California Historical Society Privacy Policy

CHS Privacy Policy Effective Date: April 25th, 2019

CHS’s collection and use of Personal Information is governed by this CHS Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy”). The CHS adheres to the highest ethical standards in gathering, using, and safeguarding Personal Information submitted via this Web Site.  This Privacy Policy describes the types of information, including Personal Information, that CHS gathers from you when you use our Web Site, as well as your choices regarding use and disclosure of your Personal  Information. As used in this Privacy Policy, the term “Personal Information” means information that identifies you personally, alone or in combination with other information available to CHS.  Any capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy and not defined herein will have the meaning given in Terms and Conditions.

By accessing our Web Site, you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use our Web Site.  Each time you use our Web Site, the current version of the Privacy Policy will apply. Accordingly, whenever you use our Web Site, you should check the date of this Privacy Policy (which appears at the top) and review any changes since the last version.  This Privacy Policy is applicable to all visitors, registered users, and all other users of our Web Site.

Further, you acknowledge that this Privacy Policy is part of our Terms of Service, which is incorporated by reference, and by accessing or using our Web Site, you agree to be bound by the Terms of Service.  If you do not agree to our Terms of Service, do not access or use our Web Site.

If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please refer to the end of this Privacy Policy for information on how to contact CHS.

1. Information Collected by CHS

(a) Information Collected Automatically. When you visit our Web Site, we automatically gather and store the following information about your visit so that we can track the use of our Web Sites in order to make improvements. This information is stored and used in the aggregate only, and is not used to contact you.  This information includes:

  • The type of browser and operating system used to access the Web Site;
  • The date and time you access our Web Site;
  • The pages, files, and links that you visit; and
  • The domain of the web site which referred you to this Web Site (the last website you visited before visiting this one).

(b) Personal Information That You Provide. CHS collects the information that you knowingly and voluntarily provide when you use our Web Site (such as through web forms or profile screens).  CHS primarily uses this information for marketing purposes. You can choose not to provide us with certain Personal Information, but then you may not be able to take full advantage of the Web Site or other available features we offer.  The information that we collect and use may include the following kinds of Personal Information:

  • First and last name
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Phone number

2. Cookie Policy

Cookies are data that are stored on your computer’s internal hard drive in order for CHS to enhance your experience on our Web Site.  CHS may obtain information about you by installing “cookies” on your computer’s hard drive. CHS use cookies to collect statistical information about the ways visitors use our Web Site including which pages they visit, which links they use, and how long they stay on each page.  CHS also may use cookies to create a database of your previous choices and preferences, saving you time and effort.

When you first access the Web Site, you will receive a message advising you that cookies are in use. By continuing to browse the Site, you agree to our use of cookies as described in this Privacy Notice.  

CHS uses the following types of cookies:

  • Session Cookies: Teaching California uses session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through the Teaching California WordPress site. These cookies let the server know that you are continuing a visit to our site.
  • Persistent Cookies: Teaching California uses persistent cookies for the following purposes: 1) to enable Google’s Universal Analytics to differentiate between new and returning visitors to our site, 2) to assess most visited pages, resources, and related pathways of use, 3) to identify the type of referring site or search return directory that sent the user to the Teaching California site, and 4) to determine the type of browser or device being used to access the Teaching California site and resources to adjust responsiveness for optimized access/use.

Visitors may wish to restrict the use of cookies, or completely prevent them from being set. Most browsers provide for ways to control cookie behavior such as the length of time they are stored — either through built-in functionality or by utilizing third party plugins. Doing so will not prevent you from accessing this site or its resources however, it is important to note that restricting or disabling the use of cookies can limit the functionality or prevent certain features from working correctly. For more information about cookies, visit: http://www.allaboutcookies.org.

3. Use of Personal Information

CHS uses Personal Information collected through the Web Site only for marketing purposes. Such marketing purposes include providing information about CHS activities, programs, membership, development, and other opportunities, products, and special events that may interest you.

CHS may also use the information (including Personal Information) collected through the Website for statistical analysis of our users including to understand demographics.  CHS makes efforts to only disclose your Personal Information in aggregate form to complete such statistical analyses.

4. Who Can Access Personal Information

CHS may disclose your Personal Information in the following instances:

(a) Agents.  We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf.  Examples of such functions include delivering packages, sending postal mail and e-mail, removing repetitive information from user lists, analyzing data, providing statistical analyses of Web Site use, providing technical support, providing marketing assistance, and providing customer service.  We share our users’ Personal Information with these agents as we deem necessary for such third parties to perform their functions.

(b) Employees.  Only authorized employees have access to your Personal Information.

(c) Other Users.  Please remember that any information you share in public areas of our Web Site, such as on message boards or feedback sections, becomes public and anyone may take and use that information.  Please be careful about what you disclose in these portions of our Web Site and do not post any Personal Information that you expect to keep private.

