PBS KIDS Sprout, an entity of Children’s Network, LLC (“Sprout”), is the first and
only multi-platform service (on-air, on-demand, and online) devoted to preschool
children and their parents, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Sprout Smart is a comprehensive,
multiplatform (including online at www.SproutSmart.com (“SproutSmart.com” or “Website”),
prosocial initiative that will inspire parents to connect and communicate with their
preschoolers about everyday issues. Our educational and interactive Website offers
users resources including streaming video on important topics for parents with preschoolers,
related articles, and opportunities for parents to participate in blogs. This Privacy
Policy applies to this Website and does not apply to other Sprout products or services.
SproutSmart.com is directed to, and intended for, residents of the United States
who are at least eighteen (18) years old.
We are committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of users of this Website.
Collection and Use of Information
We or our service providers who provide support for the operations of our Website
collect personal information that you voluntarily provide on this Website.
Sprout uses the information collected on this Website to provide users access to
SproutSmart.com features and activities, which may include participating in blogs,
signing up to receive newsletters, and to improve our services. We also use this
information to communicate with you and carry out your requests, including providing
you with promotional emails or postal mail about Sprout and third parties. By contacting
Sprout customer service at info@sproutsmart.com users may opt out of receiving promotional
communications from Sprout.
Newsletters and Sprout Announcements
Sprout may use email addresses or postal mail addresses provided by a user to provide
the user with newsletters and other special announcements from Sprout. Users can
choose to cancel their receipt of these features by contacting Sprout customer service
at info@sproutsmart.com or through the “unsubscribe” link at the end of each email
sent to users.
Contests and Sweepstakes
Sprout may offer users the opportunity to enter contests and sweepstakes on this
Website. We may request that a user provide name, address, telephone number, and
email address to participate in a contest or sweepstakes. The information collected
will be used to conduct the contest or sweepstakes, to notify users that they are
a winner, and, if a user is a winner, the user’s name, hometown, and home state
may be announced on SproutSmart.com, Sprout television programming, or in other
Sprout promotional materials. Sprout may also offer contests and sweepstakes sponsored
by third parties. In the event that Sprout will share personal information about
a user with a third-party sponsor of a contest or sweepstakes, Sprout will provide
notice in the entry process that entry information may be shared. Use and disclosure
of such entry information with third-party sponsors is governed by the privacy policies
of those third parties, and is not the responsibility of Sprout.
Cookies
SproutSmart.com may use “cookies” or other technologies to collect information to
enhance your experience with this Website. A cookie is a small text file that is
placed on your computer that collects information about your use of this Website,
such as the pages visited, the date and the time of a visit, etc. Any information
collected by the cookies used by Sprout cannot be used to identify you, nor will
such information be associated with personal information. Sprout makes reasonable
efforts to limit its designated service providers’ use of cookies or other technologies
in the same manner as set forth in this paragraph. Most browsers are set to accept
cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually set your browser to disable cookies,
or to alert you when cookies are being sent. The help function on most browsers
contains instructions on how to set your browser to notify you before accepting
cookies or to disable cookies entirely. However, it is possible that some parts
of this Website will not function properly if you disable cookies.
Disclosure of Information
Sprout may disclose your personal information and other information that we collect
about and from you to third parties if we believe in good faith that such disclosure
is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond to judicial process or to the extent permitted
by law; (b) take precautions against liability; (c) protect the security or integrity
of this Website, including to enforce the terms of use of this Website, or (d) protect
the safety of others. Sprout may also disclose this information to provide you with
the services or products requested by you, including allowing a purchaser of a Sprout
division, or Sprout as a whole, to use your personal information to continue to
serve you. Sprout may also disclose this information to partners of
SproutSmart.com who are interested in serving you, including by providing you with
the service or product requested by you. Sprout may also share your personal information
with carefully selected third parties interested in serving you. Use and disclosure
of such information is governed by the privacy policies of those third parties,
and is not the responsibility of Sprout. You may instruct us at any time not to
share this information with such third parties by contacting customer service at
info@sproutsmart.com. We may use or disclose on this Website or in Sprout’s television
programming or Sprout promotional materials the contents of any material that you
submit, post, upload, or otherwise make available on this Website (such as your
blog entries). In addition, Sprout may disclose information to its service providers
who have agreed to not use or disclose the information for any other purpose and
whose role is to provide support for the operations of this Website (e.g., to conduct
contests and sweepstakes or to provide email newsletters). Sprout may share non-personal,
aggregate information about our users with third parties, such as advertisers, content
providers, and business partners.
Security
Sprout has established and maintains reasonable procedures to protect the confidentiality,
security, and integrity of personal information collected through this Website.
Links to Third Party Sites
SproutSmart.com may contain links to an advertiser's, business partner's, or third party's site.
These other sites are governed by their own privacy policies, which may be substantially
different from ours. Visitors to other sites should review the privacy policies
and information collection practices of those sites. Use and disclosure of information
by third parties is governed by the privacy policies of those third parties, and
is not the responsibility of Sprout.
Questions, Comments, & Concerns?
If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding this Privacy Policy, please
contact us at:
PBS KIDS Sprout
P.O. Box 9303
Bridgeport, NJ 08014
1-877-677-7688
info@SproutSmart.com
Changes to Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is subject to change. Please review this Privacy Policy so you
will always know what information is collected and how it is used. Changes to this
Privacy Policy will be effective upon posting.
Last Updated: January 15, 2008.