Privacy Policy
YouNoodle Privacy Policy
Effective Date: October 12, 2023
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Welcome to YouNoodle! This Privacy Policy ("Policy") applies to your access and use of
younoodle.com ("the Site") and the software and services available on the Site or offered by our
subsidiaries ("YouNoodle Services"). This Policy expressly discloses i) the types of personal and
non-personal information collected as a result of your use of the Site and the YouNoodle
Services; ii) how such data is used and stored; and iii) your choices and options regarding
sharing and use of your data.
This Privacy Policy is incorporated as part of the YouNoodle Terms of Service.
We take your privacy seriously. If you have any questions about this policy or about privacy at
YouNoodle, please contact us at support@younoodle.com.
1. What Information is Collected, and How is it Used?
Data Collected When You Visit Our Site:
Tracking Data ("Tracking Information")
Beacons (also known as Web bugs, pixel tags, or clear GIFs)
When a user visits the Site's homepage, YouNoodle utilizes an electronic file, called a web
beacon, to count users that have visited the Site. Beacons are tiny graphics with a unique
identifier that may be included on our Site Services for several purposes, including to deliver or
communicate with Cookies, to track and measure the performance of the YouNoodle Services, to
monitor how many visitors view our Site. Unlike Cookies, which are stored on the user's device,
Web Beacons are typically embedded invisibly on web pages (or in an e-mail). We do not use
web beacons to track any activity related to user accounts.
Cookies and our Cookie Policy
YouNoodle Cookie Policy. We use cookies, small strings of numbers, and letters that are placed
on your browser. We use a persistent cookie that contains login information, which automatically logs you in when you return to our website. We also use the Google Analytics and Cookiebot cookies to help us understand how users use our Site and to improve
YouNoodle Services.
If you log in with your Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn account, cookies may also be placed in
accordance with their privacy policies. You can set your browser to remove or reject cookies;
however, some Site features or Services may not work properly without cookies.
Personal Information
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IP Addresses. When you visit the Site or use Services our servers automatically record
information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website ("Log Data"). This Log Data
may include information such as your computer's Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type
or the webpage you were visiting before you came to the Services, pages of the Site that you
visit, the time spent on those pages, information you search for on the Services, access times and dates, and other statistics.
Data Collected During Account Creation: We will collect your name and e-mail address and
password when you set up an account with us as a customer or as a competition entrant
("Account Information"). When you create an account to access the YouNoodle Services, you
can sign up either with your email or through certain social media accounts. If you sign up
directly with your email address, we will collect your First and Last Name, Email Address and
ask you to create and confirm an account password. If you sign up using your Facebook, Twitter
or LinkedIn accounts, you will be asked for your account login information. By using third party
social media accounts to create an account, you are allowing YouNoodle to access personal
information in those accounts in order to pre-populate your account sign-up process with
information from those accounts. All information is accessed by YouNoodle in accordance with
the privacy policies of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn .
Data Collected When You Set Up a Profile. After you set up your account, we may give you the
option of setting up a profile to describe yourself and your project. "You may also be given the
option of providing your Account Information (except your password, which you should not
share with others).
Data Collected When You Apply to Enter A Competition. When you apply to enter a competition
that is powered by the YouNoodle platform, you may be required to provide both Personal
Information (such as your name, address, passport identification number, contact information,
email, phone number, resume, or biography) and information about your startup (such as a
mission statement, pitch deck, financials, market strategy, etc.) ("Competition Information").
With respect to Competition Information, YouNoodle and our subsidiaries are generally the Data
Processor acting on behalf of the competition organizer or organizers identified in each
applicable contest ("Competition Organizer’). The type of Competition Information collected is
determined by the Competition Organizer in their sole and absolute discretion, and their
collection and use of that information is governed by the rules, regulations, guidelines, and
privacy policy of a given Competition Organizer. Entrants should review the applicable rules and
policies of a Competition Organizer to understand the scope of their collection, use, and storage
practices.
Competitions Sponsored and Organized by YouNoodle. In the event that a competition is
sponsored and organized by us or a subsidiary, we will clearly identify and disclose how we
intend to use the information from our competitions so that you can decide if you want to enter
and provide your Competition Information to us as well as know who to contact regarding your
Competition Information. For competitions that we sponsor, we will not ask for your race,
ethnicity or health information or any other data that is classified as "Sensitive Information"
under Article 9 of the General Data Privacy Regulation.
