WayBetter Privacy Policy
Date of Last Revision: November 21, 2023
Here at WayBetter, we are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of your personal information and providing a safe and secure environment for all of our players. The purpose of our Privacy Policy is to set forth the information we gather when you visit our site or use our Services and the manner in which such information is used.
By registering, accessing, using, or visiting any of WayBetter’s games, services, apps, or sites including but not limited to www.waybetter.com, its websites and any mobile version thereof, or any software system designed to support or permit interaction with the website, including social networking pages thereon or its functionality over a network (together the "Site"), you (the "User") signify that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy, which is an integral part of our Terms of Use.
European Union users should review the section of this Privacy Policy entitled “European Union Users.” Users who are residents of California should review the attached “Supplemental Privacy Provisions for California Residents,” which are an integral part of this Privacy Policy.
Please carefully read the provisions of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our Privacy Policy, do not use our Service.
What this Policy Covers
This Privacy Policy covers WayBetter's treatment of personal and other information that WayBetter gathers when you are using WayBetter's websites, games, and services. This policy does not apply to the practices of third parties that WayBetter does not own or control or to individuals that WayBetter does not employ or manage.
Information Collected by WayBetter
We collect the following types of information from our users:
Information You Provide to Us
We receive and store information that you enter on our website, submit through our games, or provide to us in other ways. You can choose not to submit certain information, but the tradeoff is that you may not be able to take advantage of certain of our site's or game’s features.
Registration: In order for you to use WayBetter's services you must create an account by completing a registration form. As part of this registration form, we require select personal information (including your name, email address, etc.).
User and Player Profiles: To allow you to express yourself beyond just the information collected during registration, we enable you to provide additional information about yourself in your User Profile, including a profile photo. You may opt out of user and player profiles by simply not providing this additional information.
Payment Information: WayBetter uses PCI-compliant payment processors and does not itself see or store your credit card details.
Invite Friends: A user may choose to identify a friend, colleague, cheerleader, accountability partner, teammate, or a similar third party through our mechanisms related to invite-a-friend, accountability partner, team games, and other social features and functions. If a user does this we may collect the recipient's email address and/or other contact information. We may send your friend a message and, if we deem helpful, reminders. WayBetter stores this information for the purpose of sending the aforementioned messages, invites, and related reminders. We also store this information to track the success of our invitation programs. Recipients may contact support@waybetter.com to request that we remove this information from our database.
Game and Other Submissions: In order to play WayBetter games, players may be required to submit various information, data, photos, videos, or other potentially sensitive health-related content during the course of the game. This content is used by WayBetter to track player progress, determine winners, and for other purposes related to administering our games. This content may also be displayed on your personal profile, publicly and/or privately; used for our efforts to prevent cheating and fraud; and for research and development purposes consistent with this privacy policy and our terms of use.
Location Information: Information as to your location may be collected in connection with your participation in certain WayBetter games. You may opt out of the collection of such information except to the extent that collection of such information is integral to the operation of such games.
Automatic Information: We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with us, including information transmitted automatically related to weight, steps, or other of your activities necessary for WayBetter’s games. WayBetter and its authorized agents automatically receive and record certain traffic data on their server logs from your browser including your IP address, WayBetter cookie information, queries, and the page you requested. WayBetter uses this traffic data to help diagnose problems with its servers, to analyze trends, and to administer its apps and websites. WayBetter may collect and display various aggregate counts of the times that pages have been viewed.
Use of User Submissions for Research and Development Purposes: WayBetter may use photos, videos, and other user submissions for research and development purposes, including to train artificial intelligence systems (our own or those of third parties). Such submissions will be anonymized and aggregated prior to use for these purposes, such that no personally identifiable information will be visible to third parties. Users acknowledge and consent to the use of their anonymous submissions for research and development purposes that may improve WayBetter's services and products as well as services and products offered by WayBetter's partners.
Additional Information: With your express consent, we may access your phone book and other information and tools on your devices to enhance your game experience.
Information Third Parties Provide to Us
Third party suppliers (e.g., FitBit, Garmin, Runkeeper, etc.) may provide information to WayBetter in connection with WayBetter’s implementation of its games. This information to the extent that it is not under the control of WayBetter is subject to the privacy policies of those suppliers. It is the responsibility of players to review and determine whether to accept such third party privacy policies, recognizing that the use of such information by WayBetter may be essential to the player’s participation in a game.
