Privacy Policy

We appreciate your trust in our products and services. In order to provide a marketplace platform for SHAWTOUT video shout-outs and other products and services through our website (shawtout.com), mobile application, and through the services we provide (collectively, the website, application, and services referred to as our “Site”), and continue to make them better,Shawtout Inc. dba shawtout (“we”, “shawtout”) collects information from you.

This Privacy Policy explains how shawtout collects, stores, uses, transfers, and discloses your information.

From time to time, shawtout may revise this Privacy Policy. We will give you notice by posting the revised Privacy Policy on our Site and updating the “Last Updated and Effective” date at the top of this Privacy Policy; we may also notify you in other ways, such as through the contact information you have provided. Any changes to this Privacy Policy will be effective immediately on posting the updated Privacy Policy unless otherwise stated or as required by applicable law (for example, notice and opt-in or opt-out consent may be required). By continuing to use our Site, you agree to the revised Privacy Policy to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

Please also review the applicable Terms of Service, which also apply to use of our Site.

You should read the policy in full, but here are a few key things:

  • When you use shawtout, even if you’re just browsing, we receive some information from you, such as the type of device you’re using and your IP address.
  • You can choose to share additional information with us, such as your email address, by creating an account.
  • If you have questions about this policy, how we collect or process your personal data, or anything else related to our privacy practices, we want to hear from you. You can contact us at any time using the contact details in the Contact Us section at the end of this policy.

1. Scope of Shawtout Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy applies to all aspects of our Site as well as to information we may collect offline.

This Site may link to or incorporate websites or content hosted and served by others over which we have no control, such as third party websites, online properties, platforms, social media, or systems, which are each governed by the privacy policy and business practices of the third party. You understand and agree that shawtout is not responsible for the security, privacy, or business practices of any third party.


2. Information We Collect

We collect information from you directly, automatically when you visit the Site, and sometimes from third parties. Some of this information may be considered “personal information” under various applicable laws. We consider information that identifies you as a specific, identified individual to be personal information (such as your name, phone number, e-mail address), and we treat additional information, including IP addresses and cookie identifiers, as “personal information” where required by applicable law. And, if we combine information that we consider to be non-personal with personal information, we will treat the combined information as personal information under this Privacy Policy. Note that we may de-identify personal information so that it is non-personal, such as by aggregating it or converting it to a code, sometimes using a function known as a “hash.” We will treat de-identified information as non-personal to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

(a) Information You Provide

shawtout may collect personal information from you when you:

  1. Create an account or login to the Site. shawtout collects your name and email address and the other information that you provide, such as a telephone number, when you register or login, update, or add information to your account. We require you to create a username and password if you create an account. shawtout collects information relating to any third-party account that you use to login to or link to your shawtout account (such as your username, bio, and number of followers). We may store payment information (such as credit or debit card details) but only if you choose to save it to your account.
  2. Make a purchase through the Site. shawtout collects the information that you provide when requesting a shawtout Video, including your name and email address, any mobile phone contact number (of you or the recipient) you choose to provide, the name of the recipient, and the details that you provide as part of your request. When you purchase merchandise, we also collect shipping and delivery information. shawtout processes payment information you provide when you pay for a purchase. We collect information of the recipients that you provide to us to the extent necessary to provide the shawtout Video, either as part of the content or for the transaction itself (for example, we share the recipient’s name and the details of the request with the applicable shawtout “Talent User”) or to deliver merchandise.
  3. Participate in sweepstakes, contests, or other promotional activities. shawtout collects the information that you provide when you enter a sweepstakes, contest, or promotional activities (each, a “Promotion”) through our Site. Each Promotion has its own terms and conditions or official rules, which you should review as they may contain other requirements (such as, allowing use of your name or likeness in advertising unless prohibited by applicable law).
  4. Contact Customer Service through the Site. shawtout collects the information that you provide in connection with providing customer service.
  5. Provide Content to the Site. We collect information when you submit content to us, such as a video, review, photo, email, text, social media post, or other communication (each, a “Submission”) and, if you are a Talent User, when you submit “Talent Content”. Each Submission, whether submitted to our Site directly or through a Social Media Platform, and all Talent Content, is subject to the applicable Terms of Service. As a result, others may access it, use it, and share it.
  6. Use Social Media with the Site. We collect information when you interact with our Site through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (collectively, “Social Media Platforms”). For example, you may use your existing social media username and login information to create an account on our Site or “like” or “share” content from our Site. Some of your information, such as your username, may be publicly displayed. We may also receive information about you if other users of a Social Media Platform give us access to their profiles and you are one of their connections or “friends”. In addition, we and the Social Media Platform may have access to information about you and your use of our Site and the Social Media Platform. The information we collect is subject to this Privacy Policy. The information that any third party collects is subject to its privacy practices (including whether it shares information with us, the types of information shared, and your choices about what may be visible to others).
  7. Use the Site as a Talent User. When you use our Site to become or as a Talent User, we collect, in addition to information provided when you create your account, your name, email address, phone number, and the social media usernames you provide, shawtout Videos prepared by you, and other information relating to our relationship with you, such as payment information. shawtout’s payments to you are made through the third party payment provider selected by shawtout. You should review the payment provider’s privacy policy before providing your personal information, as it is responsible for personal information in its own right, and its privacy practices may vary from ours.
  8. Become a shawtout Partner. When become a you become a “shawtout Partner” including through our Site, in addition to information you provide if you create an account on the Site, we collect your name, email address, phone number, and other information relating to our relationship with you, including payment information. shawtout’s payments to you are made through the third party payment provider selected by shawtout. You should review the payment provider’s privacy policy before providing your personal information, as it is responsible for personal information in its own right, and its privacy practices may vary from ours.
  9. Apply for a Job with shawtout. We collect the information you provide when you apply for a job with us through a third party career portal (for example, through the “Jobs” link on our Site) or directly. Please note that your use of a third party career portal is subject to the third party’s privacy policy.

