:

Operational service providers who perform functions such as hosting the EX® and EX® Community websites and app, sending emails and text messages, scheduling and hosting chats with EX® Coaches, and ordering and fulfillment of nicotine replacement therapy.

Analytics providers who assist us in improving EX®, subject to the Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies section of this policy.

3.2 Sponsoring organizations

We share information with your Sponsor (if you have one) and their business associates to confirm your use of EX® as part of a wellness program offered by your Sponsor. We will report to your Sponsor any unauthorized sharing of your information.

3.3 Academic research partners

We share information with academic research partners who may use your information in research. All research partners must follow agreements we have in place with them and applicable laws. Academic papers based on this information contain only aggregated, de-identified data.

3.4 Legal entities and other third parties

We may share information with third parties to comply with legal obligations, to enforce our terms of service and other agreements with you, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Truth Initiative, our customers, our users, or others.

4. Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies

Cookies are information files that allow a website to remember individual users. When you visit our site, we may send one or more cookies to the device you use to access BecomeAnEX.org. Cookies allow us to show you pages that are only available to logged-in users. They also help us improve our program. We share this information only with our service providers, who use it for the same purposes.

Most internet browsers are set up to accept cookies. You can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to tell you when a cookie is being sent. Some parts of our website may not work properly if cookies are disabled.

If you visit EX® from another website, that site may gather information about your use of EX®. Visit the links below to learn more, including how to opt out.

5. Opting Out

To stop receiving quitting-related email from us, click "unsubscribe" at the bottom of any email message. You may continue to receive emails related to your account, such as password resets. To stop receiving text messages from us, text back the word STOP to any message. If you need help, please contact us.

6. Security

We take the security of your data very seriously. We take appropriate security measures to protect user data. Only employees, contractors, and agents who need access to user data to do their jobs are given access. Like other websites, though, we cannot ensure total protection against hackers. We do our best to protect your information but do not guarantee absolute security.

7. Children

We do not intend to collect personal information from children under age 13. Please contact us if you believe we have done so. We will delete such information.

8. Changes to this Privacy Policy

This policy may change from time to time without notice to you. Please review it from time to time for changes. Your continued use of EX® means you accept the terms of this policy.

9. Data Retention

We keep user data until it is no longer needed to run our program. We use industry standard security measures to protect it. Because this data is electronic, we cannot and do not guarantee its security.

10. Questions

If you have questions, please contact us.

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