Privacy Policy

EFFECTIVE DATE: February, 2023

Introduction

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains Valsoft Corporation Inc. d/b/a Kivuto Solutions’ information practices related to the products and services we provide. References to Valsoft Corporation Inc. d/b/a Kivuto Solutions (“Kivuto”) in this document also apply to Kivuto’s wholly owned brands Kivuto Cloud, Texidium and OnTheHub. This Policy does not apply to the security or privacy practices of Third Parties who may also receive or collect your Personal Information.

By using our products or services, you agree that you have read and understand this Policy in its entirety, and that you are responsible for reviewing updates to this Policy that may be posted from time to time.  Kivuto reserves the right to amend this Policy, at its sole discretion, and posting such amended Policy from time to time.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY (INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY AS MAY BE MADE FROM TIME TO TIME), PLEASE DO NOT USE OUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES.

Where Kivuto receives your personal information directly from you, Kivuto acts as a data controller.  Where Kivuto receives your personal information directly from your institution, Kivuto acts as a data processor.

The Policy does not impose any limits on the collection, use or disclosure of the following information by Kivuto: (a) aggregate information that cannot be associated with a specific individual, such as demographic statistics about Kivuto customers, or number of visitors and average time spent on a website; or (b) information that is otherwise determined not to be Personal Information pursuant to, or is not regulated by, applicable privacy legislation.

Children’s Privacy

Kivuto does not knowingly accept any Personal Information from or about children without parental or legal guardian consent. Teachers, parents or legal guardians must provide their own information (Personal Information or otherwise), and parents or legal guardians must consent to the collection, use and disclosure of their child’s Personal Information in accordance with the terms of this Policy in order for students to participate in our services or acquire our products.

Users must be at least 13 years of age (users within the European Union, please refer to the last sentence within this paragraph) to create an account for Kivuto’s products and services. For products and services offered to K-12 students, Kivuto will either (a) obtain consent from the institution or a parent or legal guardian, or (b) provide the product or services without collecting, using or disclosing personal information (as defined in the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)), except as permitted by COPPA. If we are made aware or have reason to believe we have received personal information from a child under 13 years of age (Canada and the United States) or a child under 16 (European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation) without legally valid consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete the information as soon as possible.

Kivuto encourages parents, legal guardians, and teachers to spend time with children and to monitor their online activities. Please protect the child’s privacy by instructing them to never provide personal information on this website or any other, or within any software registration process, without your permission.

Please click on the links below if you want to jump to each section.

1. Definitions
2. Kivuto’s Privacy Principles
3. What information does Kivuto collect about you?
4. How does Kivuto collect your Personal Information?
5. How does Kivuto use your Personal Information?
6. How can you access, update, or delete your Personal Information?
7. How does Kivuto collect and use Non-Personally Identifiable Information?
8. What security measures are in place to protect your Personal Information?
9. Where will Personal Information be processed?
10. What is Kivuto’s email policy?
11. Updates to this policy?
12. Who can I contact with questions or concerns about this Policy?

Definitions

Collection – the act of gathering, acquiring, recording, or obtaining Personal Information from any source, including Third Parties, by any means.

Consent – voluntary agreement by an informed Individual with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of Personal Information for defined purposes. Express consent can be provided directly by the Individual or by an authorized representative (and in the case of a child as referenced under “Children’s Privacy”, above, a parent or legal guardian). Express consent can be given orally, electronically or in writing but is always unequivocal and does not require any inference on the part of Kivuto.

Disclosure – making Personal Information available to a Third Party.

Individual – an individual who: (a) corresponds with Kivuto, including in respect of complaints and applications for employment; (b) enters a contest sponsored by Kivuto; (c) uses, or applies to use, the products or services of Kivuto; (d) is a viewer, reader, subscriber, advertiser or internet user and who is exposed to the media content of Kivuto and about whom Kivuto collects Personal Information.

Information is data that falls into three categories: (a) data that you provide directly to us; (b) data that we receive from a Third Party; and (c) data that we automatically collect, such as from your browser or device. Please see Section 3 – “What information does Kivuto collect about you?” for further details.