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Data Collected When You Subscribe to or Purchase YouNoodle Software and Services. When
you subscribe to or purchase any YouNoodle Services, YouNoodle may additionally collect your
email, first and last name, billing address, credit card number and security code in order to
process the transaction. YouNoodle may also, upon request, mail an invoice to the mailing
address provided by a user to facilitate payment.
With respect to information collected in connection with the subscription or purchase of
YouNoodle Software, Services for Competition Organizers and competitions identified as
sponsored by YouNoodle, YouNoodle is the Data Controller, and you should direct any inquiries
or requests to us.
Data Collected When You Like or Share Competitions. Users may like, share, or follow various
competitions powered by the YouNoodle platform on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. Users
should review the privacy policies of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for more detail about
information collected from these sites. For an updated list of third-party social plug-ins,
click here.
Data Collected for Purchases and Subscriptions. When someone makes a payment related to our
Services, we collect and transmit Account Information and credit card payment information and
transmit it our payments processor. We do not store credit card payment information.
2. How is Collected Information Used?
Subsidiaries: Any information we share with subsidiaries will be subject to intra-company data
sharing agreements that incorporate EU Model Contractual Clauses.
Account Information: YouNoodle and its subsidiaries may utilize email addresses provided
during the creation of an account to (i) confirm account creation and confirm the validity of
information provided, (ii) send secure links to users to access the Site or YouNoodle Services,
(iii) send confirmation of financial transactions; (iv) communicate with our users to provide
information regarding YouNoodle Services or respond to user inquiries, or (v) notify users of
material changes to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. With your consent, users will
receive YouNoodle's monthly newsletters or targeted notifications regarding competitions,
programs and opportunities available to startups by YouNoodle's partners and clients. Users have the option to opt-out of these email updates if they prefer from the Account page.
Competition Information: You must provide your Competition Information in order to enter into
a competition as it is necessary to administer your applicable entry and the competition. We use
your Account Information, Competition Information and Tracking Information to administer the
Services, competitions, provide customer services, improve the Site and Services and
recommend other competitions that might be of interest to you. When you do enter a
competition, you authorize YouNoodle to share your Account Information and applicable
Competition Information with applicable Competition administrators and judges solely for the
purpose of administering the competition unless you authorize or consent for the Competition
Organizers to do otherwise. Except for the Competition Organizers, judges and administrators,
We do not share your Competition Information with any third parties. In addition, YouNoodle
and its subsidiaries may anonymize and aggregate Competition Information, Tracking
Information and Account Information to which it has access to generate reports regarding trends
in vertical markets. With the consent of the competition entrant, YouNoodle may prepare
profiles of top startups and to facilitate matchmaking and other communications between
relevant third-party entities and relevant startups.
Sharing Your Profile. We or our subsidiaries may offer the opportunity for you to share
information in your profile with organizations that may be interested in supporting your efforts.
We will only do this with your consent, which you may withdraw at any time from your account
preferences.
Credit or Debit Card Information: YouNoodle and its subsidiaries do not store any credit card
data associated with any purchases processed on the Site. YouNoodle companies utilizes Stripe
to process recurring payments and utilizes Stripe as a payment gateway for those payments.
When you enter your payment information, Stripe sends us back a token that we store in our
servers. This token is linked to but cannot be converted to your credit or debit card information.
You should review Stripe's Privacy Policy for more detail about how your information is
collected, stored and maintained by these third-party payment processors.
Anonymous Data – Analytics: YouNoodle companies utilizes Tracking Information, Log
Information, and Google Analytics to access anonymous data to help us understand how our
Services are used. We use Tracking Information to customize content for you and improve our
Services. Google Analytics is a web analytics tool that helps YouNoodle understand how users
engage with our Site, so that we can review and improve our Services. Google Analytics collects
information anonymously. It provides a report to YouNoodle with website trends without
identifying individual visitors.
Data Retention. We retain data as long as your account is active. If you do not use your account
for one year, we reserve the right to delete your information. We may de-identify and anonymize
data you provide to us to use for the purposes of research and analyzing trends which we may
share with third parties, and improving the Services.
