PADI® and its affiliated companies (the PADI Companies) are committed to respecting the privacy of customers “ including participants of the PADI Companies™ Experience and Training Programs (Training Programs), persons making inquiries and visitors to the PADI websites, padi.com and ScubaEarth®. This Privacy Policy covers personally identifiable information that may be provided to the PADI Companies during such interactions. As is explained below, the information provided during various types of interactions may be treated differently. Changes to the policy will be posted on this page. Any changes will only apply to information collected after the posted date of any such change. Additionally, information may be provided to governmental bodies and other entities as required by law.
What security is provided by the PADI Companies?
The PADI Companies use a number of security measures to maintain the privacy of the personal information collected. The data are stored in secure databases and are accessed only for the purposes listed within the Privacy Policy.
Participants in Training Programs
What information do the PADI Companies obtain?
For participants in the Training Programs the PADI Companies may obtain participant name, mail address, telephone number, email address, gender, birth date, certification/participation date, certification level, associated PADI Member name and member number.
How is the information used?
The PADI Companies will use participant information in the PADI Quality Management process, in which participants may be sent program evaluation forms and related correspondence. The information will also be used to send participants the appropriate Training Program completion materials, as well as for research and statistical purposes.
Additionally, participant information may be used by the PADI Companies to promote additional programs and training opportunities. Further, from time to time, participant information may be provided to PADI Members and industry partners for the purpose of promoting diving, dive training and dive-related products and services that the PADI Companies feel may be of interest to participants. The PADI Companies will not, however, mail to participants who are not individual professional members, for the purpose of directly selling the PADI Companies™ educational products or programs in competition with PADI Retailers/Resorts. Further, the PADI Companies will not sell, trade or lease student names and addresses to any third party for the purpose of selling or promoting any product in competition with PADI Retailers/Resorts, except with prior notice and voluntary participation by the individual PADI Retailers/Resorts.
The PADI Companies may use the information for the purpose of promoting the PADI Companies™ Training Programs available through PADI Members; diving; diver recognition; diver insurance and Project AWARE® programs; promoting the dive business of PADI Retailers/Resorts; and promoting dive membership and affinity programs, including the PADI Diving Society (PDS) and PDS events. Additionally, PADI Companies may periodically use the information to sponsor co-op programs with PADI Retailers/Resorts for the purpose of selling certain non-product items, such as travel.
Participant information may also be provided to Project AWARE, a nonprofit organization, for the purpose of its providing environmental information and opportunities.
PADI eLearning and Touch Programs – PADI Library
PADI, your chosen PADI Dive Center/Resort and/or PADI Instructor, and Digitec Interactive, LLC believe that your privacy is critical, which is why PADI has developed this privacy policy to explain PADIs™ practices regarding the use and disclosure of information PADI may obtain from PADI eLearning and Touch users.
Digitec Interactive, LLC is the company with which PADI has partnered to manage the digital processes that support PADI eLearning and Touch, including registration, secure access, completing knowledge reviews, the necessary emails, etc. This Learning Management System (LMS), developed by Digitec Interactive, LLC, is KnowledgeDirect WEB.
PADI is the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (aka PADI Americas, Inc.) and is the developer of the PADI Diver Training programs offered through PADI eLearning and Touch.
The PADI Dive Center/Resort (hereinafter “Facility”) is the facility, and the PADI Instructor (hereinafter œInstructor) is the instructor, one of which you have selected to associate with while completing your PADI eLearning or Touch program.
Your personal information is your business, and PADI promises not to knowingly disclose this information to anyone without your consent. PADI pledges to maintain your privacy both during and following your use of PADI eLearning and Touch. PADI will treat your personal data with the highest standards of safety, security and confidentiality. By accessing or using the PADI eLearning website or Touch products, you agree to the terms of the PADI Privacy Policy. PADI reserves the right to change its privacy policies from time to time at PADIs™ sole discretion. Your use of this site and products will be subject to the most current version of the privacy policies at the time of such use.