Personal Information – information that can identify an Individual directly or indirectly or through other reasonably available means, provided that Personal Information shall not include: (a) business-contact information, such as the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization (when such information is used for business purposes); (b) information collected, used or disclosed in the course of journalistic, literary or artistic activities; (c) aggregate information that cannot be associated with a specific Individual, such as demographic statistics about Kivuto customers, or number of visitors and average time spent on a website; or (d) information that is determined not to be Personal Information pursuant to applicable privacy legislation.

Third Party – a person other than an Individual or their agent, or an organization other than Kivuto.

Use – the treatment, handling, and management of Personal Information by Kivuto.

Kivuto’s Privacy Principles

Lawfulness, Fairness and Transparency

Kivuto processes your information in a lawful, fair and transparent manner. We will not process your information in a manner that is detrimental, unexpected or misleading to you.

Purpose(s) for Processing Your Information

Kivuto collects both personally identifiable and non-personally identifiable information. We will collect and process your information only for the purposes described in sections 4 and 6 of this Policy.

Data Minimization

Kivuto collects  data that is required to provide you with a service you have requested or to fulfil an order that you have place for a product.

Data Accuracy

Kivuto takes reasonable steps to ensure your data is accurate and up to date.  If we discover your data is not accurate or current, we will contact you as required so that we may take the necessary steps to update your data and rectify your records.

Data Retention

In keeping with organizational and legal requirements, Kivuto will store your data only for as long as is necessary to: (a) fulfil the purposes for which your data was collected; and (b) fulfil its legally mandated retention requirements.

Security, Integrity, and Confidentiality

Kivuto processes and stores your data in a manner that maintains the integrity and confidentiality of your Personal Information.  We take all reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data from unlawful processing, accidental damage or destruction, and loss.

Governance

Kivuto has organizational policies and procedures in place that govern how we process and protect the security of your Personal Information and the systems that process your Personal Information.  These organizational policies are regularly reviewed and are updated as required.

What information does Kivuto collect about you?

Both personally and non-personally identifiable Information about you may be gathered from our websites or products. The type of information collected depends on your actions and interaction with the websites or products.  Kivuto collects information from you when you create an account, purchase, download, redeem access codes, use products, use content, submit requests, take notes, or use collaboration features.

Information You Provide Directly to Kivuto

Your information is only collected when you voluntarily submit it on an as-needed basis such as during registration for and ordering of our products and/or services. The types of information we gather may include your academic institution, email address, first and last name, phone number, other relevant contact information, and payment information that is used by our Third Party payment processors (please see section 4 (How does Kivuto collect your Personal Information – Ordering and Billing). We may also collect information about your use of our products or services – information such as user-generated content from notes or highlights, or any other Personal Information you choose to give us when you contact us such as during a customer support interaction. We will gather, use, transfer or disclose personal data only as described in this Policy.

You may choose not to share personal data, however, most of the data we ask you to provide is required in order for us to provide you with the products and/or services you request. If you are unable to provide us with the requested information, we will likely be prevented from providing you with these products and services.

Information We Receive from Third Parties

We receive some information related to your use of our products and/or services from Third Parties which may include, but is not limited to, your educational institution(s), business organizations or their representatives, and other parties with whom we may exchange information.

Information that is Automatically Collected

When you use Kivuto’s products and/or services, make purchases, or generally interact with us, we, and our Third-Party providers may use different technologies, including cookies, to assist in automatically collecting information as follows:

• Technical data, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, country, city, domain name, browser language and type, device type, mobile device identifier, platform type, landing pages, error logs, and other similar information;
• Usage data, such as information you download, products you use, pages you view, date and time of requests, records of telephone, email or online contact we may have with you, and other such similar information;
• Cookie data when you visit Kivuto websites – please see section 7 of this Policy for more information about how we use cookies;
• Data from Third Party analytics services e.g. Google Analytics to collect and analyze usage information through Cookies or similar tools; to conduct research, audits or reports; to assist in fraud detection; and to provide some system and website features.

We keep your data no longer than necessary and only for the purposes for which it is collected and processed. The retention time depends on: (a) the purpose for which it was collected; (b) the instructions of a controller issued to Kivuto if Kivuto is acting as a data processor; and (c) requirements to comply with applicable laws.

How does Kivuto collect your Personal Information?