(b) Information from Third Parties

We may also obtain information, such as contact details (for example, name and email address), country, IP address, purchase histories, marketing preferences, cookie information, hardware and software information and other technical information about you from third parties, such as analytics companies, Social Media Platforms, and other third party business partners, such as a shawtout Partner. For example, if you discuss becoming a discuss becoming a Talent User through a shawtout Partner, we will collect your name, email address, phone number, and the social media usernames you provide relating to that relationship from the shawtout Partner.

We and our third party business partners may collect information about your visits to and activity on our Site and other websites and services. We may combine that information with other personal information we have collected from or about you. We may share certain of this information with third party business partners for similar purposes.


3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

(a) Cookies and Tracking

When you visit our Site, we and third-party advertising and analytics companies and other third party business partners may use a variety of tracking and other technologies that automatically or passively collect certain information whenever you visit the Site or otherwise interact with us or our content (“Usage Information”).

We use these technologies for a number of reasons, including to save your preferences for future visits to our Site, keep you logged in between visits, and to provide you with improved services. The information we collect may include (but is not limited to):

  • date and time of your visit to our Site;
  • areas you visit within our Site;
  • links that you click on within our Site;
  • websites or advertisements you visit before or after visiting our Site;
  • terms you entered into a search engine that lead you to our Site;
  • IP address, mobile device identifier, or other unique identifier and usage information for the device used to access our Site;
  • precise location data from your device, if you have opted-in to the collection of that information (you may be able to disable the collection of precise location data through the settings on the device used to access our Site, but your approximate location may remain available through its IP address or other information that we collect);
  • device and connection information, such as browser type and version, operating system, and platform; and
  • whether an email message we sent was opened and whether a link in the email message was clicked.

The methods that may be used to collect Usage Information include the following:

  1. Cookies and Local Storage. A cookie is a data file placed on a device when it is used to visit the Site or otherwise access our content. Certain web browsers and certain browser add-ons, such as Adobe Flash, may provide additional local data storage mechanisms that are used in a manner similar to cookies, and some of the content included on our Site may make use of this local storage. To get information about Flash and Adobe’s privacy choices from Adobe, click here. To get information about cookies from All About Cookies.org, click here. Cookies, Flash cookies, and other local storage devices may be used for a variety of purposes (for example, to identify your device when you revisit our Site, to recall your authentication information, to store information related to your navigation throughout our Site, or to enable certain features on our Site). Some cookies are essential to the functioning of the Site, and, without them, some features and services you have requested cannot be provided. If you disable cookies, adjust privacy settings on your device, restrict local storage, or otherwise limit these technologies, you may not be able to use some of our Site features.
  2. Web Beacons. Small graphic images or other web programming code called web beacons (also known as “pixels”, “1×1 GIFs” or “clear GIFs”) may be included in our web pages and email messages. Web beacons may not be visible to you. Web beacons or similar technologies may be used for a number of purposes, including to count visitors to the Site, to monitor how users navigate the Site, to count how many email messages we sent were opened, and to count whether a link in an email message we sent was clicked.
  3. Embedded Scripts. An embedded script is a programming code that is designed to collect information about your interactions with the Site, such as the links you click on. The code is temporarily downloaded onto your device from our server or a third party service provider, is active only while you are connected to a Site, and is deactivated or deleted after you are no longer connected.
  4. Other Technologies We may also use other technologies that collect similar information for security and fraud detection purposes.