3. Third Party Websites.
Our site contains links to other websites. When you click on one of these links, you are ‘clicking’
to another website. YouNoodle does not control the data collection or privacy practices of such
third-party sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any third-party sites, as their
collection, use and storage practices and policies may differ from ours.
4. How is Information Shared
Third-Party Services
We may work with third parties to administer the Site and Services.
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We use data storage services in the United States to store your Account Information, to allow us
to provide our Services.
We use customer management tools to help us manage our customer relationships and manage
our projects using Account Information, Profiles, Competition Information and Competition
Organizer information to provide the Services from servers in the United States.
We take steps to ensure that these parties take protecting your privacy as seriously as we do,
including entering into Data Processing Addendum, EU Model Clauses and/or ensuring they
have the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF), the UK Extension to the EU-U.S.
DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Swiss-U.S. DPF) certification.
In addition to our Competition Organizers and judges, we also use the following third-party
services that provide Personal Data to us.
Google Analytics. YouNoodle utilizes Google Analytics to collect information about the use of
this service only on the Site. Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit
this site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this site. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve this site, but in
anonymous form. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you
visit this site and assigns a user ID code, rather than your name or other identifying information.
We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with
personally identifiable information. Google uses this information to analyze your use of the
website, to generate reports about website activities for website operators and to provide further services related to website and internet use. Google may also share such information with third parties to the extent it is legally required to do so and/or to the extent third parties process data on behalf of Google. Although Google Analytics plants a permanent cookie on your web browser to identify you as a unique user the next time you visit this site, the cookie cannot be used by anyone but Google. Google's ability to use and share information collected by Google
Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the
Google Privacy Policy, as well as the Google Analytics Data Processing Agreement. Site usage is
tracked using Google Analytics in accordance with their Privacy Policy. However, if you do not
want your data to be used by Google Analytics, you may opt-out by installing Google Analytics
Opt-out Browser Add-on. Data processing takes place in the United States, and Google relies on
Standard Contractual Clauses You may deactivate Google Analytics with the help of a browser
add-on if you do not want this website analysis.
reCapcha YouNoodle uses reCapcha, a service from Google, to protect the Site from spam and
abuse. Users should review reCapcha's Privacy Policy through Google for more information.
Data processing takes place in the United States, and Google is relies on Standard Contractual
Clauses.
Stripe. YouNoodle utilizes Stripe as a payment gateway for payments collecting Account
Information and payments information to validate payment and return an anonymous token.
YouNoodle does not store your credit card information. Data Processing takes place in the
United States and Stripe relies on a Data Processing Addendum and Standard Contractual
Clauses. Users should review Stripe's Security Policy before initiating transactions on the Site.
We use Wix as a website host through which we may collect information you provide to us
through one of our online forms, which may include the personal data you provide to us. We
have a Data Processing Addendum in place using the EU Standard Contractual Clauses. Wix
does not store this information, but Users should consult with the Wix Privacy Policy pages to
make any inquiries or requests to Wix.
We use Zapier to collect form information. Zapier is a platform integration tool that collects
information on forms on our website, which may contain personal data necessary to
communicate with you or administrate our services such as name, email, LinkedIn profile, phone
number, country and city. Processing takes place in the United States and data is transferred
subject to Standard Contractual Clauses (Processor to Processor and Controller to Processor).
For more information go to their privacy policy at: https://zapier.com/privacy/
Additional Circumstances When Disclosures May Be Made to Third Parties
Information collected by YouNoodle may be disclosed when (i) we are required to do so by law,
or (ii) in the event of a change of ownership.
When Disclosure or Use is Otherwise Permitted. Account Information or Competition
Information may be provided where we are required to do so by law, or if we believe in good
faith that it is reasonably necessary (i) to respond to claims asserted against YouNoodle or to
comply with the legal process (for example, discovery requests, subpoenas or warrants); (ii) to
enforce or administer our policies and agreements with users; (iii) for fraud prevention, risk
assessment, investigation, customer support, product development and de-bugging purposes; or (iv) to protect the rights, property or safety of YouNoodle, its users or members of the general
public. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to notify users about law enforcement or
court ordered requests for data unless otherwise prohibited by law. However, nothing in this
Privacy Policy is intended to limit any legal defenses or objections that you may have to any
third party request to compel disclosure of your information.