Collecting Personal Information

Personal Information may be collected during account registration, ordering and billing, during customer service interactions, when you enter a contest or when you use collaboration features in our products. Personal Information is never shared in ways unrelated to the methods described in this Policy (please refer to section 5) without notifying you of the intent beforehand, and also providing you with an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

Registration

During registration, you may be prompted for your name and email address for authentication and verification purposes. These steps may be necessary to ensure users are properly identified and authenticated as a qualified user. Some offerings and promotions on our websites may be restricted to certain types of users (e.g. students, faculty, or staff) or to members of certain organizations. By providing your email address, and subsequently having your account verified, you may benefit from these offerings and promotions.

Ordering and Billing

When you place an order through one of Kivuto’s sites for a product that is not free, you may need to supply your credit card information. When ordering a product that is physically delivered, you will need to provide the necessary shipping information (e.g. postal address). This information may be required to fulfill your order and/or for export compliance purposes. Your credit card information is not stored on our server; it is passed on to our Third Party credit card processing system for validation. You may also be prompted for your name and email address to create your online receipt and for us to send you order-related emails.

Customer Service

Personal Information may be collected if you report a problem or submit an inquiry to our customer service team(s). A record of that correspondence may be maintained to provide you with an optimal customer service experience.

Entering a Contest or Promotion

Personal Information may be collected from you for entry into contests and similar promotions when you voluntarily choose to participate. All contests have their own terms and conditions which can be viewed on the contest’s page.

Using Collaboration Features

Personal data may be collected when you use collaboration features in our products. An example of a collaborative feature is when you create study notes in a textbook and share those notes with other invited users.

How does Kivuto use your Personal Information?

Depending on the product or service you are using, Kivuto uses your Personal Information to:

• fulfill your orders, and process and collect payments from you;
• meet our contractual commitments to you;
• administer your account and respond to your requests;
• maintain and improve our products and services;
• provide you with information related to our products and services, including product updates, recommendations or advertising for other products and services, or other information we think you may find useful about our products and services or those of our Third Parties, provided you have indicated that you do not object to being contacted for these purposes;
• customize content supplied to you based on your use of our products and services;
• track, evaluate, and analyze individual and aggregate use of our products and services;
• conduct internal research to better understand your needs and how we can improve our product, service and website offerings;
• share, publish, or otherwise publicize information about how our products and services may be used, without sharing Personal Information;
• prevent, investigate and deal with fraud, violations of intellectual property rights and other laws, unauthorized use of products, unauthorized use of your account, and enforcement of our Terms of Use;
• meet other requirements in relation to our provision of products and services to you, which may include disclosing your Personal Information to our suppliers, subcontractors, agents, solicitors, professional advisers, government regulatory bodies, tribunals, courts of law, and their respective related entities;
• engage in otherwise reasonable and appropriate activities related to the legitimate business interests of Kivuto.

Kivuto does not sell, trade, or rent your Personal Information to others.

Kivuto does employ other trusted companies to perform certain functions on our behalf, including order fulfillment and delivery, export compliance checks, and credit card processing. These Third-Parties have access to Personal Information needed to perform their functions but are not permitted to use your Personal Information for any other purpose.

Additionally, Personal Information related to a product may be shared with the Third-Party supplier of that particular product, or with our Third-Party partners: (a) for warranty and support purposes, or (b) to enable our Third-Party suppliers and/or our Third-Party partners to provide recommendations or advertising for products and services that may be of interest to you provided you have consented to receive such information.  This may include your name, email address, date of your order and product purchased.

Legal Bases for Use of Your Data

Kivuto’s legal bases for using your data are as follows:

• With your consent; or
• Where the use of your Personal Information is necessary to perform our obligations under a contract we have with you – for example, to comply with the Terms of Use of our products and services when you register; to fulfill our contract to provide our products and services to you; or
• Where the use of your Personal Information is necessary for our legitimate business interests or the legitimate business interests of our Third-Parties – for example, to support a product; to provide security for our products; to operate our products; to comply with legal requirements or defend our legal rights; to prevent fraud; or
• Other grounds as required or permitted by law within the specific context.

How can you access, update, or delete your Personal Information?