What information do the PADI Companies obtain?
When you register with PADI eLearning or Touch, your personal information is tracked in a database and is accessible to your chosen Facility and its affiliated PADI Instructor, or your chosen Instructor, PADI and Digitec Interactive, LLC. In addition, your scores, completion data and other performance standards are collected. This data is also accessible to these same entities.
The credit card transaction information (mailing address, credit card number, credit card expiration date and phone number) are processed on a secured site and are not accessible to your facility, instructor, or to Digitec Interactive, LLC. This information is only accessible to PADI.
When you submit personal information via PADI eLearning or Touch, you understand and agree that this information may be transferred across national boundaries and may be stored and processed in any of the countries in which the Facility, the Instructor, PADI, Digitec Interactive, LLC and their affiliates and subsidiaries maintain offices, including without limitation, the United States. You also acknowledge that in certain countries or with respect to certain activities, the collection, transferring, storage and processing of your information may be undertaken by trusted vendors.
How is the information used?
Email addresses are collected from those who communicate with PADI through PADI eLearning and Touch, the facility and KnowledgeDirectWEB, such as from site registration. Notwithstanding the information provided in other parts of this Privacy Policy, PADI will not share any information with third parties unless they have agreed to maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of the personal information they obtain from PADI. PADI may also share aggregate or summary information regarding its users with partners or third parties. These activities will be undertaken in accordance with governing laws and regulations and will not disclose individual information.
In addition, PADI eLearning/KnowledgeDirectWEB allows the facility or Instructor to upload content to the site for viewing by PADI eLearning/KnowledgeDirectWEB users. We cannot be held accountable for files uploaded by third parties that result in software problems or the transmission of viruses.
By using PADI eLearning and Touch, and when required, providing verifiable parental consent, you agree to the collection and use of the information you (and your child) provide to PADI, your chosen PADI Dive Center/ Resort, Digitec Interactive LLC and KnowledgeDirectWEB as described in this Privacy Policy statement. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances we disclose it. As we implement new technology and introduce new services, we will update our Consumer Privacy Policy, so we encourage you to review it often.
Security
When you begin a checkout or redemption process within our sites, we require that a secure connection between your computer and our server be established. To do this, our sites utilize a technology called Secure Socket Layers (SSL). SSL encrypts your personal and credit card information before it travels over the Internet. SSL technology is the industry standard for secure online transactions. Because we use SSL, registering on PADI eLearning/KnowledgeDirectWEB is just as safe as giving your credit card number over the phone. SSL is an industry standard with advanced encryption technology that works with current versions of Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari and numerous other web browsers. A secure connection is maintained until the checkout process is either completed or canceled by the user. Although we use these industry-standard efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of your personally identifiable information, “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet.
Special Considerations Regarding Children under Thirteen Years of Age
The PADI Companies collect participant information regarding children less than 13 years of age who participate in Training Programs, with such participation requiring parental approval. Except for the purposes of providing program completion materials and administering the PADI Quality Management process, information from such children is kept private, is not used by the PADI Companies, and is not provided for use by any third party at any time.
While the PADI Companies can™t prevent children under 13 years of age from viewing the padi.com website, such children may not use or register for the services offered on the Site without parental permission. The PADI Companies strongly encourage parents and guardians to supervise the activity of all children under the age of 18 in their use of the internet.
The PADI Companies are compliant with the Childrens™ Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). For more information on COPPA, visit: http://www.coppa.org
Persons Making Inquiries to the PADI Companies
What information do the PADI Companies obtain?
From persons making inquiries to the PADI Companies, only the information provided by the inquirer is obtained.
How is the information used?
Information obtained from persons making inquiries is used to respond to such inquiries but is not used in any other manner. Information is stored according to the PADI Companies™ normal document retention guidelines, and is not provided to third parties.