Use of Information Collected by WayBetter
WayBetter uses the information it collects to contact you about your involvement or potential involvement in a game; to bill users who have agreed to play or purchase products through our site; to implement WayBetter’s respective games; to fulfill product orders; to contact you about WayBetter-related news, features, products, surveys, promotions by WayBetter and its partners, updates, case studies, and/or special offers; to facilitate social networking and game set-up; and, without using personally identifiable information, to analyze and report success trends. Information submitted through WayBetter games may also be used for research and development purposes, as described in this privacy policy.
Information Shared in Games and Communication Channels
If you participate in a WayBetter game or use a bulletin board, blog, chatroom, or other WayBetter communications channels, you should be aware that personally identifiable information you submit there can be read, collected, or used by other users and may be further disseminated outside of WayBetter. This could also potentially be used by third parties to send you unsolicited messages or for other purposes not authorized by WayBetter.
While we aim to maintain the privacy of information shared within games and communication channels, we cannot guarantee that such information will remain private and will not be further shared or transmitted by other users. Do not provide any information you consider highly confidential or would not want further disseminated. WayBetter is not responsible for personally identifiable information that you voluntarily make available within games or communication channels.
We also connect to third-party services like Facebook and Twitter. Any information you share on our site may be sent to those third-party services based on your account connections and authorizations. Please be mindful of this when posting any personal or confidential information.
Email and Other Communications
We will send you welcome emails after you have registered with WayBetter based upon the personally identifiable information that you provide us. WayBetter also sends out emails to respond to your inquiries and messages, to manage your account, and to facilitate the actions described above. You may receive notification emails from WayBetter, which inform you of actions performed on the site or in relation to your game play. Unless you opt out, we also send motivational newsletters and messages to people playing in our games.
If you do not want to receive email from us, email support@waybetter.com from the email address you want to take off our lists. If you do not want to receive push notifications from us, opt out of receiving them in the Settings section of the menu. However, please note that in all cases you will continue to receive certain system emails (e.g., regarding forgotten user passwords or related to success and failure in on-going games you have engaged in) and legal notices (e.g., updates to our policies) from us. If you wish to stop receiving these emails you may deactivate or suspend your account.
Cookies
Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that are transferred to your computer's hard drive through your web browser for the purpose of record-keeping. We use cookies to identify our registered users and to store session specific information, such as your username. At the user's option, our cookies may remain on your hard drive for an extended period of time to facilitate login. We do not link the information we store in cookies to any personally identifiable information you submit while on our site.
The "help" portion of the toolbar on the majority of browsers will direct you on how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to command the browser to tell you when you receive a new cookie, or how to fully disable cookies. Although you may reject our cookies and still navigate some areas of our site, we require you to have cookies activated in order to participate in a game.
We use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. We use session cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our site and to control access to certain parts of our site. A session ID cookie expires when you close your browser. We set a persistent cookie to store your passwords, so you don't have to enter it more than once. Persistent cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience of our site. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. Our vendors and affiliates also use cookies to enable their systems to recognize your browser and tell them how and when pages in our website are visited and by how many people. That information, which is provided to us, is not personally identifiable. In addition, some of our business partners, like our advertisers, may use cookies on our website. We have no access to or control over these cookies. The use of cookies by third parties is not covered under our privacy statement.
Sharing Your Information
WayBetter enables people to discover and share information with one another, and information about the people who use WayBetter is very important to us. Although we may share non-personal information, such as aggregate user statistics, demographic information, and website usage information with third parties, rest assured that we will share your personally identifiable information only as described below.
WayBetter Personnel and Affiliates: WayBetter personnel, approved academic researchers, authorized consultants and/or contractors, and payment processing companies may have access to user information if necessary in the normal course of WayBetter business and/or research. This means that user information may be used for responding to user requests, ensuring smooth operation of games, modifying our games product, and other internal purposes. We may solicit your participation in research, developing case studies, and success stories.
