Privacy Policy

Last Updated: October 2009

Tellme Networks, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation ("Tellme") is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy statement applies only to the collection and use of data by Tellme, and Tellme products and services (including the Tellme.com website) discussed in this statement (the "Privacy Statement"). It does not apply to other online or offline sites, products or services of Tellme, Microsoft or any of our subsidiaries or affiliates. "Third Parties" are defined as non-Tellme persons, affiliates, subsidiaries and/or entities that have not entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Tellme for the protection of confidential or personal information.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE PRIVACY PRACTICES DESCRIBED IN THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE TELLME SERVICES AND PRODUCTS THAT ARE GOVERNED BY THIS PRIVACY STATEMENT.

We offer some of our services in connection with other web sites or service providers. Personal information you provide to those service providers, such as Fandango®, is subject to the terms, conditions and privacy practices of those service providers. The service providers may have different privacy practices and we encourage you to read their privacy statements.

Collection and Use of Your Information

The information we collect from you will be used by Tellme and its subsidiaries and affiliates to enable the features you are using and provide the services or carry out the transactions you have requested or authorized. It may also be used to analyze and improve our products and services; to request additional information on feedback you provide about the product or service that you are using; to provide notifications regarding the software; to provide you with advance notice of events; or to tell you about new product releases.

Except as described in this Privacy Statement, personal information you provide will not be transferred to third parties without your consent. We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as answering customer questions about products or services or performing statistical analysis of our services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

Tellme may disclose personal information about you if required to do so by law or in the good faith that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on us; (b) protect and defend our rights (including enforcement of our agreements); or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of our employees, users of our products or services, or members of the public.

In order to offer you a more consistent and personalized experience in your interactions with Tellme, information collected through one Tellme or Microsoft products and services may be combined with information obtained through other Tellme or Microsoft products and services. We may also supplement the information we collect with information obtained from other companies. To the extent we link personal information from third parties with the information we collect, we will treat that information as personal information under this Privacy Statement. For example, we may use services from other companies that enable us to derive a general geographic area based on your IP address in order to customize certain services to your geographic area.

Information collected by or sent to Tellme may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Tellme or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, and by using a Tellme site, product, or service, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. To the extent applicable, Tellme abides by the Safe Harbor Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union.

Collection and Use of Information When You Visit Tellme Web Sites

When you visit Tellme web sites, we may collect information about your visit, including the pages you view, the links you click and other actions taken in connection with the web site. We also collect certain standard information your browser sends to every website you visit, such as your IP address, browser type and language, access times and referring web site addresses.

Access to Your Personal Information

You can review and change some of the personal information Tellme collects and stores from you that is obtained from the Tellme web site or the Tellme products and services you use. In some cases, you can review and change personal information by contacting us through our web site or writing to us at:

Tellme Privacy
Tellme Networks, Inc.
1310 Villa Street
Mountain View, California 94041

Visit Privacy Question Form at www.tellme.com/about/contact_us/feedback

Collection and Use of Information when You Use SMS

When you send a text message to Tellme or via Tellme, we log the incoming phone number, the wireless provider associated with the number, and the date and time of the transaction. We use this data to analyze the message traffic in order to operate, develop and improve our services.

Security of Your Information

Tellme is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer servers with limited access that are located in access and security controlled facilities. Additionally, if we transmit sensitive personal information (such as a credit card number) over the Internet, we protect it through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.

Feedback

On our website, you may have the opportunity to email Tellme directly from the web page. By sending an email to Tellme, you give Tellme and its affiliates permission to use your comments and feedback freely to improve or create new services, tools, and products. While we do not provide compensation, we do appreciate your feedback.

Use of Cookies

We may use cookies on Tellme web sites to ensure the integrity of the registration process and to personalize the sites. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.

One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize a web page, or navigate within a site, a cookie helps the site to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of delivering relevant content, eases site navigation, and so on. When you return to the web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the site's features that you customized.

You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to use interactive features of this or other web sites that depend on cookies.

Children's Use of Tellme Services

The Tellme website and services are intended for general audiences and do not knowingly collect any personal information from children. We will not knowingly ask children under the age of 13 to provide more information than is reasonably necessary to provide our services.