Visitors to PADI.com, USERS OF PADI APP
What information do the PADI Companies obtain?
When someone registers on padi.com, the following information may be obtained: email address, name, mail address, phone number, personal demographic information, etc. In some instances, registrants may decide what information they choose to provide. Sometimes, however, complete information is needed for the PADI Companies to respond to requests and/or include registrants in contest eligibility, etc.
What do the PADI Companies do with the information?
The PADI Companies treat the information from visitors to padi.com or the PADI App differently than the information gathered from participants who register for Training Programs (as described above). For site/App visitors, the PADI Companies may gather information for the sole purposes of identifying visitors, their interests, aggregate demographic data, providing personalized notices and promotions, and improving the site/App. The PADI Companies will not provide, market, trade or sell the information they obtain from such site/App visitors to third parties, except in the aggregate as part of statistical reports prepared by the PADI Companies for industry analysis; such aggregate information does not include identifying information. An exception to this would involve sign-ups for certain promotions, sweepstakes offers, etc. that may include the sharing of certain data with the PADI Companies™ industry partners, for the purpose of providing diving-related information and opportunities (such intended uses would be disclosed within the specific program information provided on padi.com/PADI App).
Email addresses may be collected from those who communicate with PADI through padi.com and/or the PADI App. Notwithstanding the information provided in other parts of this Privacy Policy, PADI will not share any information with third parties unless they have agreed to maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of the personal information they obtain from PADI. PADI may also share aggregate or summary information regarding its users with partners or third parties. These activities will be undertaken in accordance with governing laws and regulations and will not disclose individual information.
What do the PADI Companies use to track information from users?
The PADI Companies use various standard web-measuring tools to trace padi.com’s visitor movements through the site, such as Silverpop and Google Analytics (a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc.).
Google Analytics uses œcookies to collect and record information about visitor behavior on padi.com/PADI App. Google Analytics stores information about what pages visitors™ visit, how long they are on the site, how they got here and what they click on. This data is not tied to personally identifiable information, such as your name or address, so this information can™t be used to identify who you are. We have turned on Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting to get an idea of our demographics and users™ interests. You can use the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on to disable tracking by Google Analytics.
Can I decide what information to receive from or through the PADI Companies (i.e. Opt-out)?
Yes. Except for the information that is used to send participants the appropriate Training Program completion materials and that is used in the Quality Management process, in which participants may be sent program evaluation forms and related correspondence, anyone can elect not to receive any information, or to receive only certain types of information. To change your preferences, please contact your local PADI Office.
Limits on our Abilities to Protect Personal Information
Your privacy is very important to us. However, due to the existing legal and technical environment, we cannot ensure that your personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties in ways not described in this policy. For example, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, or third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Additionally, we can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to private entities, law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to address or resolve inquiries or problems.
Visitors to ScubaEarth.com
What information do the PADI Companies obtain?
When someone registers on ScubaEarth, the following information may be obtained: email address, name, mailing address, phone number, personal demographic information, etc. Additionally, in certain portions of the site, such as the Dive Log, Gear Locker and Show My PADI Certifications Online, visitors may voluntarily decide to provide additional information such as dive, dive training and equipment preferences, dive details, etc. or post questions and make other inquiries, as relevant to each such function or opportunity within the site. Certain portions of the site will allow visitors to upload photographic and video images.
What do the PADI Companies do with the information?
ScubaEarth receives data about visitors whenever they interact with the site, such as when they look at the various sections or features of the site; review a dive destination or equipment description.
ScubaEarth receives data from computers, mobile phones or other devices visitors use to access the site. This may include such information as IP address, location, the type of browser used, time of the visit and the pages visited. Some functions, such as Dive Shop Locator, may also obtain GPS location to determine the nearest PADI Dive Center.
When a visitor posts photos or videos on the site, ScubaEarth may receive additional related data (or metadata), such as the time, date, and place the photo or video was taken.