(b) “Do Not Track” Signals

Some Internet browsers may be configured to send “Do Not Track” signals to the online services that you visit. There is no consensus among industry participants as to what “Do Not Track” means in this context. Like many websites and online services, shawtout does not currently alter our practices when we receive a “Do Not Track” signal from a visitor’s browser. For information about “do not track” from The Future of Privacy Forum, click here.


4. How We Use Information

We may combine information that we have received from you with information from other sources to operate, tailor content, personalize, adjust, and improve our Site. We use your information:

  • to fulfill your request for a shawtout Video or purchase of merchandise, accept your payment, ship and deliver your orders, deliver email messages, and process information you provide through our Site;
  • to maintain your account, to assist with payment transactions, to facilitate use of the Site, and to communicate with you about your account, our relationship with you, and your use of the Site, such as by verifying your information, requesting that you respond to a survey, checking on the status of an order or request. We may send you text messages if you have provided us with your mobile telephone number for that purpose;
  • to establish and manage a relationship with you as a Talent User or a shawtout Partner;
  • to send you promotional email or text messages communications from shawtout (not from any third party) if you have opted in to receive them. To stop receiving email messages, click on the “unsubscribe” link in the footer of the promotional email; please note that even if you unsubscribe, we may send you communications relating to your account or use of the Site, such as administrative and services announcements. To stop receiving promotional text messages, text “STOP” to 22-636 (you will receive a confirmation text). Please also review the applicable Mobile Terms and Conditions;
  • to conduct and administer a Promotion if you have chosen to participate. We will not share your information with a third party for the third party’s marketing or promotional purposes unless you agree;
  • to provide you and others with customer service, to assist in resolving issues, and to evaluate and improve our customer service and processes;
  • to use any Submission or Talent Content as set forth in the applicable Terms of Service, which may include the public display of some information, such as your name, username, or where you reside;
  • to consider your job application and, in connection with the application, to fulfill legal reporting requirements, for internal business purposes (such as to evaluating and improving our recruiting processes), or to defend against employment-related claims;
  • to contact you about administrative matters, such as the applicable Terms of Service, or other issues;
  • to better understand your personal preferences and to enable us to provide you with improved and personalized communications and services;
  • to compile aggregate data about Site traffic and interaction;
  • to tailor the content and advertising we display to you or others, on our Site or elsewhere, and to analyze trends and statistics;
  • to create advertising models through lookalike modelling or other research methodologies;
  • for internal business purposes, such as improving our Site, products, and services and to comply with legal requirements and our business practices, such as our recordkeeping, backup, and document retention policies; and
  • for other reasons that we disclose when you provide your information, with your consent, and as described in this Privacy Policy.

5. How We Share Information

We share non-personal information, such as aggregated statistics and de-identified information, with third parties to the extent permitted by applicable law. shawtout also shares personal information as provided below in more detail. We do not share personal information with any third party to use for its own marketing or promotional purposes without your consent.

(a) Our Affiliates

We share information with our affiliates, as relevant, who use it for the same purposes for which we use it. 

(b) Third Parties Providing Services on our Behalf

We use third parties to perform certain services on our behalf, such as hosting the Site or Site features, providing website usage analytics, fulfilling orders, processing payments, sending email or other communications, providing marketing assistance and data analysis or enhancement, running promotions, or performing other administrative services. We may share information about you with these third parties to allow them to execute, deliver, or improve the services that they provide for you and for shawtout.

(c) shawtout Partners

If you are a Talent User, we may disclose your information to the shawtout Partner who introduced you to us in connection with the services that the shawtout Partner is providing and for the shawtout Partner’s business purposes (for example, record-keeping and tax reporting).

(d) Employment Applications

If you apply for a job with shawtout or any of our subsidiaries or affiliates, we or our service providers may ask you to provide self-identifying information (such as veteran status, gender, and ethnicity) in conjunction with laws and regulations enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and other regulatory agencies. Providing such self-identifying information is voluntary, but if you do provide such information, we and our service providers may submit that information to the appropriate government or regulatory agencies to fulfill reporting requirements and use that information to defend against employment-related complaints.

(e) Sweepstakes, Contests, and Other Promotional Activities

If you participate in a Promotion, we may disclose your information to third parties or to the public in connection with conducting and administering the Promotion, for example, to select a winner, provide a prize, as required by applicable law (such as publishing a list of winners), or as permitted by the applicable terms and conditions or official rules.

(f) When You Request That We Share Your Information

We may share information when you request us to do so, for example, if you opt-in to receive a communication from a third party or if you engage with a Social Media Platform or other third party application or feature through which information about you is shared.