Acquisition/Merger/Assignment or other Business Transfer: YouNoodle may sell, transfer or
otherwise share some or all of its assets, including your Personal Information, in connection with
a merger, acquisition, reorganization or sale of assets or in the event of bankruptcy. Under such
circumstances, YouNoodle will use commercially reasonable efforts to notify its users if their
personal information is to be disclosed or transferred and/or becomes subject to a different
privacy policy.
5. How is my Data Stored and Kept Secure?
Security Measures: We have implemented reasonable administrative, technical and physical
security measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, destruction or alteration. For example:
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– SSL encryption (https) everywhere where we deal with personal data.
– You cannot retrieve a lost password; you can only set a new one once you receive a reset email.
– Data is kept on secure servers, located in the US.
Restricting staff access to Collected Information and Account Information
Payments Encryption: YouNoodle utilizes only PCI-DSS compliant third party payment
processors to ensure the security of your personal information. Users should review Stripe's
Security Policy before initiating transactions on the Site.
Large File – Storage Capacity: You cannot submit images, animated .gifs, or any documents
larger than 10 megabytes through our Services. Instead, you must provide a link to a publicly
available version of the content. Like many companies, we store all YouNoodle data on Amazon
Web Services and Google Cloud Platform servers in the United States. Please see Amazon's
Privacy Policy and Google Cloud Privacy Policy for more information.
Abuse Prevention: YouNoodle uses reCapcha, a service from Google, to protect the Site from
spam and abuse. Users should review reCapcha's Privacy Policy through Google for more
information.
Despite our best efforts, users should be advised that no method of transmission over the Internet and no method of storing electronic information can ever by 100% secure.
6. Your Choices: How Do I Review or Revise Account Information or Withdraw Consent?
Viewing or Correcting Your Information
You can access and update Account Information in your account at any time by logging into your
account. If you need assistance to delete inaccuracies within your personal information or would
like to know what information about you was collected, please contact us at
support@younoodle.com. We will respond to your request within 10 business days. We reserve
the right to charge for copies of data undergoing processing.
Removal or Withdrawing Consent
Since we use your Account Information to provide the Services to you, if you completely delete
all such information, then your account may become deactivated. If you would like us to delete
your Account Information, follow the link from your account page to submit a request that we
delete your Account Information. In such cases we will only retain your Account Information as
required by law, or for legitimate business purposes permitted by law or de-identify and
anonymize information that we wish to retain so that it cannot be connected to you.
If you provided your Personal Information in connection with a competition sponsored by a third
party and wish to delete your information or withdraw from a competition, please contact the
Competition Organizer. If we are organizing the competition you may make the request directly
to us via this form.
All deletion and rectification requests are subject to YouNoodle procedures to confirm your
identity.
Marketing Communications
Users have the option to opt-out of email updates if they prefer from their Account page.
Data Portability
If you would like us to transmit your personal data to another company providing similar
services, we will work with them to do so upon request and verification of such request with both the requestor and the company receiving the Personal Data.
Right to Redress.
YouNoodle has further committed to refer unresolved privacy complaints under the DPF
Principles to an independent dispute resolution mechanism, Data Privacy Framework Services,
operated by BBB National Programs. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your
complaint, or if your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed, please visit
https://bbbprograms.org/programs/all-programs/dpf-consumers/ProcessForConsumers for more information and to file a complaint. This service is provided free of charge to you.
If you provided your Personal Information in connection with a competition sponsored by a third
party and wish to delete your information or withdraw from a competition, please contact the
Competition Organizer. If we are organizing the competition you may make the request directly
to us via support@younoodle.com.com
Your California Privacy Rights
California residents who have an established business relationship with YouNoodle may make a
written request to YouNoodle about whether YouNoodle has disclosed any Personal Information
to any third parties for the third parties' direct marketing purposes during the prior calendar year.
To make such a request, please send an email or write us:
YouNoodle Headquarters
77 Van Ness Ave, Suite 101, #1170
San Francisco, CA 94102
By Phone: +1 (415) 495-1062
By Email: support@younoodle.com
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7. COPPA and Access by Minors.
YouNoodle does not knowingly collect or store any personal information from or about children
under the age of 16.
If you believe a child under the age of 16 has under any circumstances provided us with personal
information and data, a parent or legal guardian can email us at admin@younoodle.com to
request that their children’s information be deleted from our records.