ScubaEarth compiles data and creates collections of aggregate data from the information gathered from and about visitors to assist PADI and ScubaEarth and their advertising and promotional partners in tailoring content and communications to individual interests. For example, compilations of the equipment planning and preferences indicated by postings to the Gear Locker may be provided to manufacturers offering the types of equipment listed in individual Gear Lockers (individual preferences will not be revealed, unless the information has been marked œEveryone as described below). Similarly, individual interests shown in Dive Destinations™ content can help ScubaEarth provide visitors with opportunities tailored to their personal dive travel preferences.
Email addresses may be collected from those who communicate with PADI through ScubaEarth. Notwithstanding the information provided in other parts of this Privacy Policy, PADI will not share any information with third parties unless they have agreed to maintain the confidentiality, security, and integrity of the personal information they obtain from PADI. PADI may also share aggregate or summary information regarding its users with partners or third parties. These activities will be undertaken in accordance with governing laws and regulations and will not disclose individual information.
Personal Decisions Concerning Privacy
Registered ScubaEarth users will have the ability to designate much of their information as œEveryone, œBuddies or œOnly Me. When an individuals™ information is designated as œOnly Me, it will be used only within compilations of aggregate information for the purposes of establishing trends, usage patterns and frequency, regional activity, etc. and will not include any individually identifiable data.
Service Providers
ScubaEarth may give visitors™ information to the people and companies that help ScubaEarth provide its services. For example, outside vendors may be used to help host the website, host photos and videos, process payments or provide search results, and, in some cases, ScubaEarth may provide a service jointly with another company. When working with third parties in these ways, ScubaEarth will enter into confidentiality agreements through which the vendors agree to only use visitor information in a manner consistent with ScubaEarths™ Privacy Policy. However, if ScubaEarth were to use a third party not bound by such a confidentiality agreement in the future, the third party will be identified. In such a case, it is the responsibility of the user to read and consider the third partys™ Privacy Policy/Terms and Conditions prior to accessing that feature or function.
Advertising
ScubaEarth does not share individual visitor information with advertisers. After an ad runs, ScubaEarth may provide advertisers with reports on how their ads performed; for example, reports telling advertisers how many users saw or clicked on their ads. Some advertisers may place cookies on a visitors™ computer.
Closing Personal Accounts
Registered users may close their accounts at any time. Once the account is closed, the personal information within it is no longer accessible. However, the data will continue to be included within compilations of anonymous information, in which no individual information is identifiable.
Do PADI Companies use cookies?
PADI Companies use cookies and similar technologies like pixels and tags to ensure that visitors have the best possible experience on padi.com. A cookie is a small amount of data that is transferred to your browser by a web server and can only be read by the server that gave it to you. It functions as your identification card, recording your passwords, purchases, and preferences. It can™t be executed as code or deliver viruses.
Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether or not to accept it. (For some web pages that require an authorization, cookies are not optional. Users choosing not to accept cookies will probably not be able to access those pages, and may be precluded from ordering or from maintaining an account on the site.) If you use padi.com without changing your browser settings, we’ll assume that you™re happy to receive all cookies on the padi.com website.
Trusted partners like DoubleClick help us serve advertising on and off PADIs™ sites. Analytics companies like Google Analytics, Facebook, Yieldmo and SilverPop may also place cookies on your machine. Please read their privacy policies to ensure that you™re comfortable with the manner in which they use cookies.
Silverpop
Google Analytics and DoubleClick
Facebook
Yieldmo
What types of cookies do PADI Companies use?
PADI Companies use two types of cookies “ persistent and session. A persistent cookie is set once you™ve logged in to your PADI account. The next time you visit the padi.com website using the same device, the persistent cookie recognizes you as an existing user, so you may not need to log in before using the services of your PADI account.
A session cookie is used to identify a particular visit to the padi.com website. Session cookies expire after a short time, or when you close your web browser.