Accessing and Updating Personal Information (Right to Access)

You can request any of the following from Kivuto at any time:

• Confirmation of whether Kivuto possesses any of your Personal Information;
• The location(s) where Kivuto is processing your Personal Information;
• The purpose(s) for which Kivuto is processing your Personal Information;
• A copy of all your Personal Information in Kivuto’s possession, to be provided in a commonly used, machine-readable format.

To request any of the above information, contact privacy@kivuto.com.

You can also review and make updates to the Personal Information and preferences in your account profile at any time through the Account Information page on your WebStore, provided you are signed-in to your account.

Deactivating an Account

You can have your account deactivated or deleted by contacting privacy@kivuto.com. However, doing so will limit your access to members-only areas of the site. Any purchase history information, however, will remain in protected permanent records.

Deleting Personal Information (Right to Erasure)

You can request the deletion of all the Personal Information Kivuto has collected about you at any time. In the absence of any urgent legal or business reason to retain your Personal Information (e.g. adherence to a law or a contractual obligation), Kivuto will permanently delete or obfuscate all of your Personal Information if you make such a request. Please note that once your data has been erased and for security purposes, the email address with which your account was registered can no longer be used. If you choose to register again, you must use a different email address.

When required, Kivuto will also contact any Third-Parties to which Kivuto passed your Personal Information and ensure that the Personal Information is deleted from the systems and records of those Third-Parties as well.

To request the erasure of your Personal Information, contact: privacy@kivuto.com.

How does Kivuto collect and use Non-Personally Identifiable Information?

Kivuto uses technologies like cookies, pixel tags (“pixels”), and local storage to deliver, secure, and understand products, services, and ads, on and off our sites.

Collecting Non-Personally Identifiable Information

Your verification status is collected once you successfully register through any of our verification services. The resulting status is Non-Personally Identifiable Information and is stored in case you need to verify your status again in the future.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information is collected using technology such as cookies. “Cookies” are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your local storage. The information collected by this technology is Non-Personally Identifiable only and allows us to optimize your interactions with the website.

Using Non-Personally Identifiable Information

Cookies allow for customer traffic patterns and website usage to be monitored on a general basis to help develop and improve the design, layout, and efficiency of the website. Understanding these patterns allows us to provide more relevant content to you and improve customer relationships. Furthermore, the information collected is used to create targeted communications to offer you a more personalized and customizable experience. Cookies also save you time by remembering your personalized settings.

Note that all information is collected and analyzed in aggregated form only. Check your browser to ensure cookies are enabled for this site to work properly.

Kivuto may use Third-Party advertising technology partners to show you relevant advertisements on websites outside of our network. The advertising technology partner provides us with tracking technology, such as a cookie, which is added to your browser by us. This allows us to show you very relevant ads on their partner websites according to your engagements with this site. If you would like to learn more about this process or even opt-out, please contact us at support@onthehub.com.

How to Manage Cookies

Browser controls are available to allow, block or delete cookies. To manage the cookies this website and others use, visit the following site for instructions: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Block-or-allow-cookies

Please note that by adjusting your cookie settings, some settings or preferences will no longer be in effect. The usage and functionality of the site will be subject to change including the ability to purchase certain products and view content on the website.

What security measures are in place to protect your Personal Information?

Kivuto takes the security and privacy of your data seriously. As an ISO 27001-certified company, we have established many organizational, procedural, technical, and physical measures to keep your data secure and prevent unauthorized access, use, modification, or loss. We work to ensure the data you entrust to us is used only for the purposes described in this Policy.

The nature of the Internet and electronic communications means that no transmission is ever 100% secure. Although we make every effort to ensure our websites are secure, we cannot guarantee their absolute security. When using the Internet or email, you do so at your own risk, and, as such, you should take precautions when deciding what information you wish to send via email.

Security Measures

Your information is protected both during transmission and in storage. Your account and profile information are password-protected so that you and only you have access to your Personal Information. During purchase, the secure server software (SSL) encrypts all information you input before it is transmitted. As such, all Personal Information is protected against unauthorized access on the system’s secure servers.

Breach Notification

In the event of a security breach that creates a potential risk to your Personal Information, Kivuto will ensure that the appropriate authorities are notified of the breach within 72 hours of its discovery.