8. EU-US, UK Extension to the EU-US and Swiss-US Data Privacy Frameworks Summary
YouNoodle complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF), the UK
Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Swiss-U.S. DPF)
as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. YouNoodle has certified to the U.S.
Department of Commerce that it adheres to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles
(EU-U.S. DPF Principles) with regard to the processing of personal data received from the
European Union in reliance on the EU-U.S. DPF and from the United Kingdom (and Gibraltar)
in reliance on the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF. YouNoodle has certified to the U.S.
Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework Principles
(Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles) with regard to the processing of personal data received from
Switzerland in reliance on the Swiss-U.S. DPF. If there is any conflict between the terms in this
privacy policy and the EU-U.S. DPF Principles and/or the Swiss-U.S. DPF Principles, the
Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Data Privacy Framework (DPF) program, and
to view our certification, please visit https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/.
In compliance with the EU-US, UK Extension to the EU-US and Swiss-US Data Privacy
Framework Principles, YouNoodle commits to resolve complaints about your privacy and our
collection or use of your personal information transferred to the United States pursuant to the
DPF Principles. European Union and Swiss individuals with DPF inquiries or complaints should
first contact YouNoodle at admin@younoodle.com
YouNoodle has further committed to refer unresolved privacy complaints under the DPF
Principles to an independent dispute resolution mechanism, Data Privacy Framework Services,
operated by BBB National Programs. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your
complaint, or if your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed, please visit
https://bbbprograms.org/programs/all-programs/dpf-consumers/ProcessForConsumers for more information and to file a complaint. This service is provided free of charge to you.
Please note that if your DPF complaint cannot be resolved through the above channels, under
certain conditions, you may invoke binding arbitration for some residual claims not resolved by
other redress mechanisms. See https://www.dataprivacyframework.gov/framework-article/ANNEX-I-introduction
Consistent with the terms of this Privacy Policy, YouNoodle collects personal data from client,
customers and applicants for the sake of logging into our system (email and password) and then
further data is collected in order to run startup program competitions and other similar programs.
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The data collected is primarily determined by our clients in their application forms that are
hosted on our website, and our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions govern the use of this
data.
YouNoodle receives information from users, in our case startups, and then that information is
shared with the organizers of the programs, which are our direct clients. When startup users share information with YouNoodle about their startup, they are fully aware and intentional in providing it to the organizers of the programs.
User have the right to access, correct and delete their personal information as stated in our
Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Users have the right to edit or delete their information from their Account page and request
additional information be deleted unless otherwise permitted by law.
Additionally, on this page, users can opt-into or out of email communications. Finally, when a
user provides any information to program organizers using our website, they can always access
and view the information. Before a program deadline they can access, view, edit and delete any
information. After a program deadline, they are unable to edit that information, but they continue to have access. If needed they can always contact either YouNoodle and/or the organizer of the program to delete the information, where permitted by law.
YouNoodle is subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC).
YouNoodle also may be required to disclose an individual's personal information in response to a lawful request by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement
requirements.
In cases of onward transfer to third parties of data of EU, UK and Swiss individuals received
pursuant to the EU-US, UK Extension to the EU-US and Swiss-US Data Privacy Frameworks,
YouNoodle is potentially liable.
9. How Does YouNoodle Respond to "Do Not Track" Signals?
"Do Not Track" or DNT is a feature enabled on some browsers that sends a signal to request that
a web application disable its tracking or cross-site user tracking. At present, our Site does not
respond to or alter its practices when a DNT signal is received.
10. How Will I Be Notified of Any Changes to this Privacy Policy?
YouNoodle reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. If YouNoodle makes
material changes to its Privacy Policy, we will notify you by (1) changing the Effective Date on
our Privacy Policy and provide additional notification either (1) via email or other means as we
may deem commercially reasonable.
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Your continued use our Site and/or the YouNoodle Services after such changes have been made
to the Privacy Policy constitutes your consent to our modified data collection and use practices.
11. Questions?
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy or need to contact us for any reason, we can
be reached:
In Writing:
YouNoodle, Inc.
77 Van Ness Ave, Suite 101, #1170
San Francisco, CA 94102
By Phone: +1 (415) 495-1062
By Email: support@younoodle.com