Agents/Service Providers: WayBetter employs third parties to perform functions on our behalf. Examples include hosting or operating the WayBetter website, fulfilling orders, sending communications, marketing assistance, credit card payment processing, and customer service. These third parties may have access to your personal information for the purpose of performing such functions on WayBetter's behalf.
Business Transfers: In some cases, we may choose to buy or sell assets. In these types of transactions, user information is typically one of the business assets that is transferred. If WayBetter or all of its assets were acquired, user information would be one of the assets that is transferred. Information will be transferred on the condition that the recipient of such information will use the same standards of privacy that WayBetter applies under this privacy policy.
Protection of WayBetter and Others: We may release personal information when we believe in good faith that release is necessary to comply with the law; to enforce our Terms of Use; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of WayBetter, our employees, our users, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction. We also reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, governmental requests, or legal process served on WayBetter.
Public Information: WayBetter will allow third parties access to all WayBetter data that is already publicly available through our websites or apps. WayBetter will keep passwords private.
E-Commerce: WayBetter may allow users to choose to share information with third parties, including marketers or electronic commerce providers through on-site or in-app offers.
Special Offers and Promotions by WayBetter and its Partners: In connection with promotions and special offers, we may make available to third parties your name and other personal information pertinent to these offers and to their implementation should you accept such promotions or special offers. Information transmitted to third parties will be subject to the privacy policies of the third parties receiving such information. Your information may also be used in connection with sweepstakes, contests, surveys, and other promotions that we or our partners conduct. You may opt out of providing such information by notifying WayBetter at support@waybetter.com.
With Your Consent: Except as noted above, WayBetter will not provide users' personally identifiable information to third parties for purposes incompatible with the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected without their prior permission.
Research and Analytics
WayBetter may use information collected through games, quizzes, and other interactions for internal research and analytics purposes aimed at improving our products, services, and user experience. This includes combining data from multiple games and sources to identify trends and insights. All information is anonymized prior to analysis. We may also share, sell, license, or otherwise offer our anonymized and aggregated datasets with third party researchers, business partners, and academics to further game design, health research, and other fields. No personally identifiable information will be included in these shared data sets without your explicit opt-in consent.
Evolving Data Analysis At WayBetter, we continuously seek to enhance and innovate in how we use the information we’ve collected from our users. Part of this involves analyzing the data we have already collected in new and innovative ways. This may include conducting advanced analytics, improving service offerings, or collaborating with trusted partners for research and development purposes. You agree that we may use or analyze the information provided by you in the past, including photos and other data, in new ways to improve our services and offerings. We assure you that this use will not involve your personally identifiable information without obtaining additional consent from you. Furthermore, any such use will not significantly alter the nature of our relationship with you or diminish your rights. Our commitment is to ensure that all such data use is conducted responsibly, maintaining the anonymity of your information and upholding the essence of our initial agreement regarding data privacy.
Personalized Services
The information you provide about yourself allows us to personalize and customize your experience. This includes personalized game suggestions, customized pricing, personalized health tips and recommendations, and other tailored offerings designed to meet your needs and interests. We may use information you have shared with us such as health conditions, lifestyle factors, product preferences, and more to enhance and personalize your experience.
Health Information
Information you provide about your health conditions, medications, medical history, and related topics in WayBetter games, quizzes, or communications constitutes protected health information under HIPAA. We will only use this information as described in this Privacy Policy or with additional prior consent from you. Your health information will not be used for any purpose not outlined herein or shared with third parties without your authorization. You may request deletion of your health information at any time.
Healthcare Provider Engagement:
At WayBetter, we work in partnership with licensed healthcare professionals and companies who specialize in managing specific health conditions. Should you inform us of a health condition during your interaction with our services (such as through quizzes, games, or other communications), and you have provided your explicit consent, a healthcare provider with expertise in your particular condition may contact you to offer personalized health services or support.
To facilitate this level of personalized care, we will require your explicit opt-in consent to share your health-related information with our partner healthcare provider(s). This ensures that any contact from a healthcare provider is conducted with your full awareness and permission.
Here’s how it works:
Consent: During your interaction with our services, if you disclose a specific health condition and wish to be contacted by a healthcare provider, we will present you with a consent form that clearly outlines:
The nature of the information to be shared (e.g., that you have a specific condition). The healthcare provider(s) who may reach out to you. The purpose of the outreach (e.g., to offer services, advice, or support tailored to your condition).