(d) To Comply with Legal Process, Protect Company, or Enforce our Rights.  CHS may release your Personal Information when it is necessary to (i) conform to legal requirements or comply with legal process; (ii) enforce or apply our conditions of use and other agreements (iii) protect the rights, safety or property of CHS, our users or the public, or (iv) prevent a crime or protect national security (including exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction).

5. Selling Personal Information

The CHS does not rent, sell, or exchange information submitted via this Web Site, and the use of personal information collected.

6. CHS Do Not Track Policy

CHS does not respond to web browser “do not track” signals.  As such, your navigation of the Web Site may be tracked as part of the gathering of quantitative user information.  If you arrive at the Web Site by way of a link from a third party site that does respond to “do not track” requests, the recognition of any “do not track” request you have initiated will end as soon as you reach our Web Site.

7. Children and Privacy

The CHS is concerned about protecting children’s privacy and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age without parental consent. CHS requires verifiable parental consent before collecting the personal information of children under 13 years of age. For personal information that users knowingly provide (as indicated in 1 (b) of the Privacy Policy), CHS will provide a consent form for parents with children under 13 to sign and return. In addition, for marketing sign-ups users will be required to check a box indicating that they are over 13 years of age and/or have received parental consent to provide personal information, and a link to the consent form will be provided. Parents may email privacy@calhist.org to inquire if their child has submitted personal information to CHS and to request the review, correction, and/or removal of any such personal information from our system. Children should always ask parents for permission before providing personal information to any Web Site or purchasing any products or services online. The CHS urges all parents to participate in their children’s exploration of the Internet and to teach them about protecting their personal information while online.

Please find the parental consent form here

8. Embedded Links

The CHS Web Site provides links to non-CHS web sites, and other web sites may provide links to the CHS Web Site. When you link to a third-party web site, you leave our Web Site and no longer will be subject to our privacy policy. The CHS is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-CHS web sites, and such links are not intended to be an endorsement of the non-CHS web site or its content.

9. International Users and Consent to Transfer

We are based in the United States.  Your Personal Information may be accessed by CHS or transferred to CHS in the United States or to our partners or service providers who are located worldwide.  If you are visiting our Web Site from outside the United States, be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located, and our central database is operated.  By using our Web Site, you consent to any transfer of this information.

We will protect the privacy and security of Personal Information according to this privacy statement, regardless of where it is processed or stored, however you explicitly acknowledge and consent to the fact that Personal Information stored or processed in the United States will be subject to the laws of the United States, including the ability of governments, courts or law enforcement or regulatory agencies of the United States to obtain disclosure of your Personal Data.

10. Security and Storage

The CHS makes every effort to ensure that all transactions occurring on its Web Site will be secure. We take reasonable technical and organizational precautions to protect the confidentiality, security and integrity of Personal Information that CHS collects.  Although CHS uses security measures to help protect your Personal Information against loss, misuse or unauthorized disclosure, CHS cannot guarantee the security of information transmitted to CHS over the Internet. While CHS strives to use commercially acceptable means to protect Personal Information, there is no guarantee that information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed.

The Personally Identifiable Information that you provide to us is generally stored on servers located in the United States.  If you are located in another jurisdiction, you should be aware that once your Personal Information is submitted through our Web Site, it will be transferred to our servers in the United States and that the United States currently does not have uniform data protection laws in place.  

11. Changes to this Privacy Policy

CHS reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy from time to time.  If CHS makes any material changes to this Privacy Policy or the way CHS uses, shares or collects Personal Information, CHS will notify you by revising the “Effective Date” at the top of this Privacy Policy, prominently posting an announcement of the changes on the Web Site, or by sending an email to the email address you most recently provided CHS (unless we do not have such an email address) prior to the new policy taking effect.  You are bound by any changes to the Privacy Policy when you uses our Web Site after notice of such changes have been communicated.  We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy regularly to ensure that you are familiar with CHS’s current practices.  

12. Information Correction, Removal and Opting-Out

Visitors to the Web Site who do not wish to have their Personal Information collected are asked to not provide such information. If you have provided your personal information to CHS and wish to remove it from the CHS’s mailing lists, please send an e-mail message to privacy@calhist.org.  We will respond to such inquiries within fifteen (15) business days.    Additionally, if you prefer not to receive marketing messages from CHS, please let CHS know by clicking on the unsubscribe link within any marketing message that you receive, or by sending a message to CHS at privacy@calhist.org.

13. Privacy Inquiries

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or CHS’s privacy practices please contact CHS as follows:

  • By emailing CHS at: info@calhist.org
  • By mail post to: 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105

For the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/679 (the “GDPR”), the Data Controller is The California Historical Society registered in the United States with a registered address at 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. The CHS Data Protection Officer is Jason Herrington who can be contacted by sending an email to privacy@calhist.org or by post to 678 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94105.

CHS Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Please visit our FAQs page for Frequently Asked Questions relating to Terms of Service and/or Privacy Policy.