(g) Administrative Reasons, To Enforce and Protect Legal Rights

  1. To the extent permitted by applicable law, we will disclose your personal information pursuant to a law, regulation, court order, or other legal request or process, such as disclosure to law enforcement or other government officials or agencies in connection with any investigation, for example of fraud, intellectual property infringement, or any other activity that is or may be illegal or may expose shawtout, you, or another to legal liability. This disclosure may include legal requests from a jurisdiction outside of the United States when we have a good faith belief that the response is required by law, regulation, court order, or other legal request or process in that jurisdiction, affects users in that jurisdiction, and is consistent with internationally-recognized standards.
  2. We will disclose your personal information when necessary to exercise, enforce, establish, or defend our legal rights. For example, we may review your account information in order to investigate allegations of hacking or a breach of the applicable Terms of Service. We will disclose your personal information to our legal and other advisors, consultants, and law enforcement or other government entities.

(h) Protecting Others

We will disclose your personal information to third parties when we believe the disclosure is necessary to protect rights, property, or safety of another. For example, we disclose personal information relating to a Site account if we in good faith believe that a Site account is being used in ways that are harmful to another or contrary to the applicable Terms of Service.

(i) Business Transfers

In evaluating or engaging in a sale of assets, merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or other transaction, we reserve the right to disclose, transfer, or assign your personal information and communications. By providing your personal information, you agree that we may transfer such information to the acquiring entity without your further consent.


6. Children and Parents

Our Site is intended for a general audience and not for use by anyone younger than the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children younger than the age of 16 without the consent of a parent or legal guardian; if we learn that we have done so, we will promptly remove the information from our active databases. If you are a parent or legal guardian who believes that we have collected or used their child’s personal information, please contact us using the contact details in the Contact Us section.


7. Your Choices

(a) Marketing Preferences

To stop receiving promotional email communications from shawtout, click on the “unsubscribe” link in the footer of the promotional email. As noted above, we may send you email communications relating to your account or use of the Site even if you have unsubscribed. To stop receiving promotional text messages, text “STOP” to 22-636. As noted above, you will receive a confirmation text.

(b) Third Party Advertising and Analytics Companies and Your Choices

shawtout works with network advertisers, ad agencies, and other advertising partners to serve shawtout ads online. We may use information we have learned about you to target ads to you and to allow third parties to target ads to you. We also use analytics providers to provide us with information regarding the use of the Site and the effectiveness of our advertisements. These third parties may set and access their own tracking technologies on your device (including cookies and web beacons), and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you, including Usage Information. We and our third party advertising and analytics providers may collect personal information over time when you visit the Site or other online websites and services.

We may share non-personal information, including information that has been de-identified, aggregated user statistics, and Usage Information, directly or indirectly through third party business providers, with third party advertising companies, analytics providers, and other third parties, including for the purpose of serving you more relevant ads. We may retain third party providers to help us perform these tasks. For example, we may share personal information with third parties who combine and link information from shawtout with information from other sources. These third party providers may then make non-personal information available to third party advertisers, including information about your interests and preferences, to enable them to serve you more relevant ads.

  1. Some of these third parties may be members of the Network Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) or Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising. NAI and DAA each provide information regarding procedures for opting-out of targeted online advertising from participating companies. For information from NAI about opting out, click here. For information from DAA about opting out, click here, and for information about DAA’s AppChoices application, click here.
  2. For mobile applications, you may be able to limit certain advertising practices using the settings on your phone, tablet, or other mobile device. On most mobile devices, you can install the DAA’s AppChoices app to make choices about cross-app interest-based advertisements from participating third parties. For information from NAI about opting out on mobile devices,click here.
  3. shawtout uses Google Analytics. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about the use of the Site and report on activities and trends. This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps, and online resources. For information from Google about opting out, click here, and to download the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on from Google, click here.

Opting out through these mechanisms does not block all online advertising; you will continue to receive generic advertisements.


8. Accessing Personal Information and Retention Period

(a) Accessing Your Account

Please note that if you choose not to provide us with certain personal information, we may not always be able to provide you with the relevant shawtout product or service that you request. For example, without providing an email address, you will not be able to create a Site account.

  1. You may access, view, correct, or update certain personal information collected about you by accessing your Site account through shawtout.com or the mobile application and edit your personal information. If you want to deactivate your account, please email [email protected]; Talent Users may also deactivate their account through their account settings or by texting their shawtout talent representative.
  2. If you have any concerns about how we are using your personal information, would like to correct or remove  the personal information that you have provided to us, please send your request using the contact details in the Contact Us section.

(b) Retention Period

When you request that we delete your personal information, we will take commercially reasonable steps to remove it from our active databases but will keep original information consistent with our business practices to the extent permitted by applicable law (for example, for purposes of dispute resolution, enforcement of agreements, complying with legal requirements, recordkeeping, backup, and document retention).


9. Data Security

shawtout takes commercially reasonable security measures to protect the information submitted to us. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure and you use our Site and transmit information to us at your own risk. If you have any questions about security on our Site, contact us using the contact details in the Contact Us section at the end of this policy.


10. Contact Us