Changes to this Privacy Statement

We will occasionally update this Privacy Statement to reflect changes in our services and customer feedback. When we post changes, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Statement. If there are material changes to this Privacy Statement or in how Tellme will use your personal information, we will notify you either by prominently posting a notice of such changes prior to implementing the change on the Tellme.com website or by directly sending you a notification via email if you provided your email address to Tellme. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Statement to be informed of how Tellme is protecting your information.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Statement, please feel free to contact us through our website or write to us at:

Tellme Privacy
Tellme Networks, Inc.
1310 Villa Street
Mountain View, California 94041

Visit Privacy Question Form at www.tellme.com/about/contact_us/feedback

Information About Specific Tellme Services

The remainder of this Privacy Statement will address the personal information collected and used by the following specific features and services.

  • "Tellme Mobile" Applications and Services

    • What we collect

      Tellme collects and/or records your name (e.g., during the registration process), the mobile phone service provider, the mobile phone model, the mobile phone number you use to place a directory assistance query, the voice or text you send to Tellme, the response you received on your mobile phone and other iterative communication between you and the mobile applications and services. Depending on the services you use, we may ask for additional information (such as address information for driving directions) which is also stored by Tellme and may be linked to the mobile phone number. Email: Notwithstanding the foregoing, Tellme may retain your email address only if you opt in to the email update program and provided it when you download the mobile application.

    • CONSENT TO COLLECTING UTTERANCES

      BY USING TELLME'S MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND SERVICES, YOU CONSENT TO TELLME RECORDING THE VOICE UTTERANCES YOU MAKE USING THE TELLME MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND SERVICES, AS WELL AS ANY STORING AND LOGGING INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THE APPLICATION. SUCH UTTERANCES AND OTHER INFORMAION MAY BE USED TO PROVIDE THE MOBILE SERVICES AND TROUBLESHOOT, DEVELOP, CUSTOMIZE AND IMPROVE TELLME AND MICROSOFT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

    • How we use it

      Tellme may use information collected from your interaction with the mobile applications and services to improve Tellme and Microsoft products and services. For example, Tellme may track the percentage of successful responses, the average duration of queries and problems the voice recognition system has with certain spoken responses. Email: If you provided your email address during the application downloading process, you consent to Tellme using your email address solely to contact you about such things as updates, new features, products, or services. Tellme will not provide, share or disclose your email address to any Third Party or non-Tellme entity for any reason. If you no longer wish for Tellme to retain your email address, please fill out our feedback form with the same email address and a request to opt out of the email update program.

  • Text Queries

    • What we collect

      Tellme may collect the mobile phone number you use to place a text query, the text query content you send to Tellme, the response you receive on your mobile phone, and any other communication between you and the Tellme service, if any. Tellme does not collect your name or address.

    • How we use it

      Tellme may use the information collected from your interaction to improve Tellme and Microsoft products and services. For example, Tellme may track the percentage of successful responses, the average duration of queries and the frequency with which unique callers use the service.

  • Tellme's 1-800-555-TELL Information Service

    • What we collect

      Tellme collects the phone number you use to place a call to the 1-800-555-TELL information service, the audible query (i.e., your utterance) you send to Tellme, the response you receive on your phone from the 1-800-555-TELL service and other communication between you and the service. Tellme does not collect your name or address.

    • CONSENT TO COLLECTING UTTERANCES

      BY USING THE 1-800-555-TELL INFORMATION SERVICE, YOU CONSENT TO TELLME RECORDING OF THE VOICE UTTERANCES YOU MAKE USING THE 1-800-555-TELL INFORMATION SERVICE, AS WELL AS TO TELLME STORING AND LOGGING INFORMATION FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. SUCH UTTERANCES AND INFORMATION WILL BE USED TO FULFILL YOUR REQUEST AND TO TROUBLESHOOT, DEVELOP, CUSTOMIZE AND IMPROVE TELLME AND MICROSOFT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES.

    • How we use it

      Tellme uses the information collected from your interaction with Tellme's 1-800-555-TELL Information Service to improve Tellme and Microsoft products and services. For example, Tellme may track the percentage of successful responses, the types of queries submitted, the average duration of queries and problems the voice recognition system has with certain spoken responses. Tellme may also use the information to enhance your experience, such by personalizing your use of our products and services.

"Tellme Studio" Information

If you visit the Tellme Studio website or use the Tellme Studio service, please visit the Tellme Studio Privacy policy located here at https://studio.tellme.com/apply/privacypolicy.html.