When do PADI Companies put cookies on your device?
Cookies may be set by PADI Companies when you visit padi.com, or they may be set by other websites or services who run content on the page you™re viewing (known as third-party cookies).
What are cookies used for on padi.com?
Cookies can be used to do lots of different things, like recognizing you when you navigate to padi.com, storing your preferences and improving your experience. Cookies also make your interactions with PADI Companies more secure, faster, and help ensure that your experience is personalized to you and in line with your settings. Additionally, cookies allow PADI Companies to bring you advertising both on and off padi.com, and bring customized features to you through PADI plugins such as our share button.
PADI companies use cookies for a number of purposes, including:
- Security “ PADI Companies use cookies to support or enable security features and to help detect malicious activity and violations of our User Agreement.
- Preferences, Features and Services “ PADI Companies use cookies to know which language you prefer, what your communications preferences are, and they help you fill out forms on padi.com. Plus they provide you with features, insights, and customized content through our plugins.
- Advertising “ PADI Companies may use cookies to show you relevant advertising both on and off the padi.com site. We may also use a cookie to learn whether visitors who saw an ad on padi.com later visited the advertisers™ site. Similarly, our partners may use a cookie to determine whether we™ve shown an ad and how it performed, or provide us with information about how you interact with them. We may also work with a partner to show you an ad on or off padi.com, such as after you™ve visited a partners™ site or application. Cookies and ad technology such as web beacons, pixels, and anonymous ad network tags help PADI Companies more effectively serve ads to you, as well as to collect aggregated auditing, research, and reporting for advertisers.
Note: Because your web browser may request advertisements and web beacons directly from ad network servers, these networks can view, edit, or set their own cookies, just as if you had requested a web page from their site. - Performance, Analytics and Research “padi.com uses cookies to help us learn how well our site and plugins perform across the globe. We also use cookies to understand, improve, and research products, features, and services, including when you access padi.com from other websites, applications, or devices such as your work computer or your mobile device.
Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings preferences. Limiting the ability of websites to set cookies, however, may worsen your overall user experience.
Do the PADI Companies track IP addresses?
As part of the statistical tracking of padi.com, information about visitors™ devices and browsers are collected, such as browser version and type, IP address, website referred from and country of visitor.
What about third party links on padi.com?
padi.com provides links to other sites as a service to visitors. The PADI Companies are not responsible for either the privacy practices, security measures or data collection practices of these other web sites or for their content. The choice to access these sites is at the visitors™ own risk.
GPS Data
When the PADI Companies obtain information concerning an individuals™ location through GPS data, such as when certain custom PADI Dive Shop Locator functions that show the nearest PADI Dive Center or Resort are used, the information specific to that individual is used by the PADI Companies solely for that purpose and is kept by the PADI Companies only long enough to provide the specific service accessed. Aggregate information, which does not include any individually identifiable data, is compiled, however, for the purpose of establishing trends, search frequency, regional activity, etc.
The PADI Companies International Offices
Besides the office in the United States, the PADI Companies include service offices and distribution centers in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom, each serving a defined territory (PADI Office). The laws and regulations concerning data privacy and related rights and responsibilities differ by country. Each of the PADI Companies offices has the appropriate policies in place to provide compliance with the laws and regulations of the countries it serves. For more information about any branch offices™ specific privacy policies, please contact the office using the contact information provided below.
Who should be contacted regarding the Privacy Policy or the information the PADI Companies retain?
For questions or comments, the contacts are:
PADI Americas, Canada and Latin America: legal@padi.com
PADI Asia Pacific: legal@padi.com.au
Japan Office: padijpn@padi.co.jp
PADI Europe, Middle East and Africa: privacy@padi.co.uk
ScubaEarth: support@scubaearth.com
Emergency First Response Corp.
For information concerning the Privacy Policy for non-PADI related Emergency First Response programs, please visit: www.emergencyfirstresponse.com