No Surprise Contact: Without your proactive consent, no healthcare provider will contact you.
You have full control over whether or not you wish to be engaged in this way.
Revocation of Consent: You may revoke your consent at any time, and we will promptly inform our healthcare partners of your decision to cease any further outreach.
HIPAA Compliance: Our partner healthcare providers are bound by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), ensuring that your health information is handled with confidentiality and integrity.
To withdraw consent, please reach out to us at support@waybetter.com.
Opting Out
We note throughout this Privacy Policy that we make available to our players the opportunity to readily opt out of providing information that they do not wish to share. You may opt out of providing information to WayBetter by contacting support@waybetter.com. Please appreciate that the supplying of certain personal information (e.g., photos) may be essential for game participation.
Minors
Minors under age 18 are prohibited from registering for or using the Services. We do not knowingly collect or solicit any information from anyone under the age of 18, and we will delete that information immediately. If you believe that WayBetter may have information from or about a minor under 18 years old, please contact us.
Keeping Information Secure
The security of your information is extremely important to us. Your WayBetter account information is protected by a password for your privacy and security. In addition, we follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information of our users, both during transmission and after we receive it. WayBetter strives to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, including use of encryption, firewalls, and hashing on select types of information collected by WayBetter. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) during the sign-up process or on our order forms, we encrypt your information during transmission using secure socket layer technology (SSL). No method of transmission or electronic storage is 100% secure, however, so WayBetter cannot guarantee absolute security.
You can enhance your security by protecting against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Only employees who need personal information to perform a specific job (for example, a customer service representative) are granted access to it. All of our employees are kept up to date on our privacy and security practices.
Ways for You to Control Display and Use of Your Information
You can always opt not to disclose information, but then you may be unable to use certain features on our website or fully participate in our games.
By visiting your User Profile, you can correct, amend, add, or delete personally identifiable information. When you update information, however, we often maintain a copy of the unrevised information as part of our normal back-up procedures and so that we can comply with any future legal requirements.
If you wish to remain a user of WayBetter but do not wish to receive certain communications from us or other WayBetter users, please email support@waybetter.com. However, please note that you will continue to receive all system emails and legal notices from us.
You may request access to any Personal Information that we have collected that is not available on your User Profile page so that you may correct any inaccuracies or request deletion of that information.
You may also request deletion of your WayBetter account by contacting us via email to support@waybetter.com. We will respond to requests within 15 business days.
European Union Users
WayBetter respects the data protection rights of individuals in the European Union. As an EU resident, you are granted specific rights regarding your personal data under GDPR. These include the rights to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, objection, and consent withdrawal. If you wish to exercise these rights, please contact us at support@waybetter.com with "EU Privacy Rights Request" in the subject line of your email.
Supplemental Privacy Provisions for California Residents
In compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), WayBetter provides additional privacy protections and rights to our users who are California residents. This supplemental section outlines these rights and how California residents can exercise them.
Right to Know and Access: You have the right to request that WayBetter disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. Upon verification of your request, we will provide you with access to the specific pieces of personal information we collected about you.
Right to Deletion: You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information collected or maintained by WayBetter, subject to certain exceptions as allowed by law.
Right to Opt-Out of Sale: WayBetter does not sell personal information. However, if this practice should change, California residents will have the right to opt-out of the sale of their personal information.
Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not deny you goods or services, charge you different prices, or provide a different level or quality of services.
How to Exercise Your Rights: California residents may exercise their California privacy rights by submitting a verifiable consumer request to us at support@waybetter.com. Please include "California Privacy Rights Request" in the subject line of your email. We will verify your request using the information associated with your account, including email address. Government identification may be required.
Contact for More Information: For any questions or concerns about these privacy provisions and your rights under California law, please contact us at support@waybetter.com.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
WayBetter may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time, at its sole discretion. If we make material changes to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you by updating the date of the policy and/or by posting an announcement on the WayBetter website so you may stay up-to-date on what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, it is disclosed. If you continue to use the Site after those changes are in effect, you agree to the new policy.