If a security breach is judged likely to pose a high risk to the rights and freedoms of one or more affected users of our products and/or services, all reasonable efforts will be made to contact those users and inform them of the breach and the potential impact thereof.

Where will Personal Information be processed?

Kivuto is a Canadian corporation with offices at Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Personal Information gathered by Kivuto is stored on servers located in Canada and will not be transferred to any other country unless it is required as part of the fulfillment of service or requested you (see below).

Due to agreements with our software publisher partners and Canadian legal obligations, your data may be stored in encrypted backups on our servers for up to seven years.

Privacy laws and requirements differ according to each country. Please know, however, that all information collected through Kivuto’s websites will be protected by the terms of this Policy and any privacy notices that apply to you, regardless of what country the information originates from.

Transferring Personal Information (Data Portability)

You can request to have all the Personal Information Kivuto has collected about you transferred from Kivuto to another data handler of your choice.

Note that Kivuto will only transfer your Personal Information to countries and organizations that are permitted by law and that offer comparable levels of protection for Personal Information.

To request the transfer of your Personal Information to another data handler, contact: privacy@kivuto.com.

What is Kivuto’s email policy?

Kivuto complies fully with the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Kivuto will not share, sell, rent, swap or authorize any Third-Party to use your email address for commercial purposes without your permission. If you feel you have received an email from us in error, please contact privacy@kivuto.com.

You may receive one or more of the following emails from Kivuto.

Account- and Service-Related Email

Kivuto reserves the right to send you emails relating to your account status. This includes order confirmations, renewal/expiration notices, notices of credit-card problems, other transactional email and notifications about major changes to the site services and/or to this Policy. If you have registered for online discussions or other services, you may receive an email specific to your participation in those activities.

Email Newsletters

Kivuto offers several email newsletters. You will only receive these if you previously chose to opt-in to these types of communications. If you no longer wish to receive a specific newsletter, follow the “unsubscribe” instructions located near the bottom of each newsletter.

Promotional Email

Kivuto may periodically email you messages about products and services that Kivuto thinks may be of interest to you (if you have previously opted in to receive these types of communications). If you no longer wish to receive a specific newsletter, follow the “unsubscribe” instructions located near the bottom of each newsletter.

Survey Email

Kivuto may send you emails inviting you to participate in user surveys, asking for feedback on our services and existing or prospective products and services, as well as information to better understand our users. User surveys greatly help us to improve our services, and any information Kivuto obtains in such surveys will be used internally. The information may be shared with third parties in aggregate form only.

HTML Email

If you sign up to receive email from Kivuto, you will receive emails in both plain text and HTML (with images) format. If you select to view our emails in the HTML format, Kivuto may place a one-pixel .gif to determine whether or not readers viewed the email. This process does not leave any information on your computer, nor does it collect information from your computer. Kivuto may share this data with Third Parties in aggregate form only to improve the quality of the emails and offers Kivuto distributes.

Emails from You

If you send us emails, be aware that information disclosed in emails may not be secure or encrypted and thus may be available to others. It is recommended that you exercise caution when deciding to disclose any Personal Information or confidential information in emails. Kivuto will use your email address to respond directly to your questions or comments.

Updates to this Policy

Kivuto may change any of the terms in this Policy at any time and changes will become effective upon posting. You are responsible for reading and understanding the updated Policy one you have been notified of the changes.

Who can I contact with questions or concerns about this Policy?

If you have questions, comments, concerns, or complaints about this Policy or Kivuto’s handling of your Personal Information, you get in touch with us in any of the following ways.

By Email

Please direct all privacy-related inquiries to privacy@kivuto.com.

By Phone

USA/Canada (toll free)	1-866-435-4722
Australia (toll free)	1-800-426-231
France (toll free)	0800-916021
Germany (toll free)	0800-182-8612
Hong Kong (toll free)	800-968-781
Malaysia (toll free)	1-800-815-302
Spain (toll free)	900-809754
United Kingdom (toll free)	0-800-098-8436
Other countries	+44-845-8697566

By Mail

North America (Head Office)

Valsoft Corporation Inc. d/b/a Kivuto Solutions 7405 Trans Canada Route, Suite 100 Saint-Laurent, QC H4T 1Z2 Canada

© 2023 Valsoft Corporation Inc. d/b/a Kivuto Solutions. All